The tip of a scanning tunneling microscope has been used as an injector of hot electrons or hot holes into a spin valve epitaxially grown on $n\text{−}\mathrm{Ga}{\mathrm{As}}_{67}{\mathrm{P}}_{33}$. Spin-dependent transport of injected and hole excited electrons has been studied in an external magnetic field at room temperature. Significant variations in the collector current due to the spin-dependent inelastic decay of the hot charge carriers have been measured for parallel and antiparallel configurations of the magnetization of the individual layers. We found magnetocurrent effects on the order of 600% and relative large transmission values compared to other ballistic electron magnetic microscopy studies. In addition, we investigated the excitation of electron-hole pairs with its subsequent electron transport in the spin valve and found a magnetocurrent effect with positive sign.

• Received 17 November 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.75.073307