Exciton spin-flip rate in quantum dots determined by a modified local density of optical states

The spin-flip rate that couples dark and bright excitons in self-assembled quantum dots is obtained from time-resolved spontaneous emission measurements in a modified local density of optical states. Employing this technique, we can separate effects due to non-radiative recombination and unambiguously record the spin-flip rate. The dependence of the spin-flip rate on emission energy is compared in detail to a recent model from the literature, where the spin flip is due to the combined action of short-range exchange interaction and acoustic phonons. We furthermore observe a surprising enhancement of the spin-flip rate close to a semiconductor-air interface, which illustrates the important role of interfaces for quantum dot based nanophotonic structures. Our work is an important step towards a full understanding of the complex dynamics of quantum dots in nanophotonic structures, such as photonic crystals, and dark excitons are potentially useful for long-lived coherent storage applications.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Large quantum dots with small oscillator strength

We have measured the oscillator strength and quantum efficiency of excitons confined in large InGaAs quantum dots by recording the spontaneous emission decay rate while systematically varying the distance between the quantum dots and a semiconductor-air interface. The size of the quantum dots is measured by in-plane transmission electron microscopy and we find average in-plane diameters of 40 nm. We have calculated the oscillator strength of excitons of that size and predict a very large oscillator strength due to Coulomb effects. This is in stark contrast to the measured oscillator strength, which turns out to be much below the upper limit imposed by the strong confinement model. We attribute these findings to exciton localization in local potential minima arising from alloy intermixing inside the quantum dots.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitte

Coherent spin dynamics of an interwell excitonic gas in GaAs/AlGaAs coupled quantum wells

The spin dynamics of an interwell excitons gas has been investigated in n-i-n GaAs/AlGaAs coupled quantum wells (CQWs). In these heterostructures the electron and the hole are spatially separated in neighboring quantum wells by a narrow AlAs barrier, when an electric field is applied. The time evolution kinetics of the interwell exciton photoluminescence has been measured under resonant excitation of the 1sHH intrawell exciton, using a pulsed tunable laser. The formation of a collective exciton phase in time and the temperature dependence of its spin relaxation rate have been studied. The spin relaxation rate of the interwell excitons is strongly reduced in the collective phase. This observation provides evidence for the coherence of the indirect excitons collective phase at temperatures below a critical $T_c$.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure

Interaction and dephasing of center-of-mass quantized excitons in wide ZnSe/Zn0.94Mg0.06Se quantum wells

We investigate the interaction and dephasing of the excitons in wide ZnSe/Zn0.94Mg0.06Se quantum wells by spectrally resolved, femtosecond four-wave mixing (FWM). Polarization-dependent measurements indicate that excitation-induced dephasing is the dominant FWM process. The biexcitons of the center-of-mass quantized heavy and light hole excitons are observed, showing binding energies of 3.5 meV. We determine the exciton scattering cross sections with incoherent and coherent excitons. The coherent cross section is found to be larger than the incoherent cross section, which is attributed to a stronger Pauli repulsion for coherent excitons. The exciton interaction rates with acoustic and optical phonons are deduced by their temperature dependencies. The acoustic-phonon scattering is found to be strongly reduced in the investigated wide wells due to the reduced accessible phonon wave vector

Stokes and anti-Stokes photoluminescence towards five different In-x(Al0.17Ga0.83)(1-x)As/Al0.17Ga0.83As quantum wells

Stokes and anti-Stokes photoluminescence (AS-PL) has been investigated in a step-graded Inx(Al0.17Ga0.83)1–xAs/Al0.17Ga0.83As quantum-well (QW) heterostructure consisting of five QWs with different x values. Stokes PL spectra of this sample show a significant difference in PL intensity between the wells under indirect excitation conditions due to the existence of competitive resonant and nonresonant capture processes, while they exhibit a rather uniform PL intensity distribution under direct excitation. When the excitation wavelength is tuned to 810 nm for AS-PL detection, it is transparent to the five QWs and thus the photoabsorption can only occur in the GaAs (rear buffer and front cap) layers. It is found that the AS-PL spectra show a similar intensity distribution to the one observed under the indirect excitation. This result means that the AS-PL intensity distribution of the QWs is basically determined by the competitive capture of photoexcited carriers through the thick barriers, generated far from the five wells due to the nonlinear excitation processes in GaAs. ©2005 American Institute of Physic

Theory of Luminescence Spectra of High-Density Electron-Hole Systems: Crossover from Excitonic Bose-Einstein Condenstation to Electron-Hole BCS State

We present a unified theory of luminescence spectra for highly excited semiconductors, which is applicable both to the electron-hole BCS state and to the exciton Bose-Einstein condensate. The crossover behavior between electron-hole BCS state and exciton Bose-Einstein condensate clearly manifests itself in the calculated luminescence spectra. The analysis is based on the Bethe-Salpeter equation combined with the generalized random-phase-approximation, which enables us to consider the multiple Coulomb scattering and the quantum fluctuation associated with the center-of-mass motion of electron-hole pairs. In the crossover regime, the calculated spectra are essentially different from results obtained by the BCS-like mean-field theory and the interacting Boson model. In particular, it is found that the broad spectrum, arising from the recombination of electron-hole BCS state, splits into the P- and P_2-luminescence bands with decreasing the particle density. The dependence of these bands on the carrier density is in good agreement with experiments for highly excited semiconductors.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, To appear in Solid State Communication

Exciton dephasing in ZnSe quantum wires

The homogeneous linewidths of excitons in wet-etched ZnSe quantum wires of lateral sizes down to 23 nm are studied by transient four-wave mixing. The low-density dephasing time is found to increase with decreasing wire width. This is attributed mainly to a reduction of electron-exciton scattering within the wire due to the electron trapping in surface states and exciton localization. The exciton-exciton scattering efficiency, determined by the density dependence of the exciton dephasing, is found to increase with decreasing win width. This is assigned to the reduced phase space in a quasi-one-dimensional system, enhancing the repulsive interaction between excitons due to Pauli blocking

Polarized emission in polariton condensates: Switching in a one-dimensional natural trap versus inversion in two dimensions

We perform polarization resolved spectroscopy of two- and one-dimensional microcavity-polariton condensates, which are formed by exciting the system in the optical parametric oscillator configuration. We observe polarization inversion for linearly polarized pumping parallel to the wire in both the 1D and 2D systems. As the polarization plane of the pump is rotated, the degree of linear polarization of the 2D system oscillates between orthogonal polarizations with the same period as that of the pump. However, the 1D system switches abruptly between two states of high degree of linear polarization with half the period. Two complementary models, based on semiclassical Boltzmann kinetic equations and the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, respectively, obtain an excellent agreement with the experimental results, providing a deep insight into the mechanisms responsible for the polarization switchingThis work was supported by grants FP7 ITNs Clermont4 (235114), Spin-optronics (237252) and INDEX (289968), the Spanish MEC (MAT2011-22997), and CAM (S-2009/ESP-1503