Kwangseuk Kyhm

Observation of a Biexciton Wigner Molecule by Fractional Optical Aharonov-Bohm Oscillations in a Single Quantum Ring.

The Aharonov-Bohm effect in ring structures in the presence of electronic correlation and disorder is an open issue. We report novel oscillations of a strongly correlated exciton pair, similar to a Wigner molecule, in a single nanoquantum ring, where the emission energy changes abruptly at the transition magnetic field with a fractional oscillation period compared to that of the exciton, a so-called fractional optical Aharonov-Bohm oscillation. We have also observed modulated optical Aharonov-Bohm oscillations of an electron-hole pair and an anticrossing of the photoluminescence spectrum at the transition magnetic field, which are associated with disorder effects such as localization, built-in electric field, and impurities.

Asymmetry of localised states in a single quantum ring: Polarization dependence of excitons and biexcitons

We performed spectroscopic studies of a single GaAs quantum ring with an anisotropy in the rim height. The presence of an asymmetric localised state was suggested by the adiabatic potential. The asymmetry was investigated in terms of the polarization dependence of excitons and biexcitons, where a large energy difference (∼0.8 meV) in the exciton emission energy for perpendicular polarizations was observed and the oscillator strengths were also compared using the photoluminescence decay rate. For perpendicular polarizations, the biexciton exhibits twice the energy difference seen for the exciton, a fact that may be attributed to a possible change in the selection rules for the lowered symmetry.

Surface charge retention and enhanced polarization effect on ferroelectric thin films

The authors report surface charge retention and enhanced ferroelectric polarization effect on ferroelectric thin films by Kelvin probe force microscope (KFM). Since high electric field is induced at scanning probe microscope tip during domain switching and the sign of surface charge induced by this high electric field is always opposite to the sign of induced ferroelectric polarization charge, the surface potential of the KFM signal exhibits the relative potential difference between the potential of the ferroelectric polarization charge and the potential of the surface charge. After the discharge process of surface charge, the enhanced contribution from the ferroelectric polarization charge was observed. Similarly, the reduction of surface charge was observed as time passed and the surface potential indicating the ferroelectric polarization charge was enhanced due to this retention property of surface charge.

Surface-plasmon-assisted modal gain enhancement in Au-hybrid CdSe/ZnS nanocrystal quantum dots

Surface-plasmon-assisted modal gain enhancement was investigated in Au-hybrid CdSe/ZnS nanocrystal quantum dots. A fivefold enhancement of the modal gain was observed at room temperature in the presence of a Au film by using modal gain contour map analysis, and the photoluminescence intensity and size-selective photoluminescence excitation intensity increased significantly. The enhanced modal gain was attributed to the multiexciton states of neutral and charged biexciton and triexciton.

Solvent-assisted optical modulation of FRET-induced fluorescence for efficient conjugated polymer-based DNA detection.

The solvent effects were studied in fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) from a cationic polyfluorene copolymer (FHQ, FPQ) to a fluorescein (Fl)-labelled oligonucleotide (ssDNA-Fl). Upon addition of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), the optical properties of polymers and the probe dye were substantially modified and the FRET-induced PL signal was enhanced 3.8-37 times, relative to that in phosphate buffer solution (PBS). The hydrophobic interaction between polymers and ssDNA-Fl is expected to decrease in the presence of DMSO, which induces the weaker polymer/ssDNA-Fl complexation with longer intermolecular donor-acceptor separation and perturbs the competition between the FRET and PL quenching processes such as photo-induced charge transfer. The gradual decrease in Fl PL quenching with increasing the DMSO content was investigated by measuring the Stern-Volmer quenching constants (3.3-4.2 × 10(6) M(-1) in PBS, 0.56-1.1 × 10(6) M(-1) in 80 vol% DMSO) and PL lifetime of the excited Fl* in polymer/ssDNA-Fl (600 ps in PBS and 2120 ps in 80 vol% DMSO for FHQ/ssDNA-Fl) in PBS/DMSO mixtures. The substantially reduced PL quenching would amplify the resulting FRET Fl signal. The signal amplification in real DNA detection was also demonstrated with fluorescein-labelled PNA (probe PNA) in the presence of a complementary target DNA and noncomplementary DNA in aqueous DMSO solutions. This approach suggests a simple way of modifying the fine-structure of polymer/ssDNA-Fl and improving the detection sensitivity in conjugated polymer-based FRET bioassays.

Excited exciton and biexciton localised states in a single quantum ring

We observe excited exciton and biexciton states of localised excitons in an anisotropic quantum ring, where large polarisation asymmetry supports the presence of a crescent-like localised structure. We also find that saturation of the localised ground state exciton with increasing excitation can be attributed to relatively fast dissociation of biexcitons (∼430 ps) compared to slow relaxation from the excited state to the ground state (∼1000 ps). As no significant excitonic Aharonov-Bohm oscillations occur up to 14 T, we conclude that phase coherence around the rim is inhibited as a consequence of height anisotropy in the quantum ring.

Optical nonlinearities of fine exciton states in a CdSe quantum dot

Optical nonlinearities near the band edge exciton states in a CdSe quantum dot have been investigated. The photoinduced changes in the real and imaginary parts of the refractive index have been calculated for an injected pulse area and occupancy on the basis of the size-dependence of the fine exciton states by using semiconductor Bloch equations. We found that the optical nonlinearities are dominant in ±1L. However, the gain for ±1L is compensated by absorption at the other bright exciton states (±1U and 0U) for a resonantly exciting femtosecond pulse. These results were in good agreement with those obtained for a cocircularly polarized degenerate pump-probe experiment.

Quasi-one-dimensional density of states in a single quantum ring

Generally confinement size is considered to determine the dimensionality of nanostructures. While the exciton Bohr radius is used as a criterion to define either weak or strong confinement in optical experiments, the binding energy of confined excitons is difficult to measure experimentally. One alternative is to use the temperature dependence of the radiative recombination time, which has been employed previously in quantum wells and quantum wires. A one-dimensional loop structure is often assumed to model quantum rings, but this approximation ceases to be valid when the rim width becomes comparable to the ring radius. We have evaluated the density of states in a single quantum ring by measuring the temperature dependence of the radiative recombination of excitons, where the photoluminescence decay time as a function of temperature was calibrated by using the low temperature integrated intensity and linewidth. We conclude that the quasi-continuous finely-spaced levels arising from the rotation energy give rise to a quasi-one-dimensional density of states, as long as the confined exciton is allowed to rotate around the opening of the anisotropic ring structure, which has a finite rim width.

Optical sectioning in optical resolution photo acoustic microscopy

We report a novel optical resolution photoacoustic microscopy concept to obtain an axial resolution only by optical methods. The photoacoustic signal is generated through a non-radiative relaxation from a level that is populated by excited state absorption. This two-step excitation process of a single laser enables to achieve an optical sectioning without any acoustic selectivity, whereby a full optical resolution photoacoustic microscopy is obtained. We bring a proof of this concept using Rhodamine and Zinc Tetraphenylporphyrin dyes known for their efficient excited state absorption process.

Polarization asymmetry and optical modal gain saturation via carrier―photon interaction in ZnO

The polarization dependence of modal gain was examined in ZnO using a variable stripe length method, where the transverse electric (TE) mode gain was dominant over the transverse magnetic (TM) mode gain due to the polarization asymmetry of the wurtzite structure. Modal gain saturation was also investigated using a modal gain contour map for the wavelength and stripe length. The TE modal gain and degree of polarization increased with increasing stripe length up to a threshold length (∼100 μm). At longer stripe lengths, rapid reduction in the carrier density along the stripe resulted in gain saturation and a spectral redshift.