Interface and propagating optical phonon mixing modes in a wurtzite GaN-based quantum dot

The polar optical phonon vibrating modes of a quasi-zero-dimensional (Q0D) wurtzite cylindrical quantum dot (QD) are solved exactly based on the dielectric continuum model and Loudon’s uniaxial crystal model. The result shows that there exist four types of polar mixing optical phonon modes in the Q0D wurtzite cylindrical QD systems, which is obviously different from the situation in blende cylindrical QDs. The dispersive equations for the interface-optical-propagating (IO-PR) mixing modes are deduced and discussed. It is found that the dispersive frequency of IO-PR mixing modes in wurtzite QD just take a series of discrete values due to the three-dimensional confined properties. Moreover, once the radius or the height of the QD approach infinity, the dispersive equations of the IO-PR mixing modes in the wurtzite Q0D cylindrical QD can naturally reduce to those of the IO and PR modes in Q2D QWs or Q1D QWWs systems. This has been analyzed reasonably from both physical and mathematical viewpoints. The analytical expressions obtained in the paper are useful for further investigating phonon influence on physical properties of the wurtzite Q0D QD systems.     

Polar optical phonon states and their electron-phonon coupling properties in a wurtzite nitride quantum dot

Within the framework of the macroscopic dielectric continuum model, the interface-optical-propagating (IO-PR) mixing phonon modes of a quasi-zero-dimensional (Q0D) wurtzite cylindrical quantum dot (QD) structure are derived and studied. The approximative analytical-phonon-states of IO-PR mixing modes are given. It is found that there are two types of IO-PR mixing phonon modes, i.e. ρ-IO/z-PR mixing modes and the z-IO/ρ-PR mixing modesexisting in Q0D wurtzite QDs. And each IO-PR mixing modes also have symmetrical and antisymmetrical forms. Via a standard procedure of field quantization, the Fröhlich Hamiltonians of electron-(IO-PR) mixing phonons interaction are obtained. And the orthogonal relations of polarization eigenvectors for these IO-PR mixing modes are also deduced. Numerical calculations of dispersive relation and electron-phonon coupling properties on a wurtzite GaN cylindrical QD are carried out. The behaviors that the IO-PR mixing phonon modes in wurtzite QDs reduce to the IO modes and PR modes in wurtzite QW and QWR systems are analyzed deeply from both of the viewpoints of physics and mathematics. The result shows that the present theories of polar mixing phonon modes in wurtzite cylindrical QDs are consistent with the phonon modes theories in wurtzite QWs and QWR systems. The coupling properties of electron-(IO-PR) mixing modes interactions are studied and analyzed in detail. An abnormal increase of electron-phonon coupling strength are observed as the azimuthal quantum numbers and order of phonon modes increase, which is ascribed to the modulation effect of different dielectric functions of wurtzite crystals in radius- and axial-directions. The analytical electron-phonon interaction Hamiltonians obtained here are useful for further investigating phonon influence on optoelectronics properties of wurtzite Q0D QD structures.     

Electron–phonon interaction in fan-shaped quantum dot and quantum wire

The optical phonon modes and electron–optical-phonon interaction in fan-shaped quantum dot and quantum wire are studied with the dielectric continuum (DC) model and separation of variables. The explicit expressions for the longitudinal optical (LO) and interface optical (IO) phonon eigenmodes are deduced. It is found that there exist two types of IO phonon modes: top interface optical (TIO) phonon mode and arc interface optical (AIO) phonon mode, in a fan-shaped quantum dot. After having quantized the eigenmodes, we derive the Hamiltonian operators describing the LO and IO phonon modes as well as the corresponding Fröhlich electron–phonon interaction. The potential applications of these results are also discussed.     

Electron-phonon interaction in hemispherical quantum dot

Within the framework of the dielectric continuum (DC) model, the optical phonon modes and electron-optical-phonon interaction in hemispherical quantum dot are investigated. The proper eigenfunctions for longitudinal optical (LO) and interface optical (IO) phonon modes are constructed. After having quantized the eigenmodes, we derive the Hamiltonian operators describing the LO and IO phonon modes as well as the corresponding Fröhlich electron-phonon interaction. The dispersion relation of IO phonon modes is size independent. The potential applications of these results are also discussed.     

Interface-Optical-Phonon Modes in Quasi-one-dimensional Wurtzite Rectangular Quantum Wires

By employing the dielectric continuum model and Loudon's uniaxial crystal model, the interface optical (IO) phonon modes in a freestanding quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) wurtzite rectangular quantum wire are derived and analyzed. Numerical calculation on a freestanding wurtzite GaN quantum wire is performed. The results reveal that the dispersion frequencies of IO modes sensitively depend on the geometric structures of the Q1D wurtzite rectangular quantum wires, the free wave-number k_z in z-direction and the dielectric constant of the nonpolar matrix. The degenerating behavior of the IO modes in Q1D wurtzite rectangular quantum wire has been clearly observed in the case of small wave-number k_z and large ratio of length to width of the rectangular crossing profile. The limited frequency behaviors of IO modes have been analyzed deeply, and detailed comparisons with those in wurtzite planar quantum wells and cylindrical quantum wires are also done. The present theories can be looked on as a generalization of that in isotropic rectangular quantum wires, and it can naturally reduce to the case of Q1D isotropic quantum wires once the anisotropy of the wurtzite material is ignored.     

Polarons in a cylindrical quantum well wire with finite confining potential

The polaron self-energy and the correction to the electron effective mass in a cylindrical quantum well wire (QWW) are studied by the perturbation approach. The interactions of electrons with different phonon modes in the QWW system, including the confined longitudinal optical phonon modes, in the wire (LO1), in the barrier materials (LO2) and in the interface optical (IO) phonon modes, are considered. The result shows that the LO1 phonon’s contribution to the polaron self-energy increases gradually as the radius of the wire increases, and finally reaches that of the three-dimensional limit, while the LO2 phonon contributes only when the radius of the wire is very small. Also, the contribution of the IO phonon modes first increases quickly as the wire radius increases and soon reaches a maximum, then reduces to zero monotonically.     

Vibration Spectrums of Polar Interface Optical Phonons in GaAs/AlAs Cylindrical Quantum Dots

The dispersions of the top interface optical phonons and the side interface optical phonons in cylindrical quantum dots are solved by using the dielectric continuum model. Our calculation mainly focuses on the frequency dependence of the IO phonon modes on the wave-vector and quantum number in the cylindrical quantum dot system. Results reveal that the frequency of top interface optical phonon sensitively depends on the discrete wave-vector in z direction and the azimuthal quantum number, while that of the side interface optical phonon mode depends on the radial and azimuthal quantum numbers. These features are obviously different from those in quantum well, quantum well wire, and spherical quantum dot systems. The limited frequencies of interface optical modes for the large wave-vector or quantum number approach two certain constant values, and the math and physical reasons for this feature have been explained reasonably.     

Polar interface and surface optical vibration spectra in multi-layer wurtzite quantum wires： transfer matrix method

The polar interface optical （IO） and surface optical （SO） phonon modes and the corresponding Froehlich electron phonon-interaction Hamiltonian in a freestanding multi-layer wurtzite cylindrical quantum wire （QWR） are derived and studied by employing the transfer matrix method in the dielectric continuum approximation and Loudon＇s uniaxial crystal model. A numerical calculation of a freestanding wurtzite GaN/AlN QWR is performed. The results reveal that for a relatively large azimuthal quantum number m or wave-number kz in the free z-direction, there exist two branches of IO phonon modes localized at the interface, and only one branch of SO mode localized at the surface in the system. The degenerating behaviours of the IO and SO phonon modes in the wurtzite QWR have also been clearly observed for a small kz or m. The limiting frequency properties of the IO and SO modes for large kz and m have been explained reasonably from the mathematical and physical viewpoints. The calculations of electron-phonon coupling functions show that the high-frequency IO phonon branch and SO mode play a more important role in the electron phonon interaction.     

Uniform Descriptions of Electron-IO Phonon Interaction in Structures of Multi-layer Coupling Low-dimensional Systems

By using the transfer matrix method, within the framework of the dielectric continuum approximation, uniform forms for the interface optical (IO) phonon modes as well as the corresponding electron-IO phonon interaction Hamiltonians in n-layer coupling low-dimensional systems (including the coupling quantum well (CQW), coupling quantum-well wire (CQWW), and coupling quantum dot (CQD)) have been presented. Numerical calculations on the three-layer asymmetrical AlGaAs/GaAs systems are performed, and the analogous characteristics for limited frequencies of IO phonon in the three types of systems (CQW, CQWW, and CQD) when the wave-vector and the quantum number approach zero or infinity are analyzed and specified.     

Uniform Descriptions of Electron-IO Phonon Interaction in Structures of Multi-layer Coupling Low-dimensional Systems

By using the transfer matrix method, within the framework of the dielectric continuum approximation,uniform forms for the interface optical (IO) phonon modes as well as the corresponding electron-IO phonon interaction Hamiltonians in n-layer coupling low-dimensional systems (including the coupling quantum well (CQ W), coupling quantum-well wire (CQWW), and coupling quantum dot (CQD)) have been presented. Numerical calculations on the three-layer asymmetrical AIGaAs/GaAs systems are performed, and the analogous characteristics for limited frequencies of IO phonon in the three types of systems (CQW, CQWW, and CQD) when the wave-vector and the quantum number approach zero or infinity are analyzed and specified.     

极化子效应对核壳量子点中光学克尔效应的影响

在有效质量近似下利用量子力学的密度矩阵理论,采用无限深势阱模型解三维薛定谔方程得到电子的本征能量和波函数.从理论上计算了考虑极化子效应后,在导带子带间跃迁时ZnS/CdSe柱型核壳结构量子点光学克尔效应的三阶极化率.通过数值计算,分析了电子-LO声子和电子-IO声子相互作用对ZnS/CdSe柱型核壳结构量子点光学克尔效应的三阶极化率的影响.结果表明：极化子效应对光学克尔效应的三阶极化率 有很大影响,并且影响的大小与量子点的尺寸大小有关.       

Thermal conductance associated with six types of vibration modes in quantum wire modulated with quantum dot

We study the ballistic phonon transport and thermal conductance of six low-lying vibration modes in quantum wire modulated with quantum dot at low temperatures. A comparative analysis is made among the six vibrational modes. The results show that the transmission rates of the six vibrational modes relative to reduced frequency display periodic or quasi-periodic oscillatory behavior. Among the four acoustic modes, the thermal conductance contributed by the torsional mode is the smallest, and the thermal conductances of other acoustic modes have adjacent values. It is also found that the thermal conductance of the optical mode increases from zero monotonously. Moreover, the total thermal conductance in concavity-shaped quantum structure is lower than that in convexity-shaped quantum structure. These thermal conductance values can be adjusted by changing the structural parameters of the quantum dot.     

Resonant Raman scattering from CdTe/ZnTe self-assembled quantum dot structures

We report resonant Raman scattering results of CdTe/ZnTe self-assembled quantum dot (QD) structures. Photoluminescence spectra reveal that the band gap energies of the CdTe QDs decrease with the increase of CdTe thickness from 2.0 to 3.5 monolayers, which indicates that the size of the QDs increases. When the CdTe/ZnTe QD structures are excited by non-resonant excitation, a longitudinal optical (LO) phonon response from the ZnTe barrier material is observed at 206 cm⁻¹. In contrast, when the CdTe/ZnTe QD structures are resonantly excited near the band gap energy of the QDs, additional phonon modes emerge at 167 and 200 cm⁻¹, while the ZnTe LO phonon response completely disappears. The 167 cm⁻¹ mode corresponds to the LO phonon of the CdTe QDs. A spatially resolved Raman scattering from the cleaved edge of the QD sample reveals that the 200 cm⁻¹ mode is strongly localized at the interface between the CdTe QDs and ZnTe cap layer. This phonon mode is attributed to the interface optical (IO) phonon. The analytically calculated value of the IO phonon energy using a dielectric continuum approach, assuming a spherical dot boundary, agrees well with the experimental value.     

LO-phonon effect on the exciton binding energy in polar rectangular quantum wires

Longitudinal optical phonon effect on Wannier excitons in polar rectangular quantum wires is studied by a variational approach. The binding energy is calculated and the numerical results for several II-VI and III-V compound semiconductor rectangular quantum wires are given. The results show that the phonon effect reduces the binding energy and cannot be neglected. The phonon contribution to the binding energy is sensitive to the size of the rectangular quantum wire section, and increases with decreasing section area. The results for the GaAs rectangular quantum wires coincide with the experimental results. The calculated binding energy and the phonon effect in II-VI QWWs are both stronger than those in III-V compound systems, and the results for ZnSe QWW are qualitatively in agreement with the experiments.     

极化子效应对ZnS/CdSe核壳量子点光吸收系数的影响

在有效质量近似下,利用量子力学密度矩阵理论,从理论上研究了考虑极化子效应后核壳量子点中线性、三阶非线性以及总的光吸收系数在不同条件下随入射光能量变化的关系。通过数值计算,分析了电子-LO声子和电子-IO声子相互作用对ZnS/CdSe柱型核壳结构量子点光吸收系数的影响。结果表明,极化子效应对光吸收系数有很大影响,不同声子模式对光吸收系数影响大小不同。考虑电子-LO声子后,光吸收系数被大大提高。另外,入射光强和弛豫时间对系统的吸收系数也有很大影响。     

极化子效应对ZnS/CdSe量子点三阶极化率的影响

在有效质量近似下,利用量子力学的密度矩阵理论,采用无限深势阱模型,从理论上计算了考虑极化子效应后在导带子带间跃迁时ZnS/CdSe柱型核壳结构量子点二次电光效应(QEOE)和电吸收过程(EA)的三阶极化率。通过数值计算,分析了电子-LO声子和电子-IO声子相互作用对ZnS/CdSe柱型核壳结构量子点二次电光效应和电吸收过程的三阶极化率的影响。结果表明,极化子效应对二次电光效应的三阶极化率χ⁽³⁾_QEDE和电吸收过程的三阶极化率χ⁽³⁾_EA都有很大影响,并且影响的大小与量子点的尺寸大小有关。     

Polar Oscillation of Interface and Surface Optical Phonons in Free-Standing Cylindrical Quantum-Well Wires

Under dielectric continuum approximation, interface optical (IO) and surface optical (SO) phonon modes as well as the corresponding Fro^ehlich electron-phonon interaction Hamiltonian in a free-standing cylindrical quantum-well wire (QWW) are derived and studied. Numerical calculations on GaAs/AlzGa1-x As cylindrical QWW are performed. Results reveal that there are two branches of IO phonon modes and one branch of SO phonon mode, and the dispersion frequencies of IO or SO phonon modes sensitively depend on the Al mole fraction x in AlzGa1-x As material and the wavevector in z direction, kz. With the increasing of kz and quantum number m, the frequency of each IO mode approaches one of the two frequency values of the single GaAs/AlxGa1-x As heterostructure, and the electrostatic potential distribution of the phonon mode tends to be more and more localized at a certain interface or surface, meanwhile, the coupling between the electron-IO and -SO phonons becomes weaker.     

Polaron self-energy and effective mass in a freestanding cylindrical quantum wire

The polaron self-energy and correction to the electron effective mass in a freestanding quantum wire is investigated by the perturbation approach.The polaron effect of the electron-confined longitudinal optical (LO) phonon and surface optical (SO) phonon interactions are separately worked out. Numerical calculation on a GaAs quantum wire shows that the confined LO phonon contribution to the polaron self-energy is relatively small for a narrow wire and gradually approach that of the bulk material when the radius of the wire increases. While the contribution of the SO phonon modes is big for small wire radius and then decreases as the radius increases.     

Boundary element method for calculating electron and phonon states in quantum wires and related nanostructures

Here we present a class of efficient techniques to calculate the electronic states and the phonon modes of semiconductor quantum wires and quantum dots of general shape. In it, the differential equations and boundary conditions which determine these excitations are shown to lead to integral equations over the interfaces of the nanostructures which can be solved straightforwardly by matrix techniques. Examples are given of electron and phonon states of several quantum wire and dot structures.