Intraband Dynamics and Terahertz Emission in Biased GaAs/In0.53Ga0.47As Semiconductor Superlattices

Using an excitonic basis, we investigate the intraband polarization, opticalabsorption spectra, and terahertz emission of semiconductor superlattice withthe density matrix theory. The excitonic Bloch oscillation is driven by the dcand ac electric fields. The slow variation in the intraband polarizationdepends on the ac electric field frequency. The intraband polarizationincreases when the ac electric field frequency is below the Bloch frequency.When the ac electric field frequency is above the Bloch frequency, theintraband polarization downwards and its intensity decreases. The satellitestructures in the optical absorption spectra are presented. Due to excitonicdynamic localization, the emission lines of terahertz shift in different acelectric field and dc electric field.     

Coherent Interband and Intersubband Dynamics in Terahertz-Driven GaAs Quantum Wells

We theoretically investigate the optical absorption spectra and charge density by subjecting a GaAs quantum well to both an intense terahertz (THz)-frequency driving field and an optical pulse within the theory of density matrix. In presence of a strong THz field, the optical transitions in quantum well subbands are altered by the THz field. The alteration has a direct impact on the optical absorption and the charge density. The excitonic peak splitting and THz optical sideband in the absorption spectra show up when changing the THz field intensity and/or frequency. The Autler-Towns splitting is a result from the THz nonlinear dynamics of confined excitons. On the other hand, the carrier charge density is created as wave packets formed by coherent superposition of several eigenstates. The charge density exhibitsquantum beats for short pulses and/or wider wells and is modulated by the THz field.     

Magnetic field effect on the electronic states and the intraband optical absorption spectrum of a laser dressed double quantum dot molecule

The simultaneous effects of intense terahertz (THz) laser, a homogeneous magnetic fields, and the modification of the structural parameters on the electronic states, and the intraband optical absorption spectrum in a two-dimensional double quantum dot molecule are theoretically investigated. The crossing and anticrossing are observed in the energy dependence on the magnetic field induction between the third and the fourth energy levels. Additionally, it is shown that an intense THz laser field always shifts the energy spectrum to higher values. The variation of the structural parameters leads to the change of the positions of the energy levels and the anticrossing point. Finally, we have found that the intraband optical absorption spectrum, particularly the absorption intensity and the peak position, can be effectively regulated by an intense THz laser and a magnetic fields, as well as by the variation of the structural parameters of the double quantum dot molecule.     

Intraband dynamics and terahertz emission in biased semiconductor superlattices coupled to double far-infrared pulses

This paper studies both the intraband polarization and terahertz emission of a semiconductor superlattice in combined dc and ac electric fields by using the superposition of two identical time delayed and phase shifted optical pulses. By adjusting the delay between these two optical pulses, our results show that the intraband polarization is sensitive to the time delay. The peak values appear again for the terahertz emission intensity due to the superposition of two optical pulses. The emission lines of terahertz blueshift and redshift in different ac electric fields and dynamic localization appears. The emission lines of THz only appear to blueshift when the biased superlattice is driven by a single optical pulse. Due to excitonic dynamic localization, the terahertz emission intensity decays with time in different dc and ac electric fields. These are features of this superlattice which distinguish it from a superlattice generated by a single optical pulse to drive it.     

Optical spectroscopy of graphene: From the far infrared to the ultraviolet

The unique electronic structure of graphene leads to several distinctive optical properties. In this brief review, we outline the current understanding of two general aspects of optical response of graphene: optical absorption and light emission. We show that optical absorption in graphene is dominated by intraband transitions at low photon energies (in the far-infrared spectral range) and by interband transitions at higher energies (from mid-infrared to ultraviolet). We discuss how the intraband and interband transitions in graphene can be modified through electrostatic gating. We describe plasmonic resonances arising from the free-carrier (intraband) response and excitonic effects that are manifested in the interband absorption. Light emission, the reverse process of absorption, is weak in graphene due to the absence of a band gap. We show that photoluminescence from hot electrons can, however, become observable either through femtosecond laser excitation or strong electrostatic gating.     

Terahertz signatures of the exciton formation dynamics in non-resonantly excited semiconductors

A microscopic theory for the induced terahertz (THz) absorption of semiconductors is applied to study the time-dependent system response after non-resonant optical excitation. The formation of excitonic populations from an interacting electron-hole plasma is analyzed and the characteristic THz signatures are computed. Good qualitative agreement with recent experiments is obtained.     

Optical absorptions of an exciton in a disc-like quantum dot under an electric field

An exciton in a disc-like quantum dot (QD) with the parabolic confinement, under applied electric field, is studied within the framework of the effective-mass approximation. Both the electric field and the confinement effects on the transition energy and the oscillator strength were investigated. Based on the computed energies and wave functions, the linear, the third-order nonlinear and the total optical absorption coefficients were also calculated. We found that the optical absorption coefficients with considering excitonic effects are stronger than those without considering excitonic effects and the absorption peak will move to the right side induced by the electron-hole interaction, which shows an excitonic effect blue-shift of the resonance in QDs. The applied electric field may affect either the size or the position of absorption peaks of excitons. However, the applied electric field may only affect the size of absorption peaks of an electron-hole pair without considering excitonic effects. It is very important to take excitonic effects into account when we study the optical absorption for disc-like QDs. We may observe the excitonic effect induced by the external electric field.     

Electronic and optical properties of asymmetric GaAs double quantum dots in intense laser fields

In the present work, we investigated the effect of an intense non-resonant laser field on the electronic structure and the nonlinear optical properties (the light absorption, the optical rectification) of a GaAs asymmetric double quantum dot under a strong probe field excitation. The calculations were performed within the compact-density matrix formalism under the steady state conditions with the use of the effective mass approximation. The obtained results show that: (i) the electronic structure and, consequently, the optical properties are sensitive to the dressed potential; (ii) the changes in the incident light polarisation lead to blue or redshifts in the intraband optical absorption spectrum; (iii) for specific values of the structure parameters and under an intense laser illumination, the asymmetric double quantum dots can be a good candidate for NOR emission of THz radiation.     

Excitonic optical absorption in semiconductors under intense terahertz radiation

The excitonic optical absorption of GaAs bulk semiconductors under intense terahertz （THz） radiation is investigated numerically. The method of solving initial-value problems, combined with the perfect matched layer technique, is used to calculate the optical susceptibility. In the presence of a driving THz field, in addition to the usual exciton peaks, 2p replica of the dark 2p exciton and even-THz-photon-sidebands of the main exciton resonance emerge in the continuum above the band edge and below the main exciton resonance. Moreover, to understand the shift of the position of the main exciton peak under intense THz radiation, it is necessary to take into consideration both the dynamical Franz-Keldysh effect and ac Stark effect simultaneously. For moderate frequency fields, the main exciton peak decreases and broadens due to the field-induced ionization of the excitons with THz field increasing. However, for high frequency THz fields, the characteristics of the exciton recur even under very strong THz fields, which accords with the recent experimental results qualitatively.     

The polarization sensitivity of optical absorption in tensile strained GaAs/InAlAs double quantum wells

The electric field dependence of the polarization sensitivity of optical absorption in tensile-strained GaAs/InAlAs double quantum wells (DQWs) was investigated theoretically. The coupling effects and electric-field-induced change of eigenstates in various DQW structures were analysed within the framework of the Bastard envelope function approximation using the transfer matrix method (TMM). The absorption coefficient was calculated with excitonic effects included. The simulation results show that it is possible to change the polarization characteristics in the DQW structures by adjusting the applied electric field.     

Influence of lateral electric field on intraband optical absorption in concentric double quantum rings

The influence of lateral electric field on one-electron states and intraband absorption in two-dimensional concentric double quantum rings is investigated. The confining potential of the rings is modeled as a double harmonic central potential. Using the exact diagonalization technique, we calculate the dependence of the electron energy spectrum as a function of the electric field strength as well as the inner ring radius. Also, different values of confinement strength are considered. Selection rule is obtained for intraband transitions, caused by the direction of incident light polarization. The intraband absorption coefficient is calculated for different values of electric field strength, inner ring radius, confinement strength and incident light polarization direction. The combined influence of electric field strength and change of confining strength show that while the increment of the first one leads only to blueshift of absorption spectrum, the augment of the second one makes the redshift. In addition, both blueshift and redshift of the spectrum have been obtained with the enlargement of inner ring radius. Finally, we show that the absorption spectrum undergoes redshift by changing the polarization of incident light from x- to y-axis.     

THz Generation by Optical Rectification and Competition with Other Nonlinear Processes

We present a study of the competition between tera-hertz （THz） generation by optical rectification in （110） ZnTe crystals, two-photon absorption, second harmonic generation and free-carrier absorption. The two-photon nonlinear absorption coefficient, second harmonic generation efficiency and free-carrier absorption coefficient in the THz range are measured independently. The incident pump field is shown to be depleted by two-photon absorption and the THz radiation is shown to be reduced, upon focusing, by free-carrier absorption. The reduction of the generated THz radiation upon tight focusing is explained, provided that one also takes into account diffraction effects from the sub-wavelength THz source.     

Excitons and magnetoexcitons in coupled quantum nanostructures: the role of a dirty environment

The effect of a random field caused by impurities, interface roughness and so on, on the optical properties and superfluidity of a quasi-two-dimensional system of excitons is studied. The influence of a random field on the density of the superfluid component of excitonic systems at low temperatures is investigated. For quasi-two-dimensional excitonic systems in a random field the Kosterlitz–Thouless temperature in the superfluid state is calculated. The superfluidity and Bose–Einstein condensation of indirect excitons in coupled quantum dots are studied. Magnetoexciton light absorption in the disordered quantum wells is considered. The two-particle problem of the magnetoexciton motion in the external field depending on the external magnetic field is reduced to the one-particle motion with effective magnetic mass in some effective field. The energy and optical absorption of the magnetoexciton in a single and coupled quantum dots are studied using the effective-magnetic-mass Hamiltonian. In the coherent potential approximation the coefficient of magnetoexciton optical absorption in single and coupled quantum wells is calculated. In the strong magnetic fields the exciton peak decreases with magnetic field increasing in accordance with the experimental data. The localization of direct and indirect magnetoexcitons is investigated. Received: 14 April 2000 / Accepted: 17 April 2000 / Published online: 6 September 2000     

Theoretical studies of polarization dependent electro-optical modulation in lattice matched and strained multi-quantum well structures

We report on polarization dependent optical absorption for excitonic and interband transitions in lattice matched (GaAs/AlGaAs) and strained (biaxial tensile strain - GaAsP/AlGaAs; biaxial compressive strain - InGaAs/AlGaAs) multiquantum well structures in the presence of transverse electric fields. The hole states are solved by using the Kohn-Luttinger Hamiltonian and using an eigenvalue technique. The effect of heavy-hole and light-hole mixing due to the strain, electric field and quantization is studied. Under biaxial tensile strain the heavy-hole and light-hole transition can coincide, leading to interesting polarization dependent effects. Results are presented for excitonic and interband transitions.     

Optical absorption and electromagnetically induced transparency in semiconductor quantum well driven by intense terahertz field

An approach for solving the excitonic absorption in a semiconductor quantum well driven by an intense terahertz field is presented.The formalism relies on the stationary single-photon Schro¨dinger equation in the full quantum mechanical framework.The optical absorption dynamics in both weak and strong couplings are discussed and compared.The excitonic absorption spectra show the Autler-Townes doublets for the resonance terahertz field,a replica peak for the non-resonance terahertz field,and the electromagnetically induced transparency phenomenon for modulating the decay rate of the second electron state in the weak coupling.In particular,the electromagnetically induced transparency phenomenon window range is discussed.In the strong coupling region,the multi-order energy level resonance splitting due to the strong optical field is found.There are three(non-resonance terahertz field) or four(resonance terahertz field) peaks in the optical absorption spectra.This work provides a simple and convenient approach to deal with the optical absorption in the exciton system.     

Polarized absorption spectra of highly oriented two-dimensional aggregates of tetrachlorobenzimidazolocarbocyanine in thin films

Reaching a control on the mesoscopic morphology and internal molecular arrangement of cyanine aggregates is an important step for realization of devices with tailor-made optical properties. Despite a wealth of research, understanding of the relationship between molecular organization, excitonic states and dynamics of aggregates is still preliminary. To this end, we have employed polarized absorption spectroscopy to investigate the relationship between internal molecular organization and excitonic states of J-aggregates in 1,1′,3,3′tetraethyl-5,5′,6,6′-tetrachlorobenzimidazolocarbocyanine (TTBC) thin films in poly-vinyl alcohol (PVA). Angular dependence of the UV–vis spectra has been measured at 11 different orientations between the electric field polarization and the macroscopic alignment axis. Aggregate spectral response consisted of an asymmetrically split Davydov pair of bands exhibiting opposite polarization: an H-band (505 nm, Lorentzian-like, polarized along the macroscopic film axis) and a J-band (594 nm, one-dimensional J-aggregate like band shape, polarized perpendicular to the macroscopic film axis). The polarized absorption observations were found to be consistent with a herringbone model for which the internal molecular arrangement, the excited state structure and dynamics have recently been detailed by us upon interpretation of isotropic absorption data in ionic aqueous solution.     

Intraband coherence of Bloch oscillations after momentum scattering

Resonantly excited secondary emission of light (RSE) in GaAs/AlGaAs superlattices gives a direct proof for the stability of coherent Bloch dynamics beyond the optical coherent regime. The polarization analysis of the RSE signal confirms its nonlinear origin resulting from coherent intraband density dynamics. It is shown that the intraband coherence of Bloch oscillations (BO) persists after momentum scattering of the photoexcited states. A variation of emission angle and excitation density allows to distinguish two momentum scattering processes contributing to the RSE. A static disorder mediated contribution is restricted to directions near the reflection direction. A further contribution of carrier induced momentum scattering is resolved in directions well separated from diffraction directions. The dependence of the RSE as a function of an external electric field demonstrates an enhancement of momentum scattering with increasing field. PACS 78.47.+p; 63.20Kr; 71.35.-y.     

The density matrix picture of laser coherent control current

The photocurrent has been widely investigated for a long time. Conventionally the current results from the directional motion of the photo-electrons accelerated by dc bias. In recent years, the development of the optical information science calls for the Tbit per second transport speed, so the related devices must work on a time scale of picosecond even femtosecond. But this requirement is limited by the lifetime of the conventional photo-electrons. With the development of ultrafast laser pul…     

THz wave polarization-controlled spectroscopic imaging for anisotropic materials

We present a polarization-controlled terahertz (THz) wave spectroscopic imaging modality to investigate the anisotropy of the detected materials. The polarization of the emitted THz wave is controlled by changing the relative phase between the fundamental and second-harmonic waves in the two-color laser-induced air plasma THz generation configuration. The THz wave polarization direction is extracted by measuring the two electric field amplitudes when the polarization of the incident wave is controlled to be horizontal and vertical. The anisotropy of the industrial Sprayed-On-Foam-Insulation (SOFI) is characterized by measuring its azimuthal angle dependent THz polarization response. This work demonstrates that THz wave polarization-controlled imaging technique can be used for highly sensitive industrial nondestructive inspection and biological related characterization.     

Realization of THz dualband absorber with periodic cross-shaped graphene metamaterials

A dualband terahertz(THz) absorber including periodically distributed cross-shaped graphene arrays and a gold layer spaced by a thin dielectric layer is investigated.Numerical results reveal that the THz absorber displays two perfect absorption peaks.To elucidate the resonant behavior, the LC model is introduced to fit the spectra.Moreover, the strength and linewidth of the absorption peak can be effectively tuned with structural parameters and the relaxation time of graphene.Owing to its rotational symmetry, this THz absorber exhibits polarization insensitivity.Our designed absorber is a promising candidate in applications of tunable optical sensors and optical filters.