ORIGINAL PAPER Spin-dependent transport in double-barrier magnetic tunnel junction with Dresselhaus spin–orbit interaction L BabazadehHabashi 1 *, F Kanjouri 2 and S M Elahi 1 1 Department of Physics, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran 2 Faculty of Physics, Kharazmi University, Karaj, Iran Received: 06 January 2014 / Accepted: 14 March 2014 Abstract: We have theoretically investigated the effect of Dresselhaus spin–orbit coupling on spin-transport properties of ferromagnet/insulator/semiconductor/insulator/ferromagnet (Fe/Al 2 O 3 /SM/Al 2 O 3 /Fe) heterostructure. Based on the two band model and nearly-free-electron apptoximation, tunnel current and magnetoresistance are calculated as a function of bias voltage. Our calculations are carried out for three different semiconductors such as InAs, AlAs and InP. It is shown that the Dresselhaus spin–orbit interaction, in general, leads to enhancement of tunneling magnetoresistance. It is also shown that it strongly depends on the thickness of layers, bias voltage and electron effective mass in semiconductor layers. Keywords: Dresselhaus spin–orbit coupling; Tunneling magnetoresistance; Magnetic tunnel junctions PACS Nos.: 75.70.-I; 74.50. ? r; 75.50.Pp 1. Introduction Spin–orbit interaction has attracted a lot of interest as it plays an important role in the field of semiconductor spintronics [1]. Spin–orbit interaction is a central mecha- nism that determines essential physics in meso- and nano- scales, is largely responsible for the prospect of semicon- ducting structures [2]. Spintronic devices have the potential to replace and complement various conventional electronic devices with improved performance. In a broader sense, spintronics also includes new fields such as spin-based quantum computation and communication [3]. Datta and Das [4] have proposed spin field effect transistor (SFET), which is based on spin precession and can be controlled by an external electric field via spin–orbit coupling (SOC) [5, 6]. In addition, transport through single molecules has attracted considerable attention due to their unique prop- erties and potential applications in future of molecular electronics [7, 8]. Spin injection into semiconductors opens the way to new all-semiconductor devices that have attracted a lot of interest in recent years for their potential applications in future of electronic devices [9–11]. Dresselhaus spin–orbit coupling (DSOC) is one of the typical spin–orbit interactions which is present in semi- conductors lacking bulk inversion symmetry. DSOC causes spin polarization of the electron due to difference in transmission possibilities between spin up and spin down electrons [12–16]. Khayatzadeh et al. [17] have investi- gated the influence of DSOC on spin polarization by tun- neling through a disordered semiconductor superlattice. They have obtained one hundred percent spin polarization by optimizing the distance between two impurity layers, in presence of DSOC. In this paper, we have calculated spin-dependent transport in heterostructure Fe/Al 2 O 3 /SM/Al 2 O 3 /Fe double tunnel junction (SM = AlAs, InAs and InP). The effect of Dres- selhaus spin–orbit on the current density is investigated. Using free electron approximation, the variation of tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) in heterostructure is calculated as a function of bias voltage for three different semiconductors. We have also discussed the role of electron effective mass in TMR besides Dresselhaus effect. Schematic representation of the multilayer FM/IN/SM/IN/FM (FM = ferromagnetic metal layer, IN = insulator tunnel barrier) and its corre- sponding energy profile is shown in Fig. 1. *Corresponding author, E-mail: l_babazadeh@yahoo.com Indian J Phys DOI 10.1007/s12648-014-0476-8 Ó 2014 IACS