Strain-Induced Coupling of Spin Current to Nanomechanical Oscillations

A. G. Mal'shukov, C. S. Tang, C. S. Chu, K. A. Chao

Published 2005-04-29, updated 2005-09-09Version 2

We propose a setup which allows to couple the electron spin degree of freedom to the mechanical motions of a nanomechanical system not involving any of the ferromagnetic components. The proposed method employs the strain induced spin-orbit interaction of electrons in narrow gap semiconductors. We have shown how this method can be used for detection and manipulation of the spin flow through a suspended rod in a nanomechanical device.