  We propose to use optical detection of magnetic resonance (ODMR) to measure
the decoherence time T_{2} of a single electron spin in a semiconductor quantum
dot. The electron is in one of the spin 1/2 states and a circularly polarized
laser can only create an optical excitation for one of the electron spin states
due to Pauli blocking. An applied electron spin resonance (ESR) field leads to
Rabi spin flips and thus to a modulation of the photoluminescence or,
alternatively, of the photocurrent. This allows one to measure the ESR
linewidth and the coherent Rabi oscillations, from which the electron spin
decoherence can be determined. We study different possible schemes for such an
ODMR setup, including cw or pulsed laser excitation.
