Optical polarization of nuclei and ODNMR in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells

Abstract

Optical orientation of electrons was used to polarize the crystal lattice nuclei in quantum-size heterostructures and to study the effect of the conduction band spin splitting on the spin states of quasi-two-dimensional (2D) electrons drifting in an external electric field. High (∼1%) nuclear polarization was registered using polarized luminescence and ODNMR in single GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells. Measurement was made of the hyperfine interaction fields created by polarized nuclei on electrons and by electrons on nuclei. The spin-lattice relaxation of nuclei on the non-degenerate 2D electron gas was calculated. A comparison of the theoretical and experimental longitudinal relaxation times permitted the conclusion that the localized charge carriers are responsible for nuclear polarization in quantum wells in the temperature range of 2–77 K. A new effect has been studied, i.e. induction of an effective magnetic field acting on 2D electron spins when electrons drift in an external electric field in the quantum well plane. This effective field Beff is due to the spin splitting of the conduction band of 2D electrons. The paper discusses possible registration of an ODNMR signal when the field Beff is modulated by an electric current during optical orientation.