Spin-dependent transport in a magnetic two-dimensional electron gas

Magneto-transport and magneto-optical probes are used to interrogate spin-dependent transport in magnetic heterostructures wherein a two dimensional electron gas (2DEG) is exchange-coupled to local moments. At low temperatures, the significant s-d exchange-enhanced spin splitting in these "magnetic" 2DEGs is responsible for the observation of unusual transport properties such as a complete spin polarization of the gas at large Landau level filling factors and a pronounced, non-monotonic background magneto-resistance. Magneto-transport measurements of gated samples performed in a parallel field geometry are used to systematically study the variation of the magneto-resistance with sheet concentration, yielding new insights into the dependence of spin transport on the Fermi energy of the majority spin carriers. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.