基于重叠栅工艺的硅量子点阵列的制备与调控

利用半导体量子点阵列结构实现近邻耦合是规模化扩展自旋量子比特的主要方案之一. 随着量子点数目的增加, 量子点阵列器件的制作工艺及参数调控均愈加复杂. 本文介绍了一种重叠栅工艺结构, 利用多层相互重叠且具有不同功能的栅极定义量子点, 制作出结构紧凑、 调控性好的量子点阵列器件, 解决了工艺扩展的难题. 此外,本文发展了一套高效可靠的调控方法, 按顺序逐个添加量子点并建立虚拟电极, 实现了对量子点参数的独立控制,并且能够高效且独立地调控各量子点中的电子数目, 克服了大规模量子点阵列中电压参数配置的困难. 这些方法为未来实现大规模自旋比特阵列提供了一种标准化的方案.     

Stability diagram of a few-electron triple dot

Individual and coupled quantum dots containing one or two electrons have been realized and are regarded as components for future quantum information circuits. In this Letter we map out experimentally the stability diagram of the few-electron triple dot system, the electron configuration map as a function of the external tuning parameters, and reveal experimentally for the first time the existence of quadruple points, a signature of the three dots being in resonance. In the vicinity of these quadruple points we observe a duplication of charge transfer transitions related to charge and spin reconfigurations triggered by changes in the total electron occupation number. The experimental results are largely reproduced by equivalent circuit analysis and Hubbard models. Our results are relevant for future quantum mechanical engineering applications within both quantum information and quantum cellular automata architectures.     

Antiresonance of electron tunneling through a quantum dot array

Electronic transport through a one-dimensional quantum dot array is theoretically studied. In such a system both electron reservoirs of continuum states couple with the individual component quantum dots of the array arbitrarily. When there are some dangling quantum dots in the array outside the dot(s) contacting the leads, the electron tunneling through the quantum dot array is wholly forbidden if the electron energy is just equal to the molecular energy levels of the dangling quantum dots, which is called as antiresonance of electron tunneling. Accordingly, when the chemical potential of the reservoir electrons is aligned with the electron levels of all quantum dots, the linear conductance at zero temperature vanishes if there are odd number dangling quantum dots; Otherwise, it is equal to 2e²/h due to resonant tunneling if the total number of quantum dots in the array is odd. This odd–even parity is independent of the interdot and the lead–dot coupling strength.     

含InAs自组装量子点肖特基二极管的关联放电效应

制作了含自组织量子点的金属半导体金属双肖特基势垒器件,研究了器件的电流输运特性.在量子点充放电造成的电流迟滞回路的基础上,观察到了电压扫描过程中的电流由低态到高态的跳跃现象.这种电流跳跃来源于充电量子点的关联放电效应.根据量子点系统的哈密顿量,分析了充电量子点关联放电的原因.这种关联放电效应起源于量子点与2DEG的相互作用,当一个量子点放电时通过量子点和2DEG电流的变化会影响其他的量子点,从而促使其放电,这种过程在整个系统中放大导致所有的量子点放电 关键词： 关联效应 自组装量子点     

Simulation of the electrical characteristics of a one-dimensional quantum dot array

A quantum dot array, consisting of Au dots, was prepared by the linear aggregation technique and assembled between two electrodes. We study the voltage–current characteristic of the quantum dot array, using a Non-Equilibrium Green’s Function (NEGF) model based on the Keldysh formalism. The results of our simulation and experimental data are compared. The simulated voltage–current curve is a reasonable fit with the measured data. It shows that the present model can be used to study quantum dot arrays. Furthermore, our results indicate that the electrical characteristics of an Au dot array are directly related to the coupling parameters.     

Intersublevel transitions in self-assembled quantum dots

Intersublevel transitions in semiconductor quantum dots are transitions of a charge carrier between quantum dot confined states. In InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots, optically active intersublevel transitions occur in the mid-infrared spectral range. These transitions can provide a new insight on the physics of semiconductor quantum dots and offer new opportunities to develop mid-infrared devices. A key feature characterizing intersublevel transitions is the coupling of the confined carriers to phonons. We show that the effect of the strong coupling regime for the electron–optical phonon interaction and the formation of mixed electron–phonon quasi-particles called polarons drastically affect and control the dynamical properties of quantum dots. The engineering of quantum dot relaxation rates through phonon coupling opens the route to the realization of new devices like mid-infrared polaron lasers. We finally show that the measurement of intersublevel absorption is not limited to quantum dot ensembles and that the intersublevel ultrasmall absorption of a single quantum dot can be measured with a nanometer scale resolution by using phonon emission as a signature of the absorption. To cite this article: P. Boucaud et al., C. R. Physique 9 (2008).     

Dynamic localization of two electrons in AC-driven triple quantum dots and quantum dot shuttles

We analyze the dynamic localization of two interacting electrons induced by alternating current electric fields in triple quantum dots and triple quantum dot shuttles. The calculation of the long-time averaged occupation probability shows that both the intra-and inter-dot Coulomb interaction can increase the localization of electrons even when the AC field is not very large. The mechanical oscillation of the quantum dot shuttles may keep the localization of electrons at a high level within a range if its frequency is quite a bit smaller than the AC field. However, the localization may be depressed if the frequency of the mechanical oscillation is the integer times of the frequency of the AC field. We also derive the analytical condition of two-electron localization both for triple quantum dots and quantum dot shuttles within the Floquet formalism.     

Cavity‐Photon‐Induced High‐Order Transitions between Ground States of Quantum Dots

It is shown that quantum electromagnetic transitions to high orders are essential to describe the time‐dependent path of a nanoscale electron system in a Coulomb blockade regime when coupled to external leads and placed in a 3D rectangular photon cavity. The electronic system consists of two quantum dots embedded asymmetrically in a short quantum wire. The two lowest in energy spin degenerate electron states are mostly localized in each dot with only a tiny probability in the other dot. In the presence of the leads, a slow high‐order transition between the ground states of the two quantum dots is identified. The Fourier power spectrum for photon–photon correlations in the steady state shows a Fano type of resonance for the frequency of the slow transition. Full account is taken of the geometry of the multilevel electronic system, and the electron–electron Coulomb interactions together with the para‐ and diamagnetic electron–photon interactions are treated with step‐wise exact numerical diagonalization and truncation of appropriate many‐body Fock spaces. The matrix elements for all interactions are computed analytically or numerically exactly.     

Directed self‐assembly of single quantum dots for telecommunication wavelength optical devices

The ability to control the nucleation site of a single quantum dot will have a profound effect on the development of quantum dot‐based photonic devices. The deterministic approach will provide a truly scalable technology that can take full advantage of conventional semiconductor processing for device fabrication. In this review, we discuss the progress towards the integration of deterministically nucleated single quantum dots with top‐down quantum optical devices targeting telecommunication wavelengths. Advances in site‐controlled quantum dot nucleation using selective‐area epitaxy now makes it possible to position quantum dots at predetermined positions on a substrate in registry with alignment markers. This, in turn, has allowed for devices fabricated in subsequent processing steps to be aligned to individual quantum dots. The specific devices being targeted are gated‐single dots and coupled dot‐cavity systems which are key components of efficient sources of single photons and entangled photon pairs.     

Photoluminescence of patterned arrays of vertically stacked InAs/GaAs quantum dots

We report on photoluminescence measurements of vertically stacked InAs/GaAs quantum dots grown by molecular beam epitaxy on focused ion beam patterned hole arrays with varying array spacing. Quantum dot emission at 1.24 eV was observed only on patterned regions, demonstrating preferential nucleation of optically active dots at desired locations and below the critical thickness for dot formation at these growth conditions. Photoluminescence measurements as a function of varying focused ion beam irradiated hole spacing showed that the quantum dot emission intensity increased with decreasing array periodicity, consistent with increasing dot density.     

Controlled positioning of self-assembled InAs quantum dots on (1 1 0) GaAs

We report on a new approach for positioning of self-assembled InAs quantum dots on (1 1 0) GaAs with nanometer precision. By combining self-assembly of quantum dots with molecular beam epitaxy on in situ cleaved surfaces (cleaved-edge overgrowth) we have successfully fabricated arrays of long-range ordered InAs quantum dots. Both atomic force microscopy and micro-photoluminescence measurements demonstrate the ability to control position and ordering of the quantum dots with epitaxial precision as well as size and size homogeneity. Furthermore, photoluminescence investigations on dot ensembles and on single dots confirm the high homogeneity and the excellent optical quality of the quantum dots fabricated.     

巯基丙酸分子对CdSe核壳量子点和 ZnO纳米粒子薄膜之间电荷转移的影响

通过稳态光谱和时间分辨荧光光谱研究了巯基丙酸(MPA)分子对由量子点到ZnO纳米粒子薄膜的电荷转移过程的影响。研究发现,相对于CdSe纳米粒子薄膜样品,没有MPA分子参与作用的CdSe/ZnO薄膜样品和有MPA分子连接的CdSe/MPA/ZnO薄膜样品中都存在从CdSe量子点到ZnO纳米粒子薄膜的有效电荷分离过程,但是相对于CdSe/ZnO样品, CdSe/MPA/ZnO样品中电荷转移速率明显变小。这表明MPA分子本身它并不能促进CdSe到ZnO电荷分离过程,因此可以认为用金属氧化物薄膜直接吸附量子点吸收材料,将能获得高功率转换效率的量子点敏化太阳能电池。     

Excitonics of semiconductor quantum dots and wires for lighting and displays

In the past two decades, semiconductor quantum dots and wires have developed into new, promising classes of materials for next‐generation lighting and display systems due to their superior optical properties. In particular, exciton–exciton interactions through nonradiative energy transfer in hybrid systems of these quantum‐confined structures have enabled exciting possibilities in light generation. This review focuses on the excitonics of such quantum dot and wire emitters, particularly transfer of the excitons in the complex media of the quantum dots and wires. Mastering excitonic interactions in low‐dimensional systems is essential for the development of better light sources, e.g., high‐efficiency, high‐quality white‐light generation; wide‐range color tuning; and high‐purity color generation. In addition, introducing plasmon coupling provides the ability to amplify emission in specially designed exciton–plasmon nanostructures and also to exceed the Förster limit in excitonic interactions. In this respect, new routes to control excitonic pathways are reviewed in this paper. The review further discusses research opportunities and challenges in the quantum dot and wire excitonics with a future outlook.     

Using a quantum dot system to realize perfect state transfer

There are some disadvantages to Nikolopoulos et al.'s protocol [Nikolopoulos G M, Petrosyan D and Lambropoulos P 2004 Europhys. Lett. 65 297] where a quantum dot system is used to realize quantum communication. To overcome these disadvantages, we propose a protocol that uses a quantum dot array to construct a four-qubit spin chain to realize perfect quantum state transfer (PQST). First, we calculate the interaction relation for PQST in the spin chain. Second, we review the interaction between the quantum dots in the Heitler-London approach. Third, we present a detailed program for designing the proper parameters of a quantum dot array to realize PQST.     

Role of dynamic depolarization for the intersubband resonance in the localization regime

We investigate the electronic intraband absorption in quantum wells with a strong lateral random potential, realized for example by modulation doping with a thin spacer layer. In such systems, electrons become in-plane localized in isolated potential minima and behave like an inhomogeneous array of natural quantum dots. When excited with a coherent light field, the dots respond as individual oscillators, which are however coupled by dynamic dipole–dipole interactions. The absorption spectrum is then determined by the interplay of the single dot properties (related to the disorder potential) and the many-particle Coulomb interactions. Using a simple model for the single-particle states, we calculate the absorption spectrum as a function of the electron density. In the case of light polarized perpendicular to the layer, we find with increasing density a dramatic line narrowing (associated with a collective excitation of the electrons) and a depolarization blue shift. For in-plane polarized light, the peak is shifted to the red. Our theory also applies to far-infrared absorption experiments in artificial quantum dot arrays.     

Coulomb blockade and hopping transport behaviors of donor-induced quantum dots in junctionless transistors

The ionized dopants, working as quantum dots in silicon nanowires, exhibit potential advantages for the development of atomic-scale transistors. We investigate single electron tunneling through a phosphorus dopant induced quantum dots array in heavily n-doped junctionless nanowire transistors. Several subpeaks splittings in current oscillations are clearly observed due to the coupling of the quantum dots at the temperature of 6 K. The transport behaviors change from resonance tunneling to hoping conduction with increased temperature. The charging energy of the phosphorus donors is approximately 12.8 meV. This work helps clear the basic mechanism of electron transport through donor-induced quantum dots and electron transport properties in the heavily doped nanowire through dopant engineering.     

Electronic structure and optical properties of zinc-blende GaN quantum dots

The energy levels of zinc-blende GaN quantum dots (QDs) are studied within the framework of the effective-mass envelope-function approximation. The dependence of the energy of electron and hole states on the quantum dot (QD) size is presented. The selection rules for optical transitions are given and the oscillator strengths of the dipole-allowed transitions for various QD radii are calculated with the wavefunctions of quantized energy levels. The theoretical absorption spectrum of GaN QDs is in good agreement with the existing experimental result.     

The effect of the long-range order in a quantum dot array on the in-plane lattice thermal conductivity

Semiconductor quantum dot superlattices consisting of arrays of quantum dots have shown great promise for a variety of device applications, including thermoelectric power generation and cooling. In this paper we theoretically investigate the effect of long-range order in a quantum dot array on its in-plane lattice thermal conductivity. It is demonstrated that the long-range order in a quantum dot array enhances acoustic phonon scattering and, thus leads to a decrease of its lattice thermal conductivity. The decrease in the ordered quantum dot array, which acts as a phonon grating, is stronger than that in the disordered one due to the contribution of the coherent scattering term. The numerical calculations were carried out for a structure that consists of multiple layers of Si with layers of ordered Ge quantum dots separated by wetting layers and spacers.     

A quantification of the interaction and spatial ordering in nano-arrays

This paper reports on the use of a local order measure to quantify the spatial ordering of a quantum dot array (QDA). By means of electron ground state energy analysis in a quantum dot pair, it is demonstrated that the length scale required for such a measure to characterize the opto-electronic properties of a QDA is of the order of a few QD radii. Therefore, as local order is the primary factor that affects the opto-electronic properties of an array of quantum dots of homogeneous size, this order was quantified through using the standard deviation of the nearest neighbor distances of the quantum dot ensemble. The local order measure is successfully applied to quantify spatial order in a range of experimentally synthesized and numerically generated arrays of nanoparticles. This measure is not limited to QDAs and has wide ranging applications in characterizing order in dense arrays of nanostructures.     

Few-electron quantum dot fabricated with layered scanning force microscope lithography

Few-electron quantum dots with integrated charge read-out have been fabricated by layered local anodic oxidation of a Ga[Al]As heterostructure and a thin Titanium top gate. The additional set of gates provided by the metallic film is used to tune the quantum dots into the few-electron regime. Current through the quantum dots and the quantum dot charge have been simultaneously measured for electron numbers varying between zero and two. The singlet–triplet splitting varies in two different samples between 0.5 and 1.5 meV. The Zeeman splitting of the first conductance resonance is observed in parallel magnetic field. The high tunability and straightforward implementation of these structures are promising for future nanostructure design.