22 research outputs found
Measurement of the spin temperature of optically cooled nuclei and GaAs hyperfine constants in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots
Deep cooling of electron and nuclear spins is equivalent to achieving polarization degrees close to 100% and is a key requirement in solid state quantum information technologies. While polarization of individual nuclear spins in diamond and SiC reaches 99% and beyond, it has been limited to 60-65% for the nuclei in quantum dots. Theoretical models have attributed this limit to formation of coherent "dark" nuclear spin states but experimental verification is lacking, especially due to the poor accuracy of polarization degree measurements. Here we measure the nuclear polarization in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots with high accuracy using a new approach enabled by manipulation of the nuclear spin states with radiofrequency pulses. Polarizations up to 80% are observed - the highest reported so far for optical cooling in quantum dots. This value is still not limited by nuclear coherence effects. Instead we find that optically cooled nuclei are well described within a classical spin temperature framework. Our findings unlock a route for further progress towards quantum dot electron spin qubits where deep cooling of the mesoscopic nuclear spin ensemble is used to achieve long qubit coherence. Moreover, GaAs hyperfine material constants are measured here experimentally for the first time
Charge control in InP/GaInP single quantum dots embedded in Schottky diodes
We demonstrate control by applied electric field of the charge states in
single self-assembled InP quantum dots placed in GaInP Schottky structures
grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. This has been enabled by growth
optimization leading to suppression of formation of large dots uncontrollably
accumulating charge. Using bias- and polarization-dependent
micro-photoluminescence, we identify the exciton multi-particle states and
carry out a systematic study of the neutral exciton state dipole moment and
polarizability. This analysis allows for the characterization of the exciton
wavefunction properties at the single dot level for this type of quantum dots.
Photocurrent measurements allow further characterization of exciton properties
by electrical means, opening new possibilities for resonant excitation studies
for such system.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Effect of the GaAsP shell on optical properties of self-catalyzed GaAs nanowires grown on silicon
We realize growth of self-catalyzed core-shell GaAs/GaAsP nanowires (NWs) on
Si substrates using molecular-beam epitaxy. Transmission electron microscopy
(TEM) of single GaAs/GaAsP NWs confirms their high crystal quality and shows
domination of the zinc-blende phase. This is further confirmed in optics of
single NWs, studied using cw and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL). A
detailed comparison with uncapped GaAs NWs emphasizes the effect of the GaAsP
capping in suppressing the non-radiative surface states: significant PL
enhancement in the core-shell structures exceeding 2000 times at 10K is
observed; in uncapped NWs PL is quenched at 60K whereas single core-shell
GaAs/GaAsP NWs exhibit bright emission even at room temperature. From analysis
of the PL temperature dependence in both types of NW we are able to determine
the main carrier escape mechanisms leading to the PL quench
Electrical control over single hole spins in nanowire quantum dots
Single electron spins in semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are a versatile
platform for quantum information processing, however controlling decoherence
remains a considerable challenge. Recently, hole spins have emerged as a
promising alternative. Holes in III-V semiconductors have unique properties,
such as strong spin-orbit interaction and weak coupling to nuclear spins, and
therefore have potential for enhanced spin control and longer coherence times.
Weaker hyperfine interaction has already been reported in self-assembled
quantum dots using quantum optics techniques. However, challenging fabrication
has so far kept the promise of hole-spin-based electronic devices out of reach
in conventional III-V heterostructures. Here, we report gate-tuneable hole
quantum dots formed in InSb nanowires. Using these devices we demonstrate Pauli
spin blockade and electrical control of single hole spins. The devices are
fully tuneable between hole and electron QDs, enabling direct comparison
between the hyperfine interaction strengths, g-factors and spin blockade
anisotropies in the two regimes