Polariton spin beats in semiconductor quantum well microcavities

Time-resolved Kerr (Faraday) rotation experiments allow for the observation of polariton spin beats in both InGaAs and CdMnTe quantum well (QW) microcavities. The existence of these beats is an unambiguous manifestation of the coherent energy exchange between exciton and photon components of polariton states created by a circularly polarized and spectrally wide femtosecond laser pulse. The polariton states are also shown to be split into a linearly polarized doublet. This splitting is responsible for the polarization transfer between linearly and circularly polarized states. In a highest-quality sample, the resulting spin dynamics could be detected.