Strong Spin-orbit Interaction Research Articles

Phase-Driving Hole Spin Qubits.

The spin-orbit interaction in spin qubits enables spin-flip transitions, resulting in Rabi oscillations when an external microwave field is resonant with the qubit frequency. Here, we introduce an alternative driving mechanism mediated by the strong spin-orbit interactions in hole spin qubits, where a far-detuned oscillating field couples to the qubit phase. Phase-driving at radio frequencies, orders of magnitude slower than the microwave qubit frequency, induces highly nontrivial spin dynamics, violating the Rabi resonance condition. By using a qubit integrated in a silicon fin field-effect transistor, we demonstrate a controllable suppression of resonant Rabi oscillations and their revivals at tunable sidebands. These sidebands enable alternative qubit control schemes using global fields and local far-detuned pulses, facilitating the design of dense large-scale qubit architectures with local qubit addressability. Phase-driving also decouples Rabi oscillations from noise, an effect due to a gapped Floquet spectrum and can enable Floquet engineering high-fidelity gates in future quantum processors.

Spin-filtered measurements of Andreev bound states in semiconductor-superconductor nanowire devices

Semiconductor nanowires coupled to superconductors can host Andreev bound states with distinct spin and parity, including a spin-zero state with an even number of electrons and a spin-1/2 state with odd-parity. Considering the difference in spin of the even and odd states, spin-filtered measurements can reveal the underlying ground state. To directly measure the spin of single-electron excitations, we probe an Andreev bound state using a spin-polarized quantum dot that acts as a bipolar spin filter, in combination with a non-polarized tunnel junction in a three-terminal circuit. We observe a spin-polarized excitation spectrum of the Andreev bound state, which can be fully spin-polarized, despite strong spin-orbit interaction in the InSb nanowires. Decoupling the hybrid from the normal lead causes a current blockade, by trapping the Andreev bound state in an excited state. Spin-polarized spectroscopy of hybrid nanowire devices, as demonstrated here, is proposed as an experimental tool to support the observation of topological superconductivity.

Zeeman splitting in doped antiferromagnetic semiconductors

Zeeman splitting of conduction electrons in doped antiferromagnetic materials in the presence of a strong spin–orbit interaction is considered. Using symmetry arguments the Hamiltonian and the spectrum of conduction electrons near some time-reversal invariant momenta were constructed. It was shown, that in the vicinity of some time-reversal invariant momenta the external magnetic field perpendicular to the Neel axis does not lead to the Zeeman splitting. The Kramers degeneracy is preserved in that case. The absence of the Zeeman splitting in antiferromagnets leads to the absence of spin zeros in quantum oscillation experiments. Recent experimental confirmation of the predicted effects in organic antiferromagnet and High-Tc Superconductors is discussed.

Spin magnetoresistance of thin film structures of manganite and material with strong spin-orbit interaction.

The results of the experimental determination of the spin Hall angle in a two-layer metal/ferromagnet structure Pt/La_0.7 Sr_0.3 MnO_3, obtained from the angular dependences of the longitudinal and transverse spin magnetoresistance in the planar Hall effect configuration are presented. The spin Hall angle determined from the longitudinal magnetoresistance was θ_Hx ≈ 0.016, and from transverse θ_Hy ≈ 0.018, while for SrIrO_3/La_0.7 Sr_0.3 MnO_3 heterostructures the ratio of the transverse to longitudinal spin Hall angle turned out to be significantly higher, θ_Hy/θ_Hx ≈ 9, which is most likely caused by the formation of a layer with high conductivity at the SrIrO_3 boundary /La_0.7 Sr_0.3 MnO_3.

Oscillator Strengths and Cross Sections of the Valence-Shell Excitations of HBr Studied by Fast Electron Impact.

The oscillator strengths and cross sections of the valence-shell excitations of HBr were determined by fast electron scattering with an incident electron energy of 1500 eV and an energy resolution of 80 meV. The momentum transfer dependence behaviors of the generalized oscillator strengths have been used to elucidate the transition characteristics. The present results show that the strong spin-orbital interaction results in the observation of some triplet states in the (Λ, S) coupling and the constant generalized oscillator strength ratios for the pair states with the same electronic configuration and quantum number Ω, and the quantitative spin-orbit coupling coefficients of b3Π1(v = 0) and C1Π(v = 0) are determined. The optical oscillator strengths of the valence-shell excitations were obtained by extrapolating the generalized oscillator strengths to the limit of zero squared momentum transfer. The present optical oscillator strengths give an independent cross-check of the previous experimental and theoretical results, and the comparison shows that the line-saturation effect is more severe for the high Rydberg states with large intensities and narrow natural widths. The integral cross sections of the valence-shell excitations of HBr were obtained from the excitation threshold to 5000 eV by the BE-scaling method. The present oscillator strengths and cross sections supplement the fundamental molecular database of HBr and can be used for modeling in the semiconductor industry, astrophysics, and atmospheric chemistry.

Evidence of pseudogravitational distortions of the Fermi surface geometry in the antiferromagnetic metal FeRh

The confluence between high-energy physics and condensed matter has produced groundbreaking results via unexpected connections between the two traditionally disparate areas. In this work, we elucidate additional connectivity between high-energy and condensed matter physics by examining the interplay between spin-orbit interactions and local symmetry-breaking magnetic order in the magnetotransport of thin-film magnetic semimetal FeRh. We show that the change in sign of the normalized longitudinal magnetoresistance observed as a function of increasing in-plane magnetic field results from changes in the Fermi surface morphology. We demonstrate that the geometric distortions in the Fermi surface morphology are more clearly understood via the presence of pseudogravitational fields in the low-energy theory. The pseudogravitational connection provides additional insights into the origins of a ubiquitous phenomenon observed in many common magnetic materials and points to an alternative methodology for understanding phenomena in locally-ordered materials with strong spin-orbit interactions.

Hole-Spin Driving by Strain-Induced Spin-Orbit Interactions.

Hole spins in semiconductor quantum dots can be efficiently manipulated with radio-frequency electric fields owing to the strong spin-orbit interactions in the valence bands. Here we show that the motion of the dot in inhomogeneous strain fields gives rise to linear Rashba spin-orbit interactions (with spatially dependent spin-orbit lengths) and g-factor modulations that allow for fast Rabi oscillations. Such inhomogeneous strains build up spontaneously in the devices due to process and cool down stress. We discuss spin qubits in Ge/GeSi heterostructures as an illustration. We highlight that Rabi frequencies can be enhanced by 1 order of magnitude by shear strain gradients as small as 3×10^{-6} nm^{-1} within the dots. This underlines that spins in solids can be very sensitive to strains and opens the way for strain engineering in hole spin devices for quantum information and spintronics.

Spectroscopic study of cooperative states of Nd3+ pair centers in fluorite-type crystals: A competition of dipole-dipole and quadrupole-quadrupole energy exchange

Pair centers of Nd3+ ions in the CdF2, CaF2, and SrF2 doped crystals at T=6.5K were studied under tunable narrow-linewidth laser excitation. It has been established that the exchange of electronic excitation leads to the splitting of the one-exciton cooperative 4G5/2(1) x 4I9/2(1) state by 2–3 cm−1 with a non-monotonic dependence on the distance between the ions in the pairs in these crystals. This dependence is explained by the competition of forced dipole-dipole and quadrupole-quadrupole interactions with spin flip. The high rate of such exchange mechanisms is due to strong spin–orbit interaction and small energy difference between the 4f levels of Nd3+ ions. It is shown that the pair centers in all one-exciton cooperative states, in contrast to the ground and two-exciton excited states, have nonzero static dipole moments. This makes it possible to use the latter states as ultrafast qubits, and one-exciton states as control qubit to implement a CNOT quantum gate.

Electric Control of Helicity-Dependent Photocurrent and Surface Polarity Detection on Two-Dimensional Bi2O2Se Nanosheets.

Bismuth oxyselenide (Bi2O2Se) is a two-dimensional (2D) layered semiconductor material with high electron Hall mobility and excellent environmental stability as well as strong spin-orbit interaction (SOI), which has attracted intense attention for application in spintronic and spin optoelectronic devices. However, a comprehensive study of spin photocurrent and its microscopic origin in Bi2O2Se is still missing. Here, the helicity-dependent photocurrent (HDPC) was investigated in Bi2O2Se nanosheets. By analyzing the dependence of HDPC on the angle of incidence, we find that the HDPC originates from surface states with Cs symmetry in Bi2O2Se, which can be attributed to the circular photogalvanic effect (CPGE) and circular photon drag effect (CPDE). It is revealed that the HDPC current almost changes linearly with the source-drain voltage. Furthermore, we demonstrate effective tuning of HDPC in Bi2O2Se by ionic liquid gating, indicating that the spin splitting of the surface electronic structure is effectively tuned. By analyzing the gate voltage dependence of HDPC, we can unambiguously identify the surface polarity and the surface electronic structure of Bi2O2Se. The large HDPC in Bi2O2Se nanosheets and its efficient electrical tuning demonstrate that 2D Bi2O2Se nanosheets may provide a good platform for opto-spintronics devices.

Large Anomalous Nernst Effects at Room Temperature in Fe3 Pt Thin Films.

Heat current in ferromagnets can generate a transverse electric voltage perpendicular to magnetization, known as anomalous Nernst effect (ANE). ANE originates intrinsically from the combination of large Berry curvature and density of states near the Fermi energy. It shows technical advantages over the conventional longitudinal Seebeck effect in converting waste heat to electricity due to its unique transverse geometry. However, materials showing giant ANE remain to be explored. Herein,a large ANE thermopower of Syx ≈ 2 µV K-1 at room temperature in ferromagnetic Fe3 Pt epitaxial films is reported, which also show a giant transverse thermoelectric conductivity of αyx ≈ 4 A K-1 m-1 and a remarkable coercive field of 1300Oe. The theoretical analysis reveals that the strong spin-orbit interaction in addition to the hybridization between Pt 5d and Fe 3d electrons leads to a series of distinct energy gaps and large Berry curvature in the Brillouin zone, which is the key for the large ANE. These results highlight the important roles of both Berry curvature and spin-orbit coupling in achieving large ANE at zero magnetic field, providing pathways to explore materials with giant transverse thermoelectric effect without an external magnetic field.

Valley polarization in transition metal dichalcogenide layered semiconductors: Generation, relaxation, manipulation and transport

In recent years, valleytronics researches based on 2D semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides have attracted considerable attention. On the one hand, strong spin–orbit interaction allows the presence of spin–valley coupling in this system, which provides spin addressable valley degrees of freedom for information storage and processing. On the other hand, large exciton binding energy up to hundreds of meV enables excitons to be stable carriers of valley information. Valley polarization, marked by an imbalanced exciton population in two inequivalent valleys (+K and −K), is the core of valleytronics as it can be utilized to store binary information. Motivated by the potential applications, we present a thorough overview of the recent advancements in the generation, relaxation, manipulation, and transport of the valley polarization in nonmagnetic transition metal dichalcogenide layered semiconductors. We also discuss the development of valleytronic devices and future challenges in this field.

Electric Field Control of Spin-Orbit Torque Magnetization Switching in a Spin-Orbit Ferromagnet Single Layer.

To achieve a desirable magnitude of spin-orbit torque (SOT) for magnetization switching and realize multifunctional spin logic and memory devices utilizing SOT, controlling the SOT manipulation is vitally important. In conventional SOT bilayer systems, researchers have tried to control the magnetization switching behavior via interfacial oxidization, modulation of spin-orbit effective field, and effective spin Hall angle; however, the switching efficiency is limited by the interface quality. A current-induced effective magnetic field in a single layer of a ferromagnet with strong spin-orbit interactions, the so-called spin-orbit ferromagnet, can be utilized to induce SOT. In spin-orbit ferromagnet systems, electric field application has the potential for manipulating the spin-orbit interactions via carrier concentration modulation. In this work, it is demonstrated that SOT magnetization switching can be successfully controlled via an external electric field using a (Ga, Mn)As single layer. By applying a gate voltage, the switching current density can be solidly and reversibly manipulated with a large ratio of 14.5%, which is ascribed to the successful modulation of the interfacial electric field. The findings of this work help further the understanding of the magnetization switching mechanism and advance the development of gate-controlled SOT devices.

Surface anisotropic magnetoresistance in the antiferromagnetic semiconductor CrSb2

We report on large anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) in surface states of an antiferromagnetic semiconductor $\mathrm{Cr}{\mathrm{Sb}}_{2}$. The low-temperature measurement of angle-dependent magnetoresistance (ADMR) is performed in high magnetic fields up to 24 T. At 1.4 K, where the surface conduction is dominant, ADMR exhibits clear twofold symmetry consistent with AMR due to magnetic-field-induced change of antiparallel magnetic structure. The AMR magnitude reaches 9.3% despite the small angle dependence of the net magnetic moments, suggesting strong spin-orbit interaction in the surface conduction layer.

Reversible metal-insulator transition in SrIrO3 ultrathin layers by field effect control of inversion symmetry breaking

SrIrO3 is a correlated semimetal with narrow t2g d-bands of strong mixed orbital character resulting from the interplay of the spin-orbit interaction due to heavy iridium atoms and the band folding induced by the lattice structure. In ultrathin layers, inversion symmetry breaking, occurring naturally due to the presence of the substrate, opens new orbital hopping channels, which in presence of spin-orbit interaction causes deep modifications in the electronic structure. Here, we show that in SrIrO3 ultrathin films the effect of inversion symmetry breaking on the band structure can be externally manipulated in a field effect experiment. We further prove that the electric field toggles the system reversibly between a metallic and an insulating state with canted antiferromagnetism and an emergent anomalous Hall effect. This is achieved through the spin-orbit driven coupling of the electric field generated in an ionic liquid gate to the electronic structure, where the electric field controls the band structure rather than the usual band filling, thereby enabling electrical control of the effective role of electron correlations. The externally tunable antiferromagnetic insulator, rooted in the strong spin-orbit interaction of iridium, may inspire interesting applications in spintronics.

Spin Susceptibility of a J = 3/2 Superconductor

We discuss the spin susceptibility of superconductors in which a Cooper pair consists of two electrons having the angular momentum J=3/2 due to strong spin-orbit interactions. The susceptibility is calculated analytically for pseudospin quintet states in a cubic superconductor within the linear response to a Zeeman field. The susceptibility for $A_{1g}$ symmetry states is isotropic in real space. For $E_g$ and $T_{2g}$ symmetry cases, the results depend sensitively on choices of order parameter. The susceptibility is isotropic for a $T_{2g}$ symmetry state, whereas it becomes anisotropic for an $E_{g} $ symmetry state. We also find in a $T_{2g}$ state that the susceptibility tensor has off-diagonal elements.

Ultrafast and Electrically Tunable Rabi Frequency in a Germanium Hut Wire Hole Spin Qubit

Hole spin qubits based on germanium (Ge) have strong tunable spin-orbit interaction (SOI) and ultrafast qubit operation speed. Here we report that the Rabi frequency (fRabi) of a hole spin qubit in a Ge hut wire (HW) double quantum dot (DQD) is electrically tuned through the detuning energy (ϵ) and middle gate voltage (VM). fRabi gradually decreases with increasing ϵ; on the contrary, fRabi is positively correlated with VM. We attribute our results to the change of electric field on SOI and the contribution of the excited state in quantum dots to fRabi. We further demonstrate an ultrafast fRabi exceeding 1.2 GHz, which indicates the strong SOI in our device. The discovery of an ultrafast and electrically tunable fRabi in a hole spin qubit has potential applications in semiconductor quantum computing.

Spin mixing conductance and spin magnetoresistance of the iridate/manganite interface

We present results on experimental studies of spin current, measured under spin pumping at ferromag-netic resonance in wide frequency band 2-20 GHz for SrIrO3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 heterostructures fabricated by RF magnetron sputtering at high temperature. The epitaxial growth of the thin film in heterostructure by a cube-on-cube mechanism was confirmed by XRD and TEM analysis. Taking into account the con-tribution of anisotropic magnetoresistance the spin current was estimated as 1/3 of the total response. We show that both real and imaginary parts of spin mixing conductance are valuable for heterostructures with strong spin-orbit interaction in SrIrO3. Imaginary part of spin mixing conductance was estimated by means of shift of ferromagnetic resonance field of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 layer in heterostructure. The spin mag-netoresistance was evaluated from angular dependencies of magnetoresistance measured in planar Hall configuration. In order to extract the influence of anisotropic magnetoresistance a La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 film was measured as well. The spin Hall angle for heterostructure was found higher than for interface Pt/ La0.7Sr0.3MnO3.

Gate-Based Spin Readout of Hole Quantum Dots with Site-Dependent g -Factors

The rapid progress of hole spin qubits in group IV semiconductors has been driven by their potential for scalability. This is owed to the compatibility with industrial manufacturing standards, as well as the ease of operation and addressability via all-electric drives. However, owing to a strong spin-orbit interaction, these systems present variability and anisotropy in key qubit control parameters such as the Land\'e $g-$factor, requiring careful characterisation for reliable qubit operation. Here, we experimentally investigate a hole double quantum dot in silicon by carrying out spin readout with gate-based reflectometry. We show that characteristic features in the reflected phase signal arising from magneto-spectroscopy convey information on site-dependent $g-$factors in the two dots. Using analytical modeling, we extract the physical parameters of our system and, through numerical calculations, we extend the results to point out the prospect of conveniently extracting information about the local $g-$factors from reflectometry measurements.

Light-hole gate-defined spin-orbit qubit

The selective confinement of light-holes (LHs) is demonstrated by introducing a low-dimensional system consisting of highly tensile-strained Ge quantum well enabling the design of an ultrafast gate-defined spin qubit under the electric dipole spin resonance. The qubit size-dependent $g$-factor and dipole moment are mapped, and the parameters inducing their modulation are discussed. It is found that the LH qubit dipole moment is 2 to 3 orders of magnitude higher than that of the canonical heavy-hole qubit. This behavior originates from the significant spin splitting resulting from the combined action of large cubic and linear Rashba spin-orbit interactions that are peculiar to LHs. The qubit relaxation rate is also affected by the strong spin-orbit interaction and follows typically a $B^7$ behavior. The proposed all-group IV, direct bandgap LH qubit provides an effective platform for a scalable qubit-optical photon interface sought-after for long-range entanglement distribution and quantum networks.

Electron and hole spectrum taking into account deformation and polarization in the quantum dot heterostructure InAs/GaAs

In the paper InAs spherical quantum dots in a GaAs matrix were investigated. The energies of electrons and holes in single- and multi-band models (with strong, weak, and intermediate spin-orbit interaction) were calculated taking into account both the deformation of the quantum-dot matrix and the polarization charges on the quantum dot surface. The dependence of the energy levels of electrons and holes on the radius of the quantum dot is considered. It is shown that the deformation effects are stronger than polarization for the electron. For holes those effects are opposites. The energies of electrons and holes have been compared in all approximation models.