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Abstract

This thesis is based on two low temperature experiments in spintronics - physics and engineering of electronic spins. The measurements were performed on a GaAs/AlGaAs two-dimensional electron gas with geometries defined by tunable surface gates. The first experiment is about detection of electrons in a quantum dot. A quantum point contact (QPC) and a quantum wire (QW) is coupled to a single-lead few-electron quantum dot. By measuring the conductance of the QPC and the QW, one can gain information on the average number of electrons in the dot as well as energy-level structure of the dot. The second experiment investigates anisotropy of spin-orbit interaction in GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure by measuring spin polarization in a narrow channel. Polarized electrons are injected into the channel through a spin-selective injector QPC and diffuse towards the end of the channel. This diffusion generates a pure spin current and the spin polarization 25 microns away is measured by a detector QPC. A periodic spin-orbit field induced by motion of the electrons in the channel causes the spins to resonate with external magnetic field. Spin-orbit anisotropy is demonstrated by the different resonance strength observed in channels aligned along two different crystal axes.