Masahiro Kakuda

Position dependent optical coupling between single quantum dots and photonic crystal nanocavities

We demonstrate precise and quick detection of the positions of quantum dots (QDs) embedded in two-dimensional photonic crystal nanocavities. We apply this technique to investigate the QD position dependence of the optical coupling between the QD and the nanocavity. We use a scanning electron microscope (SEM) operating at a low acceleration voltage to detect surface bumps induced by the QDs buried underneath. This enables QD detection with a sub-10 nm precision. We then experimentally measure the vacuum Rabi spectra to extract the optical coupling strengths (gs) between single QDs and cavities, and compare them to the values estimated by a combination of the SEM-measured QD positions and electromagnetic cavity field simulations. We found a highly linear relationship between the local cavity field intensities and the QD-cavity gs, suggesting the validity of the point dipole approximation used in the estimation of the gs. The estimation using SEM has a small standard deviation of ±6.2%, which potentially ena...

Thresholdless quantum dot nanolaser

Thresholdless lasing is an outstanding challenge in laser science and is achievable only in devices having near unity quantum efficiency even when not lasing. Such lasers are expected to exhibit featureless linear light output curves. However, such thresholdless behavior hinders identification of the laser transition, triggering a long-lasting argument on how to identify the lasing. Here, we demonstrate thresholdless lasing in a semiconductor quantum dot nanolaser with a photonic crystal nanocavity. We employ cavity resonant excitation for enabling the thresholdless operation via focused carrier injection into high cavity field regions. Under conventional (above bandgap) excitation, the same nanolaser exhibits a typical thresholded lasing transition, thereby facilitating a systematic comparison between the thresholdless and thresholded laser transitions in the single device. Our approach enables a clear verification of the thresholdless lasing and reveals core elements for its realization using quantum dots, paving the way to the development of ultimately energy-efficient nanolasers.

Optical properties of the periodic polarity-inverted GaN waveguides

Exploring the novel application to the quantum optics, the periodic crystallographic-polarity-inverted GaN waveguides were fabricated. In addition to the successful periodic reversal of the crystallographic orientations, periodic grating structures were formed on the surface due to the slight difference in the growth rates for different polarities, which gives the occurrence of the well-known photonic band structures. In this work, basic optical properties were investigated utilizing the variable-angle optical reflectance measurements on these waveguides with one-dimensional periodic grating structures, in order to obtain their photonic band structures. In addition to the optical interference fringes, clear reflectance dips originated from the resonance between the incident light and allowed waveguide modes appeared, aside from a weak resonant feature due to the coupling of the diffracted light to the evanescent mode on the grating surface, known as Woods anomalies. Taking into account the refractive index dispersions and the zone-folding effects invoked by the grating, the origins of all the resonant features are successfully elucidated. Especially in case of resonant coupling to the waveguide modes, the corresponding orders of both the grating diffractions and the guided modes are assigned. Based on these assignments, the possible configurations of the wavelength conversions are discussed.

Analysis of mineral composition by infrared spectral imaging using quantum dot focal plane array sensor

In this report, mineral composition of rock samples including conglomerate, sandstone, and dolomite was analyzed by IR spectral imaging using QDIP focal plane arrays (FPAs) with a peak-responsivity wavelength of 6.5 μm (FPA 1) and 5.5 μm (FPA 2). The qualitative and quantitative analyses are presented, and the key factor that determines the quantitative precision is discussed. In the qualitative analysis, the luminance of the different components in the rock samples was compared in the image. In the FPA 1 images, the shell fossil in the conglomerate sample and the limestone in the sandstone sample were darker than the other parts of the rocks due to their low emittance at 6.5 μm. In contrast, the difference in the luminance is hardly observed in the FPA 2 images under the same conditions. In the quantitative analysis, the emittance of dolomite was measured. Ten points in the IR image were randomly selected and the average emittance was calculated. The obtained emittances were 0.544±0.012 (FPA 1) and 0.941±0.019 (FPA 2), which means the coefficient of variation of the emittance measurement is ±2.1%~2.2%. By calculating the propagation of error, the precision of thermocouples for monitoring the temperature of the rocks in the calibration contributes most significantly (73%) to the total error.

Optical coupling between atomically thin black phosphorus and a two dimensional photonic crystal nanocavity

Atomically thin black phosphorus (BP) is an emerging two dimensional (2D) material exhibiting bright photoluminescence in the near infrared region. Coupling its radiation to photonic nanostructures will be an important step toward the realization of 2D material based nanophotonic devices that operate efficiently in the near infrared region, which includes the technologically important optical telecommunication wavelength bands. In this letter, we demonstrate the optical coupling between atomically thin BP and a 2D photonic crystal nanocavity. We employed a home-build dry transfer apparatus for placing a thin BP flake on the surface of the nanocavity. Their optical coupling was analyzed through measuring cavity mode emission under optical carrier injection at room temperature.

Influence of the relative positions of quantum dots and nanocavities on the optical coupling strength

We use scanning electron microscopy to precisely measure the locations of quantum dots buried in photonic crystal nanocavities. We show that well-positioned dots (at the field maximum) can exhibit vacuum Rabi splittings larger than 180μeV.

Cubic III-nitrides: potential photonic materials

The growth and characterization of some cubic III-nitride films on suitable cubic substrates have been done, namely, c- GaN on GaAs by MOVPE, c-GaN and c-AlGaN on MgO by RF-MBE, and c-InN and c-InGaN (In-rich) on YSZ by RFMBE. This series of study has been much focused on the cubic-phase purity as dependent on the respective growth conditions and resulting electrical and optical properties. For c-GaN and c-InN films, a cubic-phase purity higher than 95% is attained in spite of the metastable nature of the cubic III-nitrides. However, for c-AlGaN and c-InGaN films, the cubic-phase purity is rapidly degraded with significant incorporation of the hexagonal phase through stacking faults on cubic {111} faces which may be exposed on the roughened growing or substrate surface. It has been shown that the electron mobilities in c-GaN and c-AlGaN films are much related to phase purity.