ABSTRACT

Introducing spin-polarized carriers in semiconductor lasers offers an alternative path to realize spintronic applications, beyond the usually employed magnetoresistive effects. Through carrier recombination, the angular momentum of the spin-polarized carriers is transferred to photons, thus leading to the circularly polarized emitted light. Such spin-lasers provide an opportunity to extend the functionality of spintronic devices, as well to exceed the performance of conventional (spin-unpolarized) lasers, from reducing the lasing threshold to improving their dynamical performance and digital operation. Following the introduction to conventional lasers, this chapter describes various elements and operating regimes of spin-lasers. Anticipated future directions and breakthroughs in spin-lasers are closely connected to the advances in more traditional areas of spintronics.