Electric field induced nonlinear optical properties of a confined exciton in a ZnO/Zn1−xMgxO strained quantum dot

Electric field induced exciton binding energy as a function of dot radius in a ZnO/Zn_1−xMg_xO quantum dot is investigated. The interband emission as a function of dot radius is obtained in the presence of electric field strength. The Stark effect on the exciton as a function of the dot radius is discussed. The effects of strain, including the hydrostatic and the biaxial strain and the internal electric field, induced by spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization are taken into consideration in all the calculations. Numerical calculations are performed using variational procedure within the single band effective mass approximation. Some nonlinear optical properties are investigated for various electric field strengths in a ZnO/Zn_1−xMg_xO quantum dot taking into account the strain-induced piezoelectric effects. Our results show that the nonlinear optical properties strongly depend on the effects of electric field strength and the geometrical confinement.     

Pressure-induced non-linear optical properties in a wurtzite GaN/Al x Ga1− x N strained quantum dot

The effects of hydrostatic pressure on the exciton ground-state binding energy and the interband emission energy in a GaN/Al _x Ga_{1??? x} N quantum dot are investigated. The effects of strain and the internal field due to spontaneous and piezo-electric polarizations are included in the Hamiltonian. Numerical calculations are performed using variational procedure within the framework of single-band effective-mass approximation. The dependence of non-linear optical processes on the dot sizes is brought out in the influence of pressure. Pressure-induced optical properties are obtained using the compact density matrix approach. The effects of hydrostatic pressure on the linear, third-order non-linear optical absorption coefficients and the refractive index changes of the exciton as a function of photon energy are calculated. Our results show that the effects of pressure and the geometrical confinement have great influence on the optical properties of GaN/Al _x Ga_{1??? x} N dot.     

Exciton binding energy and the optical absorption coefficient in a strained CdxZn1−xO/ZnO quantum dot

Numerical calculations of the excitonic absorption spectra in a strained Cd_xZn_1?xO/ZnO quantum dot are investigated for various Cd contents. We calculate the quantized energies of the exciton as a function of dot radius for various confinement potentials and thereby the interband emission energy is computed considering the internal electric field induced by the spontaneous and piezoelectric polarizations. The optical absorption as a function of photon energy for different dot radii is discussed. Decrease of exciton binding energy and the corresponding optical band gap with the Cd concentration imply that the confinement of carriers decreases with composition x. The main results show that the confined energies and the transition energies between the excited levels are significant for smaller dots. Non-linearity band gap with the increase in Cd content is observed for smaller dots in the strong confinement region and the magnitude of the absorption spectra increases for the transitions between the higher excited levels.     

Nonlinear optical properties of a Woods–Saxon quantum dot under an electric field

A theoretical study of the effect of the confining potential on the nonlinear optical properties of two dimensional quantum dots is performed. A three-parameter Woods–Saxon potential is used within the density matrix formalism. The control of confinement by three parameters and an applied electric field gives one quite an advantage in studying their effects on the nonlinear properties. The coefficients investigated include the optical rectification, second and third-harmonic generation and the change in the refractive index. Their dependence on the electric field values, dot size and the energy of the incoming photons is studied extensively.It is shown that the Woods–Saxon potential can be used to model the confinement in quantum dots with considerable success.     

Electric field effect on the binding energy of a hydrogenic impurity in coaxial GaAs/Al xGa1 − x As quantum well-wires

The ground state binding energy of a hydrogenic impurity in a coaxial cylindirical quantum well wire system subjected to an external electric field applied perpendicular to the symmetry axis of the wire system is studied within a variational scheme. Binding energy calculations were performed as functions of the inner barrier thickness and the electric field for two different impurity positions. The main result is that a sharp decrease in the binding energy, which may be important in device applications, occurs in certain conditions.     

Electric field-induced nonlinear optical properties of a hydrogenic impurity in a GaAs/GaAlAs quantum dot: effects of spin–orbit interactions

Nonlinear optical properties, optical rectification coefficients and the second-order and third-order harmonic generation coefficients as a function of photon energy are dealt in a GaAs/Ga_0.8Al_0.2As quantum dot in the presence of electric field and the spin–orbit interactions. The Dresselhaus and the Rashba spin–orbit interactions are added in the Hamiltonian. The electric field-induced photoionization cross section with the normalized photon energy for an on-centre donor impurity in the quantum dot is studied. The effect of nonparabolicity is included in the Hamiltonian. The spin–orbit interaction as a function of photon energy is investigated. The computations are carried out within the framework of the single band effective mass approximation using variational technique and the compact density approach. It is found that the spin–orbit interaction coefficients show strong effects on the resonant position of harmonic generations. The results are compared with the recent investigations.     

Diamagnetic shift of exciton energy levels in GaAs-Ga1−xAlxAs quantum wells

The results of direct measurements of the diamagnetic shift of axciton levels in narrow quantum wells of a thickness varying between 25 and 150 Å are reported. A perturbation type approach is used to calculate the diamagnetic shift of 1s exciton levels in quantum well structures of Ga_1−xAl_xAs-GaAs-Ga_1−xAl_xAs. The calculations are applicable in the weak field range for which the Coulomb energy dominates over the magnetic one. The experimental results are in satisfactory agreement with the theory throughout the entire well thicknesses range.     

Impact of shell thickness on exciton and biexciton binding energies of a ZnSe/ZnS core–shell quantum dot

Impact of shell structure on the exciton and biexciton binding energies has been studied in a ZnSe/ZnS core–shell quantum dot using Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin (WKB) approximation. For excitons, the binding is caused by the Coulombic as well as the confinement potentials while biexciton binding energy is determined by taking into account the exchange and correlation effects. The exciton binding energy was found to increase initially with increasing shell thickness which reaches saturation at larger shell thickness. On the other hand, the biexciton binding energy exhibits a crossover from the bonding to antibonding state with increasing shell thickness for smaller core radius of the quantum dot.     

Photoluminescence properties of exciton–exciton scattering in a GaAs/AlAs multiple quantum well

We report on the photoluminescence (PL) properties of a GaAs (20 nm)/AlAs (20 nm) multiple quantum well under high-density-excitation conditions at excitation energies near the fundamental exciton energies. The biexciton-PL band is dominant in a relatively low-excitation-power region. The PL originating from exciton–exciton scattering, the so-called P emission, suddenly appears with an increase in excitation power. The excitation-energy dependence of the intensity of the P-PL band indicates that the excitation energy higher than the fundamental heavy-hole exciton by the energy of the longitudinal optical (LO) phonon is the most efficient for the P PL. This suggests that the LO-phonon scattering plays an important role in the relaxation process of excitons leading to the P PL. The appearance of the P-PL band remarkably suppresses the intensity of the biexciton-PL band; namely, the exciton–exciton scattering process prevents the formation of biexcitons. Furthermore, we have confirmed the existence of optical gain due to the exciton–exciton scattering process with use of a variable-stripe-length method.     

Charged and neutral biexciton–exciton cascade in a single quantum dot within a photonic bandgap

We investigate the recombination dynamics of positively charged and neutral biexcitons and excitons in a single InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) within a two-dimensional (2D) photonic bandgap (PBG). The 2D PBG makes the exciton lifetime four times longer and enhances photon-extraction efficiency compared to those without the PBG. Photon cross-correlation measurements demonstrate the cascade emissions of both charged and neutral biexcitons–excitons from the same QD. In the charged case, a hole in the p-shell relaxes into the s-shell between the cascade, and the corresponding transition is confirmed based on the spin configuration. The long exciton lifetime with the PBG helps us to reveal the spin dynamics that did not clearly appear in intrinsic QDs.     

Ionization of an exciton moving perpendicular to a magnetic field in the GaAs/AlxGa1−x As superlattice

The magnetic field effect on the spectrum of excitons associated with various minibands in superlattices was studied by resonance Raman spectroscopy. It was found that the intensity of Raman scattering by acoustic phonons with the participation of the ground state of an exciton associated with the second miniband is sharply reduced even in weak magnetic fields if its velocity vector is orthogonal to the external magnetic field. This phenomenon was explained by the ionization of the exciton in the electric filed arising in the system of coordinate associated with the exciton moving perpendicular to the external magnetic field.     

Determination of the transport lifetime limiting scattering rate in InSb/AlxIn1−x Sb quantum wells using optical surface microscopy

We report magnetotransport measurements of InSb/Al_1−xIn_xSb quantum well structures at low temperature (3 K), with evidence for 3 characteristic regimes of electron carrier density and mobility. We observe characteristic surface structure using differential interference contrast DIC (Nomarski) optical imaging, and through use of image analysis techniques, we are able to extract a representative average grain feature size for this surface structure. From this we deduce a limiting low temperature scattering mechanism not previously incorporated in transport lifetime modelling of this system, with this improved model giving strong agreement with standard low temperature Hall measurements. We have demonstrated that the mobility in such a material is critically limited by quality from the buffer layer growth, as opposed to fundamental material scattering mechanisms. This suggests that the material has immense potential for mobility improvement over that reported to date.     

Polarization switch in an elliptical micropillar – quantum dot system induced by a magnetic field in Faraday configuration

In this paper we study the effect of applying a magnetic field on an elliptical microcavity pillar with quantum dots embedded, in the presence of external laser excitation. To obtain the system dynamics we use the matrix density formalism, taking into account realistic parameters and including losses. Our results show that it is possible to use the magnetic field strength to control the polarization of the photons inside the cavity, making our system behave like a photon polarization switch. We also report the best set of parameters where this is possible. Our results also indicate that we can use the polarization of the cavity photons to look into the fine structure of the energy levels of quantum dots.     

Structural and optical properties of ZnSe x Te1−-x solid solutions in thin-film form

Solid solutions of ZnSe _x Te_1–x (0. 1 x 1) were synthesized by vacuum fusion of stoichiometric proportions of ZnSe and ZnTe. X-ray diffraction data revealed that they have polycrystalline cubic zinc-blende structure. The calculated unit cell lattice constant (a) for the different compositions in powder form vary linearly, with molecular fractionx following Vegard's law:a(x) = 6.165 – 0.485x. Thin films of ZnSe _x Te_1–x (0.1 x 1) solid solutions deposited onto glass or quartz substrates by thermal evaporation in a vacuum of 10^–4 Pa were found to be polycrystalline with a preferred (1 1 1) orientation. The obtained data were confirmed by electron diffraction. The optical studies showed that ZnSe _x Te_1–x polycrystalline films of different compositions have two direct transitions with corresponding energy gapsE _g andE _g + _so The variations in bothE _g andE _g + _so, withx indicate that ZnSe _x Te_1–x solid solution belongs to an amalgamation-type following quadratic equations with bowing parameters 1.251 and 1.275, respectively.     

Influence of strain on built-in dipole moment in asymmetric In x Ga1−x As quantum dot molecules

Strain effects on a built-in electron-hole dipole moment are investigated in asymmetric In _x Ga_1?x As coupled quantum dots. We compute electron-hole separation as a function of alloy compositions for both electron and hole resonance cases. It is noted that the inclusion of strain enhances the built-in dipole moments and that the inverted electron-hole alignment is found for electron and hole resonances. Furthermore, the reversal of dipole moments gives rise to different asymmetric Stark shifts in each transition spectrum.     

Investigation of defect-related optical properties in AlxInyGa1−x−yN quaternary alloys with different Al/In ratios

Al_xIn_yGa_1?x?yN quaternary alloys with different ratios of Al/In were grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition on GaN/Al₂O₃ substrates. The structural and emission properties of the as-grown samples were investigated, respectively, by high-resolution X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The PL emission character is related to the two prominent quenching bands, which have been determined to be located at around 1.1 eV and 1.7 eV above the valence band, respectively, by the method of optical quenching of photoconductivity. PL emission is most intense when the Al/In ratio is 7.5 for the Al_xIn_yGa_1?x?yN layer. In addition, a stronger quenching phenomenon with Al/In ratio of 5.0 in Al_xIn_yGa_1?x?yN is observed in accordance with a reduction of the intensity of Al_xIn_yGa_1?x?yN-related emission peak.     

Optical properties of excitons in strained Gax In1-x As/GaAs quantum dot： effect of geometrical confinement on exciton g-factor

Taking into account anisotropy, nonparabolicity of the conduction band, and geometrical confinement, we discuss the heavy-hole excitonic states in a strained GaxIn1-xAs/GaAs quantum dot for various Ga alloy contents. The strained quantum dot is considered as a spherical InAs dot surrounded by a GaAs barrier material. The dependence of the effective excitonic g-factor as a function of dot radius and Ga ion content is numerically measured. Interband optical energy with and without the parabolic effect is computed using structural confinement. The interband matrix element for different Ga concentrations is also calculated. The oscillator strength of interband transitions on the dot radius is studied at different Ga concentrations in the GaxIn1-xAs/GaAs quantum dot. Heavy-hole excitonic absorption spectra are recorded for various Ga alloy contents in the GaxIn1-xAs/GaAs quantum dot. Results show that oscillator strength diminishes when dot size decreases because of the dominance of the quantum size effect. Furthermore, exchange enhancement and exchange sDlitting increase as exciton confinement inereases.