Optically induced nuclear spin-spin couplings in GaAs manifested by spin echo decays under optical pumping

Optically induced nuclear spin-spin coupling in semiconductors is expected to serve for gate operations in nuclear-magnetic-resonance (NMR) quantum computations. However, not much is known about its characteristics. In this study, we investigate optically induced couplings in GaAs via double-resonance spin-echo decay experiments under optical pumping. The squared echo decay rate (1/T-2)(2) of Ga-71 measured under various light powers revealed that optically induced couplings increase with increasing light power, and the sign of heteronuclear couplings between Ga-As pairs is opposite to that of dipolar couplings, which cancel each other out. Under higher light power, the optically induced controllable coupling is expected to eventually surpass the uncontrollable nuclear dipolar coupling, becoming dominant, which is preferable for the gate operation in NMR quantum computation.

Automated summary

This study investigates the characteristics of optically induced nuclear spin-spin coupling in semiconductors. The findings suggest that the optically induced coupling increases with increasing light power, with opposite signs between heteronuclear couplings and dipolar couplings, resulting in cancellation. Under higher light power, the optically induced controllable coupling may become dominant.