U.S.-Brazil Cooperative Research: Study of the Electron-nuclear Spin Interaction in Semiconductor Systems: Towards Spintronic Memory Devices

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In this U.S.-Brazil collaborative project funded by the Americas Program of the Office of International Science and Engineering, Clifford R. Bowers of the University of Florida will study the electron-nuclear spin interaction in semiconductor systems with potential application to spintronic memory devices. In particular, he will study nuclear spin relaxation times in parabolic quantum wells containing a low dimensional electron gas. The application of a magnetic field tilted with respect to the plane of the quantum well alters the electronic spectrum in a way that is expected to have a marked impact on the spin relaxation time of nearby Al, Ga or As nuclei. Bowers' Brazilian collaborators, Guennadii M.Gusev and Alain A. Quivy of the University of Sao Paulo, will grow a novel type of structure, a parabolic quantum well, for monitoring the electron-nuclear spin interactions. Bowers will use electrically detected ESR and dynamic nuclear polarization spectroscopic techniques to characterize these semiconductors. Insights gained from these studies could be crucial for the development of spintronics-based devices. Graduate students from each laboratory will learn new experimental techniques from the other, providing training that they could not receive at their home institution. This training includes hands-on experience in characterizing semiconductor devices in high frequencies and growing semiconductor materials.