Rashba plasmon polaritons in semiconductor heterostructures

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel method for amplifying surface plasmon-polaritons in semiconductor heterostructures utilizing Rashba spin-orbit interaction to enable indirect radiative transitions, with potential applications in plasmonic devices.

Contribution

It proposes a new structure leveraging Rashba spin-orbit interaction for plasmon amplification through indirect radiative transitions, including detailed efficiency calculations and design analysis.

Findings

Dispersion minima for electrons are shifted due to Rashba interaction.

Matching energy and momentum intervals enables plasmon amplification.

Design parameters for effective amplification are identified.

Abstract

We propose a concept of surface plasmon-polariton amplification in the structure comprising interface between dielectric, metal and asymmetric quantum well. Due to the Rashba spin-orbit interaction, mimina of dispersion relation for electrons in conduction band are shifted with respect to the maximum of dispersion dependence for holes in $\Gamma$-point. When energy and momentum intervals between extrema in dispersion relations of electrons and holes match dispersion relation of plasmons, indirect radiative transition can amplify the plasmons; excitation of leaky modes is forbidden due to the selection rules. Efficiency of the indirect radiative transition is calculated and design of the structure is analysed.