Anisotropic electron g-factor in quantum dots with spin-orbit interaction

Many modern spin-based devices rely on the spin-orbit interaction, which is highly sensitive to the host semiconductor heterostructure and varies substantially depending on crystal direction, crystal asymmetry (Dresselhaus), and quantum confinement asymmetry (Rashba). One-dimensional quantum point contacts are a powerful tool to probe both energy and directional dependence of spin-orbit interaction through the effect on the hole $g$-factor. In this work we investigate the rol...

Spin-orbit coupling is a manifestation of special relativity. In the reference frame of a moving electron, electric fields transform into magnetic fields, which interact with the electron spin and lift the degeneracy of spin-up and spin-down states. In solid-state systems, the resulting spin-orbit fields are referred to as Dresselhaus or Rashba fields, depending on whether the electric fields originate from bulk or structure inversion asymmetry, respectively. Yet, it remains ...

We measure simultaneously the in-plane electron g-factor and spin relaxation rate in a series of undoped inversion-asymmetric (001)-oriented GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells by spin-quantum beat spectroscopy. In combination the two quantities reveal the absolute values of both the Rashba and the Dresselhaus coefficients and prove that the Rashba coefficient can be negligibly small despite huge conduction band potential gradients which break the inversion symmetry. The negligible Ras...

Coulomb interaction among electrons is found to have profound effects on the electronic properties of anisotropic quantum dots in a perpendicular external magnetic field, and in the presence of the Rashba spin-orbit interaction. This is more evident in optical transitions, which we find in this system to be highly anisotropic and super-intense, in particular, for large values of the anisotropy parameter.

Emerging theoretical concepts for quantum technologies have driven a continuous search for structures where a quantum state, such as spin, can be manipulated efficiently. Central to many concepts is the ability to control a system by electric and magnetic fields, relying on strong spin-orbit interaction and a large g-factor. Here, we present a new mechanism for spin and orbital manipulation using small electric and magnetic fields. By hybridizing specific quantum dot states a...

We present atomistic computations within an empirical pseudopotential framework for the electron $s$-shell ground state $g$ tensor of InGaAs quantum dots (QDs) embedded to host matrices that grant electronic confinement. A large structural set consisting of geometry, size, and molar fraction variations is worked out which also includes a few representative uniform strain cases. The tensor components are observed to display insignificant discrepancies even for the highly aniso...

Spin-orbit coupling effects are studied in quantum dots in InSb, a narrow-gap material. Competition between different Rashba and Dresselhaus terms is shown to produce wholesale changes in the spectrum. The large (and negative) $g$-factor and the Rashba field produce states where spin is no longer a good quantum number and intrinsic flips occur at moderate magnetic fields. For dots with two electrons, a singlet-triplet mixing occurs in the ground state, with observable signatu...

An alternating electric field, applied to a quantum dot, couples to the electron spin via the spin-orbit interaction. We analyze different types of spin-orbit coupling known in the literature and find two efficient mechanisms of spin control in quantum dots. The linear in momentum Dresselhaus and Rashba spin-orbit couplings give rise to a fully transverse effective magnetic field in the presence of a Zeeman splitting at lowest order in the spin-orbit interaction. The cubic in...

The choice of substrate orientation for semiconductor quantum dot circuits offers opportunities for tailoring spintronic properties such as g-factors for specific functionality. In this letter, we demonstrate the operation of a few-electron double quantum dot circuit fabricated from a (110)-oriented GaAs quantum well. We estimate the in-plane electron g-factor from the profile of the enhanced inter-dot tunneling (leakage) current near zero magnetic field. Spin-blockade due to...

Phonon-induced spin relaxation rates in quantum dots are studied as function of in-plane and perpendicular magnetic fields, temperature and electric field, for different dot sizes. We consider Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit mixing in diferent materials, and show how Zeeman sublevels can relax via piezoelectric and deformation potential coupling to acoustic phonons. We find that strong lateral and vertical confinements may induce minima in the rates at particular values of ...