Magnetic ion relaxation time distribution within a quantum well

Abstract

Time-resolved optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) is a valuable technique to study the local deformation of the crystal lattice around magnetic ion as well as the ion spin relaxation time. Here we utilize selective Mn-doping to additionally enhance the inherent locality of the ODMR technique. We present the time-resolved ODMR studies of single {(Cd,Mg)Te/(Cd,Mn)Te} quantum wells (QWs) with manganese ions located at different positions along the growth axis -- in the center or on the sides of the quantum well. We observe that spin-lattice relaxation of Mn$^{2+}$ significantly depends on the ion-carrier wavefunction overlap at low-magnetic fields. Interestingly, the effect is clearly observed in spite of very low carrier density, which suggests the potential for control of the Mn$^{2+}$ ion relaxation rate by means of the electric field in future experiments.