Optical control of spectral diffusion with single InAs quantum dots in a silver-embedded nanocone.

We study the spectral diffusion in a single epitaxial InAs quantum dot placed in a silver-embedded nanocone structure. Making use of a series of stroboscopic detection of optical transitions, we demonstrate the temporal fluctuations in peak energy of photoluminescence. In particular, the photoluminescence fluctuations can be effectively suppressed by strong illumination. By analyzing the photon statistics, we find that the dot emission exhibits stable non-classical nature with the strong anti-bunching behavior after this stabilization.

Ultrahigh quality factor in a metal-embedded semiconductor microdisk cavity.

We numerically and theoretically investigate electrodynamics of a metal-embedded semiconductor microdisk cavity. The electrodynamics of a cavity mode is discussed from the viewpoint of quantum mechanics, which clarifies the condition for high Q factor. Using numerical calculations, we optimize the cavity structure and show that the Q factor can be increased up to 1,700,000. Our study suggests that the metal-embedded cavity is a promising candidate for cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) devices.

Subwavelength metallic cavities with high-Q resonance modes.

Metallic cavities have been extensively studied to realize small-volume nanocavities and nanolasers. However cavity-resonance quality (Q) factors of nanolasers observed up to now remain low (up to ∼500) due to metal optical absorption. In this paper, we report the observation of highest Q factors of 9000 at low temperature and ∼6000 near room temperature in a metallic cavity with a probe of sub-bandgap emission of Si-doped GaAs. We analyze the temperature dependence of cavity-mode resonance wavelengths and show that the refractive-index term dominates the measured temperature dependence. We also show that this refractive-index term is cavity-mode dependent and the fitting procedure offers a new method to identify cavity modes. We simulate the metallic cavity with finite-element method and attribute the high-Q cavity mode to a whispering gallery optical mode. This mode is shown to have isotropic polarization dependence of the output emission, which is preferable for quantum information applications.

Enhanced light absorption in thin-film solar cells with light propagation direction conversion.

Enhancement of optical absorption in thin-film solar cells (TF-SCs) has been the long-lasting issue to achieve high efficiencies. Grating couplers have been studied for the conversion of incident light into guided modes propagating along TF-SCs to extend optical path for higher optical absorption. However the wavelength band for the efficient conversion remained relatively narrow and the overall improvement of TF-SC efficiencies has been limited. This paper demonstrates that the grating height design as well as the phase matching condition is important for the enhancement of optical absorption in TF-SCs with the calculation of short-circuit currents as a figure of merit for optimization. The influence of the light absorption coefficients and grating coupling strengths on the light absorption bandwidth is also discussed.

Metal-coated semiconductor nanostructures and simulation of photon extraction and coupling to optical fibers for a solid-state single-photon source.

We have realized metal-coated semiconductor nanostructures for a stable and efficient single-photon source (SPS) and demonstrated improved single-photon extraction efficiency by the selection of metals and nanostructures. We demonstrate with finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations that inclination of a pillar sidewall, which changes the structure to a nanocone, is effective in improving the photon extraction efficiency. We demonstrate how such nanocone structures with inclined sidewalls are fabricated with reactive ion etching. With the optimized design, a photon extraction efficiency to outer airside as high as ~97% generated from a quantum dot in a nanocone structure is simulated, which is the important step in realizing SPS on-demand operations. We have also examined the direct contact of such a metal-embedded nanocone structure with a single-mode fiber facet as a simple and practical method for preparing fiber-coupled SPS and demonstrated practical coupling efficiencies of ~16% with FDTD simulation.

Origin of the blueshift of photoluminescence in a type-II heterostructure.

Blueshifts of luminescence observed in type-II heterostructures are quantitatively examined in terms of a self-consistent approach including excitonic effects. This analysis shows that the main contribution to the blueshift originates from the well region rather than the variation of triangular potentials formed in the barrier region. The power law for the blueshift, ΔEPL ∝ Plaserm, from m = 1/2 for lower excitation Plaser to m = 1/4 for higher excitation, is obtained from the calculated results combined with a rate equation analysis, which also covers the previously believed m = 1/3 power law within a limited excitation range. The present power law is consistent with the blueshift observed in a GaAsSb/GaAs quantum well.

Transport properties of Andreev polarons in a superconductor-semiconductor-superconductor junction with superlattice structure.

Transport properties of a superconductor-semiconductor-superconductor (Su-Sm-Su) junction with superlattice structure are investigated. Differential resistance as a function of voltage shows oscillatory behavior under the irradiation of radio-frequency (rf) waves with the specific frequency of 1.77 GHz regardless of the superconducting materials and the junction geometries. Experimental data are quantitatively explained in terms of the coupling of superconducting quasiparticles with long-wavelength acoustic phonons indirectly excited by the rf waves. We propose that the strong coupling causes the formation of novel composite particles, Andreev polarons.

Precise slit-width control of niobium apertures for superconducting LEDs.

We introduce a novel three-step procedure for precise niobium (Nb)-etching on the nanometer-scale, including the design of high contrast resist patterning and sacrifice layer formation under high radio frequency (RF) power. We present the results of precise slit fabrication using this technique and discuss its application for the production of superconducting devices, such as superconductor-semiconductor-superconductor (S-Sm-S) Josephson junctions. For the reactive ion etching (RIE) of Nb, we selected CF(4) as etchant gas and a positive tone resist to form the etching mask. We found that the combination of resist usage and RIE process allows for etching of thicker Nb layers when utilizing the opposite dependence of the etching rate (ER) on the CF(4) pressure in the case of Nb as compared to the resist. Precise slit-width control of 80 and 200 nm thick Nb apertures was performed with three kinds of ER control, for the resist, the Nb, and the underlying layer. S-Sm-S Josephson junctions were fabricated with lengths as small as 80 nm, which can be considered clean and short and thus exhibit critical currents as high as 50 µA. Moreover, possible further applications, such as for apertures of superconducting light emitting diodes (SC LEDs), are addressed.

Luminescence of a cooper pair.

This Letter theoretically discusses the photon emission spectra of a superconducting p-n junction. On the basis of the second order perturbation theory for electron-photon interaction, we show that the recombination of a Cooper pair with two p-type carriers causes enhancement of the luminescence intensity. The calculated results of photon emission spectra explain characteristic features of observed signal in an recent experiment. Our results indicate high functionalities of superconducting light-emitting devices.

Self-ordering of nanofacets on vicinal SiC surfaces.

Vicinal 4H and 6H-SiC(0001) surfaces have been investigated using atomic force microscopy and cross-sectional high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. We observed the characteristic self-ordering of nanofacets on any surface, regardless of polytypes and vicinal angles, after gas etching at high temperature. Two facet planes are typically revealed: (0001) and high index (112;n) that are induced by equilibrium surface phase separation. A (112;n) plane may have a free energy minimum due to attractive step-step interactions. The differing ordering distances in 4H and 6H polytypes imply the existence of SiC polytypic dependence on nanofaceting. Thus, it should be possible to control SiC surface nanostructures by selecting a polytype, a vicinal angle, and an etching temperature.