Quantum oscillations in 2D electron gases with spin-orbit and Zeeman interactions

Abstract

Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations have served as a paradigmatic experimental probe and tool for extracting key semiconductor parameters such as carrier density, effective mass, Zeeman splitting with g-factor $g^*$, quantum scattering times and spin-orbit (SO) coupling parameters. Here, we derive for the first time an analytical formulation for the SdH oscillations in 2D electron gases (2DEGs) with simultaneous Rashba, Dresselhaus, and Zeeman interactions. Our analytical and numerical calculations allow us to extract both Rashba and Dresselhaus SO coupling parameters, carrier density, quantum lifetimes, and also to understand the role of higher harmonics in the SdH oscillations. More importantly, we derive a simple condition for the vanishing of SO induced SdH beatings for all harmonics in 2DEGs: $α/β= [(1-\tilde Δ)/(1+\tilde Δ)]^{1/2}$, where $\tilde Δ$ is a material parameter given by the ratio of the Zeeman and Landau level splitting. We also predict beatings in the higher harmonics of the SdH oscillations and elucidate the inequivalence of the SdH response of Rashba-dominated ($α>β$) vs Dresselhaus-dominated ($α<β$) 2DEGs in semiconductors with substantial $g^*$. We find excellent agreement with recent available experimental data of Dettwiler ${\it et\thinspace al.}$ Phys. Rev. X $\textbf{7}$, 031010 (2017), and Beukman ${\it et\thinspace al.}$, Phys. Rev. B $\textbf{96}$, 241401 (2017).