# Microscopic dynamics of electron hopping in a semiconductor quantum well probed by spin-dependent photon echoes

## TL;DR

This paper investigates the microscopic electron spin transport in a semiconductor quantum well using spin-dependent photon echoes, revealing how electron hopping affects spin relaxation and echo decay times.

## Contribution

It introduces a novel experimental approach combining photon echoes and Kerr rotation to study electron hopping and spin dynamics in quantum wells.

## Key findings

- Hopping shortens photon echo decay time regardless of spin relaxation mechanisms.
- Transverse spin relaxation time increases due to motional narrowing.
- Electron hopping influences spin coherence in quantum wells.

## Abstract

Spin-dependent photon echoes in combination with pump-probe Kerr rotation are used to study the microscopic electron spin transport in a CdTe/(Cd,Mg)Te quantum well in the hopping regime. We demonstrate that independent of the particular spin relaxation mechanism, hopping of resident electrons leads to a shortening of the photon echo decay time, while the transverse spin relaxation time evaluated from pump-probe transients increases due to motional narrowing of spin dynamics in the fluctuating effective magnetic field of the lattice nuclei.