Highly Efficient Induction of Spin Polarization by Circularly-Polarized Electromagnetic Waves in the Rashba Spin-Orbit Systems

TL;DR

This paper theoretically shows that circularly polarized electromagnetic waves can rapidly induce significant electron-spin polarization in Rashba systems, offering a highly efficient method for spintronics applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel, highly efficient technique for inducing spin polarization using circularly polarized light in Rashba systems, surpassing conventional methods.

Findings

Spin polarization can be induced within a few picoseconds.

Efficiency is several orders of magnitude higher than traditional methods.

Potential for advanced spintronic device applications.

Abstract

We theoretically demonstrate that a rotating electric-field component of circularly polarized microwave or terahertz light can induce electron-spin polarization within a few picoseconds in a two-dimensional electron system with the Rashba spin-orbit interaction by taking advantage of the magnetoelectric coupling. The efficiency turns out to be several orders of magnitude greater than that of conventional methods, indicating high potential of this technique for future spintronics.