6,430 research outputs found
Mesoscopic Spin Hall Effect in Multiprobe Ballistic Spin-Orbit Coupled Semiconductor Bridges
We predict that unpolarized charge current driven through the longitudinal
leads attached to ballistic quantum-coherent two-dimensional electron gas
(2DEG) in semiconductor heterostructure will induce a {\em pure} spin current,
which is not accompanied by any net charge flow, in the transverse voltage
probes. Its magnitude can be tuned by the Rashba spin-orbit (SO) interaction
and, moreover, it is resilient to weak spin-independent scattering off
impurities within the metallic diffusive regime. While the polarization vector
of the spin transported through the transverse leads is not orthogonal to the
plane of 2DEG, we demonstrate that only two components (out-of-plane and
longitudinal) of the transverse spin current are signatures of the spin Hall
effect in four-probe Rashba spin-split semiconductor nanostructures. The linear
response spin Hall current, obtained from the multiprobe Landauer-B\" uttiker
scattering formalism generalized for quantum transport of spin, is the
Fermi-surface determined nonequilibrium quantity whose scaling with the 2DEG
size reveals the importance of processes occurring on the spin precession
{\em mesoscale} (on which spin precesses by an angle )--the
out-of-plane component of the transverse spin current exhibits quasioscillatory
behavior for (attaining the maximum value in 2DEGs of
the size ), while it reaches the asymptotic value
in the macroscopic regime . Furthermore, these values of the
spin Hall current can be manipulated by the measuring geometry defined by the
attached leads.Comment: 12 pages, 6 color EPS figures; expanded discussion to emphasize
crucial role played by processes on the spin precession mesoscal
Anisotropic splitting of intersubband spin plasmons in quantum wells with bulk and structural inversion asymmetry
In semiconductor heterostructures, bulk and structural inversion asymmetry
and spin-orbit coupling induce a k-dependent spin splitting of valence and
conduction subbands, which can be viewed as being caused by momentum-dependent
crystal magnetic fields. This paper studies the influence of these effective
magnetic fields on the intersubband spin dynamics in an asymmetric n-type
GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well. We calculate the dispersions of intersubband spin
plasmons using linear response theory. The so-called D'yakonov-Perel'
decoherence mechanism is inactive for collective intersubband excitations,
i.e., crystal magnetic fields do not lead to decoherence of spin plasmons.
Instead, we predict that the main signature of bulk and structural inversion
asymmetry in intersubband spin dynamics is a three-fold, anisotropic splitting
of the spin plasmon dispersion. The importance of many-body effects is pointed
out, and conditions for experimental observation with inelastic light
scattering are discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure
Electron Spin Decoherence in Bulk and Quantum Well Zincblende Semiconductors
A theory for longitudinal (T1) and transverse (T2) electron spin coherence
times in zincblende semiconductor quantum wells is developed based on a
non-perturbative nanostructure model solved in a fourteen-band restricted basis
set. Distinctly different dependences of coherence times on mobility,
quantization energy, and temperature are found from previous calculations.
Quantitative agreement between our calculations and measurements is found for
GaAs/AlGaAs, InGaAs/InP, and GaSb/AlSb quantum wells.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
Effect of bulk inversion asymmetry on the Datta-Das transistor
A model of the Datta-Das spin field-effect transistor is presented which, in
addition to the Rashba interaction, takes into account the influence of bulk
inversion asymmetry of zinc-blende semiconductors. In the presence of bulk
inversion asymmetry, the conductance is found to depend significantly on the
crystallographic orientation of the channel. We determine the channel direction
optimal for the observation of the Datta-Das effect in GaAs and InAs-based
devices.Comment: 4 pages, Revtex4, 4 EPS figure
Two-photon spin injection in semiconductors
A comparison is made between the degree of spin polarization of electrons
excited by one- and two-photon absorption of circularly polarized light in bulk
zincblende semiconductors. Time- and polarization-resolved experiments in
(001)-oriented GaAs reveal an initial degree of spin polarization of 49% for
both one- and two-photon spin injection at wavelengths of 775 and 1550 nm, in
agreement with theory. The macroscopic symmetry and microscopic theory for
two-photon spin injection are reviewed, and the latter is generalized to
account for spin-splitting of the bands. The degree of spin polarization of
one- and two-photon optical orientation need not be equal, as shown by
calculations of spectra for GaAs, InP, GaSb, InSb, and ZnSe using a 14x14 k.p
Hamiltonian including remote band effects. By including the higher conduction
bands in the calculation, cubic anisotropy and the role of allowed-allowed
transitions can be investigated. The allowed-allowed transitions do not
conserve angular momentum and can cause a high degree of spin polarization
close to the band edge; a value of 78% is calculated in GaSb, but by varying
the material parameters it could be as high as 100%. The selection rules for
spin injection from allowed-allowed transitions are presented, and interband
spin-orbit coupling is found to play an important role.Comment: 12 pages including 7 figure
Low field hysteresis in disordered ferromagnets
We analyze low field hysteresis close to the demagnetized state in disordered
ferromagnets using the zero temperature random-field Ising model. We solve the
demagnetization process exactly in one dimension and derive the Rayleigh law of
hysteresis. The initial susceptibility a and the hysteretic coefficient b
display a peak as a function of the disorder width. This behavior is confirmed
by numerical simulations d=2,3 showing that in limit of weak disorder
demagnetization is not possible and the Rayleigh law is not defined. These
results are in agreement with experimental observations on nanocrystalline
magnetic materials.Comment: Extended version, 18 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Radiation-induced oscillatory magnetoresistance as a sensitive probe of the zero-field spin splitting in high mobility GaAs/AlGaAs devices
We suggest an approach for characterizing the zero-field spin splitting of
high mobility two-dimensional electron systems, when beats are not readily
observable in the Shubnikov-de Haas effect. The zero-field spin splitting and
the effective magnetic field seen in the reference frame of the electron is
evaluated from a quantitative study of beats observed in radiation-induced
magnetoresistance oscillations.Comment: 4 pages, 4 color figure
Is the magnetic field necessary for the Aharonov-Bohm effect in mesoscopics?
A new class of topological mesoscopic phenomena in absence of external
magnetic field (meso-nucleo-spinics)is predicted, which is based on combined
action of the nonequilibrium nuclear spin population and charge carriers
spin-orbit interaction . As an example, we show that Aharonov-Bohm like
oscillations of the persistent current in GaAs/AlGaAs based mesoscopic rings
may exist, in the absence of the external magnetic field, provided that a
topologically nontrivial strongly nonequilibrium nuclear spin population is
created. This phenomenon is due to the breaking, via the spin-orbit coupling,
of the clock wise - anti clock wise symmetry of the charge carriers momentum,
which results in the oscillatory in time persistent current.Comment: 14 pages, Late
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