Anisotropy of electron and hole g tensors of quantum dots: An intuitive picture based on spin-correlated orbital currents

Using single spins in semiconductor quantum dots as qubits requires full control over the spin state. As the g tensor provides the coupling in a Hamiltonian between a spin and an external magnetic field, a deeper understanding of the g tensor underlies magnetic-field control of the spin. The g tensor is affected by the presence of spin-correlated orbital currents, of which the spatial structure has been recently clarified. Here we extend that framework to investigate the influence of the shape of quantum dots on the anisotropy of the electron g tensor. We find that the spin-correlated orbital currents form a simple current loop perpendicular to the magnetic moment's orientation. The current loop is therefore directly sensitive to the shape of the nanostructure: for cylindrical quantum dots, the electron g-tensor anisotropy is mainly governed by the aspect ratio of the dots. Through a systematic experimental study of the size dependence of the separate electron and hole g tensors of InAs/InP quantum dots, we have validated this picture. Moreover, we find that through size engineering it is possible to independently change the sign of the in-plane and growth direction electron g factors. The hole g tensor is found to be strongly anisotropic and very sensitive to the radius and elongation. The comparable importance of itinerant and localized currents to the hole g tensor complicates the analysis relative to the electron g tensor.