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When doped with a high density of mobile charge carriers, monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) semiconductors can host new types of composite many-particle exciton states that do not exist in conventional semiconductors. Such multi-particle bound states arise when a photoexcited electron-hole pair couples to not just a single Fermi sea that is quantum-mechanically distinguishable (as for the case of conventional charged excitons or trions), but rather couples simultaneously to \textit{multiple} Fermi seas, each having distinct spin and valley quantum numbers. Composite six-particle ``hexciton'' states were recently identified in electron-doped WSe$_2$ monolayers, but under suitable conditions they should also form in all other members of the monolayer TMD family. Here we present spectroscopic evidence demonstrating the emergence of many-body hexcitons in charge-tunable WS$_2$ monolayers (at the A-exciton) and MoSe$_2$ monolayers (at the B-exciton). The roles of distinguishability and carrier screening on the stability of hexcitons are discussed., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figs

Spin orientation of photoexcited carriers and their energy relaxation is investigated in bulk Ge by studying spin-polarized recombination across the direct band gap. The control over parameters such as doping and lattice temperature is shown to yield high polarization degree, namely larger than 40%, as well as a fine-tuning of the angular momentum of the emitted light with a complete reversal between right- and left-handed circular polarization. By combining the measurement of the optical polarization state of band-edge luminescence and Monte Carlo simulations of carrier dynamics, we show that these very rich and complex phenomena are the result of the electron thermalization and cooling in the multi-valley conduction band of Ge. The circular polarization of the direct-gap radiative recombination is indeed affected by energy relaxation of hot electrons via the X valleys and the Coulomb interaction with extrinsic carriers. Finally, thermal activation of unpolarized L valley electrons accounts for the luminescence depolarization in the high temperature regime.

We demonstrate optical orientation in Ge/SiGe quantum wells and study their spin properties. The ultrafast electron transfer from the center of the Brillouin zone to its edge allows us to achieve high spin-polarization efficiencies and to resolve the spin dynamics of holes and electrons. The circular polarization degree of the direct-gap photoluminescence exceeds the theoretical bulk limit, yielding ~37% and ~85% for transitions with heavy and light holes states, respectively. The spin lifetime of holes at the top of the valence band is found to be ~0.5 ps and it is governed by transitions between heavy and light hole states. Electrons at the bottom of the conduction band, on the other hand, have a spin lifetime that exceeds 5 ns below 150 K. Theoretical analysis of the electrons spin relaxation indicates that phonon-induced intervalley scattering dictates the spin lifetime., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures

We treat the spin injection and extraction via a ferromagnetic metal/semiconductor Schottky barrier as a quantum scattering problem. This enables the theory to explain a number of phenomena involving spin-dependent current through the Schottky barrier, especially the counter-intuitive spin polarization direction in the semiconductor due to current extraction seen in recent experiments. A possible explanation of this phenomenon involves taking into account the spin-dependent inelastic scattering via the bound states in the interface region. The quantum-mechanical treatment of spin transport through the interface is coupled with the semiclassical description of transport in the adjoining media, in which we take into account the in-plane spin diffusion along the interface in the planar geometry used in experiments. The theory forms the basis of the calculation of spin-dependent current flow in multi-terminal systems, consisting of a semiconductor channel with many ferromagnetic contacts attached, in which the spin accumulation created by spin injection/extraction can be efficiently sensed by electrical means. A three-terminal system can be used as a magnetic memory cell with the bit of information encoded in the magnetization of one of the contacts. Using five terminals we construct a reprogrammable logic gate, in which the logic inputs and the functionality are encoded in magnetizations of the four terminals, while the current out of the fifth one gives a result of the operation., Comment: A review to appear in Mod. Phys. Lett. B

We apply an analysis of time-dependent spin-polarized current in a semiconductor channel at room temperature to establish how the magnetization configuration and dynamics of three ferromagnetic terminals, two of them biased and third connected to a capacitor, affect the currents and voltages. In a steady state, the voltage on the capacitor is related to spin accumulation in the channel. When the magnetization of one of the terminals is rotated, a transient current is triggered. This effect can be used for electrical detection of magnetization reversal dynamics of an electrode or for dynamical readout of the alignment of two magnetic contacts., Comment: Revised version, 8 pages, 3 figures

A one dimensional theory of lateral spin-polarized transport is derived from the two dimensional flow in the vertical cross section of a stack of ferromagnetic and paramagnetic layers. This takes into account the influence of the lead on the lateral current underneath, in contrast to the conventional 1D modeling by the collinear configuration of lead/channel/lead. Our theory is convenient and appropriate for the current in plane configuration of an all-metallic spintronics structure as well as for the planar structure of a semiconductor with ferromagnetic contacts. For both systems we predict the optimal contact width for maximal magnetoresistance and propose an electrical measurement of the spin diffusion length for a wide range of materials., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures