Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Part I Nanostructure design and structural properties of epitaxially grown quantum dots and nanowires
- Part II Manipulation of individual quantum states in quantum dots using optical techniques
- Part III Optical properties of quantum dots in photonic cavities and plasmon-coupled dots
- Part IV Quantum dot nano-laboratory: magnetic ions and nuclear spins in a dot
- 12 Dynamics and optical control of an individual Mn spin in a quantum dot
- 13 Optical spectroscopy of InAs/GaAs quantum dots doped with a single Mn atom
- 14 Nuclear spin effects in quantum dot optics
- Part V Electron transport in quantum dots fabricated by lithographic techniques from III–V semiconductors and graphene
- Part VI Single dots for future telecommunications applications
- Index
- References
12 - Dynamics and optical control of an individual Mn spin in a quantum dot
from Part IV - Quantum dot nano-laboratory: magnetic ions and nuclear spins in a dot
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Part I Nanostructure design and structural properties of epitaxially grown quantum dots and nanowires
- Part II Manipulation of individual quantum states in quantum dots using optical techniques
- Part III Optical properties of quantum dots in photonic cavities and plasmon-coupled dots
- Part IV Quantum dot nano-laboratory: magnetic ions and nuclear spins in a dot
- 12 Dynamics and optical control of an individual Mn spin in a quantum dot
- 13 Optical spectroscopy of InAs/GaAs quantum dots doped with a single Mn atom
- 14 Nuclear spin effects in quantum dot optics
- Part V Electron transport in quantum dots fabricated by lithographic techniques from III–V semiconductors and graphene
- Part VI Single dots for future telecommunications applications
- Index
- References
Summary
We show in this review that the spin state of a single magnetic atom embedded in an individual semiconductor quantum dot can be optically probed. A high degree of spin polarization can be achieved for an individual Mn atom using quasi-resonant or fully resonant optical excitation of the quantum dot at zero magnetic field. Under quasi-resonant excitation, optically created spin-polarized carriers generate an energy splitting of the Mn spin and enable magnetic moment orientation controlled by the photon helicity and energy. Monitoring the time dependence of the intensity of the fluorescence during a resonant optical pumping process allows us to directly probe the dynamics of the initialization of the Mn spin. The dynamics and the magnetic field dependence of the optical-pumping mechanism shows that the spin lifetime of an isolated Mn atom at zero magnetic field is controlled by a magnetic anisotropy induced by the built-in strain in the quantum dots. The Mn spin state prepared by optical pumping is fully conserved for a few microseconds. These experiments open the way to full optical control of the spin state of an individual magnetic atom in a solid state environment.
Introduction
The ability to control spins in semiconductor nanostructures is an important issue for spintronics and quantum information processing. Single-spin detection and control is a key but very challenging step for any spin-based solid-state quantum computing device. In the past few years, efficient optical techniques have been developed to control the spin of individual carriers [34] or ensemble of nuclei [22] in semiconductor quantum dots (QDs).
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- Quantum DotsOptics, Electron Transport and Future Applications, pp. 205 - 220Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2012