Theory of spin coherence in semiconductor heterostructures

Consideration of the spin degrees of freedom of the carriers in semiconductor heterostructures creates interesting possibilities for spin optoelectronics, magnetoelectronics and quantum computing. This theory paper attempts to explain in simple terms the concepts of optical and spin coherence, how they can be observed, simple deductions of the spin dynamics in magnetic fields, exciton interaction effects, exciton exchange effects and the spin transport across semiconductor–metal interface.