Superefficient electric-field–induced spin-orbit splitting in strained <i>p</i> -type quantum wells

Abstract

We investigate theoretically the efficiency of the Rashba effect, i.e. the\nspin splitting resulting from an electric field. This is the mechanism behind\nthe Datta-Das spin transistor. In the research efforts so far the carriers have\nusually been taken to be electrons. Here we demonstrate remarkable improvements\nby several orders of magnitude by utilising holes instead. We also show that\nthe frequently neglected lattice-mismatch between GaAs and AlGaAs can be used\nto further enhance the efficiency of the spin splitting mechanism. An inverse\nRashba effect is also demonstrated.\n