Spin dependent transport in a two-dimensional electron gas

Scattering by neutral impurities in Si has been demonstrated through measurements of spin dependent transport (SDT) in a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). SDT was observed by monitoring the conductivity of a specially fabricated Si accumulation layer transistor operating at 4K while modulating the electron spin populations. By utilizing the differences in the singlet and triplet scattering cross sections, the technique provides the first direct measure of neutral impurity scattering. A signal from ∼108 spins was observed, which demonstrates the enhanced sensitivity of SDT over conventional electron spin resonance methods.