Non-linear charge currents and the planar Hall effect in quantum wells with Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit interactions

Le résumé fourni par la source

Abstract We calculate the non-linear charge currents in a two-dimensional electron system with Rashba (α) and Dresselhaus (β) linear spin–orbit interactions (SOIs) in the presence of in-plane electric E and magnetic B fields. Working in a rotated system of coordinates that introduces α ± β as effective couplings on perpendicular directions, we show that the currents, quadratic in the electric field, exist for all values of the chemical potential µ, above or below the band crossing energy E 0. Our formalism uses a second order correction to the particle distribution function δ f ( 2 ) derived in a semi-classical approximation that takes into account the local change in the single-particle energy under the action of the electric field. In a quantum well, where μ > E 0 , for a spin–orbit energy larger than the Zeeman splitting, the non-linear currents that flow perpendicular on the direction of the magnetic field are found to be proportional with α ± β when E ⊥ B and with ( α ± β ) 2 / ( α ∓ β ) when E ∥ B , a result independent of the presence of any additional SOIs, such as the cubic Dresselhaus or warping.

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