The effects of Dresselhaus and Rashba spin-orbit interactions on the electron tunneling in a non-magnetic heterostructure

We theoretically investigate the electron transport properties in a non-magnetic heterostructure with both Dresselhaus and Rashba spin-orbit interactions. The detailed-numerical results show that (1) the large spin polarization can be achieved due to Dresselhaus and Rashba spin-orbit couplings induced splitting of the resonant level, although the magnetic field is zero in such a structure, (2) the Rashba spin-orbit coupling plays a greater role on the spin polarization than the Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction does, and (3) the transmission probability and the spin polarization both periodically change with the increase of the well width.     

Spin-dependent Seebeck effect in Aharonov–Bohm rings with Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit interactions

We theoretically investigate the spin-dependent Seebeck effect in an Aharonov–Bohm mesoscopic ring in the presence of both Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit interactions under magnetic flux perpendicular to the ring. We apply the Green's function method to calculate the spin Seebeck coefficient employing the tight-binding Hamiltonian. It is found that the spin Seebeck coefficient is proportional to the slope of the energy-dependent transmission coefficients. We study the strong dependence of spin Seebeck coefficient on the Fermi energy, magnetic flux, strength of spin–orbit coupling, and temperature. Maximum spin Seebeck coefficients can be obtained when the strengths of Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit couplings are slightly different. The spin Seebeck coefficient can be reduced by increasing temperature and disorder.     

Influence of spin–orbit interaction,Zeeman effect and light polarisation on the electronic and optical properties of pseudo-elliptic quantum rings under magnetic field

ABSTRACT

We theoretically investigated the influences of the magnetic field and light polarisation on the electronic and optical properties of a GaAs/GaAlAs pseudo-elliptic quantum ring, modelled by an outer ellipsis and an inner circle, in the presence of the Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit interactions and Zeeman effect. We show that Aharonov-Bohm oscillations of the energy spectrum are not affected by the presence of the Zeeman effect alone but, in the presence of Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit couplings, the periodicity of certain levels becomes hardly definite. The Zeeman effect generally enhances/diminishes the separation levels produced by Rashba/Dresselhaus interactions (SOI) and when both types of SOI are considered, the effect depends on their relative strength. The magnetic field can trigger spin-flip for each type of spin–orbit interaction and Zeeman effect or their combination through anticrossings in the energy spectra. Our results reveal that the absorption spectra are very sensitive to the magnetic field and light polarisation. For all polarisations considered, the magnetic field increment leads to the redshift or blueshift of some particular peaks (an effect of this ring geometry) and a better separation of the peaks. The x-polarised light determines spectra with many small, but separated peaks while the circular polarised light leads to spectra with large peaks of high amplitude.     

Spin Splitting in Different Semiconductor Quantum Wells

We theoretically investigate the spin splitting in four undoped asymmetric quantum wells in the absence of external electric field and magnetic field. The quantum well geometry dependence of spin splitting is studied with the Rashba and the Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling included. The results show that the structure of quantum well plays an important role in spin splitting. The Rashba and the Dresselhaus spin splitting in four asymmetric quantum wells are quite different. The origin of the distinction is discussed in this work.     

Spin and Majorana polarization in topological superconducting wires

We study a one-dimensional wire with strong Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling (SOC), which supports Majorana fermions when subject to a Zeeman magnetic field and in the proximity of a superconductor. Using both analytical and numerical techniques we calculate the electronic spin texture of the Majorana end states. We find that the spin polarization of these states depends on the relative magnitude of the Rashba and Dresselhaus SOC components. Moreover, we define and calculate a local "Majorana polarization" and "Majorana density" and argue that they can be used as order parameters to characterize the topological transition between the trivial system and the system exhibiting Majorana bound modes. We find that the local Majorana polarization is correlated to the transverse spin polarization, and we propose to test the presence of Majorana fermions in a 1D system by a spin-polarized density of states measurement.     

Spin texturing in quantum wires with Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit interactions and in-plane magnetic field

In this work, we investigate the effects of interplay of spin–orbit interaction and in-plane magnetic fields on the electronic structure and spin texturing of parabolically confined quantum wire. Numerical results reveal that the competing effects between Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit interactions and the external magnetic field lead to a complicated energy spectrum. We find that the spin texturing owing to the coupling between subbands can be modified by the strength of spin–orbit couplings as well as the magnitude and the orientation angle of the external magnetic field.     

Current-induced spin accumulation in lateral superlattices with Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit interaction

The current-induced spin accumulation is calculated for a 1D lateral semiconductor superlattice with spin–orbit interaction of the Rashba and Dresselhaus type. Due to its particular symmetry, the Rashba interaction alone only leads to an in-plane component of the magnetization transverse to the applied electric field. When in addition a Dresselhaus contribution is present, this symmetry is lifted, and all components of the magnetization are induced by the electric field. Based on the density-matrix approach, the induced spin polarization is determined as a function of external in-plane electric and magnetic fields.     

Tunnel barrier and noncollinear magnetization effects on shot noise in ferromagnetic/semiconductor/ferromagnetic heterojunctions

Based on the scattering approach, we investigate transport properties of electrons in a one-dimensional waveguide that contains a ferromagnetic/semiconductor/ferromagnetic heterojunction and tunnel barriers in the presence of Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interactions. We simultaneously consider significant quantum size effects, quantum coherence, Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interactions and noncollinear magnetizations. It is found that the tunnel barrier plays a decisive role in the transmission coefficient and shot noise of the ballistic spin electron transport through the heterojunction. When the small tunnel barriers are considered, the transport properties of electrons are quite different from those without tunnel barriers.     

Influence of spin–orbit interactions on the polaron properties in wurtzite semiconductor quantum well

We have study the simultaneous effect of Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit interactions on the polaron properties in wurtzite semiconductor quantum wells. The linear and cubic contributions of the bulk Dresselhaus spin–orbit coupling and the effects of phonon confinement on electron–optical-phonon interaction Hamiltonians are taken into account. We have found analytical solutions for the polaron energies as well as polaron effective mass within the range of validity of perturbation theory. It is shown that the polaron energy and effective mass correction are both significantly enhanced by the spin–orbit coupling. Wave number dependent phonon contribution on the electron energy has minima and varies differently of the spin-up and spin-down states. Polaron self-energy due to interface optical phonon modes has larger values than of the confined optical phonon modes ones. The polaron effective mass exhibits anisotropy and the contribution of the Dresselhaus spin–orbit coupling term on the polaron effective mass is dominated by Rashba one.     

Spin precession and electron spin polarization wave in [001]-grown quantum wells

We theoretically study the spatial behaviors of spin precessions modulated by an effective magnetic field in a two-dimensional electron system with spin-orbit interaction. Through analysis of interaction between the spin and the effective magnetic field, we find some laws of spin precession in the system, by which we explain some previous phenomena of spin precession, and predict a controllable electron spin polarization wave in [001]-grown quantum wells. The shape of the wave, like water wave, mostly are ellipse-like or circle-like, and the wavelength is anisotropic in the quantum wells with two unequal coupling strengths of the Rashba and Dresselhaus interactions, and is isotropic in the quantum wells with only one spin orbit interaction.     

Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction in semiconductor quantum wells

We theoretically investigate the Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction in AlAs/GaAs/Al_0.3Ga_0.7As/AlAs step-quantum wells. The ratio of Rashba and Dresselhaus spin splitting can be effectively manipulated by the well width and step width in the absence of electric field and magnetic field. When the well width of the step-quantum well is wider than 10 nm, the total spin splitting, which contains the contribution of interface as well as linear and cubic Dresselhaus terms, is always the greatest when the width of GaAs layer equals to about 2 nm. When the well width is wider than 2 nm, two different step widths can meet the SU(2) symmetry conditions, the smaller one of them results in maximum spin relaxation time. We also predict the application of the step-quantum well in spintronic devices.     

Orbital ac spin-Hall effect in the hopping regime

The Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interactions are both shown to yield the low temperature spin-Hall effect for strongly localized electrons coupled to phonons. A frequency-dependent electric field E(omega) generates a spin-polarization current, normal to E, due to interference of hopping paths. At zero temperature the corresponding spin-Hall conductivity is real and is proportional to omega2. At nonzero temperatures the coupling to the phonons yields an imaginary term proportional to omega. The interference also yields persistent spin currents at thermal equilibrium, at E=0. The contributions from the Dresselhaus and Rashba interactions to the interference oppose each other.     

Spin transport properties in a non-uniform quantum wire modulated by both Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit couplings

Spin transport properties in a non-uniform quantum wire (QW) in the presence of both the Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit couplings (SOCs) is investigated by using the non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) method combined with the Landauer Büttiker formalism. It is found that such a non-uniform quantum wire exhibits considerable spin polarization in its conductance in the influence of both the Rashba and Dresselhaus SOCs, and that the two SOCs' strengths strongly affect both the magnitude and sign of the electron spin polarization. Interestingly, the Rashba and Dresselhaus SOCs play the same modulating role in the electron spin polarization. The proposed nanostructure can potentially be utilized to devise an all-electrical spintronic device.     

Zero field spin splitting in asymmetric quantum wells

Spin splitting of asymmetric quantum wells is theoretically investigated in the absence of any electric field, including the contribution of interface-related Rashba spin-orbit interaction as well as linear and cubic Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction. The effect of interface asymmetry on three types of spin-orbit interaction is discussed. The results show that interface-related Rashba and linear Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction can be increased and cubic Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction can be decreased by well structure design. For wide quantum wells, the cubic Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction dominates under certain conditions, resulting in decreased spin relaxation time.     

Ground states of spin-orbit-coupled Bose Einstein condensates in the presence of external magnetic field

Two different kinds of spin-orbit (SO) coupling are often investigated theoretically and experimentally in atomic Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs), namely, Rashba and Dresselhaus SO couplings. We show that ground states for these two SO-coupled BECs share lots of similarities and it is impossible to distinguish them from the observation of ground states. We find that an Ioffe-Pritchard magnetic field can be utilized as a tool to distinguish them. In the presence of the Ioffe-Pritchard magnetic field, ground states manifest distinctively for the Rashba and Dresselhaus SO-coupled BECs.     

Spin relaxation and decoherence of holes in quantum dots

We investigate heavy-hole spin relaxation and decoherence in quantum dots in perpendicular magnetic fields. We show that at low temperatures the spin decoherence time is 2 times longer than the spin relaxation time. We find that the spin relaxation time for heavy holes can be comparable to or even longer than that for electrons in strongly two-dimensional quantum dots. We discuss the difference in the magnetic-field dependence of the spin relaxation rate due to Rashba or Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling for systems with positive (i.e., GaAs quantum dots) or negative (i.e., InAs quantum dots) g factor.     

A tunable spatial spin splitter based on a spin–orbit-coupling modulated magnetic nanostructure

We investigate theoretically the spin-dependent Goos–Hänchen (GH) effect in a magnetic nanostructure modulated by spin–orbit coupling (SOC), which can be experimentally realized by depositing a ferromagnetic (FM) stripe and a Schottky-metal (SM) stripe on the top and bottom of an InAs/Al_xIn_1?xAs heterostructure, respectively. We consider two kinds of different SOCs (Rashba and Dresselhaus types), and calculate the GH shift and its spin polarization for the electrons across the device. Results show that the GH shift still is spin-polarized after including the SOC, and the behavior of the spin-polarized electrons can be manipulated by the Rashba and/or Dresselhaus SOC. These interesting properties provide an alternative scheme for spatially realizing spin injection into a semiconductor, and the magnetic nanostructure can be employed as a controllable spatial spin splitter for a spin-polarized source in spintronics.     

Characteristics of persistent spin current components in a quasi-periodic Fibonacci ring with spin–orbit interactions: Prediction of spin–orbit coupling and on-site energy

In the present work we investigate the behavior of all three components of persistent spin current in a quasi-periodic Fibonacci ring subjected to Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit interactions. Analogous to persistent charge current in a conducting ring where electrons gain a Berry phase in presence of magnetic flux, spin Berry phase is associated during the motion of electrons in presence of a spin–orbit field which is responsible for the generation of spin current. The interplay between two spin–orbit fields along with quasi-periodic Fibonacci sequence on persistent spin current is described elaborately, and from our analysis, we can estimate the strength of any one of two spin–orbit couplings together with on-site energy, provided the other is known.     

Lateral shift in a spin-orbit-coupling modulated magnetic-barrier nanostructure

Spin-dependent Goos–Hänchen（GH）effect of the electron in a magnetic barrier nanostructure modulated by the spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is investigated. Two kinds of intrinsic SOCs (Rashba and Dresselhaus types) are taken into account, and spin-dependent lateral shifts are obtained by the transfer matrix method and the stationary phase approximation. The spin-dependent lateral shift is found to be related closely to the SOC. Both magnitude and sign of the spin-polarised lateral shift can be controlled by properly adjusting the strength of Rashba or Dresselhaus SOC. These interesting features can provide an alternative approach to manipulate spin-polarised electrons in the semiconductor, and such a nanostructure can serve as a controllable spatial spin splitter for spintronics applications.     

Intrinsic Hall effect and separation of Rashba and Dresselhaus spin splittings in semiconductor quantum wells

We have proposed a method to separate Rashba and Dresselhaus spin splittings in semiconductor quantum wells by using the intrinsic Hall effect. It is shown that the interference between Rashba and Dresselhaus terms can deflect the electrons in opposite transverse directions with a change of sign in the macroscopic Hall current, thus providing an alternative way to determine the different contributions to the spin--orbit coupling.