TY - JOUR
T1 - Electron spin-relaxation dynamics in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells and InGaAs/InP quantum wells
AU - Tackeuchi, Atsushi
AU - Kuroda, Takamasa
AU - Muto, Shunichi
AU - Nishikawa, Yuji
AU - Wada, Osamu
PY - 1999/8/15
Y1 - 1999/8/15
N2 - We have investigated the spin-relaxation process of electrons at room temperature in undoped GaAs/AlGaAs multiple-quantum wells (MQWs) and InGaAs/InP MQWs. The spin-relaxation times are measured for different well thicknesses using time-resolved spin-dependent pump and probe absorption measurement. The spin-relaxation time, τs, for GaAs MQWs was found to depend on the electron confinement energy, E1e, according to τs ∝ E1e-2.2, demonstrating that the main spin-relaxation mechanism at room temperature is the D'yakonov-Perel' process. The measured spin-relaxation times of InGaAs MQWs whose band-gap is about half that of GaAs MQWs arc about 5 ps and vary depending on the quantum confinement energy, E1e, according to τs ∝ E1e-1.0. The spin-relaxation time by Elliott-Yafet process, which becomes stronger for narrower band-gap materials, is calculated for quantum wells and shown to vary according to τs ∝ E1e-1. The spin-relaxation mechanism and possible applications using this fast spin-relaxation process are discussed.
AB - We have investigated the spin-relaxation process of electrons at room temperature in undoped GaAs/AlGaAs multiple-quantum wells (MQWs) and InGaAs/InP MQWs. The spin-relaxation times are measured for different well thicknesses using time-resolved spin-dependent pump and probe absorption measurement. The spin-relaxation time, τs, for GaAs MQWs was found to depend on the electron confinement energy, E1e, according to τs ∝ E1e-2.2, demonstrating that the main spin-relaxation mechanism at room temperature is the D'yakonov-Perel' process. The measured spin-relaxation times of InGaAs MQWs whose band-gap is about half that of GaAs MQWs arc about 5 ps and vary depending on the quantum confinement energy, E1e, according to τs ∝ E1e-1.0. The spin-relaxation time by Elliott-Yafet process, which becomes stronger for narrower band-gap materials, is calculated for quantum wells and shown to vary according to τs ∝ E1e-1. The spin-relaxation mechanism and possible applications using this fast spin-relaxation process are discussed.
KW - D'yakonov-Perel'
KW - Electron
KW - Elliott-Yafet
KW - InGaAs
KW - MOW
KW - Spin-relaxation
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U2 - 10.1143/jjap.38.4680
DO - 10.1143/jjap.38.4680
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0033176797
VL - 38
SP - 4680
EP - 4687
JO - Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Part 1: Regular Papers & Short Notes
JF - Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Part 1: Regular Papers & Short Notes
SN - 0021-4922
IS - 8 B
ER -