Colloquium: Persistent spin textures in semiconductor nanostructures

Device concepts in semiconductor spintronics make long spin lifetimes desirable, and the requirements put on spin control by proposals for quantum information processing are even more demanding. Unfortunately, due to spin-orbit coupling electron spins in semiconductors are generically subject to rather fast decoherence. In two-dimensional quantum wells made of zinc-blende semiconductors, however, the spin-orbit interaction can be engineered to produce persistent spin structures with extraordinarily long spin lifetimes even in the presence of disorder and imperfections. Experimental and theoretical developments on this subject for both n-doped and p-doped structures are reviewed and possible device applications are discussed.