A Low Temperature Nonlinear Optical Rotational Anisotropy Spectrometer for the Determination of Crystallographic and Electronic Symmetries

Nonlinear optical generation from a crystalline material can reveal the symmetries of both its lattice structure and underlying ordered electronic phases and can therefore be exploited as a complementary technique to diffraction based scattering probes. Although this technique has been successfully used to study the lattice and magnetic structures of systems such as semiconductor surfaces, multiferroic crystals, magnetic thin films and multilayers, challenging technical requirements have prevented its application to the plethora of complex electronic phases found in strongly correlated electron systems. These requirements include an ability to probe small bulk single crystals at the micron length scale, a need for sensitivity to the entire nonlinear optical susceptibility tensor, oblique light incidence reflection geometry and incident light frequency tunability among others. These measurements are further complicated by the need for extreme sample environments such as ultra low temperatures, high magnetic fields or high pressures. In this review we present a novel experimental construction using a rotating light scattering plane that meets all the aforementioned requirements. We demonstrate the efficacy of our scheme by making symmetry measurements on a micron scale facet of a small bulk single crystal of Sr$_2$IrO$_4$ using optical second and third harmonic generation.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Optical characterization of ferromagnetic heterostructure *interfaces and thin films

This thesis presents optical characterizations of interfaces in ferromagnetic heterostructures and thin films used for spin polarized electronic devices. In these experiments, femtosecond laser spectroscopies are exploited to investigate the interface magnetization reversal, spin precession, and band offset, which are crucial in determining the performances of spintronic devices.;First, magnetization-induced second-harmonic-generation (MSHG) is applied to study interface magnetism in a hybrid structure containing a noncentrosymmetric semiconductor---Fe/AlGaAs. The reversal process of Fe interface layer magnetization is compared with the bulk magnetization reversal. In Fe/AlGaAs (001), the interface magnetization is found to be decoupled from the bulk magnetization based on the different switching characteristics---single step switching occurs at the interface layer, whereas two-jump switching occurs in the bulk. In contrast, the interface layer in Fe/AlGaAs (110) is rigidly coupled with the bulk Fe, indicating a strong impact of electronic structure on the magnetic interaction despite the same chemical composition. Furthermore, a time-resolved MSHG study demonstrates a coherent interface magnetization precession in Fe/AlGaAs (001), implying the feasibility of fast precessional control of interfacial spin. The interface magnetization precession exhibits a higher frequency and opposite phase for a given applied field compared to the bulk magnetization precession.;Second, uniform magnetization precession in the Lac0.67Ca 0.33MnO3 (LCMO) and La0.67Sr0.33MnO 3 (LSMO) films grown on different substrates are investigated by time-resolved magneto-optic Kerr effect. The parameters of magnetic anisotropy are determined from the field dependence of the precession frequency. The strain-free LCMO films grown on NdGaO3 exhibit a uniaxial in-plane anisotropy induced by the tilting of the oxygen octahedra in NdGaO3 An easy-plane magnetic anisotropy is found in the tensile-strained films grown on SrTiO 3, whereas the compressive-strained film grown on LaAlO3 exhibits an easy normal-to-plane axis.;Third, a table-top internal photoemission system is developed to measure the band offsets across semiconductor heterointerfaces by utilizing an optical parametric amplifier as the bright light source. The conduction band offsets DeltaE c = 660 meV and 530 meV at the CdCr2Se4-GaAs and CdCrZSe4-ZnSe interfaces are determined from the threshold energies of the photocurrent spectrum. The band offset is shown to be reduced by engineering the interface bonding and stoichiometry

Fundamentals and applications of spatial dissipative solitons in photonic devices : [Chapter 6]

We review the properties of optical spatial dissipative solitons (SDS). These are stable, self‐localized optical excitations sitting on a uniform, or quasi‐uniform, background in a dissipative environment like a nonlinear optical cavity. Indeed, in optics they are often termed “cavity solitons.” We discuss their dynamics and interactions in both ideal and imperfect systems, making comparison with experiments. SDS in lasers offer important advantages for applications. We review candidate schemes and the tremendous recent progress in semiconductor‐based cavity soliton lasers. We examine SDS in periodic structures, and we show how SDS can be quantitatively related to the locking of fronts. We conclude with an assessment of potential applications of SDS in photonics, arguing that best use of their particular features is made by exploiting their mobility, for example in all‐optical delay lines

Advances in Optical Amplifiers

Optical amplifiers play a central role in all categories of fibre communications systems and networks. By compensating for the losses exerted by the transmission medium and the components through which the signals pass, they reduce the need for expensive and slow optical-electrical-optical conversion. The photonic gain media, which are normally based on glass- or semiconductor-based waveguides, can amplify many high speed wavelength division multiplexed channels simultaneously. Recent research has also concentrated on wavelength conversion, switching, demultiplexing in the time domain and other enhanced functions. Advances in Optical Amplifiers presents up to date results on amplifier performance, along with explanations of their relevance, from leading researchers in the field. Its chapters cover amplifiers based on rare earth doped fibres and waveguides, stimulated Raman scattering, nonlinear parametric processes and semiconductor media. Wavelength conversion and other enhanced signal processing functions are also considered in depth. This book is targeted at research, development and design engineers from teams in manufacturing industry, academia and telecommunications service operators

BALLISTIC CARRIER TRANSPORT IN SEMICONDUCTORS STUDIED BY ULTRAFAST LASER TECHNIQUES

Abstract Exploring the spin degree of freedom of electrons has been recognized as a promising solution to several limitations in semiconductor device industry. Injection, transport, detection and manipulation of "spin" in materials are the key elements of this new electronic technology, known as spintronics. Despite the extensive efforts in recent years, there are still significant challenges and spintronics is still in the research phase. This dissertation is devoted to study one of these key processes: spin transport. We used quantum interference and control technique to inject spin currents. Two techniques are developed to detect the spin transport, namely a pump probe technique and a second-harmonic generation technique. Spin transport in several materials and structures are studied, including GaAs bulk, quantum wells, and germanium wafers. We observed the intrinsic inverse spin-Hall effect by time-resolving the ballistic spin and charge transport. We found that the Hall current appeared before the first scattering event. We discovered a new nonlinear optical effect, second-harmonic generation, induced by the pure spin current, and demonstrated that it can be used to directly detect pure spin currents. We have also discovered a charge-current-induced second-harmonic generation process, and used it to study plasma oscillation in GaAs. Finally, we also attempted to observe the second harmonic generation induced by spin polarized and spin unpolarized carrier populations. We did not observe a significant change in the observed second harmonic generation induced by spin polarized and spin unpolarized carrier populations