Hanle effect measurements of spin relaxation in self-assembled CdSe quantum dots

We use the Hanle effect to study spin relaxation in self-assembled CdSe quantum dots embedded in a Be0.03Zn0.97Se matrix. We measure a short transverse spin lifetime in the sub nanosecond range (0.31–0.35 ns) at 4.2 K. We propose that strong phonon and/or impurity scattering, due to unintentional contamination, limit the spin coherence time in CdSe/Be0.03Zn0.97Se QDs.