Anisotropic in-plane spin splitting in an asymmetric (001) GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well

Lanthanide doped nanoparticles as remote sensors for magnetic fields

We report the effect of magnetic fields (MFs) on emission Eu-doped NaYF4 nanoparticles. A notable shift in the position of emission bands and the suppressed emission intensity are observed with the MF. These magnetic-optical interactions are explained in terms of the Zeeman effect, enhanced cross-relaxation rate and change of site symmetry.

Gate control of the electron spin-diffusion length in semiconductor quantum wells

The spin diffusion length is a key parameter to describe the transport properties of spin polarized electrons in solids. Electrical spin injection in semiconductor structures, a major issue in spintronics, critically depends on this spin diffusion length. Gate control of the spin diffusion length could be of great importance for the operation of devices based on the electric field manipulation and transport of electron spin. Here we demonstrate that the spin diffusion length in a GaAs quantum well can be electrically controlled. Through the measurement of the spin diffusion coefficient by spin grating spectroscopy and of the spin relaxation time by time-resolved optical orientation experiments, we show that the diffusion length can be increased by more than 200% with an applied gate voltage of 5 V. These experiments allow at the same time the direct simultaneous measurements of both the Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit splittings.