Strong spin–orbit interactions in carbon doped p-type GaAs heterostructures

We have performed magnetoresistance measurements on a two-dimensional hole gas formed 45 nm below the surface of a C-doped GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure grown in the (1 0 0) direction. Analysis of the beating of Shubnikov–de Haas oscillations and observation of weak anti-localization demonstrate the presence of strong spin–orbit interactions in this system, which is an essential ingredient for realizing spin-based devices. In addition, we measure a phase coherence length for holes of around View the MathML source at a temperature of 70 mK, which is promising for studying phase coherent transport in p-type GaAs heterostructures.