Thermal orientation of electron spins

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that free electron spins can be thermally oriented in low-symmetry semiconductors due to spin-dependent electron-phonon interactions when the electron gas is out of thermal equilibrium with the lattice.

Contribution

It introduces a microscopic theory explaining thermal electron spin orientation in asymmetric (110)-grown quantum wells, highlighting a novel spin control mechanism.

Findings

Electron gas heating causes spin orientation along [1-10] axis.

Spin dependence of electron-phonon interaction is key.

Effect occurs in low-symmetry quantum well structures.

Abstract

It is shown that the spin orientation of free electrons occurs in low-symmetry semiconductor structures if only the electron gas is driven out of thermal equilibrium with the crystal lattice. The proposed mechanism of such a thermal orientation of electron spins is based on spin dependence of the electron-phonon interaction which tends to restore equilibrium. The microscopic theory of the effect is developed here for asymmetric (110)-grown quantum wells where the electron gas heating leads to the spin orientation along the [1-10] axis in the quantum well plane.