Confinement engineering of s-d exchange interactions in Ga1-x Mnx As/Aly Ga1-y As quantum wells

Recent measurements of coherent electron spin dynamics reveal an antiferromagnetic s-d exchange coupling between conduction-band electrons and electrons localized on Mn2+ impurities in Ga1-x Mnx As quantum wells. Here we discuss systematic measurements of the s-d exchange interaction in Ga1-x Mnx As/Aly Ga1-y As quantum wells with different confinement potentials using time-resolved Kerr rotation. Extending previous investigations of the dependence of the s-d exchange, N0 α, on well width, we find that its magnitude also depends on well depth. Both phenomena reduce to a general dependence on confinement energy, described by a band-mixing model of confinement-induced kinetic exchange in the conduction band.