Tailoring hole spin splitting and polarization in nanowires

TL;DR

This paper provides a systematic theoretical analysis of how quantum confinement and spin-orbit coupling influence spin splitting and polarization in p-type semiconductor nanowires, revealing their potential for spintronic applications.

Contribution

It maps the range of spin-orbit coupling strengths in typical semiconductors and demonstrates controllable variations in g-factor and spin polarization at nanowire subband edges.

Findings

Large controllable variations of the g-factor in nanowire subbands

Significant spin polarization effects due to quantum confinement

Identification of nanowires as versatile platforms for spin studies

Abstract

Spin splitting in p-type semiconductor nanowires is strongly affected by the interplay between quantum confinement and spin-orbit coupling in the valence band. The latter's particular importance is revealed in our systematic theoretical study presented here, which has mapped the range of spin-orbit coupling strengths realized in typical semiconductors. Large controllable variations of the g-factor with associated characteristic spin polarization are shown to exist for nanowire subband edges, which therefore turn out to be a versatile laboratory for investigating the complex spin properties exhibited by quantum-confined holes.