Quantum communication relies on the availability of light pulses with strong quantum correlations among photons. An example of such an optical source is a single-photon pulse with a vanishing probability for detecting two or more photons. Using pulsed laser excitation of a single quantum dot, a single-photon turnstile device that generates a train of single-photon pulses was demonstrated. For a spectrally isolated quantum dot, nearly 100% of the excitation pulses lead to emission of a single photon, yielding an ideal single-photon source.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/290/5500/2282.full.pdf

A Quantum Dot Single-Photon Turnstile Device

Gallium nitride (GaN) and its allied binaries InN and AIN as well as their ternary compounds have gained an unprecedented attention due to their wide-ranging applications encompassing green, blue, violet, and ultraviolet (UV) emitters and detectors (in photon ranges inaccessible by other semiconductors) and high-power amplifiers. However, even the best of the three binaries, GaN, contains many structural and point defects caused to a large extent by lattice and stacking mismatch with substrates. These defects notably affect the electrical and optical properties of the host material and can seriously degrade the performance and reliability of devices made based on these nitride semiconductors. Even though GaN broke the long-standing paradigm that high density of dislocations precludes acceptable device performance, point defects have taken the center stage as they exacerbate efforts to increase the efficiency of emitters, increase laser operation lifetime, and lead to anomalies in electronic devices. The p...

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Luminescence properties of defects in GaN

4.1. Nanomachining with Scanning Probes 1831 4.2. Soft Lithography 1832 4.3. Embossing with Rigid Masters 1835 4.4. Near-Field Phase-Shifting Photolithography 1835 4.5. Topographically Directed Photolithography 1837 4.6. Topographically Directed Etching 1837 4.7. Lithography with Neutral Metastable Atoms 1838 4.8. Approaches to Size Reduction 1839 5. Techniques for Making Regular or Simple Patterns 1839

https://www.engr.colostate.edu/ECE581/fall07/xia%20chem%20rev%2099.pdf

Unconventional Methods for Fabricating and Patterning Nanostructures.

A common misconception is that the irradiation of solids with energetic electrons and ions has exclusively detrimental effects on the properties of target materials. In addition to the well-known cases of doping of bulk semiconductors and ion beam nitriding of steels, recent experiments show that irradiation can also have beneficial effects on nanostructured systems. Electron or ion beams may serve as tools to synthesize nanoclusters and nanowires, change their morphology in a controllable manner, and tailor their mechanical, electronic, and even magnetic properties. Harnessing irradiation as a tool for modifying material properties at the nanoscale requires having the full microscopic picture of defect production and annealing in nanotargets. In this article, we review recent progress in the understanding of effects of irradiation on various zero-dimensional and one-dimensional nanoscale systems, such as semiconductor and metal nanoclusters and nanowires, nanotubes, and fullerenes. We also consider the t...

Ion and electron irradiation-induced effects in nanostructured materials

The initial stages of GaAs overgrowth over self-assembled coherently strained InAs quantum dots (QDs) are studied. For small GaAs coverages (below 5 nm), atomic force microscopy (AFM) images show partially covered island structures with a regular size distribution which are elongated in the [011] direction. Analysis of the AFM profiles show that a large anisotropic redistribution of the island material is taking place during the initial GaAs overgrowth. Short time annealing experiments together with photoluminescence spectroscopy on annealed QDs are consistent with a Ga and In intermixing during the overgrowth. Surface QDs capped with 5 nm or more GaAs show a strong luminescence intensity indicating that surface QDs are remarkably insensitive to surface recombination effects.

/pdf/intermixing-and-shape-changes-during-the-formation-of-inas-2osg4gf7ng.pdf

Intermixing and shape changes during the formation of InAs self-assembled quantum dots

Visible-stimulated emission in a semiconductor quantum dot (QD) laser structure has been demonstrated. Red-emitting, self-assembled QDs of highly strained InAlAs have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy on a GaAs substrate. Carriers injected electrically from the doped regions of a separate confinement heterostructure thermalized efficiently into the zero-dimensional QD states, and stimulated emission at ∼707 nanometers was observed at 77 kelvin with a threshold current of 175 milliamperes for a 60-micrometer by 400-micrometer broad area laser. An external efficiency of ∼8.5 percent at low temperature and a peak power greater than 200 milliwatts demonstrate the good size distribution and high gain in these high-quality QDs.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/274/5291/1350.full.pdf

Red-Emitting Semiconductor Quantum Dot Lasers

We present radiative lifetime measurements of excited states in semiconductor self-assembled quantum dots. By increasing the photoexcitation intensity, excited-state interband transitions up to n=5 can be observed in photoluminescence. The dynamics of the interband transitions and the intersublevel relaxation in these zero-dimensional energy levels lead to state filling of the lower-energy states, allowing the Fermi level to be raised by more than 200 meV due to the combined large intersublevel spacing and the low density of states. The decay time of each energy level obtained under various excitation conditions is used to evaluate the intersublevel thermalization time. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.

State filling and time-resolved photoluminescence of excited states in InxGa1-xAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots.

We present results of room temperature photoluminescence (PL) emission from a 0‐dimensional system in the ∼1.4 to ∼1.7 μm spectral region. Molecular beam epitaxy was used to grow InAs self‐assembled quantum dots in AlInAs on an InP substrate. Preliminary characterizations have been performed using PL and transmission electron microscopy. The low temperatures PL spectra also display excited state emission and state filling as the excitation intensity is increased.

InAs self‐assembled quantum dots on InP by molecular beam epitaxy

The properties of carbon-doped GaN epilayers grown by molecular-beam epitaxy have been studied by temperature-dependent resistivity, Hall-effect measurements, x-ray diffraction, and by photoluminescence spectroscopy. Carbon doping was found to render the GaN layers highly resistive (>108 Ω cm) and quench the band edge excitonic emissions. Yellow luminescence is still present in carbon-doped GaN layers. The highly resistive state is interpreted as being caused by direct compensation by the carbon acceptors and by the consequently enhanced potential barrier at the subgrain boundaries. Evidence of dislocations joining to form potential barriers along the subgrain boundaries was observed in photoassisted wet etching experiments on electrically conducting GaN layers. GaN films grown on insulating carbon-doped base layers are of excellent transport and optical properties.

Properties of carbon-doped GaN

For the first time, we report femtosecond pulses from a passive single-section InAs/InP quantum-dot (QD) mode-locked laser (MLL) with the active length of 456 microm and ridge width of 2.5 microm at the C-band wavelength range. Without any external pulse compression, the transform-limited Gaussian-pulses are generated at the 92 GHz repetition rate with the 312 fs pulse duration, which is the shortest pulse from any directly electric-pumping semiconductor MLLs to our best knowledge. The lasing threshold injection current and external differential quantum efficiency are 17.2 mA and 38%, respectively. We have also investigated the working principles of the proposed QD MLLs.

Sylvain Raymond

Papers

Red-Emitting Semiconductor Quantum Dot Lasers

State filling and time-resolved photoluminescence of excited states in InxGa1-xAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots.

InAs self‐assembled quantum dots on InP by molecular beam epitaxy

Properties of carbon-doped GaN

312-fs pulse generation from a passive C-band InAs/InP quantum dot mode-locked laser.