J. Kobak

Designing quantum dots for solotronics

Solotronics, optoelectronics based on solitary dopants, is an emerging field of research and technology reaching the ultimate limit of miniaturization. It aims at exploiting quantum properties of individual ions or defects embedded in a semiconductor matrix. It has already been shown that optical control of a magnetic ion spin is feasible using the carriers confined in a quantum dot. However, a serious obstacle was the quenching of the exciton luminescence by magnetic impurities. Here we show, by photoluminescence studies on thus-far-unexplored individual CdTe dots with a single cobalt ion and CdSe dots with a single manganese ion, that even if energetically allowed, nonradiative exciton recombination through single-magnetic-ion intra-ionic transitions is negligible in such zero-dimensional structures. This opens solotronics for a wide range of as yet unconsidered systems. On the basis of results of our single-spin relaxation experiments and on the material trends, we identify optimal magnetic-ion quantum dot systems for implementation of a single-ion-based spin memory.

Magnetic ground state of an individual Fe 2+ ion in strained semiconductor nanostructure

Single impurities with nonzero spin and multiple ground states offer a degree of freedom that can be utilized to store the quantum information. However, Fe2+ dopant is known for having a single nondegenerate ground state in the bulk host semiconductors and thus is of little use for spintronic applications. Here we show that the well-established picture of Fe2+ spin configuration can be modified by subjecting the Fe2+ ion to high strain, for example, produced by lattice mismatched epitaxial nanostructures. Our analysis reveals that high strain induces qualitative change in the ion energy spectrum and results in nearly doubly degenerate ground state with spin projection Sz=±2. We provide an experimental proof of this concept using a new system: a strained epitaxial quantum dot containing individual Fe2+ ion. Magnetic character of the Fe2+ ground state in a CdSe/ZnSe dot is revealed in photoluminescence experiments by exploiting a coupling between a confined exciton and the single-iron impurity. We also demonstrate that the Fe2+ spin can be oriented by spin-polarized excitons, which opens a possibility of using it as an optically controllable two-level system free of nuclear spin fluctuations.

Monolithic ZnTe-based pillar microcavities containing CdTe quantum dots

Micropillars of different diameters have been prepared by focused ion beam milling out of a planar ZnTe-based cavity. The monolithic epitaxial structure, deposited on a GaAs substrate, contains CdTe quantum dots embedded in a ZnTe λ-cavity delimited by two distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs). The high refractive index material of the DBR structure is ZnTe, while for the low index material a short-period triple MgTe/ZnTe/MgSe superlattice is used. The CdTe quantum dots are formed by a novel Zn-induced formation process and are investigated by scanning transmission electron microscopy. Micro-photoluminescence measurements show discrete optical modes for the pillars, in good agreement with calculations based on a vectorial transfer matrix method. The measured quality factor reaches a value of 3100.

MBE growth and characterization of a II–VI distributed Bragg reflector and microcavity lattice-matched to MgTe

Abstract We present the realization and characterization of a 20-fold, fully lattice-matched epitaxial distributed Bragg reflector based on (Cd,Zn)Te and (Cd,Zn,Mg)Te layers. We also present a microcavity based on (Cd,Zn,Mg)Te containing a (Cd,Zn)Te quantum well. Reflectivity spectra, photoluminescence imaging in real space and in far field are presented.

Distributed Bragg reflectors obtained by combining Se and Te compounds: Influence on the luminescence from CdTe quantum dots

We report on the optical properties of structures containing self assembled CdTe quantum dots (QDs) combined with Te and Se based distributed Bragg reflectors either in a half cavity geometry with a relatively broad cavity mode or in a full cavity geometry where the cavity mode is much narrower. We show that for both structures the extraction coefficient of the light emitted from the QDs ensemble is enhanced by more than one order of magnitude with respect to the QDs grown on a ZnTe buffer. However, a single QD line broadening is observed and attributed to an unintentional incorporation of Se in the vicinity of the CdTe QDs. We show that postponing the QDs growth for 24 h after the distributed Bragg reflector deposition allows recovering sharp emission lines from individual QDs. This two step growth method is proven to be efficient also for the structures with CdTe QDs containing a single Mn2+ ion.

Optical study of electron-electron exchange interaction in CdTe/ZnTe quantum dots

We present an experimental study of electron-electron exchange interaction in self-assembled CdTe/ZnTe quantum dots based on the photoluminescence measurements. The character and strength of this interaction are obtained by simultaneous observation of various recombination channels of a doubly negatively charged exciton, including previously unrecognized emission lines related to the electron-singlet configuration in the final state. A typical value of the electron singlet-triplet splitting, which corresponds to the exchange integral of electron-electron interaction, has been determined as 20.4 meV with a spread of 1.4 meV across the wide population of quantum dots. We also evidence an unexpected decrease of energy difference between the singlet and triplet states under a magnetic field in Faraday geometry.

Comparison of magneto-optical properties of various excitonic complexes in CdTe and CdSe self-assembled quantum dots.

We present a comparative study of two self-assembled quantum dot (QD) systems based on II-VI compounds: CdTe/ZnTe and CdSe/ZnSe. Using magneto-optical techniques we investigated a large population of individual QDs. The systematic photoluminescence studies of emission lines related to the recombination of neutral exciton X, biexciton XX, and singly charged excitons (X(+), X(-)) allowed us to determine average parameters describing CdTe QDs (CdSe QDs): X-XX transition energy difference 12 meV (24 meV); fine-structure splitting δ1=0.14 meV (δ1=0.47 meV); g-factor g  =  2.12 (g  =  1.71); diamagnetic shift γ=2.5 μeV T(-2) (γ =1.3 μeV T(-2)). We find also statistically significant correlations between various parameters describing internal structure of excitonic complexes.

Anisotropy of in-plane hole g-factor in CdTe/ZnTe quantum dots

Optical studies of a bright exciton provide only limited information about the hole anisotropy in a quantum dot. In this work we present a universal method to study heavy hole anisotropy using a dark exciton in a moderate in-plane magnetic field. By analysis of the linear polarization of the dark exciton photoluminescence we identify both isotropic and anisotropic contributions to the hole g-factor. We employ this method for a number of individual self-assembled CdTe/ZnTe quantum dots, demonstrating a variety of behaviors of in-plane hole g-factor: from almost fully anisotropic to almost isotropic. We conclude that, in general, both contributions play an important role and neither contribution can be neglected.