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Optical control of electron-spin texture based on modulation of spin-orbit interaction in a modulation-doped GaAs/(Al,Ga)As quantum well

Jun Ishihara1,*, Ryo Tokimitsu2, Takuya Suzuki2, Takachika Mori2, Makoto Kohda1, Yuzo Ohno3, and Kensuke Miyajima2

  • *Contact author: j.ishihara@tohoku.ac.jp
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Phys. Rev. Applied 25, 034025 – Published 6 March, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/9n82-79tj

Abstract

We demonstrate the optical control of the spatial spin texture in a modulation-doped GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well based on the modulation of the spin-orbit interaction. Spatiotemporal evolution of electron spins with irradiation by a continuous-wave laser that does not induce interband transitions of electrons reveals an increase in the Rashba coefficient and the spin diffusion coefficient, in contrast to the decrease in these coefficients due to optical doping by increasing the electron-spin excitation density. From the difference between the absorption energy and the emission energy, the carrier density in the quantum well increases. This indicates that the continuous-wave laser irradiation causes photoactivation of naturally deactivated electrons in the doping layer of AlGaAs, and therefore the Rashba spin-orbit interaction increases due to the increased asymmetry of the quantum well profile.

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Phys. Rev. Applied 25, 034025– Published 6 March, 2026
  • Received 5 August 2025
  • Revised 26 November 2025
  • Accepted 9 February 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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