Eur. Phys. J. B 34, 359-365 (2003)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2003-00232-2

Electron spin precession in semiconductor quantum wires with Rashba spin-orbit coupling

Departament de Física, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Vtra. Valldemossa, km 7.5, 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Corresponding author: ^a DFSLSC4@clust.uib.es

Received: 16 April 2003
Published online: 11 August 2003

Abstract

The influence of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling on the electron spin dynamics is investigated for a ballistic semiconductor quantum wire with a finite width. We monitor the spin evolution using the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. The pure spin precession characteristic of the 1D limit is lost in a 2D wire with a finite lateral width. In general, the time evolution in the latter case is characterized by several frequencies and a nonrigid spin motion.