Rizo PJ, Pugzlys A, Liu J, Reuter D, Wieck AD, van der Wal CH, van Loosdrecht PHM. Compact cryogenic Kerr microscope for time-resolved studies of electron spin transport in microstructures.
THE REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS 2008;
79:123904. [PMID:
19123576 DOI:
10.1063/1.3046283]
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Abstract
A compact cryogenic Kerr microscope for operation in the small volume of high-field magnets is described. It is suited for measurements both in Voigt and Faraday configurations. Coupled with a pulsed laser source, the microscope is used to measure the time-resolved Kerr rotation response of semiconductor microstructures with approximately 1 mum spatial resolution. The microscope was designed to study spin transport, a critical issue in the field of spintronics. It is thus possible to generate spin polarization at a given location on a microstructure and probe it at a different location. The operation of the microscope is demonstrated by time-resolved measurements of micrometer distance diffusion of spin polarized electrons in a GaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction quantum well at 4.2 K and 7 T.
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