Switching of electrical current by spin precession in the first Landau level of an inverted-gap semiconductor

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how the quantum Hall effect in an inverted-gap semiconductor enables control of electron spin precession along a one-dimensional path, allowing electrical current switching and spin measurement.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method to inject, precess, and detect electron spins using quantum Hall effect in inverted-gap semiconductors, with practical applications in spintronics.

Findings

Full electrical current can be switched on and off via spin precession.

Magnetoconductance of a HgTe p-n interface reveals spin precession effects.

Method enables measurement of spin precession due to bulk inversion asymmetry.

Abstract

We show how the quantum Hall effect in an inverted-gap semiconductor (with electron- and hole-like states at the conduction- and valence-band edges interchanged) can be used to inject, precess, and detect the electron spin along a one-dimensional pathway. The restriction of the electron motion to a single spatial dimension ensures that all electrons experience the same amount of precession in a parallel magnetic field, so that the full electrical current can be switched on and off. As an example, we calculate the magnetoconductance of a p-n interface in a HgTe quantum well and show how it can be used to measure the spin precession due to bulk inversion asymmetry.