New features of excitonic emission in metal nanoparticle/semiconductor quantum dot nanosystem

We study theoretically the excitonic emission properties of a hybrid nanosystem composed of a spherical metal nanoparticle (NP) and a spherical quantum dot (QD). We show that electromagnetic field (EMF) emitted by a single QD has only dipole, quadrupole, and octupole components, i.e., QD cannot in principle be regarded as an oscillating point dipole, which emits infinite series of multipoles. This leads to a substantial deviation of the characteristics of QD excitonic emission from the emission characteristics of point dipole (molecular fluorophore) located in a vicinity of metal NP at small interparticle distances. The observed fluorescence spectra of the CdTe QD/Ag NP nanostructure are found to be in good agreement with the calculated ones.     

Fabrication of quantum dot transistors incorporating a single self-assembled quantum dot

We report on the fabrication and the characterization of quantum dot transistors incorporating a single self-assembled quantum dot. The current–voltage characteristics exhibit clear staircase structures at room temperature. They are attributed to electron tunneling through the quantized energy levels of a single quantum dot.     

Self-assembled quantum dot semiconductor nanostructure modeling

The calculation of the electronic structure of a vertical multifold stack of self-assembled InAs/GaAs lens-shaped quantum dots is presented. The developed numerical method is based on a rigorous Hamiltonian formulation of an eight-band k.p perturbation accounting for the carrier kinetics and lattice-mismatch strain endured by the islands. The considered implementation is built upon a custom partition of the unit cell. The accompanying validation analysis—consisting of a comprehensive hierarchy of convergence criteria, qualitative, and quantitative test cases—unequivocally shows that the obtained results adhere to the prescribed zero dimensional physics.     

Fabrication of the uniform CdTe quantum dot array on GaAs substrate utilizing nanoporous alumina masks

Fabrication of quantum dot array (QDA) is attractive for applications in electronic and optoelectronic devices. The CdTe QDAs have potential applications in optoelectronic devices of visible range. One of the major challenges in fabricating QDAs is the uniformity and reproducibility in size and spatial distribution. The uniformity and reproducibility of QDs can be improved by using the nanoporous alumina mask. The geometry of porous alumina is schematically represented as a close-packed array of columnar hexagonal cells, each containing a central pore normal to the substrate. The well-ordered nanoporous alumina masks were able to obtain by two-step anodizing processes from aluminum in oxalic acid solutions at low temperature. The pore size, thickness, and density of nanoporous alumina mask can be controlled with the anodization voltage, time, and electrolyte. The CdTe QDAs on the GaAs substrate was grown by molecular beam epitaxy method using the porous alumina masks. The temperature of substrate and source (Cd, Te) was an important factor for the growth of CdTe QDs on GaAs substrate. The CdTe QDAs of 80 nm dot size was fabricated; using the porous alumina masks (300 nm thickness) of pore diameter (80 nm) and density (10¹⁰ /cm²).     

Luminescence of a semiconductor quantum dot system

A microscopic theory is used to study photoluminescence of semiconductor quantum dots under the influence of Coulomb and carrier-photon correlation effects beyond the Hartree-Fock level. We investigate the emission spectrum and the decay properties of the time-resolved luminescence from initially excited quantum dots. The influence of the correlations is included within a cluster expansion scheme up to the singlet-doublet level.     

Coherent exciton-plasmon interaction in the hybrid semiconductor quantum dot and metal nanoparticle complex

We studied theoretically the exciton coherent dynamics in the hybrid complex composed of CdTe quantum dot (QDs) and rodlike Au nanoparticles (NPs) by the self-consistent approach. Through adjusting the aspect ratio of the rodlike Au NPs, the radiative rate of the exciton and the nonradiative energy transfer rate from the QD to the Au NP are tunable in the wide range 0.05-4 ns(-1) and 4.4 x 10(-4) to 2.6 ns(-1), respectively; consequently, the period of Rabi oscillations of exciton population is tunable in the range 0.6 pi-9 pi.     

Optical solitons in semiconductor quantum dot waveguides

A theory of self-induced transparency for a TM-mode propagating in a planar semiconductor waveguide sandwiched between two dielectric media is developed. A transition layer between the waveguide and one of the connected media is described using a model of a two-dimensional sheet of quantum dots. Explicit analytical expressions for the optical soliton in the presence of single-excitonic and biexcitonic transitions are obtained with realistic parameters which can be reached in current experiments.     

Electron cotunneling in a semiconductor quantum dot

We report transport measurements on a semiconductor quantum dot with a small number of confined electrons. In the Coulomb blockade regime, conduction is dominated by cotunneling processes. These can be either elastic or inelastic, depending on whether they leave the dot in its ground state or drive it into an excited state, respectively. We are able to discriminate between these two contributions and show that inelastic events can occur only if the applied bias exceeds the lowest excitation energy. Implications to energy-level spectroscopy are discussed.     

Nonlinear dynamics of doped semiconductor quantum dot lasers

We discuss the influence of wetting layer doping on the turn-on dynamics of a quantum dot (QD) laser by using a microscopically based rate equation model which separately treats the dynamics of electrons and holes. As the carrier-carrier scattering rates depend nonlinearly on the wetting layer carrier densities we observe drastic changes of relaxation oscillation frequency and damping if the wetting layer is doped. We gain insight into the nonlinear dynamics of the QD laser by a detailed analysis of various sections of the five-dimensional phase space focusing on changes in the coupling between QD electron and holes dynamics.     

Analysis of quantum coherent semiconductor quantum dot p-i-n junction photovoltaic cells

A recent hypothesis [M.?O. Scully, Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 207701 (2010).] indicates that the power conversion efficiency of a semiconducting p-i-n junction photovoltaic cell with an intrinsic region consisting of quantum dots can be increased by using quantum coherence to break detailed balance. The limitations of this hypothesis are shown here.     

Core-shell structure and quantum effect of CdSe/HgSe/CdSe quantum dot quantum well

Core-shell structure CdSe/HgSe/CdSe quantum dot quantum well (QDQW) nanocrystals were firstly synthesized and well controlled by colloidal chemical methods. High-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) photographs show that the CdSe core has a wurtzite crystal structure and the shell of HgSe has a hexagonal structure. The enhancement and blue shift of photoluminescence (PL) peak was observed which was attributed to the quantum confinement effect of carriers in the HgSe well.     

Exciton-spin memory with a semiconductor quantum dot molecule

We report on a single photon and spin storage device based on a semiconductor quantum dot molecule. Optically excited single electron-hole pairs are trapped within the molecule, and their recombination rate is electrically controlled over 3 orders of magnitude. Single photons are stored up to 1 μs and read out on a subnanosecond time scale. By using resonant excitation, the circular polarization of individual photons is transferred into the spin state of electron-hole pairs with a fidelity above 80%, which does not degrade for storage times up to the 12.5 ns repetition period of the experiment.     

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).     

Surface optical solitons in semiconductor quantum dot layers

A theory of optical solitons under the condition of nonlinear coherent interaction of surface TM-modes with a layer of inhomogeneously broadened semiconductor quantum dots is developed. Explicit analytical expressions for a surface soliton (2π-pulse) in the presence of single and biexciton transitions are obtained in the regime of self-induced transparency with realistic parameters which can be reached in current experiments.     

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).     

Surface optical solitons in semiconductor quantum dot layers

A theory of optical solitons under the condition of nonlinear coherent interaction of surface TM-modes with a layer of inhomogeneously broadened semiconductor quantum dots is developed. Explicit analytical expressions for a surface soliton (2π-pulse) in the presence of single and biexciton transitions are obtained in the regime of self-induced transparency with realistic parameters which can be reached in current experiments.     

半导体纳米晶体PbSe量子点光纤放大器

提出了一种新的光纤放大器——量子点光纤放大器(QDFA). 利用人工纳米晶体PbSe作为掺杂剂，通过解二能级系统速率方程和光传播方程，应用遗传算法和“逆方法"，计算得到了PbSe-QDFA的最佳掺杂浓度、抽运波长和光纤长度，并得到了增益、带宽和噪声系数. 与常规的掺铒光纤放大器相比较，PbSe-QDFA的带宽和噪声系数等关键指标均有明显提高，并可在长波长(约1630nm)区工作. 反演出极限QDFA所需的理想辐射和吸收截面. 理论模拟结果表明，在理想辐射和吸收截面下，QDFA的带宽极宽，噪声系数可接近量子 关键词： 量子点 光纤放大器 带宽 噪声     

Discrete quantum Fourier transform in coupled semiconductor double quantum dot molecules

In this Letter, we present a physical scheme for implementing the discrete quantum Fourier transform in a coupled semiconductor double quantum dot system. The main controlled-R gate operation can be decomposed into many simple and feasible unitary transformations. The current scheme would be a useful step towards the realization of complex quantum algorithms in the quantum dot system.     

Narrow luminescence linewidth of a silicon quantum dot

Single-dot luminescence spectroscopy was used to study the emission linewidth of individual silicon nanocrystals from low temperatures up to room temperature. The results show a continuous line narrowing towards lower temperatures with a linewidth as sharp as 2 meV at 35 K. This value, clearly below the thermal broadening at this temperature, proves the atomiclike emission from silicon quantum dots subject to quantum confinement. The low temperature measurements further reveal a approximately 6 meV replica, whose origin is discussed. In addition, an approximately 60 meV TO-phonon replica was detected, which is only present in a fraction of the dots.     

Fabrication and characterization of a vertical pillar structure including a self-assembled quantum dot and a quantum well

We fabricate and characterize a novel vertical pillar structure including a self-assembled InAs quantum dot (QD) and an InGaAs quantum well (QW). The vertical current through both the InAs QD and an electrostatically defined QD made in the InGaAs QW can be measured by adjusting the position of the InGaAs QD in the QW plane relative to the InAs QD with two side-gate voltages applied independently. We study optical response of the current through the vertical double QD by irradiating light, which is assumed to be mainly absorbed in the InAs QDs. We successfully probe a time-dependent energy level shift due to the Coulomb interaction from holes trapped in the vicinity of the pillar.