Shortcuts to adiabaticity for trapped ultracold gases

We study, experimentally and theoretically, the controlled transfer of harmonically trapped ultracold gases between different quantum states. In particular we experimentally demonstrate a fast decompression and displacement of both a non-interacting gas and an interacting Bose-Einstein condensate which are initially at equilibrium. The decompression parameters are engineered such that the final state is identical to that obtained after a perfectly adiabatic transformation despite the fact that the fast decompression is performed in the strongly non-adiabatic regime. During the transfer the atomic sample goes through strongly out-of-equilibrium states while the external confinement is modified until the system reaches the desired stationary state. The scheme is theoretically based on the invariants of motion and scaling equations techniques and can be generalized to decompression trajectories including an arbitrary deformation of the trap. It is also directly applicable to arbitrary initial non-equilibrium states.Comment: 36 pages, 14 figure

Optimally robust shortcuts to population inversion in two-level quantum systems

We examine the stability versus different types of perturbations of recently proposed shortcuts-to-adiabaticity to speed up the population inversion of a two-level quantum system. We find optimally robust processes using invariant based engineering of the Hamiltonian. Amplitude noise and systematic errors require different optimal protocols.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figure

Identifying vacancy complexes in compound semiconductors with positron annihilation spectroscopy: a case study of InN

We present a comprehensive study of vacancy and vacancy-impurity complexes in InN combining positron annihilation spectroscopy and ab-initio calculations. Positron densities and annihilation characteristics of common vacancy-type defects are calculated using density functional theory and the feasibility of their experimental detection and distinction with positron annihilation methods is discussed. The computational results are compared to positron lifetime and conventional as well as coincidence Doppler broadening measurements of several representative InN samples. The particular dominant vacancy-type positron traps are identified and their characteristic positron lifetimes, Doppler ratio curves and lineshape parameters determined. We find that In vacancies and their complexes with N vacancies or impurities act as efficient positron traps, inducing distinct changes in the annihilation parameters compared to the InN lattice. Neutral or positively charged N vacancies and pure N vacancy complexes on the other hand do not trap positrons. The predominantly introduced positron trap in irradiated InN is identified as the isolated In vacancy, while in as-grown InN layers In vacancies do not occur isolated but complexed with one or more N vacancies. The number of N vacancies per In vacancy in these complexes is found to increase from the near surface region towards the layer-substrate interface.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Origin of the n-type conductivity of InN: the role of positively charged dislocations

As-grown InN is known to exhibit high unintentional n-type conductivity. Hall measurements from a range of high-quality single-crystalline epitaxially grown InN films reveal a dramatic reduction in the electron density (from low 1019 to low 1017 cm–3) with increasing film thickness (from 50 to 12 000 nm). The combination of background donors from impurities and the extreme electron accumulation at InN surfaces is shown to be insufficient to reproduce the measured film thickness dependence of the free-electron density. When positively charged nitrogen vacancies (VN+) along dislocations are also included, agreement is obtained between the calculated and experimental thickness dependence of the free-electron concentration

Effect of Native Defects on Optical Properties of InxGa1-xN Alloys

The energy position of the optical absorption edge and the free carrier populations in InxGa1-xN ternary alloys can be controlled using high energy 4He+ irradiation. The blue shift of the absorption edge after irradiation in In-rich material (x > 0.34) is attributed to the band-filling effect (Burstein-Moss shift) due to the native donors introduced by the irradiation. In Ga-rich material, optical absorption measurements show that the irradiation-introduced native defects are inside the bandgap, where they are incorporated as acceptors. The observed irradiation-produced changes in the optical absorption edge and the carrier populations in InxGa1-xN are in excellent agreement with the predictions of the amphoteric defect model

Valence band offset of InN/AlN heterojunctions measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

The valence band offset of wurtzite-InN/AlN (0001) heterojunctions is determined by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to be 1.52±0.17 eV. Together with the resulting conduction band offset of 4.0±0.2 eV, a type-I heterojunction forms between InN and AlN in the straddling arrangement

New coherent detector for terahertz radiation based on excitonic electroabsorption

We demonstrate a new technique for the coherent measurement of free‐space THz electrical transients, based on the parallel‐field excitonic electroabsorption effect in GaAs quantum wells. A THz transient generated from a photoconductive dipole antenna is measured with a rise time of 290 fs and a full width at half maximum of 360 fs. The initial rise of the THz wave form is abrupt, and does not display the exponential leading edge apparent in waveforms measured with photoconductive techniques. The detector sensitivity is sub‐100 mV/cm.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70714/2/APPLAB-61-15-1763-1.pd

Compensating point defects in 4He+ -irradiated InN

We use positron annihilation spectroscopy to study 2 MeV 4He+ -irradiated InN grown by molecular-beam epitaxy and GaN grown by metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition. In GaN, the Ga vacancies act as important compensating centers in the irradiated material, introduced at a rate of 3600 cm exp −1. The In vacancies are introduced at a significantly lower rate of 100cm−1, making them negligible in the compensation of the irradiation-induced additional n-type conductivity in InN. On the other hand, negative non-open volume defects are introduced at a rate higher than 2000cm exp −1. These defects are tentatively attributed to interstitial nitrogen and may ultimately limit the free-electron concentration at high irradiation fluences.Peer reviewe

Transition from electron accumulation to depletion at InGaN surfaces

The composition dependence of the Fermi-level pinning at the oxidized (0001) surfaces of n-type InxGa1−xN films (0<=x<=1) is investigated using x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. The surface Fermi-level position varies from high above the conduction band minimum (CBM) at InN surfaces to significantly below the CBM at GaN surfaces, with the transition from electron accumulation to depletion occurring at approximately x=0.3. The results are consistent with the composition dependence of the band edges with respect to the charge neutrality level