Electron spin relaxation time in GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum wells grown on slightly misoriented GaAs(110) substrates

We measured the electron spin relaxation times tau(s) in GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum wells (MQWs) grown on slightly misoriented GaAs(110) substrates. The tau(s) of the MQW on misoriented GaAs(110) decreased when the misorientation angles were increased. The bulk inversion asymmetry component of the D'yakonov-Perel' spin relaxation in the misoriented (110) MQWs was calculated to verify the origin of the decrease in the tau(s). A comparison between the experimental and calculated results revealed that the decrease in the tau(s) was attributed to the emergence of in-plane effective magnetic fields in the (110) MQWs due to the misorientation. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3483768]