We study equilibrium pure spin current through tunneling junctions at zero bias. The two leads of the junctions connected via a thin insulator barrier, can be either a ferromagnetic metal (FM) or a nonmagnetic high-mobility two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) with Rashba spin-orbital interaction (RSOI) or Dresselhaus spin-orbital interaction (DSOI). As a lead of a tunneling junction, the isotropic RSOI or DSOI in 2DEG can give rise to an average effective planar magnetic field orthogonal or parallel to the current direction. It is found by the linear response theory that equilibrium spin current $\vec{J}$ can flow in the following three junctions: 2DEG/2DEG, 2DEG/FM, and FM/FM junctions, as a result of the exchange coupling between the magnetic moments, ${\vec{h}}_l$ and ${\vec{h}}_r$, in the two electrodes of the junction, i.e., $\vec{J}\sim {\vec{h}}_l\times {\vec{h}}_r$. An important distinction between the FM and 2DEG with RSOI (DSOI) lead is that in a strict one-dimensional case RSOI (DSOI) cannot lead to equilibrium spin current in the junction since the two spin bands are not spin polarized as in a FM lead where Zeeman spin splitting occurs.

• Received 1 November 2005

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.74.035342