Ultrafast spin dynamics in optically excited bulk GaAs at low temperatures

This paper presents a study of electron spin dynamics in bulk GaAs at low temperatures for elevated optical excitation conditions. Our time-resolved Faraday rotation measurements yield subnanosecond electron spin-dephasing times over a wide range of n-doping concentrations in quantitative agreement with a microscopic treatment of electron spin dynamics. The calculation shows the occurrence and breakdown of motional narrowing for spin dephasing under elevated excitation conditions. We also find a peak of the spin-dephasing time around a doping density for which, under lower excitation conditions, a metal-insulator transition occurs. However, the experimental results for high excitation can be explained without a metal-insulator transition. We therefore attribute the peak in spin-dephasing times to the influence of screening and scattering on the spin dynamics of the excited electrons. ©2010 The American Physical Society