Oscillating spin-orbit interaction as a source of spin-polarized wave packets in two-terminal nanoscale devices

摘要

Ballistic transport through nanoscale devices with time-dependent Rashba-typespin-orbit interaction (SOI) can lead to spin-polarized wave packets thatappear even for completely unpolarized input. The SOI that oscillates in afinite domain generates density and spin polarization fluctuations that leavethe region as propagating waves. Particularly, spin polarization has space andtime dependence even in regions without SOI. Our results are based on ananalytic solution of the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation. The relevantFloquet quasi-energies that are obtained appear in the energy spectrum of boththe transmitted and reflected waves.