Time-resolved and continuous-wave optical spin pumping of semiconductor quantum wells

TL;DR

This paper investigates optical spin pumping in semiconductor quantum wells using both continuous-wave and pulsed techniques, revealing how electron localization and inhomogeneities affect spin coherence and relaxation.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis of continuous-wave and pulsed optical spin pumping methods and explores the effects of electron localization and inhomogeneity on spin dynamics.

Findings

Spectral and temperature dependencies reveal influence of electron localization on spin coherence.

Different spin polarization mechanisms via trion and exciton states are characterized.

Inhomogeneous $g$-factor distribution affects measured spin relaxation times.

Abstract

Experimental and theoretical studies of all-optical spin pump and probe of resident electrons in CdTe/(Cd,Mg)Te semiconductor quantum wells are reported. A two-color Hanle-MOKE technique (based on continuous-wave excitation) and time-resolved Kerr rotation in the regime of resonant spin amplification (based on pulsed excitation) provide a complementary measure of electron spin relaxation time. Influence of electron localization on long-lived spin coherence is examined by means of spectral and temperature dependencies. Various scenarios of spin polarization generation (via the trion and exciton states) are analyzed and difference between continuous-wave and pulsed excitations is considered. Effects related to inhomogeneous distribution of $g$-factor and anisotropic spin relaxation time on measured quantities are discussed.