Screening Nuclear Field Fluctuations in Quantum Dots for Indistinguishable Photon Generation

A semiconductor quantum dot can generate highly coherent and indistinguishable single photons. However, intrinsic semiconductor dephasing mechanisms can reduce the visibility of two-photon interference. For an electron in a quantum dot, a fundamental dephasing process is the hyperfine interaction with the nuclear spin bath. Here, we directly probe the consequence of the fluctuating nuclear spins on the elastic and inelastic scattered photon spectra from a resident electron in a single dot. We find the in-plane component of the nuclear Overhauser field leads to detuned Raman scattered photons, broadened over experimental time scales by field fluctuations, which are distinguishable from both the elastic and incoherent components of the resonance fluorescence. This significantly reduces two-photon interference visibility. However, we demonstrate successful screening of the nuclear spin noise, which enables the generation of coherent single photons that exhibit high visibility two-photon interference.

Probing single-charge fluctuations at a GaAs/AlAs interface using laser spectroscopy on a nearby InGaAs quantum dot

We probe local charge fluctuations in a semiconductor via laser spectroscopy on a nearby self-assembled quantum dot. We demonstrate that the quantum dot is sensitive to changes in the local environment at the single-charge level. By controlling the charge state of localized defects, we are able to infer the distance of the defects from the quantum dot with ±5  nm resolution. The results identify and quantify the main source of charge noise in the commonly used optical field-effect devices.

Limits and Properties of Size Quantization Effects in InAs Self Assembled Quantum Dots

In this paper we report on the limits and properties of size quantization effects in InAs self assembled quantum dots (QDs). Size, density and character of the InAs islands are investigated by transmission electron microscopy. The electronic and optical properties of the islands in the coherent and dislocated growth regime are studied using capacitance, photoluminescence, photovoltage and photocurrent spectroscopy. In the data measured with the different techniques, the change in dot size and density as well as the transition from coherent to dislocated island growth is clearly observable. An increasing QD size causes a red shift in the energetic position of the QD features while the density of the islands is reflected in the intensity of the QD signal. The decrease in intensity at high InAs coverage is attributed to dislocated island formation.

Coherent optical writing and reading of the exciton spin state in single quantum dots

We demonstrate a one-to-one correspondence between the polarization state of a light pulse tuned to neutral exciton resonances of single semiconductor quantum dots and the spin state of the exciton that it photogenerates. This is accomplished using two variably polarized and independently tuned picosecond laser pulses. The first "writes" the spin state of the resonantly excited exciton. The second is tuned to biexcitonic resonances, and its absorption is used to "read" the exciton spin state. The absorption of the second pulse depends on its polarization relative to the exciton spin direction. Changes in the exciton spin result in corresponding changes in the intensity of the photoluminescence from the biexciton lines which we monitor, obtaining thus a one-to-one mapping between any point on the Poincaré sphere of the light polarization to a point on the Bloch sphere of the exciton spin.

Controlling the interaction of electron and nuclear spins in a tunnel-coupled quantum dot

We present a technique for manipulating the nuclear spins and the emission polarization from a single optically active quantum dot. When the quantum dot is tunnel coupled to a Fermi sea, we have discovered a natural cycle in which an electron spin is repeatedly created with resonant optical excitation. The spontaneous emission polarization and the nuclear spin polarization exhibit a bistability. For a σ(+) pump, the emission switches from σ(+) to σ(-) at a particular detuning of the laser. Simultaneously, the nuclear spin polarization switches from positive to negative. Away from the bistability, the nuclear spin polarization can be changed continuously from negative to positive, allowing precise control via the laser wavelength.

Mesostructure design with gemini surfactants: supercage formation in a three-dimensional hexagonal array

At low temperatures, liquid crystal-like arrays made up of inorganic-cluster and organic molecular units readily undergo reversible lyotropic transformations. Gemini surfactants, with two quaternary ammonium head groups separated by a methylene chain of variable length and with each head group attached to a hydrophobic tail, can be used to control organic charge sitting relative to the bivariable hydrophobic tail configurations. This approach has led to the synthesis of a mesophase (SBA-2) that has three-dimensional hexagonal (P6(3)/mmc) symmetry, regular supercages that can be dimensionally tailored, and a large inner surface area. This mesostructure analog of a zeolite cage structure does not appear to have a lyotropic surfactant or lipid liquid crystal mesophase counterpart. Through the modification of gemini charge separation and each of the two organic tails, these syntheses can be used to optimize templating effects, including the synthesis of MCM-48 at room temperature.

Externally mode-matched cavity quantum electrodynamics with charge-tunable quantum dots

We present coherent reflection spectroscopy on a charge and dc Stark tunable quantum dot embedded in a high-quality and externally mode-matched microcavity. The addition of an exciton to a single-electron-charged quantum dot forms a trion that interacts with the microcavity just below the strong-coupling regime of cavity quantum electrodynamics. Such an integrated, monolithic system is a crucial step towards the implementation of scalable hybrid quantum-information schemes that are based on an efficient interaction between a single photon and a confined electron spin.

Optically induced hybridization of a quantum dot state with a filled continuum

We present an optical signature of a hybridization between a localized quantum dot state and a filled continuum. Radiative recombination of the negatively charged trion in a single quantum dot leaves behind a single electron. We show that in two regions of vertical electric field, the electron hybridizes with a continuum through a tunneling interaction. The hybridization manifests itself through an unusual voltage dependence of the emission energy and a non-Lorentzian line shape, features which we reproduce with a theory based on the Anderson Hamiltonian.

Growth, structural, and optical properties of self-assembled (In,Ga)as quantum posts on GaAs

Self-assembled quantum dots embedded in semiconductor heterostructures have proved to be a rich system for exploring the physics of three dimensionally confined charges and excitons. We present here a novel structure, which allows adjusting the level of confinement between 3D and 2D for electrons and holes, respectively. The quantum post consists of a quantum dot connected to a short quantum wire. The molecular beam epitaxy deposition of these self-assembled structures is discussed, and their structural and chemical compositions are presented. Their optical properties measured by photoluminescence are compared to an eight-band strain-dependent k.p model incorporating detailed structure and alloy composition. The calculations show electron delocalization in the quantum wire part of the quantum post and hole localization in the strain-induced regions at the ends of the quantum post. The quantum post offers the possibility of controlling the dipole moment in the structure and opens up new means for tuning the intra-subband transitions by controlling its dimensions.

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.

Entangled photon pairs from semiconductor quantum dots

Tomographic analysis demonstrates that the polarization state of pairs of photons emitted from a biexciton decay cascade becomes entangled when spectral filtering is applied. The measured density matrix of the photon pair satisfies the Peres criterion for entanglement by more than 3 standard deviations of the experimental uncertainty and violates Bell's inequality. We show that the spectral filtering erases the "which path" information contained in the photons' color and that the remanent information in the quantum dot degrees of freedom is negligible.

Self-tuned quantum dot gain in photonic crystal lasers

We demonstrate that very few (2-4) quantum dots as a gain medium are sufficient to realize a photonic-crystal laser based on a high-quality nanocavity. Photon correlation measurements show a transition from a thermal to a coherent light state proving that lasing action occurs at ultralow thresholds. Observation of lasing is unexpected since the cavity mode is in general not resonant with the discrete quantum dot states and emission at those frequencies is suppressed. In this situation, the quasicontinuous quantum dot states become crucial since they provide an energy-transfer channel into the lasing mode, effectively leading to a self-tuned resonance for the gain medium.

Voltage control of the spin dynamics of an exciton in a semiconductor quantum dot

We report the observation of a spin-flip process in a quantum dot whereby a dark exciton with total angular momentum L = 2 becomes a bright exciton with L = 1. The spin-flip process is revealed in the decay dynamics following nongeminate excitation. We are able to control the spin-flip rate by more than an order of magnitude simply with a dc voltage. The spin-flip mechanism involves a spin exchange with the Fermi sea in the back contact of our device and corresponds to the high temperature Kondo regime. We use the Anderson Hamiltonian to calculate a spin-flip rate, and we find excellent agreement with the experimental results.

Fine structure of highly charged excitons in semiconductor quantum dots

An exciton in a symmetric semiconductor quantum dot has two possible states, one dark and one bright, split in energy by the electron-hole exchange interaction. We demonstrate that for a doubly charged exciton, there are also two states split by the electron-hole exchange, but both states are now bright. We also uncover a fine structure in the emission from the triply charged exciton. By measuring these splittings, and also those from the singly charged and doubly charged biexcitons, all on the same quantum dot, we show how the various electron-hole exchange energies can be measured without having to break the symmetry of the dot.

Semiconductor quantum dot: a quantum light source of multicolor photons with tunable statistics

We investigate the intensity correlation properties of single photons emitted from an optically excited single semiconductor quantum dot. The second order temporal coherence function of the photons emitted at various wavelengths is measured as a function of the excitation power. We show experimentally and theoretically that a quantum dot is not only a source of nonclassically correlated monochromatic photons but is also a source of multicolor photons with tunable correlation properties. We found that the emitted photon statistics can be varied by the excitation rate from a sub-Poissonian one, where the photons are temporally antibunched, to super-Poissonian, where they are temporally bunched.

A quantum dot single-photon turnstile device

Quantum communication relies on the availability of light pulses with strong quantum correlations among photons. An example of such an optical source is a single-photon pulse with a vanishing probability for detecting two or more photons. Using pulsed laser excitation of a single quantum dot, a single-photon turnstile device that generates a train of single-photon pulses was demonstrated. For a spectrally isolated quantum dot, nearly 100% of the excitation pulses lead to emission of a single photon, yielding an ideal single-photon source.

Nanometer-scale resolution of strain and interdiffusion in self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots

Tomographic nanometer-scale images of self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots have been obtained from surface-sensitive x-ray diffraction. Based on the three-dimensional intensity mapping of selected regions in reciprocal space, the method yields the shape of the dots along with the lattice parameter distribution and the vertical interdiffusion profile on a subnanometer scale. The material composition is found to vary continuously from GaAs at the base of the dot to InAs at the top.

Spectroscopy of nanoscopic semiconductor rings

Making use of self-assembly techniques, we realize nanoscopic semiconductor quantum rings in which the electronic states are in the true quantum limit. We employ two complementary spectroscopic techniques to investigate both the ground states and the excitations of these rings. Applying a magnetic field perpendicular to the plane of the rings, we find that, when approximately one flux quantum threads the interior of each ring, a change in the ground state from angular momentum l = 0 to l = -1 takes place. This ground state transition is revealed both by a drastic modification of the excitation spectrum and by a change in the magnetic-field dispersion of the single-electron charging energy.

Exciton storage in semiconductor self-assembled quantum dots

Storage and retrieval of excitons were demonstrated with semiconductor self-assembled quantum dots (QDs). The optically generated excitons were dissociated and stored as separated electron-hole pairs in coupled QD pairs. A bias voltage restored the excitons, which recombined radiatively to provide a readout optical signal. The localization of the spatially separated electron-hole pair in QDs was responsible for the ultralong storage times, which were on the order of several seconds. The present limits of this optical storage medium are discussed.

Spatially Resolved Visible Luminescence of Self-Assembled Semiconductor Quantum Dots

Ensembles of defect-free InAIAs islands of ultrasmall dimensions embedded in AIGaAs have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Cathodoluminescence was used to directly image the spatial distribution of the quantum dots by mapping their luminescence and to spectrally resolve very sharp peaks from small groups of dots, thus providing experimental verification for the discrete density of states in a zero-dimensional quantum structure. Visible luminescence is produced by different nominal compositions of InxAI(1-x)As-AIyGa(1-y)As.