arXiv subjects

M. Oestreich

Publications and source records attributed to M. Oestreich.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2018

Spin and reoccupation noise in a single quantum dot beyond the fluctuation-dissipation theorem

We report on the nonequilibrium spin noise of a single InGaAs quantum dot charged by a single hole under strong driving by a linearly polarized probe light field. The spectral dependency of the spin noise power evidences a homogeneous broadening and negligible charge fluctuations in the environment of the unbiased quantum dot. Full analysis of the spin noise spectra beyond the fluctuation-dissipation theorem yields the heavy-hole spin dynamics as well as the trion spin dynamics. Moreover, the experiment reveals an additional much weaker noise contribution in the Kerr rotation noise spectra. This additional noise contribution has a maximum at the quantum dot resonance and shows a significantly longer correlation time. Magnetic-field-dependent measurements in combination with theoretical modeling prove that this additional noise contribution unveils a charge reoccupation noise which is intrinsic in naturally charged quantum dots.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Closing the gap between spatial and spin dynamics of electrons at the metal-to-insulator transition

We combine extensive precision measurements of the optically detected spin dynamics and magneto-transport measurements in a contiguous set of n-doped bulk GaAs structures in order to unambiguously unravel the intriguing but complex contributions to the spin relaxation at the metal-to-insulator transition (MIT). Just below the MIT, the interplay between hopping induced loss of spin coherence and hyperfine interaction yields a maximum spin lifetime exceeding 800~ns. At slightly higher doping concentrations, however, the spin relaxation deviates from the expected Dyakonov-Perel mechanism which is consistently explained by a reduction of the effective motional narrowing with increasing doping concentration. The reduction is attributed to the change of the dominant momentum scattering mechanism in the metallic impurity band where scattering by local conductivity domain boundaries due to the intrinsic random distribution of donors becomes significant. Here, we fully identify and model all intricate contributions of the relevant microscopic scattering mechanisms which allows the complete quantitative modeling of the electron spin relaxation in the entire regime from weakly interacting up to fully delocalized electrons.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

Electron spin orientation under in-plane optical excitation in GaAs quantum wells

We study the optical orientation of electron spins in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells for excitation in the growth direction and for in-plane excitation. Time- and polarization-resolved photoluminescence excitation measurements show, for resonant excitation of the heavy-hole conduction band transition, a negligible degree of electron spin polarization for in-plane excitation and nearly 100% for excitation in the growth direction. For resonant excitation of the light-hole conduction band transition, the excited electron spin polarization has the same (opposite) direction for in-plane excitation (in the growth direction) as for excitation into the continuum. The experimental results are well explained by an accurate multiband theory of excitonic absorption taking fully into account electron-hole Coulomb correlations and heavy-hole light-hole coupling.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Spin noise spectroscopy of donor bound electrons in ZnO

We investigate the intrinsic spin dynamics of electrons bound to Al impurities in bulk ZnO by optical spin noise spectroscopy. Spin noise spectroscopy enables us to investigate the longitudinal and transverse spin relaxation time with respect to nuclear and external magnetic fields in a single spectrum. On one hand, the spin dynamic is dominated by the intrinsic hyperfine interaction with the nuclear spins of the naturally occurring $^{67}$Zn isotope. We measure a typical spin dephasing time of 23 ns in agreement with the expected theoretical values. On the other hand, we measure a third, very high spin dephasing rate which is attributed to a high defect density of the investigated ZnO material. Measurements of the spin dynamics under the influence of transverse as well as longitudinal external magnetic fields unambiguously reveal the intriguing connections of the electron spin with its nuclear and structural environment.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Measurement of heavy-hole spin dephasing in (InGa)As quantum dots

We measure the spin dephasing of holes localized in self-assembled (InGa)As quantum dots by spin noise spectroscopy. The localized holes show a distinct hyperfine interaction with the nuclear spin bath despite the p-type symmetry of the valence band states. The experiments reveal a short spin relaxation time τ_{fast}^{hh} of 27 ns and a second, long spin relaxation time τ_{slow}^{hh} which exceeds the latter by more than one order of magnitude. The two times are attributed to heavy hole spins aligned perpendicular and parallel to the stochastic nuclear magnetic field. Intensity dependent measurements and numerical simulations reveal that the long relaxation time is still obscured by light absorption, despite low laser intensity and large detuning. Off-resonant light absorption causes a suppression of the spin noise signal due to the creation of a second hole entailing a vanishing hole spin polarization.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Spin noise spectroscopy under resonant optical probing conditions: coherent and non-linear effects

High sensitivity Faraday rotation spectroscopy is used to measure the fluctuating magnetization noise of non-interacting rubidium atoms under resonant and non-resonant optical probing conditions. The spin noise frequency spectra in dependence on the probe light detuning with respect to the D2-transition reveals clear signatures of a coherent coupling of the participating electronic levels. The results are explained by extended Bloch equations including homogeneous and inhomogeneous broadening mechanisms. Our measurements further indicate that spin noise originating from excited states are governed at high intensities by collective effects.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2011

Electron g-Factor Anisotropy in Symmetric (110)-oriented GaAs Quantum Wells

We demonstrate by spin quantum beat spectroscopy that in undoped symmetric (110)-oriented GaAs/AlGaAs single quantum wells even a symmetric spatial envelope wavefunction gives rise to an asymmetric in-plane electron Landé-g-factor. The anisotropy is neither a direct consequence of the asymmetric in-plane Dresselhaus splitting nor of the asymmetric Zeeman splitting of the hole bands but is a pure higher order effect that exists as well for diamond type lattices. The measurements for various well widths are very well described within 14 x 14 band k.p theory and illustrate that the electron spin is an excellent meter variable to map out the internal -otherwise hidden- symmetries in two dimensional systems. Fourth order perturbation theory yields an analytical expression for the strength of the g-factor anisotropy, providing a qualitative understanding of the observed effects.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Electron spin relaxation as evidence of excitons in an electron-hole plasma

We exploit the influence of the Coulomb interaction between electrons and holes on the electron spin relaxation in a (110)-GaAs quantum well to unveil excitonic signatures within the many particle electron-hole system. The temperature dependent time- and polarization-resolved photoluminescence measurements span five decades of carrier density, comprise the transition from localized excitons over quasi free excitons to an electron-hole plasma, and reveal strong excitonic signatures even at relatively high densities and temperatures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Semiconductor Spin Noise Spectroscopy: Fundamentals, Accomplishments, and Challenges

Semiconductor spin noise spectroscopy (SNS) has emerged as a unique experimental tool that utilizes spin fluctuations to provide profound insight into undisturbed spin dynamics in doped semiconductors and semiconductor nanostructures. The technique maps ever present stochastic spin polarization of free and localized carriers at thermal equilibrium via the Faraday effect onto the light polarization of an off-resonant probe laser and was transferred from atom optics to semiconductor physics in 2005. The inimitable advantage of spin noise spectroscopy to all other probes of semiconductor spin dynamics lies in the fact that in principle no energy has to be dissipated in the sample, i.e., SNS exclusively yields the intrinsic, undisturbed spin dynamics and promises optical non-demolition spin measurements for prospective solid state based optical spin quantum information devices. SNS is especially suitable for small electron ensembles as the relative noise increases with decreasing number of electrons. In this review, we first introduce the basic principles of SNS and the difference in spin noise of donor bound and of delocalized conduction band electrons. We continue the introduction by discussing the spectral shape of spin noise and prospects of spin noise as a quantum interface between light and matter. In the main part, we give a short overview about spin relaxation in semiconductors and summarize corresponding experiments employing SNS. Finally, we give in-depth insight into the experimental aspects and discuss possible applications of SNS.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Spin-orbit fields in asymmetric (001) quantum wells

We measure simultaneously the in-plane electron g-factor and spin relaxation rate in a series of undoped inversion-asymmetric (001)-oriented GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells by spin-quantum beat spectroscopy. In combination the two quantities reveal the absolute values of both the Rashba and the Dresselhaus coefficients and prove that the Rashba coefficient can be negligibly small despite huge conduction band potential gradients which break the inversion symmetry. The negligible Rashba coefficient is a consequence of the 'isomorphism' of conduction and valence band potentials in quantum systems where the asymmetry is solely produced by alloy variations.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Electron spin relaxation in bulk GaAs for doping densities close to the metal-to-insulator transition

We have measured the electron spin relaxation rate and the integrated spin noise power in n-doped GaAs for temperatures between 4 K and 80 K and for doping concentrations ranging from 2.7 x 10^{-15} cm^{-3} to 8.8 x 10^{-16} cm^{-3} using spin noise spectroscopy. The temperature dependent measurements show a clear transition from localized to free electrons for the lower doped samples and confirm mainly free electrons at all temperatures for the highest doped sample. While the sample at the metal-insulator-transition shows the longest spin relaxation time at low temperatures, a clear crossing of the spin relaxation rates is observed at 70 K and the highest doped sample reveals the longest spin relaxation time above 70 K.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Temperature dependent Electron Landé g-Factor and Interband Matrix Element in GaAs

Very high precision measurements of the electron Lande g-factor in GaAs are presented using spin-quantum beat spectroscopy at low excitation densities and temperatures ranging from 2.6 to 300 K. In colligation with available data for the temperature dependent effective mass a temperature dependence of the interband matrix element within a common five level kp-theory can model both parameters consistently. A strong decrease of the interband matrix element with increasing temperature consistently closes a long lasting gap between experiment and theory and substantially improves the modeling of both parameters.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2005

Spin noise spectroscopy in GaAs

We observe the noise spectrum of electron spins in bulk GaAs by Faraday rotation noise spectroscopy. The experimental technique enables the undisturbed measurement of the electron spin dynamics in semiconductors. We measure exemplarily the electron spin relaxation time and the electron Lande g-factor in n-doped GaAs at low temperatures and find good agreement of the measured noise spectrum with an unpretentious theory based on Poisson distribution probability.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2004

Optical orientation of electron spins in GaAs quantum wells

We present a detailed experimental and theoretical analysis of the optical orientation of electron spins in GaAs/AlAs quantum wells. Using time and polarization resolved photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy, the initial degree of electron spin polarization is measured as a function of excitation energy for a sequence of quantum wells with well widths between 63 Ang and 198 Ang. The experimental results are compared with an accurate theory of excitonic absorption taking fully into account electron-hole Coulomb correlations and heavy-hole light-hole coupling. We find in wide quantum wells that the measured initial degree of polarization of the luminescence follows closely the spin polarization of the optically excited electrons calculated as a function of energy. This implies that the orientation of the electron spins is essentially preserved when the electrons relax from the optically excited high-energy states to quasi-thermal equilibrium of their momenta. Due to initial spin relaxation, the measured polarization in narrow quantum wells is reduced by a constant factor that does not depend on the excitation energy.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2004

Traces of stimulated bosonic exciton-scattering in semiconductor luminescence

We observe signatures of stimulated bosonic scattering of excitons, a precursor of Bose-Einstein-Condensation (BEC), in the photoluminescence of semiconductor quantum wells. The optical decay of a spinless molecule of two excitons (biexciton) into an exciton and a photon with opposite angular momenta is subject to bosonic enhancement in the presence of other excitons. In a spin polarized gas of excitons the bosonic enhancement breaks the symmetry of two equivalent decay channels leading to circularly polarized luminescence of the biexciton with the sign opposite to the excitonic luminescence. Comparison of experiment and many body theory proves stimulated scattering of excitons, but excludes the presence of a fully condensed BEC-like state.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2004

Anomalous Spin Dephasing in (110) GaAs Quantum Wells: Anisotropy and Intersubband Effects

A strong anisotropy of electron spin decoherence is observed in GaAs/(AlGa)As quantum wells grown on (110) oriented substrate. The spin lifetime of spins perpendicular to the growth direction is about one order of magnitude shorter compared to spins along (110). The spin lifetimes of both spin orientations decrease monotonically above a temperature of 80 and 120 K, respectively. The decrease is very surprising for spins along (110) direction and cannot be explained by the usual Dyakonov Perel dephasing mechanism. A novel spin dephasing mechanism is put forward that is based on scattering of electrons between different quantum well subbands.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗