Electrical control of spin coherence in ZnO

Electric field enhanced electron spin coherence is characterized using time-resolved Faraday rotation spectroscopy in n-type ZnO epilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy. An in-plane dc electric field E almost doubles the transverse spin lifetime at 20 K without affecting the effective g factor. This effect persists until high temperatures, but decreases with increasing carrier concentration. Comparisons of the variations in the spin lifetime, the carrier recombination lifetime, and photoluminescence lifetimes indicate that the applied E enhances the radiative recombination rate. All observed effects are independent of crystal directionality and are performed at low magnetic fields (B < 0.2 T). (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.