Electrical tuning of Rashba spin-orbit interaction in multigated InAs nanowires

Abstract

Indium arsenide nanowires (NWs) are a promising platform to fabricate quantum electronic devices, among other advantages they have strong spin-orbit interaction (SOI). The controlled tuning of the SOI is desired in spin-based quantum devices. In this study we investigate the possibility of tuning the SOI by electrostatic fields generated by a back gate and two side gates placed on the opposite sides of the NW. The strength of the SOI is analyzed by weak anti-localization effect. We demonstrate that the strength of the SOI can be strongly tuned up to a factor of 2 with the electric field across the NW, while the average electron density is kept constant. Furthermore, a simple electrostatic model is introduced to calculate the expected change of the SOI. Good agreement is found between the experimental results and the estimated Rashba-type SOI generated by the gate-induced electric field.