Magnetic field control of photon echo in the electron-trion system: Shuffling of coherences between optically accessible and inaccessible states

We report on magnetic field induced oscillations of the photon echo signal from negatively charged excitons in a CdTe/(Cd,Mg)Te semiconductor quantum well. The oscillatory signal is due to Larmor precession of the electron spin about a transverse magnetic field and depends sensitively on the polarization configuration of the exciting and refocusing pulses. The echo amplitude can be fully tuned from maximum down to zero depending on the time delay between the two pulses and the magnetic field strength. The results are explained in terms of the optical Bloch equations accounting for the spin level structure of electron and trion.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

Ultrafast optical rotations of electron spins in quantum dots

Coherent manipulation of quantum bits (qubits) on time scales much shorter than the coherence time is a key prerequisite for quantum information processing. Electron spins in quantum dots (QDs) are particularly attractive for implementations of qubits. Efficient optical methods for initialization and readout of spins have been developed in recent years. Spin coherence times in the microsecond range have been demonstrated, so that spin control by picosecond optical pulses would be highly desirable. Then a large number of spin rotations could be performed while coherence is maintained. A major remaining challenge is demonstration of such rotations with high fidelity. Here we use an ensemble of QD electron spins focused into a small number of precession modes about a magnetic field by periodic optical pumping. We demonstrate ultrafast optical rotations of spins about arbitrary axes on a picosecond time scale using laser pulses as control fields.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Сравнение результатов оптических и электрофизических измерений концентрации свободных электронов в образцах n-GaAs, легированных теллуром

A theoretical model has been developed that allows one to determine free electron density in n-GaAs from the characteristic points on far-infrared reflection spectra. It was shown that, in this case, it is necessary to take into account the plasmon-phonon coupling (otherwise, the electron density is overestimated). The calculated dependence of electron density, Nopt, on the characteristic wave number, ν+, which is described by a second degree polynomial, has been obtained.Twenty-five tellurium-doped gallium arsenide samples were used to measure the electron density in two ways: according to traditional four-contact Hall method (Van der Pauw method) and using the optical method we developed (measurements were carried out at room temperature). Based on the experimental results, the dependence was constructed of the electron density values obtained from the Hall data, NHall, on the electron density obtained by the optical method, Nopt. It is shown that this dependence is described by linear function. It is established that the data of optical and electrophysical measurements coincide if the electron density is Neq = 1.07 ⋅ 1018 cm-3, for lower values of the Hall density NHall < Nopt, and for large values NHall > Nopt. A qualitative model is proposed to explain the results. It has been suggested that tellurium atoms bind to vacancies of arsenic into complexes, as a result of which the electron density decreases. On the surface of the crystal, the concentration of arsenic vacancies is lower and, therefore, the condition Nopt > NHall should be satisfied. As the doping level increases, more and more tellurium atoms remain electrically active, so electron density in the volume begins to prevail over the surface one. However, with a further increase in the doping level, the ratio NHall/Nopt again decreases, tending to unity. This, probably, is due to the fact that the rate of decomposition of the complexes “tellurium atom + arsenic vacancy” decreases with increasing doping level.Разработана теоретическая модель, позволяющая определять концентрацию свободных электронов в n-GaAs по характеристическим точкам на спектрах отражения в дальней инфракрасной области. Показано что при этом необходимо учитывать плазмон-фононное взаимодействие (в противном случае значение концентрации электронов оказывается завышенным). Получена расчетная зависимость концентрации электронов Nопт от характеристического волнового числа ν+, которая описывается полиномом второй степени.На двадцати пяти образцах арсенида галлия, легированных теллуром, проведены измерения концентрации электронов двумя способами: по традиционной четырехконтактной методике (метод Ван дер Пау) и с помощью разработанного авторами оптического метода (измерения проводились при комнатной температуре). По результатам экспериментов построена зависимость значений концентрации электронов, полученных из холловских данных, Nхолл от значений концентрации электронов, полученных оптическим методом, Nопт. Показано, что эта зависимость описывается линейной функцией. Установлено, что данные оптических и электрофизических измерений совпадают, если концентрация электронов равна Nравн = 1,07 ⋅ 1018 см-3. При меньших значениях холловской концентрации Nхолл < Nопт, а при больших — Nхолл > Nопт. Предложена качественная модель, объясняющая полученные результаты. Высказано предположение, что атомы теллура связываются с вакансиями мышьяка в комплексы, вследствие чего концентрация электронов уменьшается. На поверхности кристалла концентрация вакансий мышьяка меньше и, следовательно, должно выполняться условие Nопт > Nхолл. По мере увеличения уровня легирования все больше атомов теллура остается электрически активными, поэтому концентрация электронов в объеме начинает превалировать над поверхностной концентрацией. Однако при дальнейшем увеличении уровня легирования отношение Nхолл/Nопт опять убывает, стремясь к единице. Это, по-видимому, связано с тем, что интенсивность распада комплексов «атом теллура + вакансия мышьяка» при увеличении уровня легирования уменьшается

High-Resolution Two-Dimensional Optical Spectroscopy of Electron Spins

Multidimensional coherent optical spectroscopy is one of the most powerful tools for investigating complex quantum mechanical systems. While it was conceived decades ago in magnetic resonance spectroscopy using microwaves and radio waves, it has recently been extended into the visible and UV spectral range. However, resolving MHz energy splittings with ultrashort laser pulses still remains a challenge. Here, we analyze two-dimensional Fourier spectra for resonant optical excitation of resident electrons to localized trions or donor-bound excitons in semiconductor nanostructures subject to a transverse magnetic field. Particular attention is devoted to Raman coherence spectra, which allow one to accurately evaluate tiny splittings of the electron ground state and to determine the relaxation times in the electron spin ensemble. A stimulated steplike Raman process induced by a sequence of two laser pulses creates a coherent superposition of the ground-state doublet which can be retrieved only optically because of selective excitation of the same subensemble with a third pulse. This provides the unique opportunity to distinguish between different complexes that are closely spaced in energy in an ensemble. The related experimental demonstration is based on photon-echo measurements in an n-type CdTe/(Cd,Mg)Te quantum-well structure detected by a heterodyne technique. The difference in the sub-μeV range between the Zeeman splittings of donor-bound electrons and electrons localized at potential fluctuations can be resolved even though the homogeneous linewidth of the optical transitions is larger by 2 orders of magnitude