Anomalous shift of the beating nodes in illumination-controlled In1-xGaxAs/In1-yAlyAs two-dimensional electron gases with strong spin-orbit interaction

The beating patterns in the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillatory magnetoresistance originating from zero-field spin splitting of two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) in In0.52Al0.48As/InxGa1-xAs/In0.52Al0.48As quantum wells with silicon delta doped on the upper barrier layer have been investigated by means of magnetotransport measurements before and after illumination. Contrary to the expectation, after each illumination, the beating nodes induced by the zero-field spin-splitting effect shift to lower and lower magnetic field due to the decrease in the zero-field spin-splitting energy of the 2DEGs. The anomalous phenomenon of the shift of the beating nodes and the decrease in spin-orbit coupling constants after illumination cannot be explained by utilizing the previous linear Rashba model. It is suggested that the decrease in the zero-field spin-splitting energy and the spin-orbit coupling constant arise from the nonlinear Rashba spin splitting.

Design of surface emitting distributed feedback quantum cascade laser with single-lobe far-field pattern and high outcoupling efficiency

A 7.8-mu m surface emitting second-order distributed feedback quantum cascade laser (DFB QCL) structure with metallized surface grating is studied. The modal property of this structure is described by utilizing coupled-mode theory where the coupling coefficients are derived from exact Floquet-Bloch solutions of infinite periodic structure. Based on this theory, the influence of waveguide structure and grating topography as well as device length on the laser performance is numerically investigated. The optimized surface emitting second-order DFB QCL structure design exhibits a high surface outcoupling efficiency of 22% and a low threshold gain of 10 cm(-1). Using a pi phase-shift in the centre of the grating, a high-quality single-lobe far-field radiation pattern is obtained.

Negative lateral shift of a light beam transmitted through a dielectric slab and interaction of boundary effects

It is found that when a light beam travels through a slab of optically denser dielectric medium in air, the lateral shift of the transmitted beam can be negative. This is a novel phenomenon that is reversed in comparison with the geometrical optic prediction according to Snell's law of refraction. A Gaussian-shaped beam is analyzed in the paraxial approximation, and a comparison with numerical simulations is made. Finally, an explanation for the negativity of the lateral shift is suggested, in terms of the interaction of boundary effects of the slab's two interfaces with air.

Lateral shift of the transmitted light beam through a left-handed slab

It is reported that when a light beam travels through a slab of left-handed medium in the air, the lateral shift of the transmitted beam can be negative as well as positive. The necessary condition for the lateral shift to be positive is given. The validity of the stationary-phase approach is demonstrated by numerical simulations for a Gaussian-shaped beam. A restriction to the slab's thickness is provided that is necessary for the beam to retain its profile in the traveling. It is shown that the lateral shift of the reflected beam is equal to that of the transmitted beam in the symmetric configuration.

Study on tapered crossed subwavelength gratings by Fourier modal method

Fourier modal method incorporating staircase approximation is used to study tapered crossed subwavelength gratings in this paper. Three intuitive formulations of eigenvalue functions originating from the prototype are presented, and their convergences are compared through numerical calculation. One of them is found to be suitable in modeling the diffraction efficiency of the circular tapered crossed subwavelength gratings without high absorption, and staircase approximation is further proven valid for non-highly-absorption tapered gratings. This approach is used to simulate the "moth-eye" antireflection surface on silicon, and the numerical result agrees well with the experimental one.

Blue-shift photoluminescence from porous InAlAs

A porous InAlAs structure was first obtained by electrochemical etching. Nano-pore arrays were formed when the In0.52Al0.48As membrane was anodized at constant voltages in an HF aqueous solution. These self-assembled structures showed evident blue-shift photoluminescence emissions. While a quantum size effect alone underestimates the blue-shift energy for a sample with a relatively large average pore wall thickness, a novel effect caused by the asymmetric etching is proposed to account for this phenomenon. The results inferred from the x-ray double crystal diffraction are in good agreement with the experimental data.