Spin polarization spectra of strained superlattices

Optical spin orientation in the strained short-period semiconductor superlattices is investigated theoretically. Strong features in the spin polarization dependence on the electron energy are identified with the Van-Hove singularities in absorption spectra. The maximum polarization values found to be in the range of 70–94% are more sensitive to the absorption edge smearing than in the case of strained layer structures. Calculated polarization spectra are close to the experimental spectra of polarized electron emission.