Direct measurement of a pure spin current by a polarized light beam

Abstract

The photon helicity may be mapped to a spin-1/2, whereby we put forward an intrinsic interaction between a polarized light beam as a ``photon spin current'' and a pure spin current in a semiconductor, which arises from the spin-orbit coupling in valence bands as a pure relativity effect without involving the Rashba or the Dresselhaus effect due to inversion asymmetries. The interaction leads to circular optical birefringence, which is similar to the Faraday rotation in magneto-optics but nevertheless involve no net magnetization. The birefringence effect provide a direct, non-demolition measurement of pure spin currents.

arXiv commentErratum version to [Physical Review Letter 100, 086603 (2008)]

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• Nonlinear optical response induced by non-Abelian Berry curvature in time-reversal-invariant insulators
• Optical manipulation of Rashba-split 2-Dimensional Electron Gas
• Berry phases of quantum trajectories in semiconductors under strong terahertz fields
• Magneto-electric photocurrent generated by direct inter-band transitions in InGaAs/InAlAs two-dimensional electron gas
• Spin-orbit induced equilibrium spin currents in materials
• Generation of Spin Currents by Magnetic Field in $\mathcal{T}$- and $\mathcal{P}$-Broken Materials
• Second-order optical response of superconductors induced by supercurrent injection
• Fluctuation relations for spin currents
• Optical effects of spin currents in semiconductors
• Graphene bilayer and trilayer Moiré lattice with Rashba spin-orbit coupling
• Theory of magnetoelectric photocurrent generated by direct interband transitions in semiconductor quantum well