Strain-Induced Conduction Band Spin Splitting in GaAs from First Principles Calculations

TL;DR

This paper presents first-principles calculations of conduction band spin splitting in GaAs under strain using a self-consistent GW approach, revealing strain effects on spin properties with potential experimental implications.

Contribution

First to compute conduction band spin splitting in GaAs under strain using a quasiparticle GW method, improving accuracy over previous models.

Findings

Self-consistent GW accurately predicts band parameters.

Strain induces in-plane anisotropy in spin relaxation time.

Results enable experimental determination of spin splitting.

Abstract

We use a recently developed self-consistent GW approximation to present first principles calculations of the conduction band spin splitting in GaAs under [110] strain. The spin orbit interaction is taken into account as a perturbation to the scalar relativistic hamiltonian. These are the first calculations of conduction band spin splitting under deformation based on a quasiparticle approach; and because the self-consistent GW scheme accurately reproduces the relevant band parameters, it is expected to be a reliable predictor of spin splittings. We also discuss the spin relaxation time under [110] strain and show that it exhibits an in-plane anisotropy, which can be exploited to obtain the magnitude and sign of the conduction band spin splitting experimentally.