Abstract
A time-resolved resonant Faraday rotation spectroscopy is employed to study the dynamical interplay between local magnetic moments and photoexcited carrier spins in quantum-confined semiconductor geometries. This highly sensitive technique functions as an energy selective, noninvasive, all-optical probe of spin dynamics ranging from femtosecond to microsecond timescales and is particularly suited to low-dimensional systems having small numbers of magnetic spins. Carrier spin-scattering rates, lifetimes, and the orientation and relaxation of perturbed magnetic ions are directly observed in the time domain. The utility of this technique is demonstrated through the study of a newly developed class of magnetic heterostructure, in which fractional monolayer planes of magnetic Mn2+ ions are incorporated “digitally” into nonmagnetic II-VI ZnSe-ZnCdSe quantum wells. These digital magnetic heterostructures (DMH) possess large g-factors and exhibit enormous low-field resonant Faraday rotations in excess of 1.7 × 107 deg/T·cm at low temperatures. Time-resolved Faraday rotation measurements identify a wealth of unexpected electronic and magnetic spin dynamics that are different from those generated in traditional semiconductors or alloyed diluted magnetic semiconductor structures.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1082-1092 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | IEEE Journal on Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics |
| Volume | 1 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 1995 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering