Search SciRate

We analyze fluctuation of the layer thicknesses and its influence on the strain state of (In,Ga)As/(Al,Ga)As micro-tubes containing quantum well structures. In those structures a curved high-mobility two-dimensional electron gas (HM2DEG) is established. The layer thickness fluctuation studied by atomic force microscopy, x-ray scattering, and spatially resolved cathodoluminescence spectroscopy occurs on two different lateral length scales. On the shorter length scale of about 0.01~$\mu$m, we found from atomic force micrographs and the broadening of the satellite maxima in x-ray diffraction curves a very small value of the mean square roughness of 0.1~nm. However, on a longer length scale of about 1.0~$\mu$m, step bunching during epitaxial growth resulted in layer thickness inhomogeneities of up to 2~nm. The resulting fluctuation of the strain in the micro-tubes leads to a local variation of the chemical potential, which results in the fluctuation of the carrier density as well. This leads to a phase cancelation of the Shubnikov-de-Haas oscillations in the curved HM2DEG and a reduction of the single-electron scattering time, while the electron mobility in the structures remains high. The estimated fluctuation of the carrier density agrees well with the energy fluctuation measured in the cathodoluminescence spectra of the free-electron transition of the quantum well.

We show by spatially and time-resolved photoluminescence that the application of an electric field transverse to the plane of an intrinsic GaAs (111) quantum well (QW) allows the transport of photogenerated electron spins polarized along the direction perpendicular to the QW plane over distances exceeding 10~$\mu$m. We attribute the long spin transport lengths to the compensation of the in-plane effective magnetic field related to the intrinsic spin-orbit (SO) interaction by means of the electrically generated SO-field. Away from SO-compensation, the precession of the spin vector around the SO-field decreases the out-of-plane polarization of the spin ensemble as the electrons move away from the laser generation spot. The results are reproduced by a model for two-dimensional drift-diffusion of spin polarized charge carriers under weak SO-interaction.

Intra Landau level thermal activation, from localized states in the tail, to delocalized states above the mobility edge in the same Landau level, explains the $B_c(T)$ (half width of the dissipationless state) phase diagram for a number of different quantum Hall samples with widely ranging carrier density, mobility and disorder. Good agreement is achieved over $2-3$ orders of magnitude in temperature and magnetic field for a wide range of filling factors. The Landau level width is found to be independent of magnetic field. The mobility edge moves, in the case of changing Landau level overlap to maintain a sample dependent critical density of states at that energy. An analysis of filling factor $\nu=2/3$ shows that the composite Fermion Landau levels have exactly the same width as their electron counterparts. An important ingredient of the model is the Lorentzian broadening with long tails which provide localized states deep in the gap which are essential in order to reproduce the robust high temperature $B_c(T)$ phase observed in experiment.

We report on the coherent control and transport of indirect exciton (IX) spins in GaAs double quantum well (DQW) nanostructures. The spin dynamics was investigated by optically generating spins using a focused, circularly polarized light spot and by probing their spatial distribution using spatially and polarization resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy. Optically injected exciton spins precess while diffusing over distances exceeding 20 \mum from the excitation spot with a spatial precession frequency that depends on the spin transport direction as well as on the bias applied across the DQW structure. This behavior is attributed to the spin precession in the effective magnetic field induced by the spin-orbit interaction. From the dependence of the spin dynamics on the transport direction, bias and external magnetic fields we directly determined the Dresselhaus and Rashba spin splitting coefficients for the structure. The precession dynamics is essentially independent on the IX density, thus indicating that the long spin lifetimes are not associated with IX collective effects. The latter, together with the negligible contribution of holes to the spin dynamics, are rather attributed to spatial separation of the electron and hole wave functions by the electric field, which reduces the electron-hole exchange interaction. Coherent spin precession over long transport distances as well as the control of the spin vector using electric and magnetic fields open the way for the application of IX spins in the quantum information processing.

Semiconductor microcavities operating in the polaritonic regime are highly non-linear, high speed systems due to the unique half-light, half-matter nature of polaritons. Here, we report for the first time the observation of propagating multi-soliton polariton patterns consisting of multi-peak structures either along (x) or perpendicular to (y) the direction of propagation. Soliton arrays of up to 5 solitons are observed, with the number of solitons controlled by the size or power of the triggering laser pulse. The break-up along the x direction occurs due to interplay of bistability, negative effective mass and polariton-polariton scattering, while in the y direction the break-up results from nonlinear phase-dependent interactions of propagating fronts. We show the experimental results are in good agreement with numerical modelling. Our observations are a step towards ultrafast all-optical signal processing using sequences of solitons as bits of information.

Excitons, quasi-particles consisting of electron-hole pairs bound by the Coulomb interaction, are a potential medium for processing of photonic information in the solid-state. Information processing via excitons requires efficient techniques for the transport and manipulation of these uncharged particles. We introduce here a novel concept for the interconnection of multiple remote exciton systems based on the long-range transport of dipolar excitons by a network of configurable interconnects driven by acoustic wave beams. By combining this network with electrostatic gates, we demonstrate an integrated exciton multiplexer capable of interconnecting, gating and routing exciton systems separated by millimeter distances. The multiplexer provides a scalable platform for the manipulation of exciton fluids with potential applications in information processing.

We report on the modulation of indirect excitons (IXs) as well as their transport by moving periodic potentials produced by surface acoustic waves (SAWs). The potential modulation induced by the SAW strain modifies both the band gap and the electrostatic field in the quantum wells confining the IX, leading to changes in their energy. In addition, this potential capture and transports IXs over several hundreds of \mum. While the IX packets keep to a great extent their spatial shape during transport by the moving potential, the effective transport velocity is lower than the SAW group velocity and increases with the SAW amplitude. This behavior is attributed to the capture of IXs by traps along the transport path, thereby increasing the IX transit time. The experimental results are well-reproduced by an analytical model for the interaction between trapping centers and IXs during transport.

Polariton condensates are investigated in periodical potentials created by surface acoustic waves using both resonant and non-resonant optical excitation. Under resonant pumping condensates are formed due to polariton parametric scattering from the pump. In this case the single particle dispersion in the presence of the condensate shows a strong reduction of the energy gap arising from the acoustic modulation, indicating efficient screening of the surface acoustic wave potential by spatial modulation of the polariton density. The observed results are in good agreement with a model based on generalised Gross-Pitaveskii equations with account taken of the spatial dependence of the exciton energy landscape. In the case of incoherent, non-resonant pumping coexisting non-equilibrium condensates with s- and p- type wavefunctions are observed, which have different energies, symmetry and spatial coherence. The energy splitting between these condensate states is also reduced with respect to the gap of the one particle spectrum below threshold, but the screening effect is less pronounced than in the case of resonantly pumped system due to weaker modulation of the pump state.

Microcavity polaritons are composite half-light half-matter quasi-particles, which have recently been demonstrated to exhibit rich physical properties, such as non-equilibrium Bose-Einstein condensation, parametric scattering and superfluidity. At the same time, polaritons have some important advantages over photons for information processing applications, since their excitonic component leads to weaker diffraction and stronger inter-particle interactions, implying, respectively, tighter localization and lower powers for nonlinear functionality. Here we present the first experimental observations of bright polariton solitons in a strongly coupled semiconductor microcavity. The polariton solitons are shown to be non-diffracting high density wavepackets, that are strongly localised in real space with a corresponding broad spectrum in momentum space. Unlike solitons known in other matter-wave systems such as Bose condensed ultracold atomic gases, they are non-equilibrium and rely on a balance between losses and external pumping. Microcavity polariton solitons are excited on picosecond timescales, and thus have significant benefits for ultrafast switching and transfer of information over their light only counterparts, semiconductor cavity lasers (VCSELs), which have only nanosecond response time.

We report low-temperature transport measurements of three-terminal T-shaped device patterned from GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure. We demonstrate the mode branching and bend resistance effects predicted by numerical modeling for linear conductance data. We show also that the backscattering at the junction area depends on the wave function parity. We find evidence that in a non-linear transport regime the voltage of floating electrode always increases as a function of push-pull polarization. Such anomalous effect occurs for the symmetric device, provided the applied voltage is less than the Fermi energy in equilibrium.

Precise absolute far-infra-red magneto-transmission experiments have been performed in magnetic fields up to 33 T on a series of single GaAs quantum wells doped at different levels. The transmission spectra have been simulated with a multilayer dielectric model. The imaginary part of the optical response function which reveals new singular features related to the electron-phonon interactions has been extracted. In addition to the expected polaronic effects due to the longitudinal optical (LO) phonon of GaAs, a new kind of carrier concentration dependent interaction with interface phonons is observed. A simple physical model is used to try to quantify these interactions and explore their origin.

The quantum Hall effect is investigated in a high-mobility two-dimensional electron gas on the surface of a cylinder. The novel topology leads to a spatially varying filling factor along the current path. The resulting inhomogeneous current-density distribution gives rise to additional features in the magneto-transport, such as resistance asymmetry and modified longitudinal resistances. We experimentally demonstrate that the asymmetry relations satisfied in the integer filling factor regime are valid also in the transition regime to non-integer filling factors, thereby suggesting a more general form of these asymmetry relations. A model is developed based on the screening theory of the integer quantum Hall effect that allows the self-consistent calculation of the local electron density and thereby the local current density including the current along incompressible stripes. The model, which also includes the so-called `static skin effect' to account for the current density distribution in the compressible regions, is capable of explaining the main experimental observations. Due to the existence of an incompressible-compressible transition in the bulk, the system behaves always metal-like in contrast to the conventional Landauer-Buettiker description, in which the bulk remains completely insulating throughout the quantized Hall plateau regime.

Long coherence lifetimes of electron spins transported using moving potential dots are shown to result from the mesoscopic confinement of the spin vector. The confinement dimensions required for spin control are governed by the characteristic spin-orbit length of the electron spins, which must be larger than the dimensions of the dot potential. We show that the coherence lifetime of the electron spins is independent of the local carrier densities within each potential dot and that the precession frequency, which is determined by the Dresselhaus contribution to the spin-orbit coupling, can be modified by varying the sample dimensions resulting in predictable changes in the spin-orbit length and, consequently, in the spin coherence lifetime.

In a recent paper [B. A. Piot et al., Phys. Rev. B 72, 245325 (2005)], we have shown that the lifting of the electron spin degeneracy in the integer quantum Hall effect at high filling factors should be interpreted as a magnetic-field-induced Stoner transition. In this work, we extend the analysis to investigate the influence of the single-particle Zeeman energy on the quantum Hall ferromagnet at high filling factors. The single-particle Zeeman energy is tuned through the application of an additional in-plane magnetic field. Both the evolution of the spin polarization of the system and the critical magnetic field for spin splitting are well described as a function of the tilt angle of the sample in the magnetic field.

We have fabricated high-mobility, two-dimensional electron gases in a GaAs quantum well on cylindrical surfaces, which allows to investigate the magnetotransport behavior under varying magnetic fields along the current path. A strong asymmetry in the quantum Hall effect appears for measurements on both sides of the conductive path. We determined the strain at the position of the quantum well. We observe ballistic transport in 8-micrometers-wide collimating structures.

A giant asymmetry in the magnetoresistance was revealed in high-mobility, two-dimensional electron gas on a cylindrical surface. The longitudinal resistance along the magnetic-field gradient impressed by the surface curvature was found to vanish if measured along one of the edges of the curved Hall bar. If the external magnetic field is reversed, then the longitudinal resistance vanishes at the opposite edge of the Hall bar. This asymmetry is analyzed quantitatively in terms of the Landauer-Buettiker formalism.

We perform Young's double-slit experiment to study the spatial coherence properties of a two-dimensional dynamic condensate of semiconductor microcavity polaritons. The coherence length of the system is measured as a function of the pump rate, which confirms a spontaneous buildup of macroscopic coherence in the condensed phase. An independent measurement reveals that the position and momentum uncertainty product of the condensate is close to the Heisenberg limit. An experimental realization of such a minimum uncertainty wave packet of the polariton condensate opens a door to coherent matter-wave phenomena such as Josephson oscillation, superfluidity, and solitons in solid state condensate systems.

Photoluminescence measurements were carried out on Be $\delta$-doped GaAs/Al$_{0.33}$Ga$_{0.67}$As heterostructure at 1.6 K in magnetic fields ($B$) up to 5 T. Luminescence originating from recombination of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) and photo excited holes localized on Be acceptors was analyzed. The degree of circular polarization ($\gamma_C$) of the luminescence from fully occupied Landau levels was determined as a function of $B$ and the 2DEG concentration, $n_s$. At $B$ constant, $\gamma_C$ decreased with the increase of $n_s$. Two mechanisms of the $\gamma_C(n_s)$ dependence are discussed: a) the Stark effect on a photo excited hole bound to Be acceptor and b) the in-plane anisotropy of the intensity of optical transitions. A quantitative analysis shows that the influence of the Stark effect on $\gamma_C$ is negligible in the present experiment. We propose that the $\gamma_C(n_s)$ dependence results from the $C_{2v}$ symmetry of conduction band electron wavefunctions and we give qualitative arguments supporting this interpretation.

We report the experimental study of resonant Rayleigh scattering in GaAs-AlGaAs superlattices with ordered and intentionally disordered potential profiles (correlated and uncorrelated) in the growth direction z. We show that the intentional disorder along z modify markedly the energy dispersion of the dephasing rates of the excitons. The application of an external magnetic field in the same direction allows the continuous tuning of the in plane exciton localization and to study the interplay between the in plane and vertical disorder.

Experimental results on the absolute magneto-transmission of a series of high density, high mobility GaAs quantum wells are compared with the predictions of a recent magnetoplasmon theory for values of the filling factor above 2. We show that the magnetoplasmon picture can explain the non-linear features observed in the magnetic field evolution of the cyclotron resonance energies and of the absorption oscillator strength. This provides experimental evidence that inter Landau level excitations probed by infrared spectroscopy need to be considered as many body excitations in terms of magnetoplasmons: this is especially true when interpreting the oscillator strengths of the cyclotron transitions.

We study the momentum distribution and relaxation dynamics of semiconductor microcavity polaritons by angle-resolved and time-resolved spectroscopy. Above a critical pump level, the thermalization time of polaritons at positive detunings becomes shorter than their lifetime, and the polaritons form a quantum degenerate Bose-Einstein distribution in thermal equilibrium with the lattice.

The Frohlich interaction is one of the main electron-phonon intrinsic interactions in polar materials originating from the coupling of one itinerant electron with the macroscopic electric field generated by any longitudinal optical (LO) phonon. Infra-red magneto-absorption measurements of doped GaAs quantum wells structures have been carried out in order to test the concept of Frohlich interaction and polaron mass in such systems. These new experimental results lead to question the validity of this concept in a real system.

We have investigated the magnetophonon resonance (MPR) effect in a series of single GaAs quantum well samples which are symmetrically modulation doped in the adjacent short period AlAs/GaAs superlattices. Two distinct MPR series are observed originating from the $\Gamma$ and X electrons interacting with the GaAs and AlAs longitudinal optic (LO) phonons respectively. This confirms unequivocally the presence of X electrons in the AlAs quantum well of the superlattice previously invoked to explain the high electron mobility in these structures (Friedland et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 77,4616 (1996).

Spin splitting in the integer quantum Hall effect is investigated for a series of Al$_{x}$Ga$_{1-x}$As/GaAs heterojunctions and quantum wells. Magnetoresistance measurements are performed at mK temperature to characterize the electronic density of states and estimate the strength of many body interactions. A simple model with no free parameters correctly predicts the magnetic field required to observe spin splitting confirming that the appearance of spin splitting is a result of a competition between the disorder induced energy cost of flipping spins and the exchange energy gain associated with the polarized state. In this model, the single particle Zeeman energy plays no role, so that the appearance of this quantum Hall ferromagnet in the highest occupied Landau level can also be thought of as a magnetic field induced Stoner transition.

We find that the long-wavelength magnetoplasmon, resistively detected by photoconductivity spectroscopy in high-mobility two-dimensional electron systems, deviates from its well-known semiclassical nature as uncovered in conventional absorption experiments. A clear filling-factor dependent plateau-type dispersion is observed that reveals a so far unknown relation between the magnetoplasmon and the quantum Hall effect.

We fabricated a hybrid structure in which cobalt and permalloy micromagnets produce a local in-plane spin-dependent potential barrier for high-mobility electrons at the GaAs/AlGaAs interface. Spin effects are observed in ballistic transport in the tens' millitesla range of the external field, and are attributed to switching between Zeeman and Stern-Gerlach modes -- the former dominating at low electron densities.

Magneto infra-red absorption measurements have been performed in a highly doped GaAs quantum well which has been lifted off and bonded to a silicon substrate, in order to study the resonant polaron interaction. It is found that the pinning of the cyclotron energy occurs at an energy close to that of the transverse optical phonon of GaAs. This unexpected result is explained by a model taking into account the full dielectric constant of the quantum well.

We study the electronic properties of GaAs-AlGaAs superlattices with intentional correlated disorder by means of photoluminescence and vertical dc resistance. The results are compared to those obtained in ordered and uncorrelated disordered superlattices. We report the first experimental evidence that spatial correlations inhibit localization of states in disordered low-dimensional systems, as our previous theoretical calculations suggested, in contrast to the earlier belief that all eigenstates are localized.

Tunable oscillatory modes of electric-field domains in doped semiconductor superlattices are reported. The experimental investigations demonstrate the realization of tunable, GHz frequencies in GaAs-AlAs superlattices covering the temperature region from 5 to 300 K. The orgin of the tunable oscillatory modes is determined using an analytical and a numerical modeling of the dynamics of domain formation. Three different oscillatory modes are found. Their presence depends on the actual shape of the drift velocity curve, the doping density, the boundary condition, and the length of the superlattice. For most bias regions, the self-sustained oscillations are due to the formation, motion, and recycling of the domain boundary inside the superlattice. For some biases, the strengths of the low and high field domain change periodically in time with the domain boundary being pinned within a few quantum wells. The dependency of the frequency on the coupling leads to the prediction of a new type of tunable GHz oscillator based on semiconductor superlattices.