Two-dimensional hole systems in indium-based quantum well heterostructures

The complex spin-orbit interaction (SOI) of two-dimensional hole gas (2DHG) systems - the relativistic coupling of the hole spin degree of freedom to their movement in an electric field - is of fundamental interest in spin physics due to its key role for spin manipulation in spintronic devices. In this work, we were able to evaluate the tunability of Rashba-SOI-related parameters in the 2DHG system of In0.75Al0.25As/In0.75Ga0.25As/InAs:Mn quantum well heterostructures experimentally by analyzing the hole density evolution of quantum interference effects at low magnetic fields. We achieved to cover a significant range of hole densities by the joint action of the variation of the manganese modulation doping concentration during molecular beam epitaxy and external field-effect-mediated manipulation of the 2D carrier density in Hall bar devices by a metallic topgate. Within these magnetotransport experiments, a reproducible phenomenon of remarkable robustness emerged in the transverse Hall magnetoresistivity of the indium 2DHG systems which are grown on a special InxAl1-xAs step-graded metamorphic buffer layer structure to compensate crystal lattice mismatch. As a consequence of the strain relaxation process, these material systems are characterized by anisotropic properties along different crystallographic directions. We identify a puzzling offset phenomenon in the zero-field Hall magnetoresistance and demonstrate it to be a universal effect in systems with spatially anisotropic transport properties