Article abstract
Nature Physics 3, 650 - 654 (2007)
Published online: 15 July 2007 | doi:10.1038/nphys675
Subject Categories: Condensed-matter physics | Electronics, photonics and device physics | Techniques and instrumentation
Measurement of Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit magnetic fields
Lorenz Meier1,2, Gian Salis1, Ivan Shorubalko2, Emilio Gini3, Silke Schön3 & Klaus Ensslin2
Abstract
Spin–orbit coupling is a manifestation of special relativity. In the reference frame of a moving electron, electric fields transform into magnetic fields, which interact with the electron spin and lift the degeneracy of spin-up and spin-down states. In solid-state systems, the resulting spin–orbit fields are referred to as Dresselhaus and Rashba fields, depending on whether the electric fields originate from bulk or structure inversion asymmetry, respectively. Yet, it remains a challenge to determine the absolute value of both contributions in a single sample. Here, we show that both fields can be measured by optically monitoring the angular dependence of the electrons' spin precession on their direction of motion with respect to the crystal lattice. Furthermore, we demonstrate spin resonance induced by the spin–orbit fields. We apply our method to GaAs/InGaAs quantum-well electrons, but it should be universally useful to characterize spin–orbit interactions in semiconductors, and therefore could facilitate the design of spintronic devices.
- IBM Research, Zurich Research Laboratory, Säumerstrasse 4, 8803 Rüschlikon, Switzerland
- Solid State Physics Laboratory, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
- FIRST Center for Micro- and Nanosciences, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
Correspondence to: Lorenz Meier1,2 e-mail: meier.lorenz@phys.ethz.ch
Correspondence to: Gian Salis1 e-mail: gsa@zurich.ibm.com
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