The typical bulk model describing 2D topological insulators (TI) consists of two types of spin-orbit terms, the so-called Dirac term, which induces out-of-plane spin polarization, and the Rashba term, which induces in-plane spin polarization. We show that for some parameters of the Fermi energy, the beam splitter device built on 2D TIs can achieve higher in-plane spin polarization than the one built on materials described by the Rashba model itself. Further, due to high tunability of the electron density and the asymmetry of the quantum well, spin polarization in different directions can be obtained. While in the normal (topologically trivial) regime the in-plane spin polarization would dominate, in the inverted regime, the out-of-plane polarization is more significant not only in the band gap but also for small Fermi energies above the gap. Further, we suggest a double beam splitter scheme to measure in-plane spin current all-electrically. Although we consider here as an example HgTe/CdTe quantum wells, this scheme could be also promising for InAs/GaSb QWs where the in- and out-of-plane polarization could be achieved in a single device.

• Received 28 October 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.89.035418