Hole spin relaxation in neutral InGaAs quantum dots: Decay to dark states.

The authors report measurements of hole spin relaxation in neutral InGaAs quantum dots using polarization-dependent time-resolved photoluminescence experiments. The single-particle hole spin relaxation was isolated from other spin flip processes in the electron-hole system by detecting the initial transfer of population from optically active to dark states. The results indicate that electron-hole exchange interactions play a negligible role in the carrier spin kinetics, and are consistent with a mechanism of hole spin relaxation via phonon-mediated virtual scattering between confined quantum dot states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]