Universal magnetic proximity effect in ferromagnet-semiconductor quantum well hybrid structures.

Hybrid ferromagnet-semiconductor systems possess new outstanding properties, which emerge when bringing magnetic and semiconductor materials into contact. In such structures, the long-range magnetic proximity effect couples the spin systems of the ferromagnet and semiconductor on distances exceeding the carrier wave function overlap. The effect is due to the effective p-d exchange interaction of acceptor-bound holes in the quantum well with d-electrons of the ferromagnet. This indirect interaction is established via the phononic Stark effect mediated by the chiral phonons. Here, we demonstrate that the long-range magnetic proximity effect is universal and observed in hybrid structures with diverse magnetic components and potential barriers of various thicknesses and compositions. We study hybrid structures consisting of a semimetal (magnetite Fe3O4) or dielectric (spinel NiFe2O4) ferromagnet and a CdTe quantum well separated by a nonmagnetic (Cd,Mg)Te barrier. The proximity effect is manifested in the circular polarization of the photoluminescence corresponding to the recombination of photoexcited electrons with holes bound to shallow acceptors in the quantum well induced by magnetite or spinel itself, in contrast to interface ferromagnet in case of metal-based hybrid systems. A nontrivial dynamics of the proximity effect is observed in the studied structures due to recombination-induced dynamic polarization of electrons in the quantum well. It enables the determination of the exchange constant Δexch ≈ 70 µeV in a magnetite-based structure. The universal origin of the long-range exchange interaction along with the possibility of its electrical control offers prospects for the development of low-voltage spintronic devices compatible with existing solid-state electronics.

Low voltage control of exchange coupling in a ferromagnet-semiconductor quantum well hybrid structure.

Voltage control of ferromagnetism on the nanometer scale is highly appealing for the development of novel electronic devices with low power consumption, high operation speed, reliable reversibility and compatibility with semiconductor technology. Hybrid structures based on the assembly of ferromagnetic and semiconducting building blocks are expected to show magnetic order as a ferromagnet and to be electrically tunable as a semiconductor. Here, we demonstrate the electrical control of the exchange coupling in a hybrid consisting of a ferromagnetic Co layer and a semiconductor CdTe quantum well, separated by a thin non-magnetic (Cd,Mg)Te barrier. The electric field controls the phononic ac Stark effect-the indirect exchange mechanism that is mediated by elliptically polarized phonons emitted from the ferromagnet. The effective magnetic field of the exchange interaction reaches up to 2.5 Tesla and can be turned on and off by application of 1V bias across the heterostructure.

Discretization of the total magnetic field by the nuclear spin bath in fluorine-doped ZnSe.

The coherent spin dynamics of fluorine donor-bound electrons in ZnSe induced by pulsed optical excitation is studied in a perpendicular applied magnetic field. The Larmor precession frequency serves as a measure for the total magnetic field exerted onto the electron spins and, surprisingly, does not increase linearly with the applied field, but shows a step-like behavior with pronounced plateaus, given by multiples of the laser repetition rate. This discretization occurs by a feedback mechanism in which the electron spins polarize the nuclear spins, which in turn generate a local Overhauser field adjusting the total magnetic field accordingly. Varying the optical excitation power, we can control the plateaus, in agreement with our theoretical model. From this model, we trace the observed discretization to the optically induced Stark field, which causes the dynamic nuclear polarization.

Dynamic spin polarization by orientation-dependent separation in a ferromagnet-semiconductor hybrid.

Integration of magnetism into semiconductor electronics would facilitate an all-in-one-chip computer. Ferromagnet/bulk semiconductor hybrids have been, so far, mainly considered as key devices to read out the ferromagnetism by means of spin injection. Here we demonstrate that a Mn-based ferromagnetic layer acts as an orientation-dependent separator for carrier spins confined in a semiconductor quantum well that is set apart from the ferromagnet by a barrier only a few nanometers thick. By this spin-separation effect, a non-equilibrium electron-spin polarization is accumulated in the quantum well due to spin-dependent electron transfer to the ferromagnet. The significant advance of this hybrid design is that the excellent optical properties of the quantum well are maintained. This opens up the possibility of optical readout of the ferromagnet's magnetization and control of the non-equilibrium spin polarization in non-magnetic quantum wells.

Optical orientation of Mn2+ ions in GaAs in weak longitudinal magnetic fields.

We report on optical orientation of Mn2+ ions in bulk GaAs subject to weak longitudinal magnetic fields (B≤100 mT). A manganese spin polarization of 25% is directly evaluated by using spin-flip Raman scattering. The dynamical Mn2+ polarization occurs due to the s-d exchange interaction with optically oriented conduction band electrons. Time-resolved photoluminescence reveals a nontrivial electron spin dynamics, where the oriented Mn2+ ions tend to stabilize the electron spins.

Nonthermal photocoercivity effect in a low-doped (Ga,Mn)As ferromagnetic semiconductor.

We report a photoinduced change of the coercive field, i.e., a photocoercivity effect (PCE), under very low intensity illumination of a low-doped (Ga,Mn)As ferromagnetic semiconductor. We find a strong correlation between the PCE and the sample resistivity. Spatially resolved dynamics of the magnetization reversal rule out any role of thermal heating in the origin of this PCE, and we propose a mechanism based on the light-induced lowering of the domain wall pinning energy. The PCE is local and reversible, allowing writing and erasing of magnetic images using light.

Suppression of electron spin relaxation in Mn-doped GaAs.

We report a surprisingly long spin relaxation time of electrons in Mn-doped p-GaAs. The spin relaxation time scales with the optical pumping and increases from 12 ns in the dark to 160 ns upon saturation. This behavior is associated with the difference in spin relaxation rates of electrons precessing in the fluctuating fields of ionized or neutral Mn acceptors, respectively. For the latter, the antiferromagnetic exchange interaction between a Mn ion and a bound hole results in a partial compensation of these fluctuating fields, leading to the enhanced spin memory.

Stabilization of the electron-nuclear spin orientation in quantum dots by the nuclear quadrupole interaction.

The nuclear quadrupole interaction eliminates the restrictions imposed by hyperfine interaction on the spin coherence of an electron and nuclei in a quantum dot. The strain-induced nuclear quadrupole interaction suppresses the nuclear spin flip and makes possible the zero-field dynamic nuclear polarization in self-organized InP/InGaP quantum dots. The direction of the effective nuclear magnetic field is fixed in space, thus quenching the magnetic depolarization of the electron spin in the quantum dot. The quadrupole interaction suppresses the zero-field electron spin decoherence also for the case of nonpolarized nuclei. These results provide a new vision of the role of the nuclear quadrupole interaction in nanostructures: it elongates the spin memory of the electron-nuclear system.

Nuclear spin nanomagnet in an optically excited quantum dot.

Linearly polarized light tuned slightly below the optical transition of the negatively charged exciton (trion) in a single quantum dot causes the spontaneous nuclear spin polarization (self-polarization) at a level close to 100%. The effective magnetic field of spin-polarized nuclei shifts the optical transition energy close to resonance with photon energy. The resonantly enhanced Overhauser effect sustains the stability of the nuclear self-polarization even in the absence of spin polarization of the quantum dot electron. As a result the optically selected single quantum dot represents a tiny magnet with the ferromagnetic ordering of nuclear spins-the nuclear spin nanomagnet.

Electrically tunable g factors in quantum dot molecular spin states.

We present a magnetophotoluminescence study of individual vertically stacked InAs/GaAs quantum dot pairs separated by thin tunnel barriers. As an applied electric field tunes the relative energies of the two dots, we observe a strong resonant increase or decrease in the g factors of different spin states that have molecular wave functions distributed over both quantum dots. We propose a phenomenological model for the change in g factor based on resonant changes in the amplitude of the wave function in the barrier due to the formation of bonding and antibonding orbitals.

Optical signatures of coupled quantum dots.

An asymmetric pair of coupled InAs quantum dots is tuned into resonance by applying an electric field so that a single hole forms a coherent molecular wave function. The optical spectrum shows a rich pattern of level anticrossings and crossings that can be understood as a superposition of charge and spin configurations of the two dots. Coulomb interactions shift the molecular resonance of the optically excited state (charged exciton) with respect to the ground state (single charge), enabling light-induced coupling of the quantum dots. This result demonstrates the possibility of optically coupling quantum dots for application in quantum information processing.

Polarized fine structure in the photoluminescence excitation spectrum of a negatively charged quantum dot.

We report polarized photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy of the negative trion in single charge-tunable quantum dots. The spectrum exhibits a p-shell resonance with polarized fine structure arising from the direct excitation of the electron spin triplet states. The energy splitting arises from the axially symmetric electron-hole exchange interaction. The magnitude and sign of the polarization are understood from the spin character of the triplet states and a small amount of quantum dot asymmetry, which mixes the wave functions through asymmetric e-e and e-h exchange interactions.

Optical pumping of the electronic and nuclear spin of single charge-tunable quantum dots.

We present a comprehensive examination of optical pumping of spins in individual GaAs quantum dots as we change the net charge from positive to neutral to negative with a charge-tunable heterostructure. Negative photoluminescence polarization memory is enhanced by optical pumping of ground state electron spins, which we prove with the first measurements of the Hanle effect on an individual quantum dot. We use the Overhauser effect in a high longitudinal magnetic field to demonstrate efficient optical pumping of nuclear spins for all three charge states of the quantum dot.

Suppression of Dyakonov-Perel spin relaxation in high-mobility n-GaAs.

We report a large and unexpected suppression of the free electron spin-relaxation in lightly doped n-GaAs bulk crystals. The spin-relaxation rate shows a weak mobility dependence and saturates at a level 30 times less than that predicted by the Dyakonov-Perel theory. The dynamics of the spin-orbit field differs substantially from the usual scheme: although all the experimental data can be self-consistently interpreted as a precessional spin-relaxation induced by a random spin-orbit field, the correlation time of this random field, surprisingly, is much shorter than, and is independent of, the momentum relaxation time determined from transport measurements.

Manipulation of the spin memory of electrons in n-GaAs.

We report on the optical manipulation of the electron spin relaxation time in a GaAs-based heterostructure. Experimental and theoretical study shows that the average electron spin relaxes through hyperfine interaction with the lattice nuclei, and that the rate can be controlled by electron-electron interactions. This time has been changed from 300 ns down to 5 ns by variation of the laser frequency. This modification originates in the optically induced depletion of an n-GaAs layer.

Electron and nuclear spin interactions in the optical spectra of single GaAs quantum dots.

Fine and hyperfine splittings arising from electron, hole, and nuclear spin interactions in the magneto-optical spectra of individual localized excitons are studied. We explain the magnetic field dependence of the energy splitting through competition between Zeeman, exchange, and hyperfine interactions. An unexpectedly small hyperfine contribution to the splitting close to zero applied field is described well by the interplay between fluctuations of the hyperfine field experienced by the nuclear spin and nuclear dipole/dipole interactions.