Characteristics of wavelength conversion of short optical pulses in quantum dot semiconductor optical amplifiers

The characteristics of short optical pulse four-wave mixing (FWM) and amplification in quantum dot semiconductor optical amplifiers (QD-SOAs) are investigated taken into account the effect of the multi-discrete QD energy levels. Different saturation and recovery response for the electron and hole states are observed, which is attributed to different energy spacing between the energy states. We found that the 3 dB saturation energy of QD-SOA depends on the pulse width for short input pulses. Also, the optimum time delay between the probe and pump pulses in QD-SOAs, which provides maximum FWM efficiency in QD-SOAs, is smaller than the optimum delay in quantum well SOA.     

Laser-manipulated the multiphoton transitions of a harmonically trapped particle

A single particle magneto-confined in a one-dimensional (1D) quantum wire experiences a harmonic potential, and imposing a sharply focused laser beam on an appropriate site shapes a $\delta$ potential. The theoretical investigation has demonstrated that for a sufficiently strong $\delta$ pulse the quantum motional stationary state of the particle is one of the eigenstates of the free harmonic oscillator, and it is determined by the site of the laser beam uniquely, namely a quantum state is admissible if and only if the laser site is one of its nodes. The numerical computation shows that all the nodes of the lower energy states with quantum numbers $n \le 20$, except the coordinate origin, are mutually different. So we can manipulate the multiphoton transitions between the quantum states by adjusting the position of the laser $\delta$ pulse and realize the transition from an unknown higher excitation state to a required lower energy state.     

Kinetics of resonance luminescence of a single quantum dot at room temperature

We have developed a theory of transient resonance luminescence of a single quantum dot from the lowest energy states of electron-hole pairs. We consider a process in which laser pulses directly excite photonemitting states of electron-hole pairs of the quantum dot at room temperature. For definiteness, the model under the development takes into account two states of electron-hole pairs that contribute to luminescence. We have analyzed the dependence of the secondary emission process on the energy gap between these states, the value of which is determined by the quantum dot size. In terms of the Pauli master kinetic equation, an analytical expression for the time-dependent signal of the resonance luminescence has been obtained. We show that, as the spectral width of the exciting laser pulse tends to zero, this expression yields the signal of stationary luminescence.     

Nonlinear absorption of light pulses under conditions of two-photon resonance in bulk crystals and nanostructures in the femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy mode

A theory of nonlinear absorption of femtosecond light pulses by bulk crystals and nanostructures of different dimensions in the pump-probe spectroscopy mode has been developed. Expressions for the energy absorbed from the probe pulse under conditions of two-photon resonances are derived for transitions between the discrete or band electronic states and between the size-quantization subband states in quantum wells and quantum wires. The dependences of the energy absorbed from the probe pulse on the two-photon resonance detuning and on the time delay between the pulses are analyzed. The dependence of the power absorbed from the probe pulse on the time is also obtained.     

Emergence of excited-state plasmon modes in linear hydrogen chains from time-dependent quantum mechanical methods

Explicitly time-dependent configuration-interaction theory is used to predict a new type of plasmonic behavior in linear hydrogen chains. After an intense ultrashort laser pulse brings the system into a broad superposition of excited states, the electronic dipole of the entire chain oscillates coherently, and the system is predicted to emit radiation at energies significantly lower than the first absorption band. A simple classical model accurately predicts the energy of this plasmon resonance for different hydrogen chain lengths and electron densities, demonstrating that collective, free-electron-like behavior can arise in chains of as few as 20 hydrogen atoms. The excitation mechanism for this plasmonic resonance is a highly nonlinear, multiphoton process, different from the linear excitation of ordinary surface plasmons.     

Manipulating many-body quantum states via single-photon resonance

For an atomic Bose-Hubbard dimer quantum control via multiphoton processes have been investigated widely. We here explore how to manipulate the many-body quantum states via single-photon resonance by treating the periodic driving as a weak perturbation. The transition probabilities up to second-order approximation are given as functions of the driving parameters, which are considerable only for the single-photon resonance case. Due to some transition matrix elements vanishing, the first-order quantum transition obeys a selection rule. The non-forbidden transitions involve states of different entanglement entropies and all (part) of the forbidden transitions relate to the entropy balances between two states for odd (even) number of particles. The results provide a new route for manipulating many-body quantum states and entanglement entropies, and controlling the atomic tunnelings of the Bose-Hubbard dimer.     

Floquet theory for short laser pulses

We develop adiabatic perturbation theory for quantum systems responding to short laser pulses, with or without a frequency chirp. Our approach rests on lifting the time-dependent Schr?dinger equation to an extended Hilbert space, then applying standard perturbational techniques to Floquet states in this extended space, and finally projecting back to the physical Hilbert space. The same strategy also allows us to construct superadiabatic bases for monitoring the quantum evolution in the course of a pulse. These bases provide a diagnostic tool for improving the efficiency of pulse-induced population transfer. The formalism is applied to the selective excitation of molecular vibrational states by chirped laser pulses, which exploit either successive single-photon resonances or a multiphoton resonance, and by a STIRAP-like process. Received: 23 June 1998 / Revised: 18 August 1998 / Accepted: 25 August 1998     

Multiphoton coherent control in complex systems

Control of multiphoton transitions is demonstrated for a multilevel system by generalizing the instantaneous phase of any chirped pulse as individual terms of a Taylor series expansion. In the case of a simple two-level system, all odd terms in the series lead to population inversion while the even terms lead to self-induced transparency. The results hold for multiphoton transitions that do not have any lower-order photon resonance or any intermediate virtual state dynamics within the laser pulse width.     

Ponderomotive acceleration of photoelectrons in surface-plasmon-assisted multiphoton photoelectric emission

Photoelectrons emitted from a gold target via a surface-plasmon-assisted multiphoton photoelectric process under a femtosecond laser pulse of moderate intensity are much more energetic than in an ordinary photoeffect without electron collective excitation. The phenomenon is interpreted in terms of time-dependent ponderomotive acceleration of the particles by the resonant field localized at the metal surface. The amplitude of the plasmon resonance may be directly estimated by means of the electron energy spectra.     

Evolution of photoelectron angular distributions in a train of identical,circularly polarized few-cycle laser pulses

Photoelectron angular distribution (PAD) of atoms irradiated by a train of identical, circularly polarized few-cycle laser pulses is studied in the frame of a nonperturbative scattering theory. Our study shows that the PADs vary with the kinetic energy of photoelectron, the carrier-envelope phase, and the pulse duration. We find that along with increasing of the kinetic energy of photoelectron or with decreasing of the pulse duration or the both, the original one maximum of PAD splits into two maxima; the newly produced two maxima evolve to the opposite pole of the symmetric axis, and finally incorporate as a new maximum located in the symmetric axis.Received: 26 February 2004, Published online: 10 August 2004PACS: 32.80.Rm Multiphoton ionization and excitation to highly excited states (e.g., Rydberg states) - 42.50.Hz Strong-field excitation of optical transitions in quantum systems; multiphoton processes; dynamic Stark shift - 42.65.Re Ultrafast processes; optical pulse generation and pulse compression     

Coupling and control in coherently driven and asymmetrically synchronized hybrid electron-nuclear spin system

We study the coupling and control adaptation of a hybrid electron-nuclear spin system using the laser mediated proton beam in MeV energy regime. The asymmetric control mechanism is based on exact optimization of both: the measure of exchange interaction and anisotropy of the hyperfine interaction induced in the resonance with optimal channeled protons (CP) superfocused field, allowing manipulation over arbitrary localized spatial centers while addressing only the electron spin. Using highly precise and coherent proton channeling regime we have obtained efficient pulse shaping separator technique aimed for spatio-temporal engineering of quantum states, introducing a method for control of nuclear spins, which are coupled via anisotropic hyperfine interactions in isolated electron spin manifold, without radio wave (RW) pulses. The presented method can be efficiently implemented in synchronized spin networks with the purpose to facilitate preservation and efficient transfer of experimentally observed quantum particle states, contributing to the overall background noise reduction.     

Inelastic scattering of broadband electron wave packets driven by an intense midinfrared laser field

Intense, 100 fs laser pulses at 3.2 and 3.6 μm are used to generate, by multiphoton ionization, broadband wave packets with up to 400 eV of kinetic energy and charge states up to Xe(+6). The multiple ionization pathways are well described by a white electron wave packet and field-free inelastic cross sections, averaged over the intensity-dependent energy distribution for (e, ne) electron impact ionization. The analysis also suggests a contribution from a 4d core excitation, or giant resonance, in xenon.     

Impurity absorption of light involving resonant states of shallow donors in quantum wells

The energy spectrum of localized and resonant states of shallow donors in heterostructures GaAs/Al_xGa_1?xAs with quantum wells is calculated. The widths of the resonant states belonging to the second size quantization subband are determined. It is shown that the width of a resonance level is mainly determined by the interaction with optical phonons. The spectrum of impurity absorption of light due to electron transitions from the ground state of the donor to the resonant states belonging to the second size quantization subband is calculated.     

Transport measurements through stacked InAs self-assembled quantum dots in time domain

We report electronic characterization of stacked InAs self-assembled quantum dots (SAQDs) embedded in GaAs, using ultra-short pulses. Electrical pulse trains with the width ranging from 50 to 500 ps were applied on the waveguide-type top electrode and the average substrate current was monitored. The current showed staircases and oscillatory features as a function of the pulse width. The staircase could represent single electron injection into SAQDs and the observed oscillatory features could be related with temporal change of electronic occupation in quantum states of SAQDs.     

Laser-induced operations with charge qubits in a double-well nanostructure

We present the results of theoretical studies on operations with charge qubits in the system composed of two tunnel-coupled semiconductor quantum dots whose two lowest states (localized in different dots) define the logical qubit states while two excited states (delocalized between the dots) serve for the electron transfer from one dot to another under the influence of the laser pulse. It is shown that in the case of small energy separation between the excited levels, the optimal (from the viewpoint of minimal single-qubit operation time and maximum operation fidelity) strategy is to tune the laser frequency between the excited levels. The pulse parameters for implementation of the quantum NOT operation are determined. Analytical results obtained in the rotating-wave approximation are confirmed by rigorous numerical calculations.     

半导体量子阱中弱耦合磁极化子的性质

采用线性组合算符和改进的LLP变分法,研究了在考虑电子自旋情况下无限深量子阱中弱耦合磁极化子的性质。导出了弱耦合磁极化子的声子平均数、基态能量和电子自旋能量与磁极化子基态能量之比的绝对值的表达式。并对两种不同阱材料的量子阱进行了数值计算,结果表明:磁极化子的声子平均数随电子-LO声子耦合常数和阱宽的增加而增大,并且最终随着阱宽的增加而趋于体情况下的极限值;由于电子自旋能的作用使磁极化子的基态能量由不考虑电子自旋下的一条分裂为两条,并且它随阱宽和电子-LO声子耦合常数的增加而减小,随回旋共振频率(磁场)的增加而增大。电子自旋作用能否忽略由回旋共振频率和阱材料本身的性质决定。     

Autler-Townes splitting in the multiphoton resonance ionization spectrum of molecules produced by ultrashort laser pulses

We report for the first time the proper conditions to observe Autler-Townes splitting (ac-Stark splitting) from vibrationally coherent states belonging to the different electronic terms of a diatomic molecule. Wave packet dynamics simulations demonstrate that such a process is feasible by multiphoton resonance ionization of the molecule Na2 with a single ultrashort intense laser pulse. With the ultrahigh time resolution of a femtosecond laser pulse, one can directly measure the absolute value of the transition dipole moment between any kinds of molecular states by this kind of Autler-Townes splitting, which is a function of the internuclear distance R.     

Transient intraband light absorption by quantum dots: Pump-probe spectroscopy

We have developed a theory of a transient intraband light absorption by semiconductor quantum dots. This absorption plays an important role in the two-pulse pump-probe method, which enables determining the energy relaxation rates of electron-hole excited states. We have considered all possible schemes of this process wherein the carrier frequency of optical pump pulses is close to the resonance with the interband transition of the quantum-dot electronic subsystem, while the carrier frequency of probe pulses is resonant to the intraband transition. For ensembles of identical and size-distributed quantum dots, the probe pulse energy absorption induced by the pump pulse is analyzed in relation to the delay time between the pulses. We have found that, under certain conditions, this dependence can be described by a single, two, or three exponentials. The exponents of the exponentials are proportional to the energy relaxation rates of electron-hole excited states.     

Kinetics of thermalized luminescence of a single quantum dot at room temperature

We have developed a theory of transient secondary emission of a single quantum dot from the lowest energy states of electron-hole pairs. We consider a process in which laser pulses excite a certain highenergy state of electron-hole pairs of a quantum dot at room temperature, with the electronic subsystem then relaxing to low-energy states and photons being emitted. Therefore, the investigated secondary emission process is thermalized luminescence. For definiteness, the developed model takes into account two states of electron-hole pairs that contribute to the luminescence. We have analyzed the dependence of the secondary emission signal on the energy gap between these states, the value of which is determined by the quantum dot size. In terms of the Pauli master kinetic equation, an analytical expression for the time dependent signal of the thermalized luminescence has been obtained. We show that, as the spectral width of the exciting laser pulse tends to zero, this expression yields the signal of stationary luminescence.