D. Scalbert

Measurements of nuclear spin dynamics by spin-noise spectroscopy

We exploit the potential of the spin noise spectroscopy (SNS) for studies of nuclear spin dynamics in n-GaAs. The SNS experiments were performed on bulk n-type GaAs layers embedded into a high-finesse microcavity at negative detuning. In our experiments, nuclear spin polarisation initially prepared by optical pumping is monitored in real time via a shift of the peak position in the electron spin noise spectrum. We demonstrate that this shift is a direct measure of the Overhauser field acting on the electron spin. The dynamics of nuclear spin is shown to be strongly dependent on the electron concentration.

Nonlinear optical spectroscopy of indirect excitons in coupled quantum wells

Indirect excitons in coupled quantum wells are long-living quasiparticles, explored in the studies of collective quantum states. We demonstrate that, despite the extremely low oscillator strength, their spin and population dynamics can by addressed by time-resolved pump-probe spectroscopy. Our experiments make it possible to unravel and compare spin dynamics of direct excitons, indirect excitons, and residual free electrons in coupled quantum wells. Measured spin relaxation time of indirect excitons exceeds not only one of direct excitons but also one of free electrons by two orders of magnitude.

Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors: Basic Physics and Optical Properties

Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors (DMS) form a new class of magnetic materials, which fill the gap between ferromagnets and semiconductors [1]. In the early literature these DMS were often named semimagnetic semiconductors, because they are midway between nonmagnetic and magnetic materials. DMS are semiconductor compounds (A1−xMxB) in which a fraction x of the cations is substituted by magnetic impurities, thereby introducing magnetic properties into the host semiconductor AB. This makes a great difference with semiconducting ferromagnets, i.e., ferromagnetic materials exhibiting semiconductor-like transport properties, which have been known for some time (see a review in [2]). A DMS is expected to retain most of its classical semiconducting properties, and to offer the opportunity of a full integration into heterostructures, including heterostructures with the host material. The great challenge and ultimate goal of the research in this field is to obtain DMS ferromagnetic at room temperature, which can be integrated in semiconductor heterostructures for electronic or optoelectronic applications. This is one of the key issues for the advent of spintronics devices.

Atomic-like spin noise in solid-state demonstrated with manganese in cadmium telluride

Spin noise spectroscopy is an optical technique which can probe spin resonances non-perturbatively. First applied to atomic vapours, it revealed detailed information about nuclear magnetism and the hyperfine interaction. In solids, this approach has been limited to carriers in semiconductor heterostructures. Here we show that atomic-like spin fluctuations of Mn ions diluted in CdTe (bulk and quantum wells) can be detected through the Kerr rotation associated to excitonic transitions. Zeeman transitions within and between hyperfine multiplets are clearly observed in zero and small magnetic fields and reveal the local symmetry because of crystal field and strain. The linewidths of these resonances are close to the dipolar limit. The sensitivity is high enough to open the way towards the detection of a few spins in systems where the decoherence due to nuclear spins can be suppressed by isotopic enrichment, and towards spin resonance microscopy with important applications in biology and materials science.

Influence of magnetic quantum confined Stark effect on the spin lifetime of indirect excitons

We report on the unusual and counter-intuitive behaviour of spin lifetime of excitons in coupled semiconductor quantum wells (CQWs) in the presence of in-plane magnetic field. Instead of conventional acceleration of spin relaxation due to the Larmor precession of electron and hole spins we observe a strong increase of the spin relaxation time at low magnetic fields followed by saturation and decrease at higher fields. We argue that this non-monotonic spin relaxation dynamics is a fingerprint of the magnetic quantum confined Stark effect. In the presence of electric field along the CQW growth axis, an applied magnetic field efficiently suppresses the exciton spin coherence, due to inhomogeneous broadening of the

Spin waves in magnetic quantum wells with Coulomb interaction andsdexchange coupling

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Nuclear spin relaxation inn-GaAs: From insulating to metallic regime

-factor distribution.

Nuclear polaron beyond the mean-field approximation

We theoretically describe the spin excitation spectrum of a two dimensional electron gas embedded in a quantum well with localized magnetic impurities. Compared to the previous work, we introduce equations that allow to consider the interplay between the Coulomb interaction of delocalized electrons and the

Quantum limited heterodyne detection of spin noise.

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Exciton and polariton spin beats in a CdMnTe based microcavity

exchange coupling between electrons and magnetic impurities. Strong qualitative changes are found : mixed waves propagate below the single particle continuum, an anticrossing gap is open at a specific wavevector and the kinetic damping due to the electron motion strongly influences the coupling strength between electrons and impurities spins.