Tuning Rashba spin-orbit coupling in homogeneous semiconductor nanowires

Abstract

We use $\vec{k}\cdot \vec{p}$ theory to estimate the Rashba spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in large semiconductor nanowires. We specifically investigate GaAs- and InSb-based devices with different gate configurations to control symmetry and localization of the electron charge density. We explore gate-controlled SOC for wires of different size and doping, and we show that in high carrier density SOC has a non-linear electric field susceptibility, due to large reshaping of the quantum states. We analyze recent experiments with InSb nanowires in light of our calculations. Good agreement is found with SOC coefficients reported in Phys. Rev.B 91, 201413(R) (2015), but not with the much larger values reported in Nat Commun., 8, 478 (2017). We discuss possible origins of this discrepancy.

10 pages, 13 figures

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• Electronic structure of full-shell InAs/Al hybrid semiconductor-superconductor nanowires: Spin-orbit coupling and topological phase space
• Recent progress on Majorana in semiconductor-superconductor heterostructures--Engineering and detection
• Effects of the electrostatic environment on superlattice Majorana nanowires
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• Durability of the superconducting gap in Majorana nanowires under orbital effects of a magnetic field
• Spin rotation by resonant electric field in few-level quantum dots: Floquet dynamics and tunneling
• Anisotropy of the spin-orbit coupling driven by a magnetic field in InAs nanowires
• Electric dipole spin resonance at shallow donors in quantum wires
• Band structure of n- and p-doped core-shell nanowires
• All-electrical spectroscopy of topological phases in semiconductor-superconductor heterostructures
• Low-symmetry nanowire cross-sections for enhanced Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction
• The Dirac paradox in 1+1 dimensions and its realization with spin-orbit coupled nanowires
• Influence of Rashba spin-orbit coupling on the 0-$\pi$ transition and Kondo temperature in 1D superconductors
• Electron transport in quantum channels with spin-orbit interaction: Effects of the sign of the Rashba coupling and applications to nanowires
• Field-Programmable Topological Array: Framework and Case-Studies
• Helical and topological phase detection based on nonlocal conductance measurements in a three terminal junction
• Probing Andreev reflection reach in semiconductor-superconductor hybrids by Aharonov-Bohm effect
• Electronic states in nanowires with hexagonal cross-section
• Realizing Majorana Kramers pairs in two-channel InAs-Al nanowires with highly misaligned electric fields