Longitudinal and transversal spin dynamics of donor-bound electrons in fluorine-doped ZnSe: spin inertia versus Hanle effect

Abstract: The spin dynamics of the strongly localized, donor-bound electrons in fluorine-doped ZnSe epilayers is studied by pump-probe Kerr rotation techniques. A method exploiting the spin inertia is developed and used to measure the longitudinal spin relaxation time, $T_1$, in a wide range of magnetic fields, temperatures, and pump densities. The $T_1$ time of the donor-bound electron spin of about 1.6 $\mu$s remains nearly constant for external magnetic fields varied from zero up to 2.5 T (Faraday geometry) and in a temperature range $1.8-45$ K. The inhomogeneous spin dephasing time, $T_2^*=8-33$ ns, is measured using the resonant spin amplification and Hanle effects under pulsed and steady-state pumping, respectively. These findings impose severe restrictions on possible spin relaxation mechanisms.