Ultralong dephasing time in InGaAs quantum dots

Cavity-QED assisted attraction between a cavity mode and an exciton mode in a planar photonic-crystal cavity

The photoluminescence spectra from a quantum-dot exciton weakly-coupled to a planar photonic-crystal cavity is experimentally investigated by temperature tuning. Significant resonance shifts of the cavity mode are observed as the cavity mode spectrally approaches that of the exciton mode, showing the appearance of cavity-to-exciton attraction or mode pulling. Cavity-mode spectral shifts are also found theoretically using a master equation model that includes incoherent pump processes for the coupled exciton and cavity, pure dephasing, and allows for photon emission via radiation modes and the leaky cavity mode. Both experiments and theory show clear cavity mode spectral shifts in the photoluminescence spectra, when certain coupling parameters are met. However, discrepancies between the experimental data and theory, including more pronounced spectral shifts in the measurements, indicate that other unknown mode-pulling effects may also be occurring.

Damping of exciton Rabi rotations by acoustic phonons in optically excited InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots

We report experimental evidence identifying acoustic phonons as the principal source of the excitation-induced-dephasing (EID) responsible for the intensity damping of quantum dot excitonic Rabi rotations. The rate of EID is extracted from temperature dependent Rabi rotation measurements of the ground-state excitonic transition, and is found to be in close quantitative agreement with an acoustic-phonon model.

Resonant four-wave mixing of gold nanoparticles for three-dimensional cell microscopy

By detecting the transient four-wave mixing from gold nanoparticles in resonance with their surface plasmon, we demonstrate a multiphoton imaging modality suited for cell microscopy. Four-wave mixing is measured free from background using a three-beam excitation geometry and heterodyne detection. We achieve a spatial resolution of 140 nm in-plane and 470 nm in the axial direction, surpassing the one-photon diffraction limit. With this technique, high-contrast photostable imaging of Golgi structures is demonstrated in HepG2 cells labeled with gold nanoparticles of 10 nm and 5 nm diameter.

Cavity mode emission in weakly coupled quantum dot--cavity systems

We study the origin of bright leaky-cavity mode emission and its influence on photon statistics in weakly coupled quantum dot - semiconductor cavity systems, which consist of a planar photonic-crystal and several quantum dots. We present experimental measurements that show that when the system is excited above the barrier energy, then bright cavity mode emissions with nonzero detuning are dominated by radiative recombinations of deep-level defects in the barrier layers. Under this excitation condition, the second-order photon autocorrelation measurements reveal that the cavity mode emission at nonzero detuning exhibits classical photon-statistics, while the bare exciton emission shows a clear partial anti-bunching. As we enter a Purcell factor enhancement regime, signaling a clear cavity-exciton coupling, the relative weight of the background recombination contribution to the cavity emission decreases. Consequently, the anti-bunching behavior is more significant than the bare exciton case - indicating that the photon statistics becomes more non-classical. These measurements are qualitatively explained using a medium-dependent master equation model that accounts for several excitons and a leaky cavity mode.

Experimental observation of Rabi oscillations in photonic lattices

We demonstrate spatial Rabi oscillations in optical waveguide arrays. Adiabatic transitions between extended Floquet-Bloch modes associated with different bands are stimulated by periodic modulation of the photonic lattice in the propagation direction. When the stimulating modulation also carries transverse momentum, the transition becomes indirect, equivalent to phonon-assisted Rabi oscillations. In solid state physics such indirect Rabi oscillations necessitate coherent phonons and hence they have never been observed. Our experiments suggest that phonon-assisted Rabi oscillations are observable also with Bose-Einstein condensates, as well as with other wave systems-where coherence can be maintained for at least one period of the Rabi oscillation.

Direct evidence of interlevel exciton transitions mediated by single phonons in a semiconductor quantum dot using resonance fluorescence spectroscopy

Using resonance fluorescence, we investigate how acoustic phonons mediate couplings between multiple electronic levels in a semiconductor quantum dot. We show the first direct evidence of population up-conversion in a single quantum dot, which we attribute to absorption of single acoustic phonons. Moreover, through a rate equation analysis, we find that below 20 K such single-phonon mediated couplings between the exciton ground state and the first excited state are primarily responsible for decoherence of the exciton quantum state.

Non-Markovian damping of Rabi oscillations in semiconductor quantum dots

A systematic investigation is performed on the damping of Rabi oscillations induced by an external electromagnetic field interacting with a two-level semiconductor system. We have considered a coherently driven two-level system coupled to a dephasing reservoir and shown that, to explain the dependence of the dephasing rate on the driving intensity, it is essential to consider the non-Markovian character of the reservoir. Moreover, we have demonstrated that intensity-dependent damping may be induced by various dephasing mechanisms due to stationary as well as non-stationary effects caused by coupling with the environment. Finally, present results are able to explain a variety of experimental measurements available in the literature.

Integrated terahertz source based on three-wave mixing of whispering-gallery modes

We propose an integrated terahertz emitter operating at room temperature between 2.4 and 6 THz. Based on difference-frequency generation in a triply resonant Au/AlAs/GaAs/AlAs/Au microcylinder, this nonlinear source is pumped by two near-IR whispering-gallery modes that are excited by InAs quantum dots embedded in the resonator. In the vertical direction, these pump modes are due to total internal reflection at GaAs/AlAs interfaces, while the terahertz mode is confined between the metallic layers. This parametric source offers potential advantages with respect to existing terahertz sources for spectroscopic applications, such as room-temperature operation and electrical pumping.

Coherently driven semiconductor quantum dot at a telecommunication wavelength

We proposed and demonstrate use of optical driving pulses at a telecommunication wavelength for exciton-based quantum gate operation. The exciton in a self-assembled quantum dot is coherently manipulated at 1.3 microm through Rabi oscillation. The telecom-band exciton-qubit system incorporates standard optical fibers and fiber optic devices. The coherent manipulation of the two-level system compatible with flexible and stable fiber network paves the way toward practical optical implementation of quantum information processing devices.

Emission spectrum of a dressed exciton-biexciton complex in a semiconductor quantum dot

The photoluminescence spectrum of a single quantum dot was recorded as a secondary resonant laser optically dressed either the vacuum-to-exciton or the exciton-to-biexciton transitions. High-resolution polarization-resolved measurements using a scanning Fabry-Pérot interferometer reveal splittings of the linearly polarized fine-structure states that are nondegenerate in an asymmetric quantum dot. These splittings manifest as either triplets or doublets and depend sensitively on laser intensity and detuning. Our approach realizes complete resonant control of a multiexcitonic system in emission, which can be either pulsed or continuous wave, and offers direct access to the emitted photons.

Postselective two-photon interference from a continuous nonclassical stream of photons emitted by a quantum dot

We report an electrically driven semiconductor single-photon source capable of emitting photons with a coherence time of up to 400 ps under fixed bias. It is shown that increasing the injection current causes the coherence time to reduce, and this effect is well explained by the fast modulation of a fluctuating environment. Hong-Ou-Mandel-type two-photon interference using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer is demonstrated using this source to test the indistinguishability of individual photons by postselecting events where two photons collide at a beam splitter. Finally, we consider how improvements in our detection system can be used to achieve a higher interference visibility.

Resonance fluorescence from a coherently driven semiconductor quantum dot in a cavity

We show that resonance fluorescence, i.e., the resonant emission of a coherently driven two-level system, can be realized with a semiconductor quantum dot. The dot is embedded in a planar optical microcavity and excited in a waveguide mode so as to discriminate its emission from residual laser scattering. The transition from the weak to the strong excitation regime is characterized by the emergence of oscillations in the first-order correlation function of the fluorescence, g(tau), as measured by interferometry. The measurements correspond to a Mollow triplet with a Rabi splitting of up to 13.3 microeV. Second-order correlation measurements further confirm nonclassical light emission.

How strain controls electronic linewidth in single beta-phase polyfluorene nanowires

Low-temperature single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy reveals pure, virtually defect-free chains of the one-dimensional crystalline beta-phase of polyfluorene. The likelihood of beta-phase formation is shown to correlate directly with the initial shape of the polymer chain, with extended chains preferentially forming this planarized phase. Planarized chains, characterized by a distinct spectroscopic signature can, however, exhibit substantial bending within the plane. This bending results in a strong increase in the elementary transition linewidth of the conjugated segment. The transition linewidth provides a lower limit to the electronic dephasing time of the excited state of >3 ps at 5 K. Remarkably, bending does not appear to disrupt the pi-electron conjugation so that the emission from a single bent beta-phase chromophore is not necessarily linearly polarized as is generally assumed.

Zero-phonon linewidth and phonon satellites in the optical absorption of nanowire-based quantum dots

The optical properties of quantum dots embedded in a catalytically grown semiconductor nanowire are studied theoretically. In comparison to dots in a bulk environment, the excitonic absorption is strongly modified by the one-dimensional character of the nanowire phonon spectrum. In addition to pronounced satellite peaks due to phonon-assisted absorption, we find a finite width of the zero-phonon line already in the lowest-order calculation.

Phonon-assisted decoherence in the production of polarization-entangled photons in a single semiconductor quantum dot

We theoretically investigate the production of polarization-entangled photons through the biexciton cascade decay in a single semiconductor quantum dot. In the intermediate state the entanglement is encoded in the polarizations of the first emitted photon and the exciton, where the exciton state can be effectively "measured" by the solid-state environment through the formation of a lattice distortion. We show that the resulting loss of entanglement becomes drastically enhanced if the phonons contributing to the lattice distortion are subject to elastic scatterings at the device boundaries, which might constitute a serious limitation for quantum-dot based entangled-photon devices.

Transient coherent nonlinear spectroscopy of single quantum dots

We review our recent advances in four-wave mixing spectroscopy of single semiconductor quantum dots using heterodyne spectral interferometry, a novel implementation of transient nonlinear spectroscopy allowing the study of the transient nonlinear polarization emitted from individual electronic transitions in both amplitude and phase. We present experiments on individual excitonic transitions localized in monolayer islands of GaAs/AlAs quantum wells and in self-assembled CdTe/ZnTe quantum dots. We investigate the formation of the photon echo from individual transitions, both with increasing number of transitions in the ensemble, and in the presence of temporal jitter of the energy of a single transition. The detection of amplitude and phase of the signal allows the implementation of a two-dimensional femtosecond spectroscopy, in which mutual coherent coupling of single quantum dot states can observed and quantified.

Four-wave mixing dynamics of excitons in InGaAs self-assembled quantum dots

In this paper we summarize our experimental work on the dephasing of excitons in self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots, measured using a sensitive four-wave mixing technique in heterodyne detection. Transient four-wave mixing is a powerful technique to measure not only exciton dephasing times but also fine-structure splitting energies and exciton-biexciton binding energies which are important physical parameters for the implementation of quantum dots as source of polarization-entangled photon pairs and in the design of quantum algorithms. The scope of this paper is to review and discuss, in the context of present theories and in comparison with other experiments in the literature, the most significant results of our study on a series of thermally annealed quantum dots exhibiting systematic differences in the excitonic recombination energies and quantum confinement potentials. We will highlight the main outcomes of these measurements and give a perspective in terms of open questions that still need to be investigated, possible new experiments and potential areas of interest.

Exciton dephasing in quantum dots due to LO-phonon coupling: an exactly solvable model

It is widely believed that, due to its discrete nature, excitonic states in a quantum dot coupled to dispersionless longitudinal-optical (LO) phonons form everlasting mixed states (exciton polarons) showing no line broadening in the spectrum. This is indeed true if the model is restricted to a limited number of excitonic states in a quantum dot. We show, however, that extending the model to a large number of states results in LO phonon-induced spectral broadening and complete decoherence of the optical response.

Phonon-wave-induced resonance fluorescence in semiconductor nanostructures: acoustoluminescence in the terahertz range

Acoustic wave excitation of semiconductor quantum dots generates resonance fluorescence of electronic intersublevel excitations. Our theoretical analysis predicts acoustoluminescence, in particular, a conversion of acoustic into electromagnetic THz waves over a broad spectral range.

All-optical measurement-based quantum-information processing in quantum dots

Parity measurements on qubits can generate the entanglement resource necessary for scalable quantum computation. Here we describe a method for fast optical parity measurements on electron spin qubits within coupled quantum dots. The measurement scheme, which can be realized with existing technology, consists of the optical excitation of excitonic states followed by monitored relaxation. Conditional on the observation of a photon, the system is projected into the odd/even-parity subspaces. Our model incorporates all the primary sources of error, including detector inefficiency, effects of spatial separation and nonresonance of the dots, and also unwanted excitations. Through an analytical treatment we establish that the scheme is robust to such effects. Two applications are presented: a realization of a controlled-NOT gate, and a technique for growing large scale graph states.

Self-aligned all-epitaxial microcavity for cavity QED with quantum dots

Using time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy, we have studied the Purcell spontaneous emission enhancement provided by a novel type of microcavity that forms a fully buried, all-epitaxial semiconductor heterostructure. The quantum dot containing region and the cavity boundaries are simultaneously defined in a unique way and lead to spatially self-aligned emitters. We demonstrate post-growth control of the quality factor and the capability of directly imaging the spatial field distribution that critically impacts the Purcell effect.

Exciton-phonon coupling and disorder in the excited states of CdSe colloidal quantum dots

We study the origin of the spectral line shape in colloidal CdSe nanocrystal quantum dots. The three-pulse photon echo peak shift (3PEPS) data reveal a temperature-independent fast decay, obscuring the quantification of the homogeneous linewidth. The optical gap and Stokes shift are found to have an anomalous behavior with temperature, which is size, capping group, and surrounding polymer matrix independent. Using these results and combining them with simulations, we discuss the role of exciton-phonon coupling, static inhomogeneity, exciton fine structure, and exciton state disorder in the linewidth of the nanocrystal. In particular, our analysis shows that the disorder due to surface imperfections and finite temperature effects, as well as the relaxation within the fine structure, can have significant impact on the steady-state absorption spectrum, 3PEPS data, and dephasing processes.

Ultrafast vibrationally-induced dephasing of electronic excitations in PbSe quantum dots

Vibrationally induced pure-dephasing of electronic states in PbSe quantum dots (QDs) at room temperature is investigated using two independent theoretical approaches based on the optical response function and semiclassical formalisms. Both approaches predict dephasing times of around 10 fs and reproduce the recently measured homogeneous linewidths of optical absorption well. Because dephasing slows down with increasing cluster size, the dephasing times calculated for the small clusters correspond to the lower end of the experimental data. The dephasing is almost independent of the electronic excitation energy and occurs faster for biexcitons than single excitons. The dephasing time is roughly proportional to the square root of the mass of the lighter atom (Se), suggesting that dephasing should be faster in PbS and slower in PbTe relative to PbSe. Core atoms produce stronger dephasing than surface atoms. In the collective description, pure-dephasing occurs via low-frequency acoustic modes, in support of the elastic QD model of dephasing. Because the electron-phonon coupling in PbSe QDs is relatively weak compared to other semiconductor nanocrystals, fast vibrationally induced dephasing can be expected in semiconductor QDs in general.

Temperature dependent optical properties of single, hierarchically self-assembled GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots

We report on the experimental observation of bright photoluminescence emission at room temperature from single unstrained GaAs quantum dots (QDs). The linewidth of a single-QD ground-state emission (≈ 8.5 meV) is comparable to the ensemble inhomogeneous broadening (≈ 12.4 meV). At low temperature (T ≤ 40 K) photon correlation measurements under continuous wave excitation show nearly perfect single-photon emission from a single GaAs QD and reveal the single photon nature of the emitted light up to 77 K. The QD emission energies, homogeneous linewidths and the thermally activated behavior as a function of temperature are discussed.

Zero-phonon linewidth in CdSe/ZnS core/shell nanorods

High-resolution spectral hole-burning studies of CdSe/ZnS core/shell nanorods reveal a sharp zero-phonon line, with a line width dependent on the measurement time scale. The zero-phonon line width is attributed to contributions from radiative decay, spectral diffusion induced by surface electric field fluctuations, and phonon-assisted migration of excitons localized in the nanorods. A decoherence rate as small as 4.5 GHz has been observed, when the effects of spectral diffusion are suppressed in the spectral hole-burning measurement. Comparison between zero-phonon line widths in nanorods and spherical nanocrystals also elucidates important differences in the decoherence process between the one- and zero-dimensional nanostructures.

Change of decoherence scenario and appearance of localization due to reservoir anharmonicity

Although coupling to a super-Ohmic bosonic reservoir leads only to partial dephasing on short time scales, exponential decay of coherence appears in the Markovian limit (for long times) if anharmonicity of the reservoir is taken into account. This effect not only qualitatively changes the decoherence scenario but also leads to localization processes in which superpositions of spatially separated states dephase with a rate that depends on the distance between the localized states. As an example of the latter process, we study the decay of coherence of an electron state delocalized over two semiconductor quantum dots due to anharmonicity of phonon modes.

Stimulated emission from the biexciton in a single self-assembled II-VI quantum dot

Using two-photon excitation, stimulated emission from the biexciton state in a single CdSe/ZnSe quantum dot is observed in a two-pulse configuration. We directly time resolve the emission-absorption characteristics and verify the potential for laser action. By setting the polarization of the stimulation pulse, the recombination path of the biexciton and, by this, the state of the photons emitted in the decay cascade is controlled. We elaborate also the coherent response and address entanglement and disentanglement of the exciton-biexciton system.

Optical breathers in semiconductor quantum dots

A theory of resonant optical breathers in the presence of single and biexciton transitions in an ensemble of inhomogeneously broadened semiconductor quantum dots is constructed. Explicit analytical expressions for the breather shape and parameters for experimental investigations are proposed.

Superradiance and subradiance in an inhomogeneously broadened ensemble of two-level systems coupled to a low-Q cavity

The collective spontaneous emission of a fully inverted inhomogeneously broadened ensemble of N two-level systems coupled to a single-mode low-Q cavity is investigated numerically using Monte Carlo wave function technique. An intrinsically bi-exponential emission dynamics is found when the time scales of superradiance tau(sr) and inhomogeneous dephasing T2* approximately 1/Deltaomega(inh) become comparable: a fast superradiant is followed by a slow subradiant decay. Experimental configurations using ensembles of quantum dots coupled to optical microcavities are proposed as possible candidates to observe the combined superradiant and subradiant energy relaxation.

Phonon-induced exciton dephasing in quantum dot molecules

A new microscopic approach to the optical transitions in quantum dots and quantum dot molecules, which accounts for both diagonal and nondiagonal exciton-phonon interaction, is developed. The cumulant expansion of the linear polarization is generalized to a multilevel system and is applied to calculation of the full time dependence of the polarization and the absorption spectrum. In particular, the broadening of zero-phonon lines is evaluated directly and discussed in terms of real and virtual phonon-assisted transitions. The influence of Coulomb interaction, tunneling, and structural asymmetry on the exciton dephasing in quantum dot molecules is analyzed.

Microscopic measurement of photon echo formation in groups of individual excitonic transitions

The third-order polarization emitted from groups of individual localized excitonic transitions after pulsed optical excitation is measured. We observe the evolution of the nonlinear response from the case of a free polarization decay for a single transition, to that of a photon echo for many transitions. The echo is shown to arise from the mutual rephasing of the emission from individual transitions.

Stimulated and spontaneous optical generation of electron spin coherence in charged GaAs quantum dots

We report on the coherent optical excitation of electron spin polarization in the ground state of charged GaAs quantum dots via an intermediate charged exciton (trion) state. Coherent optical fields are used for the creation and detection of the Raman spin coherence between the spin ground states of the charged quantum dot. The measured spin decoherence time, which is likely limited by the nature of the spin ensemble, approaches 10 ns at zero field. We also show that the Raman spin coherence in the quantum beats is caused not only by the usual stimulated Raman interaction but also by simultaneous spontaneous radiative decay of either excited trion state to a coherent combination of the two spin states.

Indistinguishable photons from a single molecule

We report the results of coincidence counting experiments at the output, of a Michelson interferometer using the zero-phonon-line emission of a single molecule at 1.4 K. Under continuous wave excitation, we observe the absence of coincidence counts as an indication of two-photon interference. This corresponds to the observation of Hong-Ou-Mandel correlations and proves the suitability of the zero-phonon-line emission of single molecules for applications in linear optics quantum computation.

Control of vertically coupled InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots with electric fields

Controllable interactions that couple quantum dots are a key requirement in the search for scalable solid state implementations for quantum information technology. From optical studies of excitons and corresponding calculations, we demonstrate that an electric field on vertically coupled pairs of In(0.6)Ga(0.4)As/GaAs quantum dots controls the mixing of the exciton states on the two dots and also provides controllable coupling between carriers in the dots.

Dephasing in quantum dots: quadratic coupling to acoustic phonons

A microscopic theory of optical transitions in quantum dots with a carrier-phonon interaction is developed. Virtual transitions into higher confined states with acoustic phonon assistance add a quadratic phonon coupling to the standard linear one, thus extending the independent boson model. Summing infinitely many diagrams in the cumulant, a numerically exact solution for the interband polarization is found. Its full time dependence and the absorption line shape of the quantum dot are calculated. It is the quadratic interaction which gives rise to a temperature-dependent broadening of the zero-phonon line, calculated here for the first time in a consistent scheme.

Voltage-controlled optics of a quantum dot

We show how the optical properties of a single semiconductor quantum dot can be controlled with a small dc voltage applied to a gate electrode. We find that the transmission spectrum of the neutral exciton exhibits two narrow lines with approximately 2 mueV linewidth. The splitting into two linearly polarized components arises through an exchange interaction within the exciton. The exchange interaction can be turned off by choosing a gate voltage where the dot is occupied with an additional electron. Saturation spectroscopy demonstrates that the neutral exciton behaves as a two-level system. Our experiments show that the remaining problem for manipulating excitonic quantum states in this system is spectral fluctuation on a mueV energy scale.

Monitoring surface charge movement in single elongated semiconductor nanocrystals

We demonstrate a universal correlation between the spectral linewidth and position of the excitonic transition in the spectral jitter observed from single elongated colloidal quantum dots. Breaking the symmetry of electron and hole confinement as well as of the spatial directions for surface charge diffusion enables us to microscopically track meandering surface charges, providing a novel probe of the particle's nanoenvironment. Spectral diffusion exhibits only a weak temperature dependence, which allows us to uncover the single particle homogeneous linewidth of 50 meV at room temperature.

Selective spin coupling through a single exciton

We present a novel scheme for performing a conditional phase gate between two spin qubits in adjacent semiconductor quantum dots through delocalized single exciton states, formed through the interdot Förster interaction. We consider two resonant quantum dots, each containing a single excess conduction band electron whose spin embodies the qubit. We demonstrate that both the two-qubit gate and arbitrary single-qubit rotations may be realized to a high fidelity with current semiconductor and laser technology.

Dynamics of coherent and incoherent spin polarizations in ensembles of quantum dots

The temperature dependence of spin coherence in InGaAs quantum dots is obtained from quantum beats observed in polarization-resolved pump-probe experiments. Within the same sample we clearly distinguish between coherent spin dynamics leading to quantum beats and incoherent long-lived spin-memory effects. Analysis of the coherent data using a theoretical model reveals approximately 10 times greater stability of the spin coherence at high temperature compared to that found previously for exciton states in four-wave-mixing experiments by Borri et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 157401 (2001)]]. The data on incoherent polarization reveal a new form of spin memory based on charged quantum dots.

Quantum control of electron-phonon scatterings in artificial atoms

The phonon-induced dephasing dynamics in optically excited semiconductor quantum dots is studied within the frameworks of the independent boson model and optimal control. We show that appropriate tailoring of laser pulses allow complete control of the optical excitation despite the phonon dephasing, a finding in marked contrast to other environment couplings.

Optical Stark effect in a quantum dot: ultrafast control of single exciton polarizations

We report the first experimental study of the optical Stark effect in single semiconductor quantum dots (QD). For below band gap excitation, two-color pump-probe spectra show dispersive line shapes caused by a light-induced blueshift of the excitonic resonance. The line shape depends strongly on the excitation field strength and is determined by the pump-induced phase shift of the coherent QD polarization. Transient spectral oscillations can be understood as rotations of the QD polarization phase with negligible population change. Ultrafast control of the QD polarization is demonstrated.