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Emergence of the persistent spin helix in semiconductor quantum wells

Author

Listed:
  • J. D. Koralek

    (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA)

  • C. P. Weber

    (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
    Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California 95053, USA)

  • J. Orenstein

    (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
    University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA)

  • B. A. Bernevig

    (Princeton Center for Theoretical Science, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, USA)

  • Shou-Cheng Zhang

    (Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA)

  • S. Mack

    (Center for Spintronics and Quantum Computation, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA)

  • D. D. Awschalom

    (Center for Spintronics and Quantum Computation, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA)

Abstract

A persistent spin helix Just as a body moving in a vacuum tends to stay in motion, the axis of a spinning electron tends to remain fixed in direction. Both phenomena are conservation laws that ultimately derive from the uniformity of empty space. By contrast, an electron moving in a semiconductor sees a lattice of charged atoms flying past at nearly 1% of light speed, causing its spin direction to fluctuate wildly. Now Koralek et al. demonstrate that the application of an external electric field to a semiconductor can precisely balance the spin-destabilizing effect of the charged lattice. The collective spin of the entire gas of electrons, rather than that of each individual particle, then emerges as a new conserved quantity — a property well suited for 'spintronics' applications.

Suggested Citation

  • J. D. Koralek & C. P. Weber & J. Orenstein & B. A. Bernevig & Shou-Cheng Zhang & S. Mack & D. D. Awschalom, 2009. "Emergence of the persistent spin helix in semiconductor quantum wells," Nature, Nature, vol. 458(7238), pages 610-613, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:458:y:2009:i:7238:d:10.1038_nature07871
    DOI: 10.1038/nature07871
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    Cited by:

    1. Junqing Xu & Kejun Li & Uyen N. Huynh & Mayada Fadel & Jinsong Huang & Ravishankar Sundararaman & Valy Vardeny & Yuan Ping, 2024. "How spin relaxes and dephases in bulk halide perovskites," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Paul L. J. Helgers & James A. H. Stotz & Haruki Sanada & Yoji Kunihashi & Klaus Biermann & Paulo V. Santos, 2022. "Flying electron spin control gates," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.

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