Influence of optical coherence on the electron spin in singly charged InP quantum dots excited by resonant laser pulses

Abstract

We have experimentally studied the spin dynamics of excitons, electrons, and trions in charge-tunable InP/InGaP quantum dots (QDs) excited by picosecond resonant laser pulses by observing the time-resolved Kerr rotation. In singly charged QDs, inversion of the spin polarization direction of doped electrons is found to be caused simply by variation in the pulse intensity, which is accompanied by an abrupt change of the spin coherence time. This phenomenon is reproduced by density-matrix calculations allowing for the reaction on the QD electron-trion four-level system during its coherent radiation emission. This result means that the optical coherence is another critical factor affecting electron spin coherence. © 2012 American Physical Society.