Spin-orbit coupling, quantum dots, and qubits in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides

Kormanyos, Andor and Zolyomi, Viktor and Drummond, Neil and Burkard, Guido (2014) Spin-orbit coupling, quantum dots, and qubits in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides. Physical Review X, 4 (1): 011034. ISSN 2160-3308

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Abstract

We derive an effective Hamiltonian that describes the dynamics of electrons in the conduction band of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDC) in the presence of perpendicular electric and magnetic fields. We discuss in detail both the intrinsic and the Bychkov-Rashba spin-orbit coupling induced by an external electric field. We point out interesting differences in the spin-split conduction band between different TMDC compounds. An important consequence of the strong intrinsic spin-orbit coupling is an effective out-of-plane g factor for the electrons that differs from the free-electron g factor g~=2. We identify a new term in the Hamiltonian of the Bychkov-Rashba spin-orbit coupling that does not exist in III-V semiconductors. Using first-principles calculations, we give estimates of the various parameters appearing in the theory. Finally, we consider quantum dots formed in TMDC materials and derive an effective Hamiltonian that allows us to calculate the magnetic field dependence of the bound states in the quantum dots. We find that all states are both valley and spin split, which suggests that these quantum dots could be used as valley-spin filters. We explore the possibility of using spin and valley states in TMDCs as quantum bits, and conclude that, due to the relatively strong intrinsic spin-orbit splitting in the conduction band, the most realistic option appears to be a combined spin-valley (Kramers) qubit at low magnetic fields.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Physical Review X
Additional Information:
Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3100/3100
Subjects:
?? general physics and astronomyphysics and astronomy(all) ??
ID Code:
68965
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
25 Mar 2014 09:35
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
15 Sep 2024 00:21