Ultralong Spin Lifetimes In One-Dimensional Semiconductor Nanowires

We experimentally demonstrate ultralong spin lifetimes of electrons in the one-dimensional (1D) quantum limit of semiconductor nanowires. Optical probing of single wires of different diameters reveals an increase in the spin relaxation time by orders of magnitude as the electrons become increasingly confined until only a single 1D sub-band is populated after thermalization. We find the observed spin lifetimes of more than 200ns to result from the robustness of 1D electrons against major spin relaxation mechanisms, highlighting the promising potential of these wires for long-range transport of coherent spin information.