Laser-induced quantum coherence in a semiconductor quantum well

The phenomenon of electromagnetically induced quantum coherence is demonstrated between three confined electron subband levels in a quantum well which are almost equally spaced in energy. Applying a strong coupling field, two-photon resonant with the 1-3 intersubband transition, produces a pronounced narrow transparency feature in the 1-2 absorption line. This result can be understood in terms of all three states being simultaneously driven into "phase-locked" quantum coherence by a single coupling field. We describe the effect theoretically with a density matrix method and an adapted linear response theory.     

Carrier collection in a semiconductor quantum well

Data are presented showing that a GaAs quantum well, sandwiched between two epitaxial Al_xGa_1-xAs(x ～ 0.4) confining layers, loses its effectiveness as a collector of excess carriers and as a source of recombination radiation for well dimensions L_z < 100 Å. It is shown that this behavior is expected because of the difficulty in scattering carriers to the bottom of the quantum well as L_z → l_p, the path length for scattering (LO phonon).     

Anisotropic spin diffusion in a semiconductor quantum well

We show that spin diffusion of an inhomogeneous spin-density distribution in an asymmetric zinc-blende semiconductor quantum well is anisotropic in coordinate space, if the D’yakonov–Perel’spin-relaxation mechanism is dominant. This anisotropy depends on the relation between the Dresselhaus and Rashba contributions to the spin splitting and reaches its maximum when both contributions are equal in magnitude. Under this condition, the temporal behavior of spin density strongly depends on the relation between the initial spatial extent of the spin packet and spin diffusion length.     

Slow light propagation via quantum coherence in a semiconductor quantum well

With the Schrödinger equations, we investigate the low-intensity light pulse propagation through a semiconductor quantum wells. Through studying the dispersion and absorption properties of the weak probe field, it is shown that slow light propagation is observed in this system. From the view point of practical purpose, it is more advantageous than its corresponding atomic system. Such investigation of slow light propagation may lead to important practical applications in semiconductor quantum information.     

Coherence length of excitons in a semiconductor quantum well

We report on the first experimental determination of the coherence length of excitons in semiconductors using the combination of spatially resolved photoluminescence with phonon sideband spectroscopy. The coherence length of excitons in ZnSe quantum wells is determined to be 300-400 nm, about 25-30 times the exciton de Broglie wavelength. With increasing exciton kinetic energy, the coherence length decreases slowly. The discrepancy between the coherence lengths measured and calculated by considering only the acoustic-phonon scattering suggests an important influence of static disorder.     

Intense laser field effect on impurity states in a semiconductor quantum well: transition from the single to double quantum well potential

In this work are studied the intense laser effects on the impurity states in GaAs-Ga_{1− x} Al _x As quantum wells under applied electric and magnetic fields. The electric field is taken oriented along the growth direction of the quantum well whereas the magnetic field is considered to be in-plane. The calculations are made within the effective mass and parabolic band approximations. The intense laser effects have been included through the Floquet method by modifying the confinement potential associated to the heterostructure. The results are presented for several configurations of the dimensions of the quantum well, the position of the impurity atom, the applied electric and magnetic fields, and the incident intense laser radiation. The results suggest that for fixed geometry setups in the system, the binding energy is a decreasing function of the electric field intensity while a dual monotonic behavior is detected when it varies with the magnitude of an applied magnetic field, according to the intensity of the laser field radiation.     

Two-dimensional probe absorption spectrum in a semiconductor quantum well

We investigate the two-dimensional (2D) probe absorption spectrum in a semiconductor quantum well driven by two orthogonal standing-wave lasers. It is found that, due to the position-dependent quantum interference, the 2D spatial distribution of probe absorption spectrum can be easily controlled via adjusting the system parameters. Thus, our scheme shows the underlying probability for the applications in solid-state optic communication and transmission.     

Optical nutation in a magnetized semiconductor quantum well structure

Using the semiclassical coherent radiation—semiconductor interaction model, optical nutation has been analysed in aGaAs / Al_xGa_1 − xAs quantum well structure (QWS) assumed to be immersed in a moderately strong magnetic field and irradiated by a not-too-strong near band gap resonant femtosecond pulsed Ti–sapphire laser. The finite potential well depth of the QWS and the Wannier–Mott excitonic structure of the crystal absorption edge is taken into account. The excitation intensity is assumed to be below the Mott transition where the various many-body effects have been neglected with adequate reasoning. Numerical analysis made for a GaAs quantum well of thickness  ∼  100 Åand the confining layers ofAl_xGa_1 − xAs withx =  0.3 at intensity I ≤  5  ×  10⁶Wcm ^− 2reveals that the real and imaginary parts of the transient complex-induced polarization are enhanced with an increase in the magnetic field and their ringing behaviour confirms the occurrence of optical nutation in the QWS.     

Dephasing processes in a single semiconductor quantum dot

We discuss the decoherence dynamics in a single semiconductor quantum dot and analyze two dephasing mechanisms. In the first part of the review, we examine the intrinsic source of dephasing provided by the coupling to acoustic phonons. We show that the non-perturbative reaction of the lattice to the interband optical transition results in a composite optical spectrum with a central zero-phonon line and lateral side-bands. In fact, these acoustic phonon side-bands completely dominate the quantum dot optical response at room temperature. In the second part of the article, we focus on the extrinsic dephasing mechanism of spectral diffusion that determines the quantum dot decoherence at low temperatures. We interpret the variations of both width and shape of the zero-phonon line as due to the fluctuating electrostatic environment. In particular, we demonstrate the existence of a motional narrowing regime in the limit of low incident power or low temperature, thus revealing an unconventional phenomenology compared to nuclear magnetic resonance. To cite this article: G. Cassabois, R. Ferreira, C. R. Physique 9 (2008).     

Control of two-dimensional electron population in a semiconductor quantum well

We investigate the two-dimensional (2D) electron population in a semiconductor quantum well. It is found that, due to the position-dependent quantum interference, the 2D spatial distribution of electron population can be easily controlled via adjusting the system parameters. Thus, our scheme shows the underlying probability for the applications in solid-state optoelectronics.     

Local manipulation of nuclear spin in a semiconductor quantum well

The shaping of nuclear spin polarization profiles and the induction of nuclear resonances are demonstrated within a parabolic quantum well using an externally applied gate voltage. Voltage control of the electron and hole wave functions results in nanometer-scale sheets of polarized nuclei positioned along the growth direction of the well. Applying rf voltages across the gates induces resonant spin transitions of selected isotopes. This depolarizing effect depends strongly on the separation of electrons and holes, suggesting that a highly localized mechanism accounts for the observed behavior.     

Quasibound states in semiconductor quantum well structures

We present a study on quasibound states in multiple quantum well structures using a finite element model (FEM). The FEM is implemented for solving the effective mass Schrödinger equation in arbitrary layered semiconductor nanostructures with an arbitrary applied potential. The model also includes nonparabolicity effects by using an energy dependent effective mass, where the resulting nonlinear eigenvalue problem was solved using an iterative approach. We focus on quasibound/continuum states above the barrier potential and show that such states can be determined using cyclic boundary conditions. This new method enables the determination of both bound and quasibound states simultaneously, making it more efficient than other methods where different boundary conditions have to be used in extracting the relevant states. Furthermore, the new method lifted the problem of quasibound state divergence commonly seen with many other methods of calculation. Hence enabling accurate determination of dipole matrix elements involving both bound and quasibound states. Such calculations are vital in the design of intersubband optoelectronic devices and reveal the interesting properties of quasibound states above the potential barriers.     

Antiphase dynamics of a multimode quantum well semiconductor laser

A novel multilongitudinal mode model of a semiconductor laser is presented. The model takes into account four-wave mixing of the longitudinal modes and is based on the correct procedure of simultaneous expansion of the population inversion in time and space series. It is shown that the model has antiphase regimes similar to those observed in experiment. Such behavior exists in a narrow range of the carrier diffusion coefficient, which allows us to estimate the value of this parameter.     

单量子阱的自旋电流

利用密度矩阵的方法,由多粒子体系的薛定谔方程得到了微观体系中电子输运的概率方程，由此推出了单量子阱的自旋电流和电荷流的表达式.研究发现，在某种条件下单量子阱中只存在自旋电流；同时还给出了左右自旋电流之间的关系.结果表明:当单量子阱中的电子发生自旋共振时,自旋电流出现极大值并且随着自旋退相干时间的减小而减小. 关键词： 自旋共振 自旋电流     

Magnetopolaron states involving confined phonons in a semiconductor quantum well

Energy splitting ΔE _res in double magnetopolaron energy spectrum in rectangular quantum wells as functions of the well width d have been calculated. We have considered in the capacity of interaction leading to resonant coupling between electrons and phonons the interaction with confined phonons and (for comparison) with bulk LO phonons. We have obtained the conditions when the interaction with bulk phonons yields correct results. Calculations for AlAs/GaAs/AlAs and AlSb/InSb/AlSb structures have been performed. Alongside the parameter ΔE _res for a polaron, whose resonant magnetic field is determined by the condition Ω=ω _L1, where Ω is the cyclotron frequency and ω _L1 is the LO phonon frequency in the quantum well (A-polaron), we have calculated ΔE _res for D-(Ω=2ω _L1) and F-polarons (Ω=3ω _L1), which is a factor of $\sqrt 2 $ and $\sqrt 3 $ , respectively, smaller than ΔE _res for the A-polaron. Since the splitting ΔE _res for the A-polaron is very large (up to 0.2?ω _L1), it is more convenient to study in experiments D-and F-polarons since their resonant magnetic fields are lower. We have predicted existence of “weak” magnetopolarons, in which the splitting is proportional to a higher power of Frölich’s coupling constant α than α ^1/2.     

Direct measurement of the binding energy and bohr radius of a single hydrogenic defect in a semiconductor quantum well

Low-temperature scanning tunneling spectroscopy under ultrahigh vacuum was used to study donor point defects located at the epitaxial surface of an In(0.53)Ga(0.47)As quantum well. The electronic local density of states was measured with nanoscale resolution in the vicinity of single defects. In this way, both the binding energy and the Bohr radius of the defects could be determined. The binding energy and the Bohr radius were found to be functions of the quantum well thickness, in quantitative agreement with variational calculations of hydrogenic impurity states.     

Photon beats from a single semiconductor quantum dot

Single-photon interference is observed on the ultranarrow long-term stable exciton resonance of an individual semiconductor quantum dot. This interference is related to the fine-structure splitting and allows direct conclusions about the coherence properties of the exciton. When selectively addressing a particular dot by quasiresonant phonon-assisted excitation, despite a rapid orientation relaxation on a 1-ps time scale, coherence is partly maintained. No significant further decoherence occurs when the ground state is reached until the exciton recombines radiatively (approximately 300 ps).