Role of localized excitons in the stimulated emission in ultra-thin CdSe/ZnSe/ZnSSe single quantum-well structures

Photo-pumped lasing properties have been investigated in a CdSe/ZnSe/ZnSSE single quantum wells (SQWs) with the well-layer thickness (L_W) of 1, 2 and 3 monolayer (ML). At 20 K, the laser threshold for the SQW withL_W = 1 ML was the lowest in spite of the smallest active layer thickness. The carrier (exciton) sheet density at the threshold (n)_thwas estimated to be as low as 7 × 10¹⁰cm⁻², which is well below Mott's screening density. Time-resolved photoluminescence has revealed that the localized biexciton band, whose peak energy agrees with the lasing peak, appeared on the low-energy side of the main PL peak at this level of carrier concentrations. Theoretical calculation has also shown that the localized biexciton recombination has to be taken into account for the lasing process. On the contrary, then_thvalues of the SQWs with 2 and 3 ML are 1 order of magnitude larger than that of the SQW with 1 ML. This may be due to the smaller oscillator strength of both localized excitons and localized biexcitons because of the larger inhomogeneous broadening, resulting in an increased carrier density for achieving optical gain sufficient to overcome the reflection losses.     

Highly strained InxGa(1−x)As−InyAl(1−y)As (x>0.8,y<0.3) layers for short wavelength QWIP and QCL structures grown by MBE

Highly strained quantum cascade laser (QCL) and quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIPs) structures based on In_xGa_(1−x)As−In_yAl_(1−y)As (x>0.8,y<0.3) layers have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Conditions of exact stoichiometric growth were used at a temperature of 420°C to produce structures that are suitable for both emission and detection in the 2–5 μm mid-infrared regime. High structural integrity, as assessed by double crystal X-ray diffraction, room temperature photoluminescence and electrical characteristics were observed. Strong room temperature intersubband absorption in highly tensile strained and strain-compensated In_0.84Ga_0.16As/AlAs/In_0.52Al_0.48As double barrier quantum wells grown on InP substrates is demonstrated. Γ–Γ intersubband transitions have been observed across a wide range of the mid-infrared spectrum (2–7 μm) in three structures of differing In_0.84Ga_0.16As well width (30, 45, and 80 Å). We demonstrate short-wavelength IR, intersubband operation in both detection and emission for application in QC and QWIP structures. By pushing the InGaAs–InAlAs system to its ultimate limit, we have obtained the highest band offsets that are theoretically possible in this system both for the Γ–Γ bands and the Γ–X bands, thereby opening up the way for both high power and high efficiency coupled with short-wavelength operation at room temperature. The versatility of this material system and technique in covering a wide range of the infrared spectrum is thus demonstrated.     

Quantum Hall ferromagnetism in a two-valley strained Si quantum well

Tilted field magnetotransport study was performed in a two-valley strained Si quantum well and hysteretic diagonal resistance spikes were observed near the coincidence angles. The spike around filling factor ν=3 develops into a giant feature when it moves to the high-field edge of the quantum Hall (QH) state and quenches for higher tilt angles. When the spike is most prominent, its peak resistance is temperature independent from T20 mK up to 0.3 K, which is different from the critical behavior previously reported near the Curie temperature of the QH ferromagnet in AlAs quantum wells. Our data suggest a strong interplay between spins and valleys near the coincidence.     

Studies of the third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility for InxGa1−xN/GaN cylinder quantum dots

The resonant third-order susceptibilities at various directions (both parallel and vertical to Z-axis) in self-assembled quantum dots (QDs) have been investigated. The nonlinear susceptibilities associated with the intraband transition in the conduction band are theoretically calculated for wurtzite In_xGa_1−xN/GaN-strained cylinder QDs. The confined wave functions and energies of electrons in the dots have been calculated in the effective-mass approximation by solving the 3D Schrödinger equation, in which a strong built-in electric field effect due to the piezoelectricity and spontaneous polarization has been taken into account. Furthermore, it is shown that the magnitude and the resonant position of the nonlinear susceptibility χ⁽³⁾(3ω) strongly depend on the dots’ size as well as size distribution.     

Rashba splitting of kinetically bound states in gated HgCdTe surface quantum wells

The Rashba spin–orbit splitting of 2D electron gas in gated HgCdTe surface quantum wells on n-HgCdTe is studied experimentally (by the magneto-capacitance spectroscopy of Landau level method) and theoretically with emphasis on the peculiarities of spectrum at surface densities N_s corresponding to the onset of 2D subbands occupancy, where the regime of kinetic binding is realized. Although the spin–orbit splitting in kinetic confinement regime is small, the “Rashba polarization” Δn/n can achieve 100% because of strong difference in values of cutoff wave vector k_c for different spin-split sub-subbands.     

Electron transport properties through double-barrier structures sandwiching a wide band-gap layer

We investigate the time-dependent transport properties of the quantum well (QW) with a wide band-gap material layer, where Al atoms doped in the middle GaAs QW. We find that the raised potential well bottom can affect the position of current hysteresis, current oscillation frequency and final steady-state mean current value. Moreover in this special structure, we find a negative differential conductance and only a current hysteresis region, the plateau structure of I–V curve found in the AlGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs QW disappears.     

AC-hopping conductance of self-organized Ge/Si quantum dot arrays

Dense (n=4×10¹¹ cm^-2) arrays of Ge quantum dots in a Si host were studied using attenuation of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) propagating along the surface of a piezoelectric crystal located near the sample. The SAW magneto-attenuation coefficient, ΔΓ=Γ(ω,H)-Γ(ω,0), and change of velocity of SAW, ΔV/V=(V(H)-V(0))/V(0), were measured in the temperature interval T=1.5–4.2 K as a function of magnetic field H up to 6 T for the waves in the frequency range f=30–300 MHz. Based on the dependences of ΔΓ on H, T and ω, as well as on its sign, we believe that the AC conduction mechanism is a combination of diffusion at the mobility edge with hopping between localized states at the Fermi level. The measured magnetic field dependence of the SAW attenuation is discussed based on existing theoretical concepts.     

有机量子阱的光学性质

采用多源有机分子气相沉积系统(OMBD)制备了Alq₃，PBD/Alq₃，PBD/Alq₃/PBD单层、双层以及量子阱结构，利用电化学循环伏安法和吸收光谱、荧光光谱研究了量子阱的类型和样品的光致发光特性.电化学循环伏安法和吸收光谱的测量结果表明，PBD/Alq₃有机量子阱为Ⅰ型量子阱结构.荧光光谱的研究结果表明，单层Alq₃的光致发光峰不随Alq₃厚度变化而变化；但是双层PBD/Alq₃结构光致发光峰随Alq₃厚度的减小而发生蓝移；同样对于PBD/Alq₃/PBD量子阱结构光致发光峰随Alq₃厚度的减小而发生蓝移.对引起光谱蓝移的原因进行了讨论. 关键词： 有机量子阱 光谱蓝移     

Magnetic field effect on transitions between direct and indirect excitons in diluted magnetic semiconductor double quantum wells

Transitions between direct and indirect excitons with change of magnetic field in double quantum well heterostructure Cd_1−xMg_xTe/Cd_1−yMg_yTe/Cd_1−xMg_xTe/Cd_1−zMn_zTe/Cd_1−xMg_xTe in external magnetic field are studied. The structure contains diluted magnetic semiconductor (Cd,Mn)Te layer that forms magnetic quantum well with the depth depending on the magnetic field intensity. Above some magnetic field the indirect exciton becomes the lowest excited state of the system. The indirect exciton lifetime exceeds by several orders of magnitude of the direct exciton one. The range of quantum well widths for which the indirect exciton is the exciton lowest state was estimated for the proposed system.     

Optical characterization of a GaAs/AlGaAs vertical cavity surface emitting quantum well laser structure grown by MOCVD

In this work we report on the characterization and modelling of the reflectivity of a vertical cavity surface emitting quantum well laser (VCSEQWL) grown by MOCVD. The theoretical simulation of the reflectivity was developed for the purpose of designing VCSEQWL cavity multilayer reflectors. Included in the model are the effects of the n = 1 electron/heavy hole (e-hh) and electron/light hole (e-lh) exciton absorptions and the dispersion of the multilayer materials on the cavity mirror reflectivity. Using this model we analysed the influence of systematic deviations of the multilayer thicknesses on the VCSEQWL cavity reflectivity. Good agreement was achieved between the measured and simulated reflectivity if we allowed for systematic deviations in the thicknesses of the epilayers of ± 2.5%. Electroluminescence measurements from the VCSEQWL showed the n = 1 (e-hh) quantum well transition to be matched to the laser cavity resonance. Both calculated and measured results showed that when the n = 1 (e-hh) exciton transition matched the microcavity resonance the exciton absorption was strongly enhanced due to the multiple reflections of the incident light beam in the cavity.     

Coherent dynamics in InGaAs quantum dots and quantum dot molecules

We measure the dephasing time of the exciton ground state transition in InGaAs quantum dots (QD) and quantum dot molecules (QDM) using a sensitive four-wave mixing technique. In the QDs we find experimental evidence that the dephasing time is given only by the radiative lifetime at low temperatures. We demonstrate the tunability of the radiatively limited dephasing time from 400 ps up to 2 ns in a series of annealed QDs with increasing energy separation of 69–330 meV from the wetting layer continuum. Furthermore, the distribution of the fine-structure splitting δ₁ and of the biexciton binding energy δ_B is measured. δ₁ decreases from 96 to with increasing annealing temperature, indicating an improving circular symmetry of the in-plane confinement potential. The biexciton binding energy shows only a weak dependence on the confinement energy, which we attribute to a compensation between decreasing confinement and decreasing separation of electron and hole. In the QDM we measured the exciton dephasing as function of interdot barrier thickness in the temperature range from 5 to 60 K. At 5 K dephasing times of several hundred picoseconds are found. Moreover, a systematic dependence of the dephasing dynamics on the barrier thickness is observed, showing how the quantum mechanical coupling in the molecules affects the exciton lifetime and acoustic-phonon interaction.     

Two-electron absorption in a biased quantum well

Linear light absorption of 2D electrons confined within a biased quantum well is studied theoretically. We demonstrate that for light polarization perpendicular to the 2D plane, in addition to conventional absorption peak at frequency ω≈Δ, where Δ is the intersubband energy distance, there exists a peak around a double frequency ω≈2Δ. This additional peak is entirely due to electron–electron interactions, and corresponds to excitation of two electrons by one photon. The magnitude of two-electron absorption is proportional to U², where U is the applied bias.     

Numerical renormalization group studies of SU(4) Kondo effect in quantum dots

We theoretically study an enhancement of the Kondo effect in quantum dots with two orbitals and spin . The Kondo temperature and conductance are evaluated as functions of energy difference Δ between the orbitals, using the numerical renormalization group method. The Kondo temperature is maximal around the degeneracy point (Δ=0) and decreases with increasing |Δ| following a power law, T_K(Δ)=T_K(0)(T_K(0)/|Δ|)^γ, which is consistent with the scaling analysis. The conductance at T=0 is almost constant 2e²/h. Both the orbitals contribute to the conductance around Δ=0, whereas the current through the upper orbital is negligibly small when |Δ|T_K(0). These are characteristics of SU(4) Kondo effect.     

Quantum key distribution using three basis states

This note presents a method of public key distribution using quantum communication of n photons that simultaneously provides a high probability that the bits have not been tampered. It is a variant of the quantum method of Bennett and Brassard (BB84) where the transmission states have been decreased from 4 to 3 and the detector states have been increased from 2 to 3. Under certain assumptions regarding method of attack, it provides superior performance (in terms of the number of usable key bits) for n<18m, where m is the number of key bits used to verify the integrity of the process in the BB84-protocol.     

Rashba spin-splitting in narrow gap III–V semiconductor quantum wells

Using Kane's 8-band k·p theory and the envelope function approximation we derive a tight binding Hamiltonian for III–V semiconductor quantum well structures, which accurately models band structure and spin–orbit coupling. By applying a potential difference across the well we have calculated the Rashba spin-splitting in the lowest conduction subband. For identical well widths the Rashba splitting in InSb is shown to be approximately twice that of InAs and, in all cases, passes through a weak maximum with increasing quasimomentum.     

Size dependent effective band gap,optical absorption coefficients and refractive index changes in a wide ZnS/Zn1−xMgxS strained quantum well

Exciton binding energy of a confined heavy hole exciton is investigated in a Zn_1−xMg_xS/ZnS/Zn_1−xMg_xS single strained quantum well with the inclusion of size dependent dielectric function for various Mg content. The effects of interaction between the exciton and the longitudinal optical phonon are brought out. The effect of exciton is described by the effective potential between the electron and hole. The interband emission energy as a function of well width is calculated for various Mg concentration with and without the inclusion of dielectric confinement. Non-linear optical properties are carried out using the compact density matrix approach. The dependence of nonlinear optical processes on the well width is investigated for different Mg concentration. The linear, third order non-linear optical absorption coefficients values and the refractive index changes of the exciton are calculated for different concentration of magnesium content. The results show that the exciton binding energy is found to exceed LO phonon energy of ZnS for x>0.2 and the incorporation of magnesium ions and the effect of phonon have great influence on the optical properties of ZnS/Zn_1−xMg_xS quantum wells.     

Comparative study of (1 0 0) and (1 1 1)B InGaAs single quantum well laser diodes

In this work, a series of identical In_xGa_1−xAs/Al_yGa_1−yAs single quantum well laser diodes, grown on (1 0 0) and (1 1 1)B GaAs substrates, have been thoroughly studied. For all samples, clear evidence of reduced threshold current densities in the (1 1 1)B substrate has been observed in electroluminescence spectra at 17 and 300 K. Modelling of the devices, based on a self-consistent solution of Schrödinger–Poisson's equations, was utilised in order to reproduce the experimental results. The model incorporates strain and piezoelectric effects on the quantum well states, free carrier screening, overlap integral computation, and optical gain calculation. The underlying mechanism, that explains the threshold reduction observed in the (1 1 1)B laser diodes, is discussed based on the results of the modelling.     

Double-dielectric-mirror InGaN/GaN microcavities formed using selective removal of an AlInN layer

We describe the fabrication and optical properties of a 3λ/2 InGaN/GaN-based microcavity using “upper” and “lower” silica/zirconia mirrors. The fabrication of this structure involved selective removal of an AlInN layer following multistep thinning of a free-standing GaN substrate. Photoluminescence spectra show a narrowing of the excitonic emission from InGaN/GaN quantum wells in the microcavity, giving a cavity quality factor Q exceeding 400.     

Stark effect on an exciton or impurity in a finite width quantum wire with an electric field confined in a finite region

We study the electronic properties of a quantum system formed by two charged particles moving in a quantum wire (QW) with finite width σ and interacting through a Coulomb potential under an uniform electric field E applied over a spatially confined region of thickness 2a (-a<z<a). The number of electronic states of this finite width system is twice the number of the less realistic system with σ=0.     

Analysis of inelastic scattering processes of electrons by localized electrons in quantum dots

The inelastic Coulomb scattering rate 1/τ_in of conduction electrons has been theoretically evaluated in the presence of localized states such as quantum dots. By a diagrammatical method, we have formulated 1/τ_in and its relation to the conductivity σ_loc(ω) through localized states. The dependence of τ_in on temperature T is examined in the case that σ_loc(ω) follows the Mott's model. It is found that 1/τ_in varies as T²(ln Δ/T)^d+1 where d is the dimensionality and Δ is tunneling energy between the localized states in the asymptonic T = 0 limit, in agreement with Imry's calculation. It is also found that calculated 1/τ_in deviates from T²(ln Δ/T)^d+1 as T increases, suggesting the importance of correction term at high temperature.