Optical spin orientation of an individualMn2+ion in a CdSe/ZnSe quantum dot

Abstract

We demonstrate optical spin orientation of an individual ${\mathrm{Mn}}^{2+}$ ion embedded in a CdSe/ZnSe quantum dot. It is achieved through the injection of spin-polarized excitons to the dot under circularly polarized below-the-barrier optical excitation at energy sufficiently close to the dot emission energy. The efficiencies of both the exciton spin-transfer and optical pumping of the ${\mathrm{Mn}}^{2+}$ spin are studied by means of polarization-resolved single-dot spectroscopy performed at magnetic field in a Faraday configuration. The ion spin orientation efficiency is found to increase significantly with the magnetic field, while the spin-polarization degree of injected excitons remains constant and yields about 40%.