Optical pumping of quantum dot nuclear spins
arXiv:cond-mat/0303575 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.91.017402
Abstract
An all-optical scheme to polarize nuclear spins in a single quantum dot is analyzed. The hyperfine interaction with randomly oriented nuclear spins presents a fundamental limit for electron spin coherence in a quantum dot; by cooling the nuclear spins, this decoherence mechanism could be suppressed. The proposed scheme is inspired by laser cooling methods of atomic physics and implements a "controlled Overhauser effect" in a zero-dimensional structure.