The relative strengths of Rashba and Dresselhaus terms describing the spin-orbit coupling in semiconductor quantum well (QW) structures are extracted from photocurrent measurements on n-type InAs QWs containing a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). This novel technique makes use of the angular distribution of the spin-galvanic effect at certain directions of spin orientation in the plane of a QW. The ratio of the relevant Rashba and Dresselhaus coefficients can be deduced directly from experiment and does not relay on theoretically obtained quantities. Thus our experiments open a new way to determine the different contributions to spin-orbit coupling.

Using a low-temperature molecular-beam epitaxy growth procedure, Ga 1Ϫx Mn x As -a III-V diluted magnetic semiconductor -is obtained with Mn concentrations up to xϳ9%. At a critical temperature T c ͑T c Ϸ50 K for xϭ0.03-0.05͒, a paramagnetic to ferromagnetic phase transition occurs as the result of the interaction between Mn-h complexes. Hole transport in these compounds is strongly affected by the antiferromagnetic exchange interaction between holes and Mn 3d spins. A model for the transport behavior both above and below T c is given. Above T c , all materials exhibit transport behavior which is characteristic for systems near the metal-insulator transition. Below T c , due to the rising spontaneous magnetization, spin-disorder scattering decreases and the relative position of the Fermi level towards the mobility edge changes. When the magnetization has reached its saturation value ͑below ϳ10 K͒ variable-range hopping is the main conduction mechanism. The negative magnetoresistance is the result of the expansion of the hole wave functions in an applied magnetic field. ͓S0163-1829͑97͒04044-7͔

The wave function of a hole bound to an individual Mn acceptor in GaAs is spatially mapped by scanning tunneling microscopy at room temperature and an anisotropic, crosslike shape is observed. The spatial structure is compared with that from an envelope-function, effective mass model and from a tight-binding model. This demonstrates that anisotropy arising from the cubic symmetry of the GaAs crystal produces the crosslike shape for the hole wave function. Thus the coupling between Mn dopants in GaMnAs mediated by such holes will be highly anisotropic.

We demonstrate experimentally the electrical ballistic electron spin injection from a ferromagnetic metal / tunnel barrier contact into a semiconductor III-V heterostructure. We introduce the Oblique Hanle Effect technique for reliable optical measurement of the degree of injected spin polarization. In a CoFe / Al 2 O 3 / GaAs / (Al,Ga)As heterostructure we observed injected spin polarization in excess of 8 % at 80K.

Spherical MnAs ferromagnetic particles with controllable diameters (5–30 nm) are embedded in a high quality GaAs matrix. The particles are formed in a two step process consisting of the epitaxy of a homogeneous Ga1−xMnxAs layer at low temperatures using molecular beam epitaxy followed by phase separation upon annealing. During the annealing step, the excess arsenic in the as-grown film forms magnetic MnAs precipitates with the Mn from the Ga1−xMnxAs lattice. Structural and room-temperature magnetic properties of the heterogeneous GaAs:MnAs films are described. The magnetic MnAs rich layers can be incorporated into semiconductor heterostructures as demonstrated by growing (GaAs/AlAs) multiple quantum well structures in combination with GaAs:MnAs layers.