Electronic measurement of strain effects on spin transport in silicon*

Spin transport in silicon is limited by the Elliott-Yafet spin relaxation mechanism, which is driven by scattering between degenerate conduction band valleys. Mechanical strain along a valley axis partially breaks this degeneracy, and will ultimately quench intervalley spin relaxation for transitions between states on orthogonal axes. Using a custom-designed and constructed strain probe, we study the effects of uniaxial compressive strain along the $\langle100\rangle$ direction on ballistic tunnel junction devices used to inject spin-polarized electrons into silicon. The effects of strain-induced valley splitting will be presented and compared to our theoretical model.