L-valley Electron Spin Dynamics in GaAs

Optical orientation experiments have been performed in GaAs epilayers with photoexcitation energies in the 3 eV region yielding the photogeneration of spin-polarized electrons in the satellite L valley. We demonstrate that a significant fraction of the electron spin memory can be conserved when the electron is scattered from the L to the $Gamma$ valley following an energy relaxation of several hundreds of meV. Combining these high energy photo-excitation experiments with time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy of $Gamma$ valley spin-polarized photogenerated electrons allows us to deduce a typical L valley electron spin relaxation time of 200 fs, in agreement with theoretical calculations.