Spin-Hall effect of collimated electrons in zinc-blende semiconductors

Abstract

We describe an intrinsic spin-Hall effect in n-type bulk zinc-blende semiconductors with topological origin. When electron transport is confined to a waveguide structure, and the applied electric field is such that the spins of electrons remain as eigenstates of the Dresselhaus spin-orbit field with negligible subband mixing, a gauge structure appears in the momentum space of the system. In particular, the momentum space exhibits a non-trivial Berry curvature which affects the transverse motion of electrons anisotropically in spin, thereby producing a finite spin-Hall effect. The effect should be detectable using standard techniques in the literature such as Kerr rotation, and be readily distinguishable from other mechanisms of the spin-Hall effect.