Electron spin resonance and Rashba field in GaN-based materials

Abstract We discuss problem of Rashba field in bulk GaN and in GaN/Al x Ga 1− x N two-dimensional electron gas, basing on results of X-band microwave resonance experiments. We point at large difference in spin–orbit coupling between bulk material and heterostructures. We observe coupled plasmon–cyclotron resonance from the two-dimensional electron gas, but no spin resonance, being consistent with large zero-field spin splitting due to the Rashba field reported in the literature. In contrast, small anisotropy of g-factor of GaN effective mass donors indicates rather weak Rashba spin–orbit coupling in bulk material, not exceed 400 G, α BIA −13  eVcm. Furthermore, we observe new kind of electron spin resonance in GaN, which we attribute to surface electron accumulation layer. We conclude that the sizable Rashba field in GaN/Al x Ga 1− x N heterostructures originates from properties of the interface.