Intersubband spin–orbit coupling and spin splitting in symmetric quantum wells

Abstract

In semiconductors with inversion asymmetry, spin–orbit coupling gives rise to the well-known Dresselhaus and Rashba effects. If one considers quantum wells with two or more conduction subbands, an additional, intersubband-induced spin–orbit term appears whose strength is comparable to the Rashba coupling, and which remains finite for symmetric structures. We show that the conduction band spin splitting due to this intersubband spin–orbit coupling term is negligible for typical III–V quantum wells.