  Optical control of the spin coherence of quantum well electrons by short
laser pulses with circular or linear polarization is studied experimentally and
theoretically. For that purpose the coherent electron spin dynamics in a
n-doped CdTe/(Cd,Mg)Te quantum well structure was measured by time-resolved
pump-probe Kerr rotation, using resonant excitation of the negatively charged
exciton (trion) state. The amplitude and phase shifts of the electron spin beat
signal in an external magnetic field, that are induced by laser control pulses,
depend on the pump-control delay and polarization of the control relative to
the pump pulse. Additive and non-additive contributions to pump-induced signal
due to the control are isolated experimentally. These contributions can be well
described in the framework of a two-level model for the optical excitation of
the resident electron to the trion.
