Spin-orbit phenomena in solids
Prof. Dr. Jaroslav Fabian
(Universität Regensburg)
20.01.2010
The wave of spintronics has generated accute interest in spin-orbit phenomena in condensed matter systems. New effects have been predicted and experimentally demonstrated, that depend on this rather small – on the typical energy scales in solids – interaction. The drive to understand the spin-orbit phenomena stems from the potential to control electrical currents by spins. Examples include the spin Hall effects as well as various novel magnetoresistance anisotropies in ferromagnetic nanostructures. In this talk I will give a background of the spinorbit coupling in important classes of solids and discuss on two specific examples, a Fe/GaAs heterostructrure and graphene, the emergence of the collective spinorbit effects due to the structural symmetries. I will further show how spin-orbit coupling leads to spin relaxation in electronic systems, and demonstrate it on a case study of silicon.