Electron-beam formation from spin-orbit interactions in zinc-blende semiconductor quantum wells

David H. Berman; Michael E. Flatté

doi:10.1117/12.893825

15 September 2011 Electron beam formation from spin-orbit interactions in zinc-blende semiconductor quantum wells

David H. Berman, Michael E. Flatté

Proceedings Volume 8100, Spintronics IV; 810014 (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.893825
Event: SPIE NanoScience + Engineering, 2011, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

We find a dramatic enhancement of electron propagation along a narrow range of real-space angles from an isotropic source in a two-dimensional quantum well made from a zincblende semiconductor. This "electron beam" formation is caused by the interplay between spin-orbit interaction originating from a perpendicular electric field to the quantum well and the intrinsic spin-orbit field of the zincblende crystal lattice in a quantum well, in situations where the two fields are different in strength but of the same order of magnitude. Beam formation is associated with caustics and can be described semi-classically using a stationary phase analysis.

Citation Download Citation

David H. Berman and Michael E. Flatté "Electron beam formation from spin-orbit interactions in zinc-blende semiconductor quantum wells", Proc. SPIE 8100, Spintronics IV, 810014 (15 September 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.893825

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