The role of spin-orbit coupling and hyperfine coupling in optical pumping ofF-centres

Optical pumping experiments onF-centres in potassium halides are described. The ground state polarization of the electronic spins achieved by optical pumping of isolatedF-centres is strongly dependent on the magnetic field and the wave-length of the pumping light. Experimentally it does not show the simple relationship to the magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) that has generally been assumed. A closer theoretical analysis shows indeed that the phenomena depend critically on the kind of spin mixing that prevails in the pumping cycle.If spin orbit coupling in the absorption band is the dominant spin mixing mechanism the sign of the pumping effect will be the same everywhere in the absorption band, if some other mechanism like spin mixing by radiationless transitions or hyperfine coupling to the surrounding nuclear spins prevails, the sign will follow the MCD. In strong magnetic fields experiments argue in favour of the first alternative, in low fields spin mixing by hyperfine coupling becomes important. On this basis the mechanism of optical pumping ofF-centres is discussed, and rate equations are given.     

Optical pumping of a Ne(3P2) atom beam with a multimode laser

Stable optical pumping of a neon metastable atom beam is achieved using a multimode dye laser. The factors that give rise to this stability are discussed. The resultant polarized beam is suitable for the study of electron spin and orbital orientation dependences in a variety of metastable atom collision processes.     

Production of a nuclear spin polarized23Na-beam by optical pumping

Nuclear spin polarization of an atomic²³Na-beam was produced by a combination of optical pumping with a dye laser and a sextupole magnet and, alternatively, by optical pumping with two dye lasers. The maximum value measured for the vector polarization wasP _z=0.86+0.08, using beam foil spectroscopy. Further improvements of polarized ion sources based on this principle are discussed.     

Calculation of gain at X-ray wavelengths resulting from optical pumping of helium-like ions

An equivalent two level scheme is described for calculating level populations of helium-like ions in dense optically thick plasmas. The scheme is used to show how population inversions due to optical pumping of 3Por 4P states are affected by line trapping. The importance of various line broadening mechanisms for determining gain is briefly discussed.     

Optical spin orientation of a single manganese atom in a quantum dot

The magnetic state of a single magnetic atom (Mn) embedded in an individual semiconductor quantum dot is optically probed using micro-spectroscopy. A high degree of spin polarization can be achieved for an individual Mn atom localized in a quantum dot using quasi-resonant or fully-resonant optical excitation at zero magnetic field. Optically created spin polarized carriers generate an energy splitting of the Mn spin and enable magnetic moment orientation controlled by the photon helicity and energy. The dynamics and the magnetic field dependence of the optical pumping mechanism shows that the spin lifetime of an isolated Mn atom at zero magnetic field is controlled by a magnetic anisotropy induced by the built-in strain in the quantum dots. The Mn spin distribution prepared by optical pumping is fully conserved for a few microseconds. This opens the way to full optical control of the spin state of an individual magnetic atom in a solid state environment.     

High field electron-spin transport and observation of the Dyakonov-Perel spin relaxation of drifting electrons in low temperature-grown gallium arsenide

High field electron-spin transport in low temperature-grown gallium arsenide is studied. We generate electron spins in the samples by optical pumping. During transport, we observe the Dyakonov-Perel (DP) [M.I. Dyakonov, V.I. Perel, Zh. Eksp. Teor. Fiz. 60 (1971) 1954] spin relaxation of the drifting electrons. The results are discussed and are compared with those obtained in calculations of the DP spin relaxation frequency of the hot electrons. A good agreement is obtained.     

Optically pumped polarized H− ion sources for RHIC and HERA colliders

Optically-Pumped Polarized Ion Sources (OPPIS) are based on polarization transfer collisions between hydrogen (or deuterium) ions and an optically-pumped electron spin polarized alkali metal vapor. The results of studies on optical pumping of high density alkali metal vapour and spin exchange and charge-exchange polarization transfer collisions are discussed. The results of high current OPPIS development for Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), BNL and HERA, DESY are also presented. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

High capacity production of >65% spin polarized xenon-129 for NMR spectroscopy and imaging

A rubidium spin exchange optical pumping system for high capacity production of >65% spin polarized 129Xe gas is described. This system is based on a fiber coupled multiple laser diode array capable of producing an unprecedented 210 W of circularly polarized light at the pumping cell with a laser line width of 1.6 nm. The 129Xe nuclear spin polarization is measured as a function of flow rate, pumping cell pressure, and laser power for varying pumping gas compositions. A maximum 129Xe nuclear polarization of 67% was achieved using a 0.6% Xe mixture at a Xe flow rate of 2.45 sccm. The ability to generate 12% polarized 129Xe at rates in excess of 1L-atm/h is also demonstrated. To achieve production of 129Xe gas at even higher polarization will rely on further optimization of the pumping cell and laser beam geometries in order to mitigate problems associated with temperature gradients that are encountered at high laser power and Rb density.     

Optical pumping nuclear magnetic resonance system rotating in a plane parallel to the quantization axis

A model of an optical pumping nuclear magnetic resonance system rotating in a plane parallel to the quantization axis is presented. Different coordinate frames for nuclear spin polarization vector are introduced, and theoretical calculation is conducted to analyze this model. We demonstrate that when the optical pumping nuclear magnetic resonance system rotates in a plane parallel to the quantization axis, it will maintain a steady state with respect to the quantization axis which is independent of rotational speed and direction.     

He polarization for ISIS TS2 phase I instruments

Here we report on the development of polarization analysis (PA) techniques to be employed at the ISIS pulsed neutron source second target station. Both spin exchange optical pumping and metastability exchange optical pumping techniques are being developed at ISIS to produce polarized neutron spin filters for use as neutron polarizers and analysers. We focus on the developments of a polarization solution on the LET spectrometer, including the updated design of the PASTIS XYZ coil set and single crystal silicon analyser cell. We also report on the construction of a combined polarizer/analyser solution for the WISH diffractometer.     

Optically controlled initialization and read-out of an electron spin bound to a fluorine donor in ZnSe

Here we report photon antibunching and magneto-spectroscopy of a single electron spin bound to a fluorine donor in a ZnMgSe/ZnSe QW nanostructure. The results confirm the presence of an optically controllable lambda-system which allows the optical manipulation of the electron bound to the neutral fluorine donor as a spin qubit. Moreover, we achieved optical spin pumping of the qubit by resonant excitation of each of the four allowed transitions of the lambda system. We verified the spin transfer by detecting single photons when the bound electron decays into the opposite spin state. The results presented here constitutes an elegant initialization and the read-out procedure of the electron spin qubit bound to a fluorine donor which are prerequisite for coherent optical control of an impurity based solid-state spin qubit.     

Electron–Nuclear Spin Dynamics in Semiconductor QDs

This work presents an overview of investigations of the nuclear spin dynamics in nanostructures with negatively charged InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots characterized by strong quadrupole splitting of nuclear spin sublevels. The main method of the investigations is the experimental measurements and the theoretical analysis of the photoluminescence polarization as a function of the transverse magnetic field (effect Hanle). The dependence of the Hanle curve profile on the temporal protocol of optical excitation is examined. Experimental data are analyzed using an original approach based on separate consideration of behavior of the longitudinal and transverse components of the nuclear polarization. The rise and decay times of each component of the nuclear polarization and their dependence on transverse magnetic field strength are determined. To study the role of the Knight field in the dynamic of nuclear polarization, a weak additional magnetic field parallel to the optical axis is used. We have found that, only taking into account the nuclear spin fluctuations, we can accurately describe the measured Hanle curves and evaluate the parameters of the electron–nuclear spin system in the studied quantum dots. A new effect of the resonant optical pumping of nuclear spin polarization in an ensemble of the singly charged (In,Ga)As/GaAs quantum dots subjected to a transverse magnetic field is discussed. Nuclear spin resonances for all isotopes in the quantum dots are detected in that way. In particular, transitions between the states split off from the ±1/2 doublets by the nuclear quadrupole interaction are identified.     

Effect of Quantum Interference from Incoherent Pumping Field and Spontaneous Emission on Controlling the Optical Bistability and Multi-Stability

Optical bistability (OB) and optical multi-stability (OM) of a four-level Λ-type atomic system with two fold lower levels inside a unidirectional ring cavity is investigated. The effect of quantum interference arising from spontaneous emission and incoherent pumping on OB and OM is discussed. It is found that the threshold of OB and OM can be controlled by quantum interference mechanisms. In addition intensity of coupling field and the rate of an incoherent pumping field on behavior of OB and OM are then discussed.     

Optical pumping and a nondestructive readout of a single magnetic impurity spin in an InAs/GaAs quantum dot

We report on the resonant optical pumping of the | ± 1? spin states of a single Mn dopant in an InAs/GaAs quantum dot which is embedded in a charge tunable device. The experiment relies on a W scheme of transitions reached when a suitable longitudinal magnetic field is applied. The optical pumping is achieved via the resonant excitation of the central Λ system at the neutral exciton X(0) energy. For a specific gate voltage, the redshifted photoluminescence of the charged exciton X- is observed, which allows a nondestructive readout of the spin polarization. An arbitrary spin preparation in the | + 1? or |-1? state characterized by a polarization near or above 50% is evidenced.     

通过极化原子束的磁偏转实现激光同位素浓缩

本文描述一种通过极化原子束的磁偏转实现同位素和同质异能素浓缩的新方法。用具有不同频率和偏振的激光进行选择性光抽运,使束中两同位素的原子分别反向高度极化,然后使这些反向极化的原子在经过自旋选态磁铁后沿不同方向偏转,从而实现同位素浓缩。推算了此法的选择性和产量,与其他方法相比,讨论了其优缺点和可能的应用前景。提出了用锂或钾进行实验的方案。 关键词：     

Photoluminescence polarization of semiconductor nanocrystals

We review the polarization properties of photoluminescence (PL) in nanocrystals (NCs) from both theoretical and experimental points of view. We show that, under linearly polarized excitation, NCs emit partly polarized light owing to their uniaxial structure or their anisotropic shape. In elongated NCs, the anisotropy may have two origins, the electronic confinement or the effect of depolarizing field created by the light-induced charges on the interfaces. Results of polarization studies in porous silicon are presented. They are explained by the shape of the Si NCs. Experiments in CdSe NCs reveal the fine structure of the excitonic levels and show evidence of the enhancement of the electron-hole exchange energy with decreasing NC size. Spin orientation in wurtzite-type NCs is achieved by optical pumping with circularly polarized light. The effect of a magnetic field on the degree of circular polarization and the mechanisms of spin relaxation are discussed. Results in large-size NCs are presented.     

As much of cosmology as is possible

This article traces the development of optical pumping from the ideas first elaborated by Kastler in 1950. It deals with the general characteristics of optical pumping, the optical ‘magnetization’ of gases and vapours, spin exchange, metastability exchange, orientation by collision, multiple quantum resonances, atomic coherences, quantum beats, and dressed atoms: and concludes with a note on laser spectroscopy.     

Theoretical studies of the atom-dimer polarization transfer

The polarization of alkali atoms in an alkali vapour produced by optical pumping is transferred to the alkali dimers. The effect of this atom-dimer polarization transfer on the internal variables of the atoms and molecules, such as electron spin and nuclear spin, is investigated theoretically in this paper.