Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction. Origin of spintronics : GMR effect device ; New materials for spintronics applications ; Spin injection and spin transport of electrons ; Optical modulation of spin coherence in semiconductors and nanostructures ; Spin electronic devices -- Properties of magnetic ions in semiconductors. Electron configuration of magnetic ions ; Splitting of the basis state of free ions in the crystal field ; Crystal field theory ; Wave functions of many-electron states ; Equivalent operator method ; Magnetic ion energy levels in semiconductors ; Experimental study of the properties of magnetic ions in semiconductors -- Properties of DMSs. Effective-mass theory of semiconductors in the magnetic field ; DMSs of a wide band gap ; Narrow bandgap DMSs ; Microstructures of DMSs ; Transport properties of DMSs ; Fe[symbol] ion-doped DMSs : Van Vleck paramagnetism ; Giant Faraday rotation and KR ; Light-induced magnetization -- Ferromagnetic semiconductors. FMS Ga[symbol]Mn[symbol]As ; Other FMSs ; Fermi-level engineering ; Influence of clusters on ferromagnetism ; QDs of FMSs ; Mean-field theory of FMSs ; First-principle calculation of FMSs ; Magnetic polaron (MP) : a new mechanism of ferromagnetism -- Injection of spin-polarized electrons. Spin lifetime and drift of electrons in semiconductors ; Rashba effect ; Semiconductor spin transistor and quantum waveguide theory ; Quantum waveguide theory of Rashba electrons ; Production and transport of spin-polarized current ; Magnetic semiconductor tunneling junction -- Spin relaxation. SRTs T1 and T2 ; Elliot-Yafet relaxation mechanism ; Dyakonov-Perel relaxation mechanism ; Bir-Aronov-Pikus mechanism ; Experimental studies of spin relaxation ; Spin relaxation in quantum wells ; Electron spin relaxation studied by a kinetic spin Bloch equation -- Rashba and Dresselhaus effects. Spin splitting induced by spin-orbit interaction (SOI) in inversion asymmetrical semiconductors : Rashba and Dresselhaus effects ; The SOI Hamiltonian in a Rashba system ; The Rashba effect and dispersion ; Rashba parameter [symbol] ; Deriving the Rashba coefficient [symbol] from the SdH oscillation ; Spin-related scattering and spin current -- Optical responses of electron spins in semiconductors. Spin of Photon or polarization of light ; Spin conservation in optical transitions in semiconductors ; Spin photocurrent induced by optically injected electron spin in a spin splitting system ; Electric field-induced electron spin polarization in a spin-split system ; The experimental distinction and applications of the Rashba and Dresselhaus effects ; Spin electronic and opto-electronic devices -- Manipulation of spin coherent electrons. Experimental methods ; Electron spin coherence in semiconductor bulk materials ; Electron spin coherence in semiconductor QDs ; Spatial movement of spin coherent electrons in semiconductors ; Spin hall effect ; Generation of spin current ; Spin dynamics in semiconductors ; Coherent manipulation of single spin in semiconductors ; Spin polarization and transport in silicon -- Spin-polarized electron and domain wall transport. Spin transport in magnetic semiconductor 2DEG ; Spin transport through QDs ; Magnetic domain transport in magnetic semiconductors -- Future quantum dot and quantum wire spintronics. Electron structure and g-Factor of QDs ; Electron structure and g-Factor of quantum wires ; Electric field tunable g-Factor in QDs ; Infuence of N doping on the Rashba coefficient and the g-Factor of electrons.