Abstract
The structural inversion asymmetry-induced spin–orbit interaction of conduction band electrons in zinc-blende and wurtzite semiconductor structures is analysed allowing for a three-dimensional (3D) character of the external electric field and variation of the chemical composition. The interaction, taking into account all remote bands perturbatively, is presented with two contributions: a heterointerface term and a term caused by the external electric field. They have generally comparable strength and can be written in a unified manner only for 2D systems, where they can partially cancel each other. For quantum wires and dots composed of wurtzite semiconductors, new terms appear, absent in zinc-blende structures, which acquire the standard Rashba form in 2D systems.
Highlights
Systems with lowered space symmetry are generally characterized by spin-split energy states
In the physics of semiconductor nanostructures, we conventionally identify two reasons for the effect: lack of inversion symmetry of the unit cells of the constituent materials [2, 3, 4, 5] and the presence of the structural inversion asymmetry (SIA) on macroscopic scale, much larger than the unit cell [6, 7]
In the k · p method, we derived SIA spin-orbit interaction terms for conduction band states near the Brillouin zone centre in zinc-blende and wurtzite semiconductor heterostructures taking into account all remote bands
Summary
Systems with lowered space symmetry are generally characterized by spin-split energy states. In the physics of semiconductor nanostructures, we conventionally identify two reasons for the effect: lack of inversion symmetry of the unit cells of the constituent materials [2, 3, 4, 5] and the presence of the structural inversion asymmetry (SIA) on macroscopic scale, much larger than the unit cell [6, 7] Major results in this field have been obtained by using only symmetry arguments, with the method of invariants [8], which has become the most efficient instrument to studying electron states in semiconductors [9].
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