Universal scheme for measuring the electron T1T1 in semiconductors and application to a lightly-doped nn-GaAs sample

A new technique has been developed for measuring the T1T1 spin lifetime of electrons, and should have near universal applicability among III–V semiconductors. The technique has been applied to a lightly doped GaAs sample with n=3×1014cm−3. Spin decays were measured for fields from 0.5 to 7 T, at temperatures of 1.5 and 5 K. The spin lifetimes were shorter than expected, possibly due to compensation in the sample.

► Broadly-applicable new technique for measuring T1T1 spin lifetime.
► Technique allows for arbitrarily long time scales.
► Results on a lightly-doped sample indicate spin relaxation due to compensation effects.