title: Compact cryogenic Kerr microscope for time-resolved studies of electron spin transport in microstructures.
abstract: A compact cryogenic Kerr microscope for operation in the small volume of high-field magnets is described. It is suited for measurements both in Voigt and Faraday configurations. Coupled with a pulsed laser source, the microscope is used to measure the time-resolved Kerr rotation response of semiconductor microstructures with approximately 1 mum spatial resolution. The microscope was designed to study spin transport, a critical issue in the field of spintronics. It is thus possible to generate spin polarization at a given location on a microstructure and probe it at a different location. The operation of the microscope is demonstrated by time-resolved measurements of micrometer distance diffusion of spin polarized electrons in a GaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction quantum well at 4.2 K and 7 T.
authors.affiliation: Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Rizo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pugzlys
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Reuter
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Wieck
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: van der Wal
authors.forename: P H M
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: van Loosdrecht