1,578 research outputs found

    Non-exponential spontaneous emission dynamics for emitters in a time-dependent optical cavity

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    We have theoretically studied the effect of deterministic temporal control of spontaneous emission in a dynamic optical microcavity. We propose a new paradigm in light emission: we envision an ensemble of two-level emitters in an environment where the local density of optical states is modified on a time scale shorter than the decay time. A rate equation model is developed for the excited state population of two-level emitters in a time-dependent environment in the weak coupling regime in quantum electrodynamics. As a realistic experimental system, we consider emitters in a semiconductor microcavity that is switched by free-carrier excitation. We demonstrate that a short temporal increase of the radiative decay rate depletes the excited state and drastically increases the emission intensity during the switch time. The resulting time-dependent spontaneous emission shows a distribution of photon arrival times that strongly deviates from the usual exponential decay: A deterministic burst of photons is spontaneously emitted during the switch event.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

    Optimal all-optical switching of a microcavity resonance in the telecom range using the electronic Kerr effect

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    We have switched GaAs/AlAs and AlGaAs/AlAs planar microcavities that operate in the "Original" (O) telecom band by exploiting the instantaneous electronic Kerr effect. We observe that the resonance frequency reversibly shifts within one picosecond. We investigate experimentally and theoretically the role of several main parameters: the material backbone and its electronic bandgap, the pump power, the quality factor, and the duration of the switch pulse. The magnitude of the shift is reduced when the backbone of the central λ\lambda-layer has a greater electronic bandgap; pumping with photon energies near the bandgap resonantly enhances the switched magnitude. Our model shows that the magnitude of the resonance frequency shift depends on the pump pulse duration and is maximized when the duration matches the cavity storage time that is set by the quality factor. We provide the settings for the essential parameters so that the frequency shift of the cavity resonance can be increased to one linewidth

    Development of a dynamic model for ice-on-coil external melt storage systems

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    Ice storage systems are commonly used to balance the intermittency of renewable energy and decrease the peak load by switching to off-peak hours. An adequate model is necessary to predict the behaviour of these systems. However, there is a scarce in detailed models available used to describe the performance of an ice storage evaporator and its use in a refrigeration cycle. Most existing models approximate the working principles with a steady analysis, not considering the sub cooling of ice and thickness distribution along the length. The developed model in this article uses a discretisation in length and radial direction together with an adapted thermal resistance matrix method to limit the calculation time. It has a great variability of boundary conditions and the ability to implement different types of refrigerants. The simulation results are in good agreement with the data of the manufacturer. The model shows that switching from R404A to R449A reduces the total electricity consumption

    Differential ultrafast all-optical switching of the resonances of a micropillar cavity

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    We perform frequency- and time-resolved all-optical switching of a GaAs-AlAs micropillar cavity using an ultrafast pump-probe setup. The switching is achieved by two-photon excitation of free carriers. We track the cavity resonances in time with a high frequency resolution. The pillar modes exhibit simultaneous frequency shifts, albeit with markedly different maximum switching amplitudes and relaxation dynamics. These differences stem from the non-uniformity of the free carrier density in the micropillar, and are well understood by taking into account the spatial distribution of injected free carriers, their spatial diffusion and surface recombination at micropillar sidewalls.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
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