1. Tunable interfacial Rashba spin-orbit coupling in asymmetric Al$_x$In$_{1-x}$Sb/InSb/CdTe quantum well heterostructures
- Author
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Ruan, Hanzhi, Zhi, Zhenghang, Wu, Yuyang, Liu, Jiuming, Huang, Puyang, Yao, Shan, Liu, Xinqi, Tang, Chenjia, Yao, Qi, Sun, Lu, Zhang, Yifan, Xiao, Yujie, Che, Renchao, and Kou, Xufeng
- Subjects
Condensed Matter - Materials Science ,Condensed Matter - Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics - Abstract
The manipulation of Rashba-type spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in molecular beam epitaxy-grown Al$_x$In$_{1-x}$Sb/InSb/CdTe quantum well heterostructures is reported. The effective band bending provides robust two-dimensional quantum confinement, while the unidirectional built-in electric field from the asymmetric hetero-interfaces results in pronounced Rashba SOC strength. By tuning the Al concentration in the top Al$_x$In$_{1-x}$Sb barrier layer, the optimal structure with $x = 0.15$ shows the largest Rashba coefficient of 0.23 eV-Angstrom. and the highest low-temperature electron mobility of 4400 cm$^2$/Vs . Quantitative investigations of the weak anti-localization effect further confirm the dominant D'yakonov-Perel (DP) spin relaxation mechanism during charge-to-spin conversion. These findings highlight the significance of quantum well engineering in shaping magneto-resistance responses, and narrow bandgap semiconductor-based heterostructures may offer a reliable platform for energy-efficient spintronic applications.
- Published
- 2024