Discretizing the bistability of mode-locked electron spin precession: An Overhauser field hysteresis manifestation

Electron-nuclear spin interactions by pulsed optical pumping have been found to polarize the nuclear spin system, leading to the nuclei building up an intrinsic magnetic field known as the Overhauser field. Studies have indicated an Overhauser field hysteresis effect dependent on the sweep direction of an externally applied magnetic field in negatively detuned periodically pumped Si-doped GaAs. Although predictions of bistable mode-locked electron spin precession frequency modes have been made for systems exhibiting this hysteresis, there have been no reports on the experimental observation of said bistable spin precession modes. This report details the evolution of bistable Overhauser field solutions leading to a hysteretic effect in negatively detuned optical excitation of Si-doped GaAs by magneto-optic pump–probe spectroscopy in the Voigt geometry and investigates the resulting consequence of this hysteresis acting on the electron spin system. One manifestation of the Overhauser field hysteresis acting on the electron spin system leads to the discretization of bistable mode-locked electron spin precession modes within a given band of externally applied magnetic fields. A method for preferentially accessing the two different and stable mode-locked spin precession modes within a given band of externally applied magnetic field is outlined, which may be of interest for communities utilizing electron and nuclear spins for information processing protocols.