In-plane propagation of cavity polaritons in a quantum semiconductor microcavity

Considering that the coupling among the heavy-hole exciton, light-hole exciton and the cavity photon can form bipolaritons in a quantum semiconductor microcavity, we calculate the group velocities of the cavity polaritons at different incident angles using the coupling model of three harmonic oscillators. The result indicates that the group velocities of the low and middle branches of the cavity polaritons have extrema, but the group velocities of the high branch increase with the increasing incident angle.

Room-temperature, ground-state lasing for red-emitting vertically aligned InAlAs/AlGaAs quantum dots grown on a GaAs(100) substrate

The effect of the growth temperature on the properties of InAlAs/AlGaAs quantum dots grown on GaAs(100) substrates is investigated. The optical efficiency and structural uniformity are improved by increasing the growth temperature from 530 to 560 degreesC. The improvements of InAlAs/AlGaAs quantum-dot characteristics could be explained by suppressing the incorporation of oxygen and the formation of group-III vacancies. Furthermore, edge-emitting laser diodes with six quantum-dot layers grown at 560 degreesC have been fabricated. Lasing occurs via the ground state at 725 nm, with a room-temperature threshold current density of 3.9 kA/cm(2), significantly better than previously reported values for this quantum-dot systems. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.

Hydrostatic pressure effect on photoluminescence from a GaN0.015As0.985/GaAs quantum well

Photoluminescence from a GaN0.015As0.985/GaAs quantum well has been measured at 15 K under hydrostatic pressure up to 9 GPa. Both the emissions from the GaNAs well and GaAs barrier are observed. The GaNAs-related peak shows a much weaker pressure dependence compared to that of the GaAs band gap. A group of new peaks appear in the spectra when the pressure is beyond 2.5 GPa, which is attributed to the emissions from the N isoelectronic traps in GaAs. The pressure dependence of the GaNAs-related peaks was calculated using the two-level model with the measured pressure coefficients of the GaAs band gap and N level as fitting parameters. It is found that the calculated results deviate seriously from the experimental data. An increasing of the emission intensity and the linewidth of the GaNAs-related peaks was also observed and briefly discussed. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.

Evolution from point defects to arsenic clusters in low-temperature grown GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum wells

Optical transient current spectroscopy (OTCS), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and excitonic electroabsorption spectroscopy have been used to investigate the evolution of defects in the low-temperature grown GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well structures during the postgrowth rapid thermal annealing. The sample was grown at 350 degrees C by molecular beam epitaxy on miscut (3.4 degrees off (001) towards (111)A) (001) GaAs substrate. After growth, the sample was subjected to 30s rapid thermal annealing in the range of 500-800 degrees C. It is found that the integrated PL intensity first decreases with the annealing temperature, then gets a minimum at 600 degrees C and finally recovers at higher temperatures. OTCS measurement shows that besides As,, antisites and arsenic clusters, there are several relatively shallower deep levels with excitation energies less than 0.3 eV in the as-grown and 500 degrees C-annealed samples. Above 600 degrees C, OTCS signals from As,, antisites and shallower deep levels become weaker, indicating the decrease of these defects. It is argued that the excess arsenic atoms group together to form arsenic clusters during annealing. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Quantum confinement of phonon modes in GaAs quantum dots

Phonon modes in spherical GaAs quantum dots (QDs) with up to 11,855 atoms (8 nm in size) are calculated by using an empirical microscopic model. The group theory is employed to reduce the computational intensity, which further allows us to investigate the quantum confinement of phonon modes with different symmetries and reveals a phenomenon that phonon modes with different symmetries have different quantum confinement effect. For zinc-blende structure, the modes with the A(1) symmetry has the strongest quantum confinement effect and the T-1 modes the weakest. This could cause a crossover of symmetries of the highest frequency from A(1) to T-2 when the size of QDs decreases. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd, All rights reserved.

Electron transport through a double-quantum-dot structure with intradot and interdot Coulomb interactions

Electron transport through a double-quantum-dot structure with intradot and interdot Coulomb interactions is studied by a Green's function (GF) approach. The conductance is calculated by a Landauer-Buttiker formula for the interacting systems derived using the nonequilibrium Keldysh formalism and the GF's are solved by the equation-of-motion method. It is shown that the interdot-coupling dependence of the conductance peak splitting matches the recent experimental observations. Also, the breaking of the electron-hole symmetry is numerically demonstrated by the presence of the interdot repulsion. [S0163-1829(99)01640-9].

Spectral properties of a double-quantum-dot structure: A causal Green's function approach

Spectral properties of a double quantum dot (QD) structure are studied by a causal Green's function (GF) approach. The double QD system is modeled by an Anderson-type Hamiltonian in which both the intra- and interdot Coulomb interactions are taken into account. The GF's are derived by an equation-of-motion method and the real-space renormalization-group technique. The numerical results show that the average occupation number of electrons in the QD exhibits staircase features and the local density of states depends appreciably on the electron occupation of the dot.

Room temperature operation of photonic-crystal distributed-feedback quantum cascade lasers with single longitudinal and lateral mode performance

We demonstrate room temperature operation of photonic-crystal distributed-feedback quantum cascade lasers emitting at 4.7 mu m. A rectangular photonic crystal lattice perpendicular to the cleaved facet was defined using holographic lithography. The anticrossing of the index- and Bragg-guided dispersions of rectangular lattice forms the band-edge mode with extended mode volume and reduced group velocity. Utilizing this coupling mechanism, single mode operation with a near-diffractive-limited divergence angle of 12 degrees is obtained for 33 mu m wide devices in a temperature range of 85-300 K. The reduced threshold current densities and improved heat dissipation management contribute to the realization of devices' room temperature operation.

Magnetic frustration induced quantum phase transitions in the S=1/2 vertically asymmetric diamond chain

This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) grant No. G2009CB929300 and the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos. 60521001 and 60776061.

Dynamics of Cavity Polaritons in a GaAs Quantum-well Semiconductor Microcavity

To provide the dynamics of cavity polariton in semiconductor microcavity containing GaAs quantum-well, the dispersions of the three cavity polaritons have been given by the model of three coupled oscillators, meanwhile the linewidths, group velocities and the mass of the three cavity polaritons have been demonstrated. The results indicated that because of the weight occupied by the photon, heavy hole exciton and light hole extiton in the three cavity ploariton the cavity polaritons exhibited different dynamic behaviors.

The Reasons for Ligand-Dependent Quantum Yields and Absorption Spectrum of Four Polypyridylruthenium(II) Complexes with a Tetrazolate-Based Ligand: TDDFT Study

The quantum yield, lifetime, and absorption spectrum of four [Ru(bpy)(2)L](+) [where bpy is 2,2'-bipyridyl; L is represented by the deprotonated form of 2-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)pyridine (L1) or 2-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)pyrazine (L2)], as well as their methylated complexes [Ru(bpy)(2)LMe](2+) (RuL1Me and RuL2Me) are closely ligand dependent. In this paper, density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) were performed to compare the above properties among these complexes. The calculated results reveal that the replacement of pyridine by pyrazine or the attachment of a CH3 group to the tetrazolate ring greatly increases the pi-accepting ability of the ancillary ligands.

Theory of elasticity and electric polarization effects in the group-III nitrides

In this work, the properties of strained tetrahedrally bonded materials are explored theoretically, with special focus on group-III nitrides. In order to do so, a multiscale approach is taken: accurate quantitative calculations of material properties are carried out in a quantum first-principles frame, for small systems. These properties are then extrapolated and empirical methods are employed to make predictions for larger systems, such as alloys or nanostructures. We focus our attention on elasticity and electric polarization in semiconductors. These quantities serve as input for the calculation of the optoelectronic properties of these systems. Regarding the methods employed, our first-principles calculations use highly- accurate density functional theory (DFT) within both standard Kohn-Sham and generalized (hybrid functional) Kohn-Sham approaches. We have developed our own empirical methods, including valence force field (VFF) and a point-dipole model for the calculation of local polarization and local polarization potential. Our local polarization model gives insight for the first time to local fluctuations of the electric polarization at an atomistic level. At the continuum level, we have studied composition-engineering optimization of nitride nanostructures for built-in electrostatic field reduction, and have developed a highly efficient hybrid analytical-numerical staggered-grid computational implementation of continuum elasticity theory, that is used to treat larger systems, such as quantum dots.

Synthesis, characterisation and applications of group IV nanocrystals

Group IV materials such as silicon nanocrystals (Si NCs) and carbon quantum dots (CQDs) have received great attention as new functional materials with unique physical/chemical properties that are not found in the bulk material. This thesis reports the synthesis and characterisation of both types of nanocrystal and their application as fluorescence probes for the detection of metal ions. In chapter 2, a simple method is described for the size controlled synthesis of Si NCs within inverse micelles having well defined core diameters ranging from 2 to 6 nm using inert atmospheric synthetic methods. In addition, ligands with different molecular structures were utilised to reduce inter-nanocrystal attraction forces and improve the stability of the NC dispersions in water and a variety of organic solvents. Regulation of the Si NCs size is achieved by variation of the surfactants and addition rates, resulting high quality NCs with standard deviations (σ = Δd/d) of less than 10 %. Large scale production of highly mondisperse Si NC was also successfully demonstrated. In chapter 3, a simple solution phase synthesis of size monodisperse carbon quantum dots (CQDs) using a room temperature microemulsion strategy is demonstrated. The CQDs are synthesized in reverse micelles via the reduction of carbon tetrachloride using a hydride reducing agent. CQDs may be functionalised with covalently attached alkyl or amine monolayers, rendering the CQDs dispersible in wide range of polar or non-polar solvents. Regulation of the CQDs size was achieved by utilizing hydride reducing agents of different strengths. The CQDs possess a high photoluminescence quantum yield in the visible region and exhibit excellent photostability. In chapter 4, a simple and rapid assay for detection of Fe3+ ions was developed, based on quenching of the strong blue-green Si NC photoluminescence. The detection method showed a high selectivity, with only Fe3+ resulting in strong quenching of the fluorescence signal. No quenching of the fluorescence signal was induced by Fe2+ ions, allowing for solution phase discrimination between the same ion in different charge states. The optimised sensor system showed a sensitive detection range from 25- 900 μM and a limit of detection of 20.8 μM

Conductance of quantum impurity models from quantum monte carlo

The conductance of two Anderson impurity models, one with twofold and another with fourfold degeneracy, representing two types of quantum dots, is calculated using a world-line quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) method. Extrapolation of the imaginary time QMC data to zero frequency yields the linear conductance, which is then compared to numerical renormalization-group results in order to assess its accuracy. We find that the method gives excellent results at low temperature (T TK) throughout the mixed-valence and Kondo regimes but it is unreliable for higher temperature. © 2010 The American Physical Society.

Ultrafast coherent control and quantum encoding of molecular vibrations in D2+ using intense laser pulses

Intense, few-femtosecond pulse technology has enabled studies of the fastest vibrational relaxation processes. The hydrogen group vibrations can be imaged and manipulated using intense infrared pulses. Through numerical simulation, we demonstrate an example of ultrafast coherent control that could be effected with current experimental facilities, and observed using high-resolution time-of-flight spectroscopy. The proposal is a pump-probe-type technique to manipulate the D2+ ion with ultrashort pulse sequences. The simulations presented show that vibrational selection can be achieved through pulse delay. We find that the vibrational system can be purified to a two-level system thus realizing a vibrational qubit. A novel scheme for the selective transfer of population between these two levels, based on a Raman process and conditioned upon the delay time of a second control-pulse is outlined, and may enable quantum encoding with this system.