We present a comprehensive, up-to-date compilation of band parameters for the technologically important III–V zinc blende and wurtzite compound semiconductors: GaAs, GaSb, GaP, GaN, AlAs, AlSb, AlP, AlN, InAs, InSb, InP, and InN, along with their ternary and quaternary alloys. Based on a review of the existing literature, complete and consistent parameter sets are given for all materials. Emphasizing the quantities required for band structure calculations, we tabulate the direct and indirect energy gaps, spin-orbit, and crystal-field splittings, alloy bowing parameters, effective masses for electrons, heavy, light, and split-off holes, Luttinger parameters, interband momentum matrix elements, and deformation potentials, including temperature and alloy-composition dependences where available. Heterostructure band offsets are also given, on an absolute scale that allows any material to be aligned relative to any other.

Band parameters for III–V compound semiconductors and their alloys

Optical Waveguide Theory

We demonstrate first room temperature, and ultrabright single photon emission from a color center in two-dimensional multilayer hexagonal boron nitride. Density Functional Theory calculations indicate that vacancy-related centers are a likely source of the emission.

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Quantum emission from hexagonal boron nitride monolayers

Photonic crystals have proven their potential and are nowadays a familiar concept. They have been approached from many scientific and technological flanks. Among the many techniques devised to implement this technology self-assembly has always been one of great popularity surely due to its ease of access and the richness of results offered. Self-assembly is also probably the approach entailing more materials aspects owing to the fact that they lend themselves to be fabricated by a great many, very different methods on a vast variety of materials and to multiple purposes. To these well-known material systems a new sibling has been born (photonic glass) expanding the paradigm of optical materials inspired by solid state physics crystal concept. It is expected that they may become an important player in the near future not only because they complement the properties of photonic crystals but because they entice the researchers' curiosity. In this review a panorama is presented of the state of the art in this field with the view to serve a broad community concerned with materials aspects of photonic structures and more so those interested in self-assembly.

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Self-assembled photonic structures.

Organic dyes have been used as gain medium for lasers since the 1960s, long before the advent of today’s organic electronic devices. Organic gain materials are highly attractive for lasing due to their chemical tunability and large stimulated emission cross section. While the traditional dye laser has been largely replaced by solid-state lasers, a number of new and miniaturized organic lasers have emerged that hold great potential for lab-on-chip applications, biointegration, low-cost sensing and related areas, which benefit from the unique properties of organic gain materials. On the fundamental level, these include high exciton binding energy, low refractive index (compared to inorganic semiconductors), and ease of spectral and chemical tuning. On a technological level, mechanical flexibility and compatibility with simple processing techniques such as printing, roll-to-roll, self-assembly, and soft-lithography are most relevant. Here, the authors provide a comprehensive review of the developments in the...

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Organic Lasers: Recent Developments on Materials, Device Geometries, and Fabrication Techniques

The development of a thresholdless laser operating above room temperature (RT) is key for the future replacement of electronics with photonic integrated circuits, enabling an increase of several orders of magnitude in computing speeds. Recently, thresholdless lasing characteristics at low temperature (4 K) have been demonstrated. However, for practical applications, RT laser emission becomes necessary. Here we report experimental evidence that is compatible with a laser based on InAsSb quantum dots embedded in a photonic-crystal microcavity that exhibits an ultralow-power threshold (860 nW) and high efficiency (β  =0.85), thus operating in the near-thresholdless regime at RT in the 1.3 μm spectral window. The results open up a wide range of opportunities for RT applications of ultralow threshold lasers, such as integrated photonic circuitry or high sensitivity biosensors.

Near thresholdless laser operation at room temperature

We have grown self‐organized InSb quantum dots on semi‐insulating InP (001) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. We studied the size dependency of the uncapped InSb quantum dots on the nominal thickness of the deposited InSb by atomic force microscopy. The dot sizes have a pronounced minimum at about 2.2 monolayers of InSb. After a nominal thickness of 3.2 monolayers we observe a drastic change of the dot shape, from quantum dots to quantum dashes. From there on the dots grow in a quasicylindric shape aligned in the (110) direction.

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Transition from self‐organized InSb quantum‐dots to quantum dashes

A single-junction germanium solar cell with a photonic crystal nanostructured surface has been developed. The solar cell comprises a Ge p-n junction and an InGaP window layer. The InGaP window layer has been nanopatterned with an extended photonic crystal structure consisting on a triangular lattice of holes with submicronic sizes. Enhancements of the external quantum efficiency of 22% for a wide range of wavelengths and up to a 46% for specific wavelengths have been measured, which implies an increase in photocurrent between 11% and 22%. A clear correlation with the area of photonic crystal patterned has been observed.

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Enhanced quantum efficiency of Ge solar cells by a two-dimensional photonic crystal nanostructured surface

We present a model for the filtration of dislocations inside the seed window in epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO). We found that, when the additive effects of image and gliding forces exceed the d ...

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Epitaxial lateral overgrowth of InP on Si from nano-openings: Theoretical and experimental indication for defect filtering throughout the grown layer

Long distance 1.4 m interaction of two different InAs/GaAs quantum dots in a photonic crystal microcavity is observed. Simultaneous coupling of both quantum dots to the cavity is demonstrated by Purcell effect measurements. Resonant optical excitation in the p state of any of the quantum dots, results in an increase in the s-state emission of the other one. The cavity-mediated coupling can be controlled by varying the excitation intensity. These results represent an experimental step toward the realization of quantum logic operations using distant solid-state qubits.

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Pablo Aitor Postigo

Papers

Near thresholdless laser operation at room temperature

Transition from self‐organized InSb quantum‐dots to quantum dashes

Enhanced quantum efficiency of Ge solar cells by a two-dimensional photonic crystal nanostructured surface

Epitaxial lateral overgrowth of InP on Si from nano-openings: Theoretical and experimental indication for defect filtering throughout the grown layer

Optical coupling of two distant InAs/GaAs quantum dots by a photonic-crystal microcavity