An all-optical quantum gate in a semiconductor quantum dot

Fine structure of negatively and positively charged excitons in semiconductor quantum dots: electron-hole asymmetry

We present new understanding of excitonic fine structure in close-to-symmetric InAs/GaAs and InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots. We demonstrate excellent agreement between spectroscopy and many-body pseudopotential theory in the energy splittings, selection rules and polarizations of the optical emissions from doubly charged excitons. We discover a marked difference between the fine structure of the doubly negatively and doubly positively charged excitons. The features in the doubly charged emission spectra are shown to arise mainly from the lack of inversion symmetry in the underlying crystal lattice.

Coherent dynamics of coupled electron and nuclear spin qubits in diamond

Understanding and controlling the complex environment of solid-state quantum bits is a central challenge in spintronics and quantum information science. Coherent manipulation of an individual electron spin associated with a nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond was used to gain insight into its local environment. We show that this environment is effectively separated into a set of individual proximal 13C nuclear spins, which are coupled coherently to the electron spin, and the remainder of the 13C nuclear spins, which cause the loss of coherence. The proximal nuclear spins can be addressed and coupled individually because of quantum back-action from the electron, which modifies their energy levels and magnetic moments, effectively distinguishing them from the rest of the nuclei. These results open the door to coherent manipulation of individual isolated nuclear spins in a solid-state environment even at room temperature.

Multi-scale ordering of self-assembled InAs/GaAs(001) quantum dots

Ordering phenomena related to the self-assembly of InAs quantum dots (QD) grown on GaAs(001) substrates are experimentally investigated on different length scales. On the shortest length-scale studied here, we examine the QD morphology and observe two types of QD shapes, i.e., pyramids and domes. Pyramids are elongated along the [1-10] directions and are bounded by {137} facets, while domes have a multi-facetted shape. By changing the growth rates, we are able to control the size and size homogeneity of freestanding QDs. QDs grown by using low growth rate are characterized by larger sizes and a narrower size distribution. The homogeneity of buried QDs is measured by photoluminescence spectroscopy and can be improved by low temperature overgrowth. The overgrowth induces the formation of nanostructures on the surface. The fabrication of self-assembled nanoholes, which are used as a template to induce short-range positioning of QDs, is also investigated. The growth of closely spaced QDs (QD molecules) containing 2–6 QDs per QD molecule is discussed. Finally, the long-range positioning of self-assembled QDs, which can be achieved by the growth on patterned substrates, is demonstrated. Lateral QD replication observed during growth of three-dimensional QD crystals is reported.

Coherent photonic coupling of semiconductor quantum dots

We report a new type of coupling between quantum dot excitons mediated by the strong single-photon field in a high-finesse micropillar cavity. Coherent exciton coupling is observed for two dots with energy differences of the order of the exciton-photon coupling. The coherent coupling mode is characterized by an anticrossing with a particularly large line splitting of 250 microeV. Because of the different dispersion relations with temperature, the simultaneous photonic coupling of quantum dot excitons can be easily distinguished from cases of sequential strong coupling of two quantum dots.

Quantum-Dot Spin-State Preparation with Near-Unity Fidelity

We have demonstrated laser cooling of a single electron spin trapped in a semiconductor quantum dot. Optical coupling of electronic spin states was achieved using resonant excitation of the charged quantum dot (trion) transitions along with the heavy-light hole mixing, which leads to weak yet finite rates for spin-flip Raman scattering. With this mechanism, the electron spin can be cooled from 4.2 to 0.020 kelvin, as confirmed by the strength of the induced Pauli blockade of the trion absorption. Within the framework of quantum information processing, this corresponds to a spin-state preparation with a fidelity exceeding 99.8%.

Quantum light emission of two lateral tunnel-coupled (In,Ga)As/GaAs quantum dots controlled by a tunable static electric field

Lateral quantum coupling between two self-assembled (In,Ga)As quantum dots has been observed. Photon statistics measurements between the various excitonic and biexcitonic transitions of these lateral quantum dot molecules display strong antibunching confirming the presence of coupling. Furthermore, we observe an anomalous exciton Stark shift with respect to static electric field. A simple model indicates that the lateral coupling is due to electron tunneling between the dots when the ground states are in resonance. The electron probability can then be shifted to either dot and the system can be used to create a wavelength-tunable single-photon emitter by simply applying a voltage.

Implementation of quantum gate operations in molecules with weak laser fields

We numerically propose a way to perform quantum computations by combining an ensemble of molecular states and weak laser pulses. A logical input state is expressed as a superposition state (a wave packet) of molecular states, which is initially prepared by a designed femtosecond laser pulse. The free propagation of the wave packet for a specified time interval leads to the specified change in the relative phases among the molecular basis states, which corresponds to a computational result. The computational results are retrieved by means of quantum interferometry. Numerical tests are implemented in the vibrational states of the B state of I2 employing controlled-NOT gate, and 2 and 3 qubits Fourier transforms. All the steps involved in the computational scheme, i.e., the initial preparation, gate operation, and detection steps, are achieved with extremely high precision.

Density matrix tomography through sequential coherent optical rotations of an exciton qubit in a single quantum dot

We demonstrate single qubit density matrix tomography in a single semiconductor quantum dot system through consecutive phase sensitive rotations of the qubit via ultrafast coherent optical excitations. The result is important for quantifying gate operations in quantum information processing in the quantum dot systems as well as demonstrating consecutive arbitrary qubit rotations.

Stimulated emission from the biexciton in a single self-assembled II-VI quantum dot

Using two-photon excitation, stimulated emission from the biexciton state in a single CdSe/ZnSe quantum dot is observed in a two-pulse configuration. We directly time resolve the emission-absorption characteristics and verify the potential for laser action. By setting the polarization of the stimulation pulse, the recombination path of the biexciton and, by this, the state of the photons emitted in the decay cascade is controlled. We elaborate also the coherent response and address entanglement and disentanglement of the exciton-biexciton system.

Phase-controlled collapse and revival of entanglement of two interacting qubits

We demonstrate the strong dependence of the entanglement dynamics of two distinguishable qubits in a trap on the relative phase of the pulses used for excitation. We show that the population and entanglement exhibits collapses and full revivals when the initial distribution of phonons is a coherent state.

Optical Signatures of Coupled Quantum Dots

An asymmetric pair of coupled InAs quantum dots is tuned into resonance by applying an electric field so that a single hole forms a coherent molecular wave function. The optical spectrum shows a rich pattern of level anticrossings and crossings that can be understood as a superposition of charge and spin configurations of the two dots. Coulomb interactions shift the molecular resonance of the optically excited state (charged exciton) with respect to the ground state (single charge), enabling light-induced coupling of the quantum dots. This result demonstrates the possibility of optically coupling quantum dots for application in quantum information processing.

Ramsey fringes in an electric-field-tunable quantum dot system

We report on Ramsey fringes measured in a single InGaAs/GaAs quantum dot two-level system. We are able to control the transition energy of the system by Stark effect tuning. In combination with double pulse excitation this allows for a voltage controlled preparation of the phase and the occupancy of the two-level system. For long pulse delay times we observe extremely narrow fringes with spectral width below the homogeneous linewidth of the system. Implications on quantum information processing are discussed.

Probing carrier dynamics in nanostructures by picosecond cathodoluminescence

Picosecond and femtosecond spectroscopy allow the detailed study of carrier dynamics in nanostructured materials. In such experiments, a laser pulse normally excites several nanostructures at once. However, spectroscopic information may also be acquired using pulses from an electron beam in a modern electron microscope, exploiting a phenomenon called cathodoluminescence. This approach offers several advantages. The multimode imaging capabilities of the electron microscope enable the correlation of optical properties (via cathodoluminescence) with surface morphology (secondary electron mode) at the nanometre scale. The broad energy range of the electrons can excite wide-bandgap materials, such as diamond- or gallium-nitride-based structures that are not easily excited by conventional optical means. But perhaps most intriguingly, the small beam can probe a single selected nanostructure. Here we apply an original time-resolved cathodoluminescence set-up to describe carrier dynamics within single gallium-arsenide-based pyramidal nanostructures with a time resolution of 10 picoseconds and a spatial resolution of 50 nanometres. The behaviour of such charge carriers could be useful for evaluating elementary components in quantum computers, optical quantum gates or single photon sources for quantum cryptography.

Rabi oscillation damped by exciton leakage and Auger capture in quantum dots

The decoherence of Rabi oscillation (RO) caused by biexciton, population leakage to the wetting layer (WL), and Auger capture in semiconductor quantum dots is theoretically analyzed with multilevel optical Bloch equations. The corresponding effects on the quality factor of RO are also discussed. We have found that the biexciton effect is relatively trifling, as the pulse duration is longer than 5 ps. The population leakage to the WL leads to a decrease of the RO average even though the damping rate is similar to that observed in the experiment. Auger capture in quantum dots results in RO damping that is consistent with the experimental data, which implies that Auger capture is an important decoherence process in quantum dots.

Coherent control of a V-type three-level system in a single quantum dot

In a semiconductor quantum dot, the IIx and IIy transitions to the polarization eigenstates, |x> and |y>, naturally form a three-level V-type system. Using low-temperature polarized photoluminescence spectroscopy, we have investigated the exciton dynamics arising under strong laser excitation. We also explicitly solved the density matrix equations for comparison with the experimental data. The polarization of the exciting field controls the coupling between the otherwise orthogonal states. In particular, when the system is initialized into \Y>, a polarization-tailored pulse can swap the population into |x>, and vice versa, effectively operating on the exciton spin.

Localization-dependent photoluminescence spectrum of biexcitons in semiconductor quantum wires

We study exciton and biexciton spectra in disordered semiconductor quantum wires by means of nanophotoluminescence spectroscopy. We demonstrate a close link between the exciton localization length along the wire and the occurrence of a biexciton spectral line. The biexciton signature appears only if the corresponding exciton state extends over more than a few tens of nanometers. We also measure a nonmonotonous variation of the biexciton binding energy with decreasing exciton localization length. This behavior is quantitatively well reproduced by the solution of the single-band Schrödinger equation of the four-particle problem in a one-dimensional confining potential.

Rapid optimization of working parameters of microwave-driven multilevel qubits for minimal gate leakage

We propose an effective method to optimize the working parameters (WPs) of microwave-driven quantum gates implemented with multilevel qubits. We show that by treating transitions between each pair of levels independently, intrinsic gate errors due primarily to population leakage to undesired states can be determined by spectroscopic properties of the qubits and minimized by choosing proper WPs. The validity and efficiency of the approach are demonstrated by applying it to optimize the WPs of two coupled rf SQUID flux qubits for controlled-not operation. The result of this independent transition approximation (ITA) is in good agreement with that of dynamic method (DM). The ratio of the speed of ITA to that of DM scales exponentially as 2(n) when the number of qubits n increases.

Theory of control of the spin-photon interface for quantum networks

A cavity coupling, a charged nanodot, and a fiber can act as a quantum interface, through which a stationary spin qubit and a flying photon qubit can be interconverted via a cavity-assisted Raman process. This Raman process can be made to generate or annihilate an arbitrarily shaped single-photon wave packet by pulse shaping the controlling laser field. This quantum interface forms the basis for many essential functions of a quantum network, including sending, receiving, transferring, swapping, and entangling qubits at distributed quantum nodes as well as a deterministic source and an efficient detector of a single-photon wave packet with arbitrarily specified shape and average photon number. Numerical study of errors from noise and system parameters on the operations shows high fidelity and robust tolerance.

Stimulated and spontaneous optical generation of electron spin coherence in charged GaAs quantum dots

We report on the coherent optical excitation of electron spin polarization in the ground state of charged GaAs quantum dots via an intermediate charged exciton (trion) state. Coherent optical fields are used for the creation and detection of the Raman spin coherence between the spin ground states of the charged quantum dot. The measured spin decoherence time, which is likely limited by the nature of the spin ensemble, approaches 10 ns at zero field. We also show that the Raman spin coherence in the quantum beats is caused not only by the usual stimulated Raman interaction but also by simultaneous spontaneous radiative decay of either excited trion state to a coherent combination of the two spin states.

Control of vertically coupled InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots with electric fields

Controllable interactions that couple quantum dots are a key requirement in the search for scalable solid state implementations for quantum information technology. From optical studies of excitons and corresponding calculations, we demonstrate that an electric field on vertically coupled pairs of In(0.6)Ga(0.4)As/GaAs quantum dots controls the mixing of the exciton states on the two dots and also provides controllable coupling between carriers in the dots.

Optical control of excitons in a pair of quantum dots coupled by the dipole-dipole interaction

We demonstrate coherent nonlinear-optical control of excitons in a pair of quantum dots (QDs) coupled via dipolar interaction. The single-exciton population in the first QD is controlled by resonant picosecond excitation, giving rise to Rabi oscillations. As a result, the exciton transition in the second QD is spectrally shifted and concomitant Rabi oscillations are observed. We identify coupling between permanent excitonic dipole moments as the dominant interaction mechanism, whereas quasiresonant (Förster) energy transfer is weak. Such control schemes based on dipolar interaction are a prerequisite for realizing scalable quantum logic gates.

Direct observation of controlled coupling in an individual quantum dot molecule

We report the direct observation of quantum coupling in individual quantum dot molecules and its manipulation using static electric fields. A pronounced anticrossing of different excitonic transitions is observed as the electric field is tuned. A comparison of our experimental results with theory shows that the observed anticrossing occurs between excitons with predominant spatially direct and indirect character and reveals a field driven transition of the nature of the molecular ground state exciton wave function. Finally, the interdot quantum coupling strength is deduced optically and its dependence on the interdot separation is calculated.

Decoherence of rabi oscillations in a single quantum dot

We develop a realistic model of Rabi oscillations in a quantum-dot photodiode. Based in a multiexciton density matrix formulation we show that for short pulses the two-level model fails and higher levels should be taken into account. This affects some of the experimental conclusions, such as the inferred efficiency of the state rotation (population inversion) and the deduced value of the dipole interaction. We also show that the damping observed cannot be explained using constant rates with fixed pulse duration. We demonstrate that the damping observed is in fact induced by an off-resonant excitation to or from the continuum of wetting layer states. Our model describes the nonlinear decoherence behavior observed in recent experiments.

Phase evolution of solitonlike optical pulses during excitonic Rabi flopping in a semiconductor

We demonstrate that the temporal pulse phase remains essentially unaltered before separate phase characteristics are developed when propagating high-intensity pulses coherently on the exciton resonance of an optically thick semiconductor. This behavior is a clear manifestation of self-induced transmission and pulse breakup into soliton-like pulses due to Rabi flopping of the carrier density. Experiments using a novel fast-scan cross-correlation frequency-resolved optical gating (XFROG) method are in good agreement with numerical calculations based on the semiconductor Bloch equations.

On the cyto-toxicity caused by quantum dots

Quantum dots (QDs) such as CdSe QDs have been introduced as new fluorophores. The QDs conjugated with antibody are starting to be widely used for immunostaining. However there is still not sufficient analysis of the toxicity of QDs in the literature. Therefore we evaluated the cell damage caused by the quantum dots for biological applications. We performed cell viability assay to determine the difference in cell damage depending on the sizes and colors of mercapto-undecanoic acid (MUA) QDs and the cell types. The results showed that the cell viability decreased with increasing concentration of MUA-QDs. But in the case of Vero cell (African green monkey's kidney cell) with red fluorescence QD (QD640), the cell damage was less than for the others. Furthermore through the flow cytometry assay we found that this cell damage caused by MUA-QD turned out to be cell death after 4-6-hr incubation. From the two assays described above, we found that there is a range of concentration of MUA-QDs where the cell viability decreased without cell death occurring and thus we conclude that attention should be given when MUAQDs are applied to living organisms even in low concentrations.

Voltage-controlled optics of a quantum dot

We show how the optical properties of a single semiconductor quantum dot can be controlled with a small dc voltage applied to a gate electrode. We find that the transmission spectrum of the neutral exciton exhibits two narrow lines with approximately 2 mueV linewidth. The splitting into two linearly polarized components arises through an exchange interaction within the exciton. The exchange interaction can be turned off by choosing a gate voltage where the dot is occupied with an additional electron. Saturation spectroscopy demonstrates that the neutral exciton behaves as a two-level system. Our experiments show that the remaining problem for manipulating excitonic quantum states in this system is spectral fluctuation on a mueV energy scale.

Monitoring surface charge movement in single elongated semiconductor nanocrystals

We demonstrate a universal correlation between the spectral linewidth and position of the excitonic transition in the spectral jitter observed from single elongated colloidal quantum dots. Breaking the symmetry of electron and hole confinement as well as of the spatial directions for surface charge diffusion enables us to microscopically track meandering surface charges, providing a novel probe of the particle's nanoenvironment. Spectral diffusion exhibits only a weak temperature dependence, which allows us to uncover the single particle homogeneous linewidth of 50 meV at room temperature.

Observation of coherent oscillation of a single nuclear spin and realization of a two-qubit conditional quantum gate

Rabi nutations of a single nuclear spin in a solid have been observed. The experiments were carried out on a single electron and a single 13C nuclear spin of a single nitrogen-vacancy defect center in diamond. The system was used for implementation of quantum logical NOT and a conditional two-qubit gate (CROT). Density matrix tomography of the CROT gate shows that the gate fidelity achieved in our experiments is up to 0.9, good enough to be used in quantum algorithms.

Demonstration of conditional quantum phase shift between ions in a solid

Because of their long coherence times, dopant ions have been considered promising candidates for scalable solid state quantum computing. Here we demonstrate a conditional phase shift between two qubits based on an optical transition of europium ions. The demonstration uses ensembles that have been selected from a randomly doped sample using spectral hole burning techniques. The electron dipole-dipole interaction between the ions that usually causes instantaneous spectral diffusion is used to generate the conditional phase shift.

Entanglement between a photon and a quantum well

The lack of translational invariance perpendicular to the plane of a single quantum well causes equal probability for spontaneous emission to the left or right. Combining one emission path from the left and one from the right into a common detector leads to interference fringes for fundamentally indistinguishable paths corresponding to geometries where the same in-plane momentum is transferred to the quantum well. For all other paths, no interference is observed because of the entanglement between the photon and extended Bloch states of the many-body system. In multiple-quantum-well structures the interference can be controlled via the spacing between the wells.

Quantum signatures of breather-breather interactions

The spectrum of the quantum discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation, or boson Hubbard Hamiltonian, on a periodic 1D lattice shows some interesting detailed band structure, which may be interpreted as the quantum signature of a two-breather interaction in the classical case. This fine structure is studied using degenerate perturbation theory. We also present a modification to this model, which increases the mobility of bound states.

Nanodot-cavity electrodynamics and photon entanglement

Quantum electrodynamics of excitons in a cavity is shown to be relevant to quantum operations. We present a theory of an integrable solid-state quantum controlled-phase gate for generating entanglement of two photons using a coupled nanodot-microcavity-fiber structure. A conditional phase shift of O(pi/10) is calculated to be the consequence of the giant optical nonlinearity keyed by the excitons in the cavities. Structural design and active control, such as electromagnetically induced transparency and pulse shaping, optimize the quantum efficiency of the gate operation.

Quantum control of electron-phonon scatterings in artificial atoms

The phonon-induced dephasing dynamics in optically excited semiconductor quantum dots is studied within the frameworks of the independent boson model and optimal control. We show that appropriate tailoring of laser pulses allow complete control of the optical excitation despite the phonon dephasing, a finding in marked contrast to other environment couplings.

Hierarchical self-assembly of GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots

A novel structure containing self-assembled, unstrained GaAs quantum dots is obtained by combining solid-source molecular beam epitaxy and atomic-layer precise in situ etching. Photo-luminescence (PL) spectroscopy reveals light emission with very narrow inhomogeneous broadening and clearly resolved excited states at high excitation intensity. The dot morphology is determined by scanning probe microscopy and, combined with single band and eight-band k.p theory calculations, is used to interpret PL and single-dot spectra with no adjustable structural parameter.