Rashba effect

[hagelberg]

Hello - I have a question  about the extent to which the Rashba effect can be included in transport computations with ATK (version 2018.6 or higher).  While there are various versions of the Rashba effect, I want to understand this effect broadly as the interaction of an electron spin with an electric field applied in a direction perpendicular to the electron momentum. To a degree, such an interaction is certainly represented in ATK.  If we  expose a device to a perpendicular electric field and allow for non-collinear spins, we'll calculate the impact of the electrically modified device on the spins of the electrons traversing the device.  I'd like to find out if ATK includes, in addition, the interaction between the electron spins and the screened perpendicular electric field (which one might describe by a Hamiltonian of the form H_R ~ -\sigma . (p X E/2 m), with sigma as the array of spin matrices, p as the electron momentum, and E as the electric field).

Thanks,
Frank

[Troels-Markussen]

Hi,

I'm nut sure if I compkletely understand your question, but I would say that the interaction included in QuantumATK will always be between the electron spins and the screened electric field. In addition to this, as you probably know, you can also have Rashba effects from surfaces and interface, i.e. without an external field.

Regards,
Troels

[hagelberg]

Thank you, Troels - I haven't been on the Quantum-ATK forum in a while and found your response only today. It seems plausible that the spins see the screened electric field. I'll continue using the non-collinear approach to explore Rashba interactions.

Regards,
Frank