RESUMO
Picosecond and femtosecond spectroscopy allow the detailed study of carrier dynamics in nanostructured materials. In such experiments, a laser pulse normally excites several nanostructures at once. However, spectroscopic information may also be acquired using pulses from an electron beam in a modern electron microscope, exploiting a phenomenon called cathodoluminescence. This approach offers several advantages. The multimode imaging capabilities of the electron microscope enable the correlation of optical properties (via cathodoluminescence) with surface morphology (secondary electron mode) at the nanometre scale. The broad energy range of the electrons can excite wide-bandgap materials, such as diamond- or gallium-nitride-based structures that are not easily excited by conventional optical means. But perhaps most intriguingly, the small beam can probe a single selected nanostructure. Here we apply an original time-resolved cathodoluminescence set-up to describe carrier dynamics within single gallium-arsenide-based pyramidal nanostructures with a time resolution of 10 picoseconds and a spatial resolution of 50 nanometres. The behaviour of such charge carriers could be useful for evaluating elementary components in quantum computers, optical quantum gates or single photon sources for quantum cryptography.
RESUMO
We report on a distance control system for low-temperature scanning near-field optical microscopy, based on quartz tuning fork as shear force sensor. By means of a particular tuning fork-optical fiber configuration, the sensor is electrically dithered by an applied alternate voltage, without any supplementary driving piezo, as done so far. The sensitivity in the approach direction is 0.2nm, and quality factors up to 2850 have been reached. No electronic components are needed close to the sensor, allowing to employ it in a liquid He environment. The system is extremely compact and allows for several hours of stability at 5 K.
