Absorption of surface acoustic waves by a two-dimensional electron gas in the presence of spin-orbit interaction

A theoretical study is presented for interactions between surface acoustic waves ~SAWs! and a two-dimensional electron gas ~2DEG! in the presence of spin-orbit ~SO! interaction ~SOI! induced by the Rashba effect. It is found that the presence of the SOI in a 2DEG can open up new channels for electronic transitions. As a result, an enhanced absorption of the SAWs by a 2DEG can be achieved through intraand inter-SO electronic transition around the Fermi level. These results indicate that spintronic systems can be the candidate of the SAW devices. © 2003 American Institute of Physics. @DOI: 10.1063/1.1599631#