The creation of spin-polarized currents in semiconductors is a central issue of spintronics. Circular photogalvanic effect (CPGE) provides an optical access to generate the spin-polarized photocurrents, and also a tool to investigate the underlying spin-orbit interaction properties of semiconductors. In this talk, I will review the physical origin of CPGE and our recent work about the CPGE in HgTe quantum wells. In addition, I will give a brief introduction to the progress of the electrical spin injection transport in silicon-based magnetic tunneling junctions.

Dr. Jun Li, was born in 1981. He received the B.S. degree at Beijing Normal University in 2004 and the Ph. D. at Institute of Semiconductors, CAS in 2010，supervised by Prof. Kai Chang. Since Sep. 2010, he joined the Department of Physics of Xiamen University as an assistant professor. His research interest focuses on spintronics and the spin-related physics of low-dimensional semiconductors.