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The Rashba–Edelstein effect (REE) is a
The Rashba–Edelstein effect (REE) is a spintronics
Spintronics (a portmanteau meaning spin transport electronics), also known as spin electronics, is the study of the intrinsic spin of the electron and its associated magnetic moment, in addition to its fundamental electronic charge, in solid-sta ...
-related effect, consisting in the conversion of a bidimensional charge current into a spin accumulation. This effect is an intrinsic
In science and engineering, an intrinsic property is a property of a specified subject that exists itself or within the subject. An extrinsic property is not essential or inherent to the subject that is being characterized. For example, mass ...
charge-to-spin conversion mechanism and it was predicted in 1990 by the scientist V.M. Edelstein. It has been demonstrated in 2013 and confirmed by several experimental evidences in the following years.
Its origin can be ascribed to the presence of spin-polarized surface or interface states. Indeed, a structural inversion symmetry breaking (i.e., a structural inversion asymmetry (SIA)) causes the Rashba effect
The Rashba effect, also called Bychkov–Rashba effect, is a momentum-dependent splitting of spin bands in bulk crystalsMore specifically, uniaxial noncentrosymmetric crystals. and low-dimensional condensed matter systems (such as heterostructu ...
to occur: this effect breaks the spin degeneracy of the energy bands and it causes the spin polarization being locked to the momentum in each branch of the dispersion relation
In the physical sciences and electrical engineering, dispersion relations describe the effect of dispersion on the properties of waves in a medium. A dispersion relation relates the wavelength or wavenumber of a wave to its frequency. Given t ...
. If a charge current flows in these spin-polarized surface states, it generates a spin accumulation. In the case of a bidimensional Rashba gas, where this band splitting occurs, this effect is called Rashba–Edelstein effect.