Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Advanced Experimental Methods for Low-temperature Magnetotransport Measurement of Novel Materials
Published on: January 21, 2016
Intrinsic spin hall effect induced by quantum phase transition in HgCdTe quantum wells
Wen Yang1, Kai Chang, Shou-Cheng Zhang
1State Key Laboratory for Superlattices and Microstructures, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 912, 100083, Beijing, China.
Abstract:
The spin Hall effect can be induced by both extrinsic impurity scattering and intrinsic spin-orbit coupling in the electronic structure. The HgTe/CdTe quantum well has a quantum phase transition where the electronic structure changes from normal to inverted. We show that the intrinsic spin Hall effect of the conduction band vanishes on the normal side, while it is finite on the inverted side. By tuning the Cd content, the well width, or the bias electric field across the quantum well, the intrinsic spin Hall effect can be switched on or off and tuned into resonance under experimentally accessible conditions.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
The Hall Effect
Valence Bond Theory
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Overview
Colors and Magnetism
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human eye.
NMR Spectroscopy: Spin–Spin Coupling
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Population Distribution

