Abstract

In a quantum dot in which the spin degeneracy of a carrier is lifted, the Fano effect may be used as an effective means to generate spin polarization of transmitted carriers. In this work, we propose a new and more effective design of a spin-dependent polarizer. The proposed device consists of a quantum wire with two side-coupled quantum dots. A detailed analysis of the spin-dependent polarized current is carried out, and we find some improvements as compared to more conventional designs. © 2006 IOP Publishing Ltd.