Monte Carlo study of spin relaxation in AlGaAs/GaAs quantum wells

An original approach is developed to investigate the electron spin dynamics in III-V quantum wells using a particle Monte Carlo transport model. We study the spin precession related to the D'yakonov-Perel' mechanism, which is believed to be the predominant spin relaxation phenomenon in AlGaAs/GaAs quantum wells at room temperature. Using a Monte Carlo approach, the effect of electron/crystal scatterings on the D'yakonov-Perel' mechanism can be both simply and accurately taken into account. Finally, including interface roughness in the calculation leads to spin relaxation times in good agreement with the experimental data. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(00)02641-3].