Spin dynamics in dilute nitride semiconductors at room temperature -: art. no. 252115

We report optical studies in undoped GaAsN epilayers and InGaAsN quantum wells, which show that a strong electron spin polarization can persist at room temperature. This is a direct consequence of the long spin relaxation time of electrons in dilute nitride materials. Introducing less than 1% of nitrogen in the binary (GaAs) or ternary (InGaAs) alloy increases the electron spin relaxation time at T=300 K by a factor greater than 20 in as-grown material before annealing. A drastic drop in the electron spin relaxation time is observed for annealed samples. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.