Tunable spin transport in CrAs: Role of correlation effects

Correlation effects on the electronic structure of half-metallic CrAs in zinc-blende structure are studied for different substrate lattice constants. Depending on the substrate the spectral weight of the nonquasiparticle states might be tuned from a well-developed value in the case of an InAs substrate to an almost negligible contribution for the GaAs one. A piezoelectric material that would allow a change in the substrate lattice parameters opens the possibility for practical investigations of the switchable (tunable) nonquasiparticle states. Since the latter are important for the tunneling magnetoresistance and related phenomena, it creates new opportunities in spintronics.