220 research outputs found
Transport Length Scales in Disordered Graphene-based Materials: Strong Localization Regimes and Dimensionality Effects
We report on a numerical study of quantum transport in disordered two
dimensional graphene and graphene nanoribbons. By using the Kubo and the
Landauer approaches, transport length scales in the diffusive (mean free path,
charge mobilities) and localized regimes (localization lengths) are computed,
assuming a short range disorder (Anderson-type). In agreement with localization
scaling theory, the electronic systems are found to undergo a conventional
Anderson localization in the zero temperature limit. Localization lengths in
weakly disordered ribbons are found to differ by two orders of magnitude
depending on their edge symmetry, but always remain several orders of magnitude
smaller than those computed for 2D graphene for the same disorder strength.
This pinpoints the role of transport dimensionality and edge effects.Comment: 4 pages, Phys. rev. Lett. (in press
Quantum Communication with Quantum Dot Spins
Single electron spins in quantum dots are attractive for quantum
communication because of their expected long coherence times. We propose a
method to create entanglement between two remote spins based on the coincident
detection of two photons emitted by the dots. Local nodes of several qubits can
be realized using the dipole-dipole interaction between trions in neighboring
dots and spectral addressing, allowing the realization of quantum repeater
protocols. We have performed a detailed feasibility study of our proposal based
on tight-binding calculations of quantum dot properties.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, new and improved version, explicit performance
estimate
Boron and nitrogen codoping effect on transport properties of carbon nanotubes
International audienceThis paper reports a theoretical study of the effect of boron and nitrogen codoping on the transport properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) at the mesoscopic scale. A new tight-binding parametrization has been set up, based on density functional theory calculations, that enables a reliable description of the electronic structure of realistic BN-doped CNTs. With this model, we have carried out a deep analysis of the electronic mean free path (MFP) exhibited by these nanostructures. The MFP is highly sensitive to the geometry of the scattering centers. We report that the relative distance between B and N atoms in the network influences drastically the electronic conduction. Moreover, we point out that the scattering induced by small hexagonal BN domains in the carbon network is less important than the BN-pair case
Electronic structures of free-standing nanowires made from indirect bandgap semiconductor gallium phosphide
We present a theoretical study of the electronic structures of freestanding
nanowires made from gallium phosphide (GaP)--a III-V semiconductor with an
indirect bulk bandgap. We consider [001]-oriented GaP nanowires with square and
rectangular cross sections, and [111]-oriented GaP nanowires with hexagonal
cross sections. Based on tight binding models, both the band structures and
wave functions of the nanowires are calculated. For the [001]-oriented GaP
nanowires, the bands show anti-crossing structures, while the bands of the
[111]-oriented nanowires display crossing structures. Two minima are observed
in the conduction bands, while the maximum of the valence bands is always at
the -point. Using double group theory, we analyze the symmetry
properties of the lowest conduction band states and highest valence band states
of GaP nanowires with different sizes and directions. The band state wave
functions of the lowest conduction bands and the highest valence bands of the
nanowires are evaluated by spatial probability distributions. For practical
use, we fit the confinement energies of the electrons and holes in the
nanowires to obtain an empirical formula.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figure
Hole weak anti-localization in a strained-Ge surface quantum well
We report a magneto-transport study of a two-dimensional hole gas confined to a strained Ge quantum well grown on a relaxed Si0.2Ge0.8 virtual substrate. The conductivity of the hole gas measured as a function of a perpendicular magnetic field exhibits a zero-field peak resulting from weak anti-localization. The peak develops and becomes stronger upon increasing the hole density by means of a top gate electrode. This behavior is consistent with a Rashba-type spin-orbit coupling whose strength is proportional to the perpendicular electric field and hence to the carrier density. In the low-density, the single-subband regime, by fitting the weak anti-localization peak to an analytic model, we extract the characteristic transport time scales and a spin splitting energy ΔSO∼ΔSO∼ 1 meV. Tight-binding calculations show that ΔSO is dominated by a cubic term in the in-plane wave vector. Finally, we observe a weak anti-localization peak also for magnetic fields parallel to the quantum well and associate this finding to an effect of intersubband scattering induced by interface defects
Tunable hole spin-photon interaction based on g-matrix modulation
We consider a spin circuit-QED device where a superconducting microwave
resonator is capacitively coupled to a single hole confined in a semiconductor
quantum dot. Thanks to the strong spin-orbit coupling intrinsic to valence-band
states, the gyromagnetic g-matrix of the hole can be modulated electrically.
This modulation couples the photons in the resonator to the hole spin. We show
that the applied gate voltages and the magnetic-field orientation enable a
versatile control of the spin-photon interaction, whose character can be
switched from fully transverse to fully longitudinal. The longitudinal coupling
is actually maximal when the transverse one vanishes and vice-versa. This
"reciprocal sweetness" results from geometrical properties of the g-matrix and
protects the spin against dephasing or relaxation. We estimate coupling rates
reaching ~ 10 MHz in realistic settings and discuss potential circuit-QED
applications harnessing either the transverse or the longitudinal spin-photon
interaction. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the g-matrix curvature can be
used to achieve parametric longitudinal coupling with enhanced coherence
Model for the on-site matrix elements of the tight-binding hamiltonian of a strained crystal: Application to silicon, germanium and their alloys
We discuss a model for the on-site matrix elements of the sp3d5s*
tight-binding hamiltonian of a strained diamond or zinc-blende crystal or
nanostructure. This model features on-site, off-diagonal couplings between the
s, p and d orbitals, and is able to reproduce the effects of arbitrary strains
on the band energies and effective masses in the full Brillouin zone. It
introduces only a few additional parameters and is free from any ambiguities
that might arise from the definition of the macroscopic strains as a function
of the atomic positions. We apply this model to silicon, germanium and their
alloys as an illustration. In particular, we make a detailed comparison of
tight-binding and ab initio data on strained Si, Ge and SiGe.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Bright single-photon sources in bottom-up tailored nanowires
The ability to achieve near-unity light extraction efficiency is necessary
for a truly deterministic single photon source. The most promising method to
reach such high efficiencies is based on embedding single photon emitters in
tapered photonic waveguides defined by top-down etching techniques. However,
light extraction efficiencies in current top-down approaches are limited by
fabrication imperfections and etching induced defects. The efficiency is
further tempered by randomly positioned off-axis quantum emitters. Here, we
present perfectly positioned single quantum dots on the axis of a tailored
nanowire waveguide using bottom-up growth. In comparison to quantum dots in
nanowires without waveguide, we demonstrate a 24-fold enhancement in the single
photon flux, corresponding to a light extraction efficiency of 42 %. Such high
efficiencies in one-dimensional nanowires are promising to transfer quantum
information over large distances between remote stationary qubits using flying
qubits within the same nanowire p-n junction.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figure
Photoluminescence and photoluminescence excitation studies of lateral size effects in Zn_{1-x}Mn_xSe/ZnSe quantum disc samples of different radii
Quantum disc structures (with diameters of 200 nm and 100 nm) were prepared
from a Zn_{0.72}Mn_{0.28}Se/ZnSe single quantum well structure by electron beam
lithography followed by an etching procedure which combined dry and wet etching
techniques. The quantum disc structures and the parent structure were studied
by photoluminescence and photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy. For the
light-hole excitons in the quantum well region, shifts of the energy positions
are observed following fabrication of the discs, confirming that strain
relaxation occurs in the pillars. The light-hole exciton lines also sharpen
following disc fabrication: this is due to an interplay between strain effects
(related to dislocations) and the lateral size of the discs. A further
consequence of the small lateral sizes of the discs is that the intensity of
the donor-bound exciton emission from the disc is found to decrease with the
disc radius. These size-related effects occur before the disc radius is reduced
to dimensions necessary for lateral quantum confinement to occur but will
remain important when the discs are made small enough to be considered as
quantum dots.Comment: LaTeX2e, 13 pages, 6 figures (epsfig
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