Publication date: 3rd June 2020
Diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS) based on II-VI compounds are among the most prominent materials for future spintronic applications, paving the way to magnetic functionality of nanoscaled semiconductors. Although a great deal of research has focused on the study of the photophysics of an ensemble of DMS nanostructures [1-3], recently parallel efforts have sought to unravel fundamental effects of single magnetically doped nanocrystals. In this work we investigate the formation of an excitonic magnetic polaron (EMP), i.e. the spontaneous magnetization of the dopants triggered by an exciton, via photoluminescence studies on single DMS nanocrystals [4]. While the emission linewidth is drastically enhanced compared to undoped analogues due to the interplay between EMP formation and thermodynamic fluctuations of the dopants’ spin ensemble, magnetic field dependent experiments reveal a clear signature of anisotropy effects of these collective spin phenomena.