Interface Inversion Asymmetry Research Articles

Anisotropic g-Factor and Spin-Orbit Field in a Germanium Hut Wire Double Quantum Dot.

Holes in nanowires have drawn significant attention in recent years because of the strong spin-orbit interaction, which plays an important role in constructing Majorana zero modes and manipulating spin-orbit qubits. Here, from the strongly anisotropic leakage current in the spin blockade regime for a double dot, we extract the full g-tensor and find that the spin-orbit field is in plane with an azimuthal angle of 59° to the axis of the nanowire. The direction of the spin-orbit field indicates a strong spin-orbit interaction along the nanowire, which may have originated from the interface inversion asymmetry in Ge hut wires. We also demonstrate two different spin relaxation mechanisms for the holes in the Ge hut wire double dot: spin-flip co-tunneling to the leads, and spin-orbit interaction within the double dot. These results help establish feasibility of a Ge-based quantum processor.

The engineering of Weyl nodes and Dirac-like energy dispersion for topological surface states in Hg[formula omitted]MnxTe under structure and interface inversion asymmetry

From Dirac semimetal to Weyl semimetal, a break inversion of time-inversion symmetry (TIS) or inversion symmetry (IS) is required - from this point of view, the possibility of breaking symmetry in HgMnTe alloys is examined in a zincblende structure and the results of numerical calculations are presented in this paper. Low x-Mn (x < 0.04) content in HgMnTe causes a larger strain-induced gap (than in 3D 75-nm strained HgTe) which can be found in the investigated material. As shown, structure inversion asymmetry (SIA) and interface inversion asymmetry (IIA) play a crucial role in the case of Weyl nodes, which should be observed in the investigated material. In both (3D and 2D) systems the SIA is very important as a factor that can be used to modify the obtained energy dispersion for the topological surfaces states (TSS) (in the case of 3D systems) and edge states (in 2D systems). The theoretical investigation presented in this paper based on the eight band kp model allows calculation of the energy spectrum along the entirety of the investigated structures. An external magnetic field is also taken into account. This is the first time that such analysis based on the 8 × 8 kp method has been used to interpenetrate both the surface states and the bulk states for 3D and 2D HgMnTe material under a magnetic field. The obtained results show the entire scope of the energy spectrum and clearly demonstrate that both of the investigated systems are very interesting from application points of view e.g. for terahertz detectors in a magnetic field below 2 T.

Anisotropy of the in-plane g -factor of electrons in HgTe quantum wells

The results of experimental studies of the Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) efect in the (013)-HgTe/Hg$_{1-x}$Cd$_x$Te quantum wells (QWs) of electron type of conductivity both with normal and inverted energy spectrum are reported. Comprehensive analysis of the SdH oscillations measured for the different orientations of magnetic field relative to the quantum well plane and crystallographic exes allows us to investigate the anisotropy of the Zeeman effect. For the QWs with inverted spectrum, it has been shown that the ratio of the spin splitting to the orbital one is strongly dependent not only on the orientation of the magnetic field relative to the QW plane but also on the orientation of the in-plane magnetic field component relative to crystallographic axes laying in the QW plane that implies the strong anisotropy of in-plane g-factor. In the QW with normal spectrum, this ratio strongly depends on the angle between the magnetic field and the normal to the QW plane and reveals a very slight anisotropy in the QW plane. To interpret the data, the Landau levels in the tilted magnetic field are calculated within the framework of four-band \emph{kP} model. It is shown that the experimental results can be quantitatively described only with taking into account the interface inversion asymmetry.

Spin-orbit splitting of the conduction band in HgTe quantum wells: Role of different mechanisms

Spin-orbit splitting of conduction band in HgTe quantum wells was studied experimentally. In order to recognize the role of different mechanisms, we carried out detailed measurements of the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in gated structures with a quantum well widths from 8 to 18 nm over a wide range of electron density. With increasing electron density controlled by the gate voltage, splitting of the maximum of the oscillation Fourier spectrum f0 into two components f1 and f2 and the appearance of the low-frequency component f3 was observed. Our analysis shows that the components f1 and f2 are determined by the electron densities n1 and n2 in spin-orbit split subbands while the f3 component results from magneto-intersubband oscillations so that it is determined by the difference between these densities Δn. This allows us to obtain all three values n1, n2 and Δn independently. Comparison of the data obtained with results of self-consistent calculations carried out within the framework of four-band kP model shows that the main contribution to spin-orbit splitting comes from the Bychkov-Rashba effect. Contribution of the interface inversion asymmetry to the splitting of the conduction band turns out to be four-to-five times less than that for the valence band in the same structures.

Zeeman Splitting of Electron Spectrum in HgTe Quantum Wells Near the Dirac Point

The Zeeman splitting of the conduction band in the HgTe quantum wells both with normal and inverted spectrum has been studied experimentally in a wide electron density range. The simultaneous analysis of the Shubnikov–de Haas oscillations in low magnetic fields at different tilt angles and of the shape of the oscillations in moderate magnetic fields gives a possibility to find the ratio of the Zeeman splitting to the orbital one and anisotropy of g-factor. It is shown that the ratios of the Zeeman splitting to the orbital one are close to each other for both types of structures, with a normal and inverted spectrum and they are close enough to the values calculated within kP method. In contrast, the values of g-factor anisotropy in the structures with normal and inverted spectra are strongly different and for both cases differ significantly from the calculated ones. We assume that such disagreement with calculations is a result of the interface inversion asymmetry in the HgTe quantum well, which is not taken into account in the kP calculations.

Zeeman splitting of electron spectrum in HgTe quantum wells near the Dirac point

AbstractThe Zeeman splitting of the conduction band in the HgTe quantum wells both with normal and inverted spectrum has been studied experimentally in a wide electron density range. The simultaneous analysis of the Shubnikov–de Haas oscillations in low magnetic fields at different tilt angles and of the shape of the oscillations in moderate magnetic fields gives a possibility to find the ratio of the Zeeman splitting to the orbital one and anisotropy of g -factor. It is shown that the ratios of the Zeeman splitting to the orbital one are close to each other for both types of structures, with a normal and inverted spectrum and they are close enough to the values calculated within kP method. In contrast, the values of g -factor anisotropy in the structures with normal and inverted spectra are strongly different and for both cases differ significantly from the calculated ones. We assume that such disagreement with calculations is a result of the interface inversion asymmetry in the HgTe quantum well, which is not taken into account in the kP calculations.

Zeeman splitting of conduction band in HgTe quantum wells near the Dirac point

The Zeeman splitting of the conduction band in the HgTe quantum wells both with normal and inverted spectrum has been studied experimentally in a wide electron density range. The simultaneous analysis of the Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations in low magnetic fields at different tilt angles and of the shape of the oscillations in moderate magnetic fields gives a possibility to find the ratio of the Zeeman splitting to the orbital one and anisotropy of g-factor. It is shown that the ratios of the Zeeman splitting to the orbital one are close to each other for both types of structures, with a normal and inverted spectrum and they are close enough to the values calculated within kP method. In contrast, the values of g-factor anisotropy in the structures with normal and inverted spectra are strongly different and for both cases differ significantly from the calculated ones. We assume that such disagreement with calculations is a result of the interface inversion asymmetry in the HgTe quantum well, which is not taken into account in the kP calculations.

Double valley Dirac fermions for 3D and 2D Hg1−xCdxTe with strong asymmetry

In this paper the possibility to bring about the double-valley Dirac fermions in some quantum structures is predicted. These quantum structures are: strained 3D Hg1−xCdxTe topological insulator (TI) with strong interface inversion asymmetry and the asymmetric Hg1−xCdxTe double quantum wells (DQW). The numerical analysis of the dispersion relation for 3D TI Hg1−xCdxTe for the proper Cd (x)-content of the Hg1−xCdxTe compound clearly shows that the inversion symmetry breaking together with the unaxial tensile strain causes the splitting of each of the Dirac nodes (two belonging to two interfaces) into two in the proximity of the Γ-point. Similar effects can be obtained for asymmetric Hg1−xCdxTe DQW with the proper content of Cd and proper width of the quantum wells. The aim of this work is to explore the inversion symmetry breaking in 3D TI and 2D DQW mixed HgCdTe systems. It is shown that this symmetry breaking leads to the dependence of carriers energy on quasi-momentum similar to that of Weyl fermions.

Tuning of Rashba/Dresselhaus Spin Splittings by Inserting Ultra-Thin InAs Layers at Interfaces in Insulating GaAs/AlGaAs Quantum Wells.

The ratio of Rashba and Dresselhaus spin splittings of the (001)-grown GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells (QWs), investigated by the spin photocurrent spectra induced by circular photogalvanic effect (CPGE) at inter-band excitation, has been effectively tuned by changing the well width of QWs and by inserting a one-monolayer-thick InAs layer at interfaces of GaAs/AlGaAs QWs. Reflectance difference spectroscopy (RDS) is also employed to study the interface asymmetry of the QWs, whose results are in good agreement with that obtained by CPGE measurements. It is demonstrated that the inserted ultra-thin InAs layers will not only introduce structure inversion asymmetry (SIA), but also result in additional interface inversion asymmetry (IIA), whose effect is much stronger in QWs with smaller well width. It is also found that the inserted InAs layer brings in larger SIA than IIA. The origins of the additional SIA and IIA introduced by the inserted ultra-thin InAs layer have been discussed.

Quantum computing with acceptor spins in silicon

The states of a boron acceptor near a Si/SiO2 interface, which bind two low-energy Kramers pairs, have exceptional properties for encoding quantum information and, with the aid of strain, both heavy hole and light hole-based spin qubits can be designed. Whereas a light-hole spin qubit was introduced recently (arXiv:1508.04259), here we present analytical and numerical results proving that a heavy-hole spin qubit can be reliably initialised, rotated and entangled by electrical means alone. This is due to strong Rashba-like spin–orbit interaction terms enabled by the interface inversion asymmetry. Single qubit rotations rely on electric-dipole spin resonance (EDSR), which is strongly enhanced by interface-induced spin–orbit terms. Entanglement can be accomplished by Coulomb exchange, coupling to a resonator, or spin–orbit induced dipole–dipole interactions. By analysing the qubit sensitivity to charge noise, we demonstrate that interface-induced spin–orbit terms are responsible for sweet spots in the dephasing time as a function of the top gate electric field, which are close to maxima in the EDSR strength, where the EDSR gate has high fidelity. We show that both qubits can be described using the same starting Hamiltonian, and by comparing their properties we show that the complex interplay of bulk and interface-induced spin–orbit terms allows a high degree of electrical control and makes acceptors potential candidates for scalable quantum computation in Si.

Magnetic field effects on edge and bulk states in topological insulators based on HgTe/CdHgTe quantum wells with strong natural interface inversion asymmetry

We present a theory of the electron structure and the Zeeman effect for the helical edge states emerging in two-dimensional topological insulators based on HgTe/HgCdTe quantum wells with strong natural interface inversion asymmetry. The interface inversion asymmetry, reflecting the real atomistic structure of the quantum well, drastically modifies both bulk and edge states. For the in-plane magnetic field, this asymmetry leads to a strong anisotropy of the edge-state effective $g$-factor which becomes dependent on the edge orientation. The interface inversion asymmetry also couples the counter propagating edge states in the out-of-plane magnetic field leading to the opening of the gap in the edge-state spectrum by arbitrary small fields.

Split Dirac cones in HgTe/CdTe quantum wells due to symmetry-enforced level anticrossing at interfaces

We describe the fine structure of Dirac states in HgTe/CdHgTe quantum wells of critical and close-to-critical thickness and demonstrate the formation of an anticrossing gap between the tips of the Dirac cones driven by interface inversion asymmetry. By combining symmetry analysis, atomistic calculations, and k-p theory with interface terms, we obtain a quantitative description of the energy spectrum and extract the interface mixing coefficient. The zero-magnetic-field splitting of Dirac cones can be experimentally revealed in studying magnetotransport phenomena, cyclotron resonance, Raman scattering, or THz radiation absorption.

Spin Dynamics in (111) GaAs/AlGaAs Undoped Asymmetric Quantum Wells

The electron spin dynamics is investigated by the time-resolved Kerr rotation technique in a pair of special GaAs/AlGaAs asymmetric quantum well samples grown on (111)-oriented substrates, whose structures are the same except for their opposite directions of potential asymmetry. A large difference of spin lifetimes between the two samples is observed at low temperature. This difference is interpreted in terms of a cancellation effect between the Dresselhaus spin-splitting term in the conduction band and another term induced by interface inversion asymmetry. The deviation decreases with the increasing temperature, and almost disappears when T > 100 K because the cubic Dresselhaus term becomes more important.

Spin-splitting-induced photogalvanic effect in quantum wells

A theory of the circular photogalvanic effect caused by spin splitting in quantum wells is developed. Direct interband transitions between the hole and electron size-quantized subbands are considered. It is shown that the photocurrent value and direction depend strongly on the form of the spin-orbit interaction. The currents induced by structure-, bulk-, and interface-inversion asymmetry are investigated. The photocurrent excitation spectra caused by spin splittings in both conduction and valence bands are calculated.