Dyakonov-Perel electron spin relaxation in a wurtzite semiconductor: From the nondegenerate to the highly degenerate regime

作者：Buss J H^*; Rudolph J; Starosielec S; Schaefer A; Semond F; Cordier Y; Wieck A D; Haegele D

来源：Physical Review B, 2011, 84(15): 153202.

DOI：10.1103/PhysRevB.84.153202

Electron spin lifetimes are investigated in bulk wurtzite n-GaN up to very high doping densities by time-resolved Kerr-rotation spectroscopy. The doping densities range from 5 x 10(15) to 1.5 x 10(19) cm(-3), corresponding to Fermi temperatures as high as 1200 K. The spin lifetime shows a maximum at the onset of degeneracy. The additional determination of momentum scattering times allows for a direct comparison with an analytical expression of the spin relaxation tensor in wurtzite semiconductors for a degenerate electron gas following Dyakonov-Perel theory. We find good agreement with the experiment up to the highest densities without any fitting parameter. The only known theoretical value alpha(e) = 9.0 meV angstrom of the k-linear contribution to spin-orbit coupling in the conduction band is shown to be valid up to the highest doping densities.

• 出版日期2011-10-4