Spin relaxation due to the phonon modulation of the spin-orbit interaction in quantum dots

We calculate the spin relaxation rates in InAs parabolic quantum dots due to the spin interaction with acoustical phonons. The electron-phonon deformation potential and piezoelectric interaction are described by means of the Pavlov-Firsov spin-phonon Hamiltonian. Our results demonstrate that for narrow gap materials the deformation potential interaction becomes dominant. This behavior is not observed in wide or intermediate gap semiconductors, where the piezoelectric coupling, in general, governs the relaxation processes. We also show that the spin relaxation rates are particularly sensitive to the value of the Lande g-factor, which depends strongly on the confinement. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.