No Arabic abstract
We use microscopic linear response theory to derive a set of equations that provide a complete description of coupled spin and charge diffusive transport in a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) with the Rashba spin-orbit (SO) interaction. These equations capture a number of interrelated effects including spin accumulation and diffusion, Dyakonov-Perel spin relaxation, magnetoelectric, and spin-galvanic effects. They can be used under very general circumstances to model transport experiments in 2DEG systems that involve either electrical or optical spin injection. We comment on the relationship between these equations and the exact spin and charge density operator equations of motion. As an example of the application of our equations, we consider a simple electrical spin injection experiment and show that a voltage will develop between two ferromagnetic contacts if a spin-polarized current is injected into a 2DEG, that depends on the relative magnetization orientation of the contacts. This voltage is present even when the separation between the contacts is larger than the spin diffusion length.
Spin-orbit interactions in two-dimensional electron liquids are responsible for many interesting transport phenomena in which particle currents are converted to spin polarizations and spin currents and viceversa. Prime examples are the spin Hall effect, the Edelstein effect, and their inverses. By similar mechanisms it is also possible to partially convert an optically induced electron-hole density wave to a spin density wave and viceversa. In this paper we present a unified theoretical treatment of these effects based on quantum kinetic equations that include not only the intrinsic spin-orbit coupling from the band structure of the host material, but also the spin-orbit coupling due to an external electric field and a random impurity potential. The drift-diffusion equations we derive in the diffusive regime are applicable to a broad variety of experimental situations, both homogeneous and non-homogeneous, and include on equal footing skew scattering and side-jump from electron-impurity collisions. As a demonstration of the strength and usefulness of the theory we apply it to the study of several effects of current experimental interest: the inverse Edelstein effect, the spin-current swapping effect, and the partial conversion of an electron-hole density wave to a spin density wave in a two-dimensional electron gas with Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit couplings, subject to an electric field.
We have experimentally studied the spin-induced time reversal symmetry (TRS) breaking as a function of the relative strength of the Zeeman energy (E_Z) and the Rashba spin-orbit interaction energy (E_SOI), in InGaAs-based 2D electron gases. We find that the TRS breaking saturates when E_Z becomes comparable to E_SOI. Moreover, we show that the spin-induced TRS breaking mechanism is a universal function of the ratio E_Z/E_SOI, within the experimental accuracy.
Spin injection is a powerful experimental probe into a wealth of nonequilibrium spin-dependent phenomena displayed by materials with spin-orbit coupling (SOC). Here, we develop a theory of coupled spin-charge diffusive transport in two-dimensional spin-valve devices. The theory describes a realistic proximity-induced SOC with both spatially uniform and random components of the SOC due to adatoms and imperfections, and applies to the two dimensional electron gases found in two-dimensional materials and van der Walls heterostructures. The various charge-to-spin conversion mechanisms known to be present in diffusive metals, including the spin Hall effect and several mechanisms contributing current-induced spin polarization are accounted for. Our analysis shows that the dominant conversion mechanisms can be discerned by analyzing the nonlocal resistance of the spin-valve for different polarizations of the injected spins and as a function of the applied in-plane magnetic field.
The transport equations for a two-dimensional electron gas with spin-orbit interaction are presented. The distribution function is a 2x2-matrix in the spin space. Particle and energy conservation laws determine the expressions for the electric current and the energy flow. The derived transport equations are applied to the spin-splitting of a wave packed and to the calculation of the structure factor and the dynamic conductivity.
We provide a theoretical framework for the electric field control of the electron spin in systems with diffusive electron motion. The approach is valid in the experimentally important case where both intrinsic and extrinsic spin-orbit interaction in a two-dimensional electron gas are present simultaneously. Surprisingly, even when the extrinsic mechanism is the dominant driving force for spin Hall currents, the amplitude of the spin Hall conductivity may be considerably tuned by varying the intrinsic spin-orbit coupling via a gate voltage. Furthermore we provide an explanation of the experimentally observed out-of-plane spin polarization in a (110) GaAs quantum well.