2004/09/27 by U. Zülicke, U. Zuelicke
Physics and Astronomy · #Magnetic properties of thin films #Quantum and electron transport phenomena #Topological Materials and Phenomena #cond-mat.mes-hall
paper · pdf · doi:10.1063/1.1794861
published as Appl. Phys. Lett. 85, 2616 (2004) · 4 pages, 2 figures, this version slighly more detailed than published one
openalex publication_date 2004/09/27 · arxiv created 2004/10/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The wave nature of electrons in semiconductor nanostructures results in spatial interference effects similar to those exhibited by coherent light. The presence of spin–orbit coupling renders interference in spin space and in real space interdependent, making it possible to manipulate the electron’s spin state by addressing its orbital degree of freedom. This suggests the utility of electronic analogs of optical interferometers as blueprints for new spintronics devices. We demonstrate the usefulness of this concept using the Mach–Zehnder interferometer as an example. Its spin-dependent analog realizes a spin-controlled field-effect transistor without magnetic contacts and may be used as a quantum logical gate.