Effect of a uniaxial strain on optical orientation in cubic semiconductors
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The effect of a uniaxial strain on the optical spin orientation of a cubic semiconductor is investigated by calculating the valence wavefunctions and the optical oscillator strengths for circularly polarized light excitation from heavy- and light-valence levels. Typical strain orientations along the [001], [111], or [1¯10] crystal direction and a light excitation parallel or perpendicular to the strain are considered. For all these cases, the oscillator strengths do not depend on the magnitude of the strain but only on its sign. Although these oscillator strengths strongly depend on the geometrical configuration, the conduction electron spin polarization generated by optical transitions from both the heavy- and light-valence levels induced by σ+ light excitation is in all cases equal to −0.5 for a vanishing strain and for resonant light excitation, as predicted by the simple atomic model. We have generalized these results by developing an analytical model allowing us to determine the initial spin field photogenerated by optical pumping selectively the heavy- or light-valence states with a circularly polarized light propagating in an arbitrary direction. This allows us to discuss under which conditions the commonly used spherical approximation fails.
Source: Journal of Applied Physics
DOI: 10.1063/5.0309136
Institutions: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier, Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Toulouse, Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie des Nano-Objets, Université de Toulouse, École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,500
OpenAlex ID: W7128791047