Spin diffusion in $n$-type (111) GaAs quantum wells

B. Y. Sun, K. Shen

Published 2011-04-13, updated 2011-06-20Version 2

We utilize the kinetic spin Bloch equation approach to investigate the steady-state spin diffusion in $n$-type (111) GaAs quantum wells, where the in-plane components of the Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling term and the Rashba term can be partially canceled by each other. A peak of the spin diffusion length due to the cancellation is predicted in the perpendicular electric field dependence. It is shown that the spin diffusion length around the peak can be markedly controlled via temperature and doping. When the electron gas enters into the degenerate regime, the electron density also leads to observable influence on the spin diffusion in the strong cancellation regime. Furthermore, we find that the spin diffusion always presents strong anisotropy with respect to the direction of the injected spin polarization. The anisotropic spin diffusion depends on whether the electric field is far away from or in the strong cancellation regime.