Electron spin precession observed in bulk CdTe at room temperature

We report on spin precession observed in CdTe and GaAs bulks at room temperature by means of time-resolved Kerr rotation measurements under a high magnetic field. Electron g-factor in CdTe obtained from the spin precession measurements was significantly different from that in GaAs having similar band gap because of stronger spin-orbital interaction in CdTe. Theoretical analysis on temperature dependence of the g-factor was also conducted, based on 3-band k.p perturbation theory, to estimate the effects of remote bands other than the 3 bands. The dependence of the electron g-factor on temperature was numerically reproduced in low temperature region by considering thermal distribution of electrons. The effects of the remote bands are discussed in relation to the discrepancy between experiments and theoretical analysis in higher temperature region. (copyright 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)