Angela Gamouras

Ultrafast optical control of coercivity in GaMnAs

Femtosecond optical control of the magnetization and coercive field is demonstrated in GaMnAs using time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect techniques. These experiments reveal a near-complete, subpicosecond collapse of the hysteresis loop, consistent with femtosecond demagnetization. On longer time scales (∼300ps) an increase in coercivity is observed, attributed to hole-mediated enhancement of the domain wall energy.

Interband dephasing and photon echo response in GaMnAs

Coherent carrier dynamics are studied in GaMnAs using time-integrated and time-resolved four-wave mixing techniques. Dephasing is observed to be dominated by spin-flip scattering between the optically injected holes and Mn ions, revealing the rapid time scale of this scattering process in the III-Mn-V diluted magnetic semiconductors. The optical response is shown to exhibit the characteristic signatures of a simple photon echo, despite the complexity of band tail contributions and strong exchange coupling in this system.

Ultrafast studies of carrier and magnetization dynamics in GaMnAs

We have investigated the carrier and magnetization dynamics in a GaMnAs structure with perpendicular uniaxial anisotropy using time-resolved pump probe techniques. Experiments were performed over two orders of magnitude variation in pump fluence, revealing an ultrafast demagnetization response that saturates at fluence values larger than 1 mJ/cm2. Dichroic bleaching contributions exhibit no dependence on the circular polarization state of the pump beam, indicating no signature of electron spin dynamics, in contrast to experiments at similar pump pulse fluence in other III-Mn-V semiconductors. We observe no evidence of a transient hole spin depolarization despite the strong demagnetization effects in our experiments, suggesting that more studies are needed to elucidate the influence of hot holes on the nonlinear optical response of diluted magnetic semiconductors. Differential reflectivity experiments indicate an electron trapping time of 1 ps, followed by carrier recombination on a time scale of several n...

Observation of the exciton and Urbach band tail in low-temperature-grown GaAs using four-wave mixing spectroscopy

Four-wave mixing (FWM) spectroscopy reveals clear signatures associated with the exciton, free carrier inter-band transitions, and the Urbach band tail in low-temperature-grown GaAs, providing a direct measure of the effective band gap as well as insight into the influence of disorder on the electronic structure. The ability to detect (and resolve) these contributions, in contrast to linear spectroscopy, is due to an enhanced sensitivity of FWM to the optical joint density of states and to many-body effects. Our experiments demonstrate the power of FWM for studying the near-band-edge optical properties and coherent carrier dynamics in low-temperature-grown semiconductors.

Measurement of coherence decay in GaMnAs using femtosecond four-wave mixing.

The application of femtosecond four-wave mixing to the study of fundamental properties of diluted magnetic semiconductors ((s,p)-d hybridization, spin-flip scattering) is described, using experiments on GaMnAs as a prototype III-Mn-V system. Spectrally-resolved and time-resolved experimental configurations are described, including the use of zero-background autocorrelation techniques for pulse optimization. The etching process used to prepare GaMnAs samples for four-wave mixing experiments is also highlighted. The high temporal resolution of this technique, afforded by the use of short (20 fsec) optical pulses, permits the rapid spin-flip scattering process in this system to be studied directly in the time domain, providing new insight into the strong exchange coupling responsible for carrier-mediated ferromagnetism. We also show that spectral resolution of the four-wave mixing signal allows one to extract clear signatures of (s,p)-d hybridization in this system, unlike linear spectroscopy techniques. This increased sensitivity is due to the nonlinearity of the technique, which suppresses defect-related contributions to the optical response. This method may be used to measure the time scale for coherence decay (tied to the fastest scattering processes) in a wide variety of semiconductor systems of interest for next generation electronics and optoelectronics.

Energy-selective optical excitation and detection in InAs/InP quantum dot ensembles using a one-dimensional optical microcavity

We demonstrate the selective optical excitation and detection of subsets of quantum dots (QDs) within an InAs/InP ensemble using a SiO2/Ta2O5-based optical microcavity. The low variance of the exciton transition energy and dipole moment tied to the narrow linewidth of the microcavity mode is expected to facilitate effective qubit encoding and manipulation in a quantum dot ensemble with ease of quantum state readout relative to qubits encoded in single quantum dots.

Simultaneous deterministic control of distant qubits in two semiconductor quantum dots.

In optimal quantum control (OQC), a target quantum state of matter is achieved by tailoring the phase and amplitude of the control Hamiltonian through femtosecond pulse-shaping techniques and powerful adaptive feedback algorithms. Motivated by recent applications of OQC in quantum information science as an approach to optimizing quantum gates in atomic and molecular systems, here we report the experimental implementation of OQC in a solid-state system consisting of distinguishable semiconductor quantum dots. We demonstrate simultaneous high-fidelity π and 2π single qubit gates in two different quantum dots using a single engineered infrared femtosecond pulse. These experiments enhance the scalability of semiconductor-based quantum hardware and lay the foundation for applications of pulse shaping to optimize quantum gates in other solid-state systems.

Optically engineered ultrafast pulses for controlled rotations of exciton qubits in semiconductor quantum dots

Shaped ultrafast pulses designed for controlled-rotation (C-ROT) operations on exciton qubits in semiconductor quantum dots are demonstrated using a quantum control apparatus operating at ∼1 eV. Optimum pulse shapes employing amplitude and phase shaping protocols are implemented using the output of an optical parametric oscillator and a programmable pulse shaping system, and characterized using autocorrelation and multiphoton intrapulse interference phase scan techniques. We apply our pulse characterization results and density matrix simulations to assess the fundamental limits on the fidelity of the C-ROT operation, providing a benchmark for the evaluation of sources of noise in other quantum control experiments. Our results indicate the effectiveness of pulse shaping techniques for achieving high fidelity quantum operations in quantum dots with a gate time below 1 ps.

Applications of femtosecond pulse engineering in the control of excitons in quantum dots

Pulse shaping techniques are used to demonstrate quantum control of exciton qubits in InAs quantum dots. Linearly chirped laser pulses are used to demonstrate adiabatic rapid passage in a single quantum dot on a subpicosecond timescale. The observed dependence of the exciton inversion efficiency on the sign of the pulse chirp identifies phonons as the dominant source of dephasing, which can be suppressed for positive chirp at low temperatures. The use of optimal quantum control theory to engineer a single optical pulse to implement simultaneous π and 2π single qubit gates in two uncoupled quantum dots is demonstrated. This work will support the use of pulse shaping in solid-state quantum hardware.

Optimal two-qubit quantum control in InAs quantum dots

Simultaneous control of exciton qubits in two distinguishable InAs semiconductor quantum dots with emission wavelengths near 1.3 microns is demonstrated through the development and application of general femtosecond pulse shaping protocols.