Direct mapping of the formation of a persistent spin helix: Supplementary information

Abstract

The spin-orbit interaction (SOI) in zincblende semiconductor quantum wells can be set to a symmetry point, in which spin decay is strongly suppressed for a helical spin mode. Signatures of such a persistent spin helix (PSH) have been probed using the transient spin grating technique, but it has not yet been possible to observe the formation and the helical nature of a PSH. Here we directly map the diffusive evolution of a local spin excitation into a helical spin mode by a time- and spatially resolved magneto-optical Kerr rotation technique. Depending on its in-plane direction, an external magnetic field interacts differently with the spin mode and either highlights its helical nature or destroys the SU(2) symmetry of the SOI and thus decreases the spin lifetime. All relevant SOI parameters are experimentally determined and confirmed with a numerical simulation of spin diffusion in the presence of SOI.

Nature Phys. advance online publication, 12 August 2012

References in corpus (7)

• Quantum Spin Hall Insulator State in HgTe Quantum Wells
• Signatures of Majorana fermions in hybrid superconductor-semiconductor nanowire devices
• An Exact SU(2) Symmetry and Persistent Spin Helix in a Spin-Orbit Coupled System
• Emergence of the persistent spin helix in semiconductor quantum wells
• Measurement of Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit magnetic fields
• Gate-controlled spin-orbit interaction in a parabolic GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well
• Doppler velocimetry of spin propagation in a two-dimensional electron gas

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• Pure Gauge Spin-Orbit Couplings
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