Size distribution and concentration of islands of a condensed exciton phase in a quantum well

A theory describing the formation of condensed-phase regions at a high concentration of excitons in a quantum well is constructed. The condensed phase can be either an exciton or an electron-hole liquid. When the condensed phase and exciton gas coexist, islands of the condensed phase have the shape of disks. A simultaneous solution to the kinetic equation (determining the island sizes) and the diffusion equation for excitons outside the islands is obtained for stationary pumping. It is assumed that the exciton gas is nondegenerate outside the islands. The mutual influence of islands through the concentration fields of excitons is taken into account assuming that the mean radius of islands substantially exceeds the mean distance between them. The radius distribution and concentration of islands are determined as functions of the rate of exciton production and the parameters of the system. It is found that the radius distribution of islands is broadened near the threshold of formation of the condensed phase.     

Optical and photocurrent spectroscopy with picosecond strain pulses

This paper gives an overview of optical experiments using picosecond strain pulses. The strain pulses, which propagate with the sound velocity, are incident on a semiconductor nanostructure and induce an ultrafast shift of the exciton resonance energy by an amount, that exceeds the spectral width of the corresponding optical transition. When the duration of the high-amplitude strain pulse is long enough compared with the coherence time of the optical resonance, modulation of the resonance takes place adiabatically and exciton energy can be accurately defined at each momentary position. If the coherence time exceeds the characteristic time of the strain pulse, a non-adiabatic regime is realized and the exciton cannot be related to an optical transition with a specific photon energy. In more detail, we describe the recent experiments on the gating of photocurrent in a tunneling p-i-n device and the generation of THz polariton sidebands in an optical microcavity strongly coupled to the excitons in an embedded quantum well. These two experiments represent, respectively, examples of adiabatic and non-adiabatic behaivior of excitons in the presence of the high-amplitude picosecond strain pulse.     

Instabilities and Self-Organization Phenomena in High Density Exciton Systems

The influence of final value of exciton lifetime on exciton condensed phase formation is investigated in deterministic and stochastic approach. It is shown that in some region of pumping, the periodical distribution of exciton density takes place. The numerical solution for periodical distribution of exciton density is obtained for different values of pumping. There are critical values of exciton lifetime for appearance of exciton condensed phase. The distribution density function becomes narrower with increasing pumping.     

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.     

Ultrafast electron pulses from a tungsten tip triggered by low-power femtosecond laser pulses

We present an experimental and numerical study of electron emission from a sharp tungsten tip triggered by sub-8-fs low-power laser pulses. This process is nonlinear in the laser electric field, and the nonlinearity can be tuned via the dc voltage applied to the tip. Numerical simulations of this system show that electron emission takes place within less than one optical period of the exciting laser pulse, so that an 8 fs 800 nm laser pulse is capable of producing a single electron pulse of less than 1 fs duration. Furthermore, we find that the carrier-envelope phase dependence of the emission process is smaller than 0.1% for an 8 fs pulse but is steeply increasing with decreasing laser pulse duration.     

Temperature dependent properties of the condensed electron-hole state in germanium

The energy of the condensed electron-hole state in germanium shows a blue shift when the temperature is raised, and it does not depend on excitation intensity. From the temperature dependence of the luminiscence intensity an ‘activation energy’ of 2.3 meV is determined for the condensed phase-free exciton transition. All experimental details can be explained by a two phase model. The experiments cannot be interpreted by the radiative recombination of biexcitons.     

Ordered State and Superfluidity of Quasi-Two-Dimensional Excitons in Type-II Quantum Wells

One of the best ways to obtain unambiguous experimental evidence for the superfluidity of excitons is to observe phenomena that are directly related to the phase of the condensed excitons. As an advantageous candidate for this purpose, we propose a quasi-two-dimensional exciton system in type-II quantum wells (QWs). We consider the condensed excitons in the type-II QW irradiated by a weak laser light and show that under the control of an external current J ex , the system takes the ordered state with (without) net superflow of excitons at T = 0 K when J ex is larger (smaller) than a certain critical value. Introducing probable mechanisms of phase transitions, we calculate the transition temperatures and construct the phase diagram.     

Exciton phase transitions in semiconductor quantum wells with disc-shaped electrode

Phase transitions in a system of indirect excitons in semiconductor double quantum wells are studied for a set-up when one of the electrodes is of finite size and, in particular, has the shape of a disc. At voltage a region under the rim of the disc is created where excitons have lower energy, thus providing a macroscopic trap attractive for excitons while being repulsive for charged particles. The theory of the formation of patterns of the excitonic condensed phase under the disc is built based on the assumption of the existence of the inter-exciton range where the interaction between them is attractive. The finite value of the exciton lifetime is taken into account serving as a limiting factor for the size of the islands of the condensed phase. The calculations reveal complex restructuring of the patterns of the spatial distribution of exciton density with increasing pumping intensity: from the structureless gaseous phase to separate islands of the condensed phase within the gaseous phase, then to islands of the gaseous phase in the bulk of the condensed phase and finally to the continuous condensed phase.     

Coherent quantum control of excitons at ultracold and high density in Cu2O with phase manipulated pulses

By phase manipulation of a short laser pulse, it is possible to selectively generate ultracold excitons in a two-photon process while quenching the multiphoton excitation of hot electrons and holes. We show how this technique allows us to suppress the heating of n=1 orthoexcitons in Cu(2)O at high density. Using a laser pulse having an energy of a few microJ and duration of 100 fs, we are thus able to produce a cold exciton gas up to a density of 10(15) cm(-3).     

Collective state of interwell excitons in GaAs/AlGaAs double quantum wells under pulse resonance excitation

The time evolution and kinetics of photoluminescence (PL) spectra of interwell excitons in double GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells (n-i-n structures) have been investigated under the pulse resonance excitation of intrawell 1sHH excitons using a pulsed tunable laser. It is found that the collective exciton phase arises with a time delay relative to the exciting pulse (several nanoseconds), which is due to density and temperature relaxation to the equilibrium values. The origination of the collective phase of interwell excitons is accompanied by a strong narrowing of the corresponding photoluminescence line (the line width is about 1.1 meV), a superlinear rise in its intensity, a long time in the change of the degree of circular polarization, a displacement of the PL spectrum toward lower energies (about 1.5 meV) in accordance with the filling of the lowest state with the exciton Bose condensate, and a significant increase in the radiative decay rate of the condensed phase. The collective exciton phase arises at temperatures T<6 K and interwell exciton densities n=3×10¹⁰ cm^?2. Coherent properties of the collective phase of interwell excitons and experimental manifestations of this coherence are discussed.     

啁啾光脉冲的自相位调制效应对压缩光脉冲的影响

 在超强激光系统中,对比度和本底宽度是压缩光脉冲极为重要的指标。在啁啾脉冲放大系统的压缩阶段,在啁啾脉冲宽度为141ps,啁啾系数为1000,B积分值分别为0,1和2的情况下,模拟了自相位调制效应（SPM）对压缩脉冲的峰值光强、脉冲宽度和本底宽度的影响。结果表明：在B积分值为2的条件下,若不补偿非线性色散,压缩脉冲的峰值强度降为无自相位调制效应时的65%左右,脉冲宽度约为种子脉冲宽度的2倍,本底宽度则增加到原来的3倍左右;在B积分值大于0.5的情况下,本底宽度和B积分值近似成线性关系。     

Exciton condensation in semiconductor quantum wells with a periodical modulation of potential

The appearance and properties of a structure in the density distribution of indirect excitons in coupled quantum wells in semiconductor alloys upon periodical field modulation are studied. Calculations showed that besides periodical dependence of density distribution, caused by the potential modulation, a stratification of the exciton density shafts into separate islands in the cross direction arises. Appearance of islands is the result of exciton condensed phase formation and a nonequilibrium state of the system due to the finite exciton lifetime and pumping presence. The dependence of the structure on system parameters (the pumping value, the modulated field depth and period) is investigated. Also the influence of the exciton–exciton annihilation is taken into account.     

Coherent excitation with phase-incremented pulses

An outline is given for calculating the evolution of a spin system by a pulse sequence with phase-incremented pulses (PIPs). It is done in a frame with a speed of 2pideltaf=deltaphi/deltatau relative to the rotating frame, where deltaphi and deltatau are the phase- and time-increment of the PIP. This particular frame is defined as the eigenframe, in which the phase of the PIP for the center band is stationary and is subjected to a universal phase shift (UPS=-deltaphi/2), and the strength of the PIP is scaled by a factor of lambda=2[1-cos(deltaphi)]/(deltaphi). The phase differences between different eigenframes can be attributed to the initial phases of the PIPs, making it possible to use the Bloch vector model even in different eigenframes. A new way is provided to construct composite pulses with not only amplitude and phase modulations but also offset modulation. Several examples, including a broadband inversion pulse, a Hahn spin echo, and a selective inversion and null pulse, all composed of PIPs, are discussed in detail.     

Design of broadband RF pulses with polynomial-phase response

The achievable bandwidth of common linear-phase RF pulses is limited by the maximum feasible B1 amplitude of the MR system. It has been shown previously, that this limitation can be circumvented by overlaying a quadratic phase in the frequency domain, which spreads the power across the pulse duration. Quadratic-phase RF pulses are near optimal in terms of achieving minimal B1max. In this work, it is demonstrated that further B1max reduction can be achieved by combining quadratic with higher-order polynomial-phase functions. RF pulses with a phase response up to tenth order were designed using the Shinnar-Le Roux transformation, yielding considerable increases in bandwidth and selectivity as compared to pure quadratic-phase pulses. These benefits are studied for a range of pulse specifications and demonstrated experimentally. For B1max = 20 microT and a pulse duration of 2.1 ms, it was possible to increase the bandwidth from 3.1 kHz for linear and 3.8 kHz for a quadratic to 9.9 kHz for a polynomial-phase pulse.     

Spatially resolved amplitude and phase characterization of femtosecond optical pulses

Ultrabroadband pulses exhibit a frequency-dependent mode size owing to the wavelength dependence of free-space diffraction. Additionally, rather complex lateral dependence of the temporal pulse shape has been reported for Kerr-lens mode-locked lasers and broadband amplifier chains and in frequency-domain pulse shapers, for example. We demonstrate an ultrashort-pulse characterization technique that reveals lateral pulse-shape variations by spatially resolved amplitude and phase measurements by use of spectral phase interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction (SPIDER). Unlike with autocorrelation techniques, with SPIDER we can obtain spatially resolved pulse characterization even after the nonlinear process. Thus, with this method the spectral phase of the pulse can be resolved very rapidly along one lateral beam axis in a single measurement.     

Phase-dependent loss due to nonadiabatic ionization by sub-10-fs pulses

For the first time to the author's knowledge, the effect of phase-dependent loss that can be used to stabilize the phase of a sub-10-fs laser pulse with respect to the envelope is shown. This loss is caused by the nonadiabatic response of an atom illuminated by a short pulse, which leads to the dependence of the tunneling ionization on the absolute phase of the pulse. The phase selectivity can be employed as a phase-dependent filter within the laser cavity with important applications in nonlinear optics in the single-cycle regime.     

Exciton condensation in quantum wells: Temperature effects

Our previous theory of the formation of exciton condensed phases in a two-dimensional system is applied to the analysis of the temperature dependence of a number of parameters of the system. The pumping intensity-temperature phase diagram is constructed, some of its features characteristic of indirect excitons having a dipole moment are established, the dependences of the intensity of the radiation band corresponding to the condensed phase on the pumping intensity and temperature are calculated, and the results are compared with experimental data.     

Use of composite refocusing pulses to form spin echoes

The radiofrequency pulses used in NMR are subject to a number of imperfections such as those caused by inhomogeneity of the radiofrequency (B(1)) field and an offset of the transmitter frequency from precise resonance. The effect of these pulse imperfections upon a refocusing pulse in a spin-echo experiment can be severe. Many of the worst effects, those that distort the phase of the spin echo, can be removed completely by selecting the echo coherence pathway using either the "Exorcycle" phase cycle or magnetic field gradients. It is then tempting to go further and try to improve the amplitude of the spin-echo signal by replacing the simple refocusing pulse with a broadband composite 180° pulse that compensates for the relevant pulse imperfection. We show here that all composite pulses with a symmetric or asymmetric phase shift scheme will reintroduce phase distortions into the spin echo, despite the selection of the echo coherence pathway. In contrast, all antisymmetric composite pulses yield no phase distortion whatsoever, both on and off resonance, and are therefore the correct symmetry of composite refocusing pulse to use. These conclusions are verified using simulations and (31)P MAS NMR spin-echo experiments performed on a microporous aluminophosphate.     

Exciton condensation driving the periodic lattice distortion of 1T-TiSe2

We address the lattice deformation of 1T-TiSe2 within the exciton condensate phase. We show that, at low temperature, condensed excitons influence the lattice through electron-phonon interaction. It is found that at zero temperature, in the exciton condensate phase of 1T-TiSe2, this exciton condensate exerts a force on the lattice generating ionic displacements comparable in amplitude to what is measured in experiment. This is thus the first quantitative estimation of the amplitude of the periodic lattice distortion observed in 1T-TiSe2 as a consequence of the exciton condensate phase.