Light-induced orientation of electron spins in the negatively charged InP quantum dots is found to persist longer than 100 s. We have proved experimentally that the long-lived orientation is due to slow relaxation of the electron spins rather than to the dynamic nuclear polarization effects.

A key to ultralong electron spin memory in quantum dots (QDs) at zero magnetic field is the polarization of the nuclei, such that the electron spin is stabilized along the average nuclear magnetic field. We demonstrate that spin-polarized electrons in n-doped (In,Ga)As/GaAs QDs align the nuclear field via the hyperfine interaction. A feedback onto the electrons occurs, leading to stabilization of their polarization due to formation of a nuclear spin polaron [I. A. Merkulov, Phys. Solid State 40, 930 (1998)]. Spin depolarization of both systems is consequently greatly reduced, and spin memory of the coupled electron-nuclear spin system is retained over 0.3 sec at temperature of 2 K.

The binding energy and the corresponding wave function of excitons in GaAs-based finite square quantum wells (QWs) are calculated by the direct numerical solution of the three-dimensional Schrödinger equation. The precise results for the lowest exciton state are obtained by the Hamiltonian discretization using the high-order finite-difference scheme. The microscopic calculations are compared with the results obtained by the standard variational approach. The exciton binding energies found by two methods coincide within 0.1 meV for the wide range of QW widths. The radiative decay rate is calculated for QWs of various widths using the exciton wave functions obtained by direct and variational methods. The radiative decay rates are confronted with the experimental data measured for high-quality GaAs/AlGaAs and InGaAs/GaAs QW heterostructures grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The calculated and measured values are in good agreement, though slight differences with earlier calculations of the radiative decay rate are observed.

The nuclear spin dynamics in an ensemble of singly charged ͑In,Ga͒As/GaAs quantum dots has been studied at a temperature of 1.6 K. The effective magnetic field of nuclear polarization was detected through the circular polarization of quantum dot photoluminescence. The polarization is reduced if an external magnetic field compensates the nuclear field. To study the time evolution of the nuclear field, a photoluminescence pumpprobe technique has been developed, from which we find a complex behavior of the nuclear-polarization dynamics; its rise is considerably slowed down when the effective field of polarized nuclei exceeds that of the nuclear spin fluctuations. A phenomenological model for the dynamics of a strongly coupled electron-nuclear spin system has been developed, whose results qualitatively agree with the experimental data.