No Arabic abstract
We investigate the current-induced spin polarization in the two-dimensional hole gas (2DHG) with the structure inversion asymmetry. By using the perturbation theory, we re-derive the effective $k$-cubic Rashba Hamiltonian for 2DHG and the generalized spin operators accordingly. Then based on the linear response theory we calculate the current-induced spin polarization both analytically and numerically with the disorder effect considered. We have found that, quite different from the two-dimensional electron gas, the spin polarization in 2DHG depends linearly on Fermi energy in the low doping regime, and with increasing Fermi energy, the spin polarization may be suppressed and even changes its sign. We predict a pronounced peak of the spin polarization in 2DHG once the Fermi level is somewhere between minimum points of two spin-split branches of the lowest light-hole subband. We discuss the possibility of measurements in experiments as regards the temperature and the width of quantum wells.
Current-induced spin polarization (CISP) is rederived in ballistic spin-orbit-coupled electron systems, based on equilibrium statistical mechanics. A simple and useful picture is correspondingly proposed to help understand the CISP and predict the polarization direction. Nonequilibrium Landauer-Keldysh formalism is applied to demonstrate the validity of the statistical picture, taking the linear Rashba-Dresselhaus [001] two-dimensional system as a specific example. Spin densities induced by the CISP in semiconductor heterostructures and in metallic surface states are compared, showing that the CISP increases with the spin splitting strength and hence suggesting that the CISP should be more observable on metal and semimetal surfaces due to the discovered strong Rashba splitting. An application of the CISP designed to generate a spin-Hall pattern in the inplane, instead of the out-of-plane, component is also proposed.
Converse effect of spin photocurrent and current induced spin polarization are experimentally demonstrated in the same two-dimensional electron gas system with Rashba spin splitting. Their consistency with the strength of the Rashba coupling as measured from beating of the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations reveals a unified picture for the spin photocurrent, current-induced spin polarization and spin orbit coupling. In addition, the observed spectral inversion of the spin photocurrent indicates the system with dominating structure inversion asymmetry.
We investigate spin dynamics of resident holes in a p-modulation-doped GaAs/Al$_{0.3}$Ga$_{0.7}$As single quantum well. Time-resolved Faraday and Kerr rotation, as well as resonant spin amplification, are utilized in our study. We observe that nonresonant or high power optical pumping leads to a resident hole spin polarization with opposite sign with respect to the optically oriented carriers, while low power resonant optical pumping only leads to a resident hole spin polarization if a sufficient in-plane magnetic field is applied. The competition between two different processes of spin orientation strongly modifies the shape of resonant spin amplification traces. Calculations of the spin dynamics in the electron--hole system are in good agreement with the experimental Kerr rotation and resonant spin amplification traces and allow us to determine the hole spin polarization within the sample after optical orientation, as well as to extract quantitative information about spin dephasing processes at various stages of the evolution.
We put forward a mechanism for current induced spin polarization for a hole in a quantum dot side-coupled to a quantum wire, that is based on the spin-orbit splitting of the valence band. We predict that in a stark contrast with the traditional mechanisms based on the linear in momentum spin-orbit coupling, an exponentially small bias applied to the quantum wire with heavy holes is enough to create the 100% spin polarization of a localized light hole. Microscopically, the effect is related with the formation of chiral quasi bound states and the spin dependent tunneling of holes from the quantum wire to the quantum dot. This novel current induced spin polarization mechanism is equally relevant for the GaAs, Si and Ge based semiconductor nanostructures.
Density-functional calculations using an exact exchange potential for a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) formed in a GaAs single quantum well predict the existence of a spin-polarized phase, when an excited subband becomes slightly populated. Direct experimental evidence is obtained from low temperature and low excitation-power photoluminescence (PL) spectra which display the sudden appearance of a sharp emission peak below the energy of the optical transition from the first excited electron subband upon its occupation. The behavior of this PL feature in magnetic fields applied in-plane as well as perpendicular to the 2DEG indicate the formation of spin-polarized domains in the excited subband with in-plane magnetization. For it speaks also the strong enhancement of exchange-vertex corrections observed in inelastic light scattering spectra by spin-density excitations of a slightly occupied first-excited subband.