Monte Carlo Simulation of Spin-Polarized Transport

TL;DR

This paper presents Monte Carlo simulations of spin-polarized electron transport in semiconductor quantum wells, incorporating spin dynamics, scattering mechanisms, and self-consistent electric fields across a range of temperatures.

Contribution

It introduces a Monte Carlo simulation framework that includes spin coherence and dephasing effects in modeling electron transport in quantum wells.

Findings

Spin polarization evolution is affected by spin-orbit interactions.

Transport characteristics vary with temperature and scattering mechanisms.

Self-consistent electric field calculations improve accuracy.

Abstract

Monte Carlo simulations are performed to study the in-plane transport of spin-polarized electrons in III-V semiconductor quantum wells. The density matrix description of the spin polarization is incorporated in the simulation algorithm. The spin-orbit interaction terms generate coherent evolution of the electron spin polarization and also cause dephasing. The spatial motion of the electrons is treated semiclassically. Three different scattering mechanisms--optical phonons, acoustic phonons and ionized impurities--are considered. The electric field is calculated self-consistently from the charge distribution. The Monte Carlo scheme is described, and simulation results are reported for temperatures in the range 77-300 K.