Ultrafast control of hole spin by electric field in semiconductors

Ultrafast and coherent transitions induced by electric field between spin states of the valence band in semiconductors are considered. It is shown that using optimized femtosecond electric fields one can, in principle, control a selected component of the hole spin. The feasibility of hole spin switching is illustrated using the well-known Luttinger-Kohn Hamiltonian for valence bands of tetrahedral and zinc-blende semiconductors. The presented results may be useful in the development of the ultrafast semiconductor spintronics.