Crossover from Spin Accumulation into Interface States to Spin Injection in the Germanium Conduction Band

Spin injection into semiconductors is crucial for exploring spin physics and new spintronic devices. Ge is of great interest for high carrier mobilities, long spin diffusion length and large spin-orbit coupling to perform electric field spin manipulation. However the exact role of interface states in spin injection mechanism in n-Ge has not been clarified yet. Here we show a clear transition from spin accumulation into interface states to spin injection in the Ge conduction band. For this purpose, we have grown CoFeB/MgO as a spin injector on Germanium On Insulator. We observe spin signal amplification at low temperature due to spin accumulation into interface states. At 150 K, we find a clear transition to spin injection in the conduction band up to room temperature: the measured spin signal is compatible with the spin diffusion model. We could in particular demonstrate spin signal modulation applying a back gate voltage and spin-pumping by the ferromagnetic resonance of the CoFeB layer which are clear manifestations of spin accumulation in the Ge conduction band.