How spin relaxes and dephases in bulk halide perovskites

Nat Commun. 2024 Jan 2;15(1):188. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-42835-w.

Abstract

Spintronics in halide perovskites has drawn significant attention in recent years, due to their highly tunable spin-orbit fields and intriguing interplay with lattice symmetry. Here, we perform first-principles calculations to determine the spin relaxation time (T1) and ensemble spin dephasing time ([Formula: see text]) in a prototype halide perovskite, CsPbBr3. To accurately capture spin dephasing in external magnetic fields we determine the Landé g-factor from first principles and take it into account in our calculations. These allow us to predict intrinsic spin lifetimes as an upper bound for experiments, identify the dominant spin relaxation pathways, and evaluate the dependence on temperature, external fields, carrier density, and impurities. We find that the Fröhlich interaction that dominates carrier relaxation contributes negligibly to spin relaxation, consistent with the spin-conserving nature of this interaction. Our theoretical approach may lead to new strategies to optimize spin and carrier transport properties.