59 research outputs found
Voltage controlled nuclear polarization switching in a single InGaAs quantum dot
Sharp threshold-like transitions between two stable nuclear spin
polarizations are observed in optically pumped individual InGaAs self-assembled
quantum dots embedded in a Schottky diode when the bias applied to the diode is
tuned. The abrupt transitions lead to the switching of the Overhauser field in
the dot by up to 3 Tesla. The bias-dependent photoluminescence measurements
reveal the importance of the electron-tunneling-assisted nuclear spin pumping.
We also find evidence for the resonant LO-phonon-mediated electron
co-tunneling, the effect controlled by the applied bias and leading to the
reduction of the nuclear spin pumping rate.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Phys Rev
Optically tunable nuclear magnetic resonance in a single quantum dot
We report optically detected nuclear magnetic resonance (ODNMR) measurements on small ensembles of nuclear spins in single GaAs quantum dots. Using ODNMR we make direct measurements of the inhomogeneous Knight field from a photoexcited electron which acts on the nuclei in the dot. The resulting shifts of the NMR peak can be optically controlled by varying the electron occupancy and its spin orientation, and lead to strongly asymmetric line shapes at high optical excitation. The all-optical control of the NMR line shape will enable position-selective control of small groups of nuclear spins inside a dot
Overhauser effect in individual InP/GaInP dots
Sizable nuclear spin polarization is pumped in individual InP/GaInP dots in a
wide range of external magnetic fields B_ext=0-5T by circularly polarized
optical excitation. We observe nuclear polarization of up to ~40% at Bext=1.5T
and corresponding to an Overhauser field of ~1.2T. We find a strong feedback of
the nuclear spin on the spin pumping efficiency. This feedback, produced by the
Overhauser field, leads to nuclear spin bi-stability at low magnetic fields of
Bext=0.5-1.5T. We find that the exciton Zeeman energy increases markedly, when
the Overhauser field cancels the external field. This counter-intuitive result
is shown to arise from the opposite contribution of the electron and hole
Zeeman splittings to the total exciton Zeeman energy
Overhauser effect in individual InP/GaInP dots
Sizable nuclear spin polarization is pumped in individual InP/GaInP dots in a
wide range of external magnetic fields B_ext=0-5T by circularly polarized
optical excitation. We observe nuclear polarization of up to ~40% at Bext=1.5T
and corresponding to an Overhauser field of ~1.2T. We find a strong feedback of
the nuclear spin on the spin pumping efficiency. This feedback, produced by the
Overhauser field, leads to nuclear spin bi-stability at low magnetic fields of
Bext=0.5-1.5T. We find that the exciton Zeeman energy increases markedly, when
the Overhauser field cancels the external field. This counter-intuitive result
is shown to arise from the opposite contribution of the electron and hole
Zeeman splittings to the total exciton Zeeman energy
Pumping of nuclear spins by the optical solid effect in a quantum dot
We demonstrate that efficient optical pumping of nuclear spins in
semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) can be achieved by resonant pumping of
optically "forbidden" transitions. This process corresponds to one-to-one
conversion of a photon absorbed by the dot into a polarized nuclear spin, which
also has potential for initialization of hole spin in QDs. Pumping via the
"forbidden" transition is a manifestation of the "optical solid effect", an
optical analogue of the effect previously observed in electron spin resonance
experiments in the solid state. We find that by employing this effect, nuclear
polarization of 65% can be achieved, the highest reported so far in optical
orientation studies in QDs. The efficiency of the spin pumping exceeds that
employing the allowed transition, which saturates due to the low probability of
electron-nuclear spin flip-flop.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Suppression of nuclear spin diffusion at a GaAs/AlGaAs interface measured with a single quantum dot nano-probe
Nuclear spin polarization dynamics are measured in optically pumped
individual GaAs/AlGaAs interface quantum dots by detecting the time-dependence
of the Overhauser shift in photoluminescence (PL) spectra. Long nuclear
polarization decay times of ~ 1 minute have been found indicating inefficient
nuclear spin diffusion from the GaAs dot into the surrounding AlGaAs matrix in
externally applied magnetic field. A spin diffusion coefficient two orders
lower than that previously found in bulk GaAs is deduced.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys Rev
Full coherent control of nuclear spins in an optically pumped single quantum dot
Highly polarized nuclear spins within a semiconductor quantum dot (QD) induce
effective magnetic (Overhauser) fields of up to several Tesla acting on the
electron spin or up to a few hundred mT for the hole spin. Recently this has
been recognized as a resource for intrinsic control of QD-based spin quantum
bits. However, only static long-lived Overhauser fields could be used. Here we
demonstrate fast redirection on the microsecond time-scale of Overhauser fields
of the order of 0.5 T experienced by a single electron spin in an optically
pumped GaAs quantum dot. This has been achieved using full coherent control of
an ensemble of 10^3-10^4 optically polarized nuclear spins by sequences of
short radio-frequency (rf) pulses. These results open the way to a new class of
experiments using rf techniques to achieve highly-correlated nuclear spins in
quantum dots, such as adiabatic demagnetization in the rotating frame leading
to sub-micro K nuclear spin temperatures, rapid adiabatic passage, and spin
squeezing
Nuclear Spin Effects in Semiconductor Quantum Dots
The interaction of an electronic spin with its nuclear environment, an issue known as the central spin problem, has been the subject of considerable attention due to its relevance for spin-based quantum computation using semiconductor quantum dots. Independent control of the nuclear spin bath using nuclear magnetic resonance techniques and dynamic nuclear polarization using the central spin itself offer unique possibilities for manipulating the nuclear bath with significant consequences for the coherence and controlled manipulation of the central spin. Here we review some of the recent optical and transport experiments that have explored this central spin problem using semiconductor quantum dots. We focus on the interaction between nuclear spins and a spin of a single electron or valence-band hole. We also review the experimental techniques as well as the key theoretical ideas and the implications for quantum information science.Physic
Long nuclear spin polarization decay times controlled by optical pumping in individual quantum dots
Nuclear polarization dynamics are measured in the nuclear spin bistability regime in a single optically pumped InGaAs/GaAs quantum dot. The controlling role of nuclear spin diffusion from the dot into the surrounding material is revealed in pump-probe measurements of the nonlinear nuclear spin dynamics. We measure nuclear spin polarization decay times in the range of 0.2-5 s, strongly dependent on the optical pumping time. The long nuclear spin decay arises from polarization of the material surrounding the dot by spin diffusion for long (>5s) pumping times. The time-resolved methods allow the detection of the unstable nuclear polarization state in the bistability regime otherwise undetectable in cw experiments
Quantum key distribution system in standard telecommunications fiber using a short wavelength single-photon source
A demonstration of the principles of quantum key distribution is performed
using a single-photon source in a proof of concept test-bed over a distance of
2 km in standard telecommunications optical fiber. The single-photon source was
an optically-pumped quantum dot in a microcavity emitting at a wavelength of
895 nm. Characterization of the quantum key distribution parameters was
performed at a range of different optical excitation powers. An investigation
of the effect of varying the optical excitation power of the quantum dot
microcavity on the quantum bit error rate and cryptographic key exchange rate
of the system are presented.Comment: Final manuscript version, some grammatical differences from the
published version. 26 pages including 7 figures
- …