  We have studied hyperfine interactions between spin-polarized electrons and
lattice nuclei in Al_0.1Ga_0.9As/GaAs quantum well (QW) heterostructures. The
spin-polarized electrons are electrically injected into the semiconductor
heterostructure from a metallic ferromagnet across a Schottky tunnel barrier.
The spin-polarized electron current dynamically polarizes the nuclei in the QW,
and the polarized nuclei in turn alter the electron spin dynamics. The
steady-state electron spin is detected via the circular polarization of the
emitted electroluminescence. The nuclear polarization and electron spin
dynamics are accurately modeled using the formalism of optical orientation in
GaAs. The nuclear spin polarization in the QW is found to depend strongly on
the electron spin polarization in the QW, but only weakly on the electron
density in the QW. We are able to observe nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) at
low applied magnetic fields on the order of a few hundred Oe by electrically
modulating the spin injected into the QW. The electrically driven NMR
demonstrates explicitly the existence of a Knight field felt by the nuclei due
to the electron spin.
