V. Lopez-Richard

Aharonov-Bohm interference in neutral excitons: effects of built-in electric fields

We report a comprehensive discussion of quantum interference effects due to the finite structure of neutral excitons in quantum rings and their first experimental corroboration observed in the optical recombinations. The signatures of built-in electric fields and temperature on quantum interference are demonstrated by theoretical models that describe the modulation of the interference pattern and confirmed by complementary experimental procedures.

Radiative versus nonradiative optical processes in PbS nanocrystals

The Stokes shift detected in PbS nanocrystals is analyzed by optical absorption (OA), photoluminescence (PL) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The samples were synthesized by fusion method over two different glass substrates, and identical size PbS dot structures with radius 4.1 nm grown showed PL and OA peaks separated by 0.15 and 0.10 eV. The origin of these large Stokes shifts are analyzed whether they are attributed to the nonradiative recombination associated to impurity states in prepared doped samples or to radiative transitions between exciton states induced by electron-hole (e-h) exchange Coulomb interaction.

Markovian and non-Markovian light-emission channels in strained quantum wires.

We have achieved conditions to obtain optical memory effects in semiconductor nanostructures. The system is based on strained InP quantum wires where the tuning of the heavy-light valence band splitting has allowed the existence of two independent optical channels with correlated and uncorrelated excitation and light-emission processes. The presence of an optical channel that preserves the excitation memory is unambiguously corroborated by photoluminescence measurements of free-standing quantum wires under different configurations of the incoming and outgoing light polarizations in various samples. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction indicate the presence of strain effects in the optical response. By using this effect and under certain growth conditions, we have shown that the optical recombination is mediated by relaxation processes with different natures: one a Markov and another with a non-Markovian signature. Resonance intersubband light-heavy hole transitions assisted by optical phonons provide the desired mechanism for the correlated non-Markovian carrier relaxation process. A multiband calculation for strained InP quantum wires was developed to account for the description of the character of the valence band states and gives quantitative support for light hole-heavy hole transitions assisted by optical phonons.

Mechanisms of interdot coupling in (In,Ga)As/GaAs quantum dot arrays

Interdot coupling in (In,Ga)As/GaAs quantum dot arrays is studied by means of steady state and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL). A peculiar dependence of the PL decay time on the excitation and detection energy is revealed and ascribed to the peculiarities of the carrier and energy relaxation caused by both immediate electronic interdot coupling and long-range coupling through the radiation field.

Photocurrent-voltage relation of resonant tunneling diode photodetectors

We have investigated photodetectors based on an AlGaAs/GaAs double barrier structure with a nearby lattice-matched GaInNAs absorption layer. Photons with the telecommunication wavelength λ=1.3 μm lead to hole accumulation close to the double barrier inducing a voltage shift ΔV(V) of the current-voltage curve, which depends strongly on the bias voltage V. A model is proposed describing ΔV(V) and the photocurrent response in excellent agreement with the experimental observations. According to the model, an interplay of the resonant tunneling diode (RTD) quantum efficiency η(V), the lifetime of photogenerated and accumulated charge carriers τ(V), and the RTD current-voltage relation in the dark determines best working parameters of RTD photodetectors. Limitations and voltage dependencies of the photoresponse are discussed.

Electron transport in quantum dot chains: Dimensionality effects and hopping conductance

Detailed experimental and theoretical studies of lateral electron transport in a system of quantum dot chains demonstrate the complicated character of the conductance within the chain structure due to the interaction of conduction channels with different dimensionalities. The one-dimensional character of states in the wetting layer results in an anisotropic mobility, while the presence of the zero-dimensional states of the quantum dots leads to enhanced hopping conductance, which affects the low-temperature mobility and demonstrates an anisotropy in the conductance. These phenomena were probed by considering a one-dimensional model of hopping along with band filling effects. Differences between the model and the experimental results indicate that this system does not obey the simple one-dimensional Motts law of hopping and deserves further experimental and theoretical considerations.

Polarization resolved luminescence in asymmetric n-type GaAs∕AlGaAs resonant tunneling diodes

We have investigated the polarized emission from a n-type GaAs∕AlGaAs resonant tunneling diode under magnetic field. The GaAs contact layer emission shows a large constant negative circular polarization. A similar result is observed for the quantum well, but only when electrons are injected from the substrate, while for inverted biases, the polarization tends to become positive for small voltages and large laser excitation intensities. We believe that the quantum well polarization may be associated to the partial thermalization of minority carriers on the well subbands and is thus critically dependent on the bias-controlled density of carriers accumulated in the well.

Nanothermometer Based on Resonant Tunneling Diodes: From Cryogenic to Room Temperatures

Sensor miniaturization together with broadening temperature sensing range are fundamental challenges in nanothermometry. By exploiting a large temperature-dependent screening effect observed in a resonant tunneling diode in sequence with a GaInNAs/GaAs quantum well, we present a low dimensional, wide range, and high sensitive nanothermometer. This sensor shows a large threshold voltage shift of the bistable switching of more than 4.5 V for a temperature raise from 4.5 to 295 K, with a linear voltage-temperature response of 19.2 mV K(-1), and a temperature uncertainty in the millikelvin (mK) range. Also, when we monitor the electroluminescence emission spectrum, an optical read-out control of the thermometer is provided. The combination of electrical and optical read-outs together with the sensor architecture excel the device as a thermometer with the capability of noninvasive temperature sensing, high local resolution, and sensitivity.

Spin injection from two-dimensional electron and hole gases in resonant tunneling diodes

We have investigated the polarized-resolved photoluminescence from the contact layers and the quantum-well in an n-type GaAs/GaAlAs resonant tunneling diode for magnetic fields up to 19 T. The optical emission from the GaAs contact layers comprises the recombination from highly spin-polarized two-dimensional electron and hole gases with free tunneling carriers. Both the energy position and intensity of this indirect recombination are voltage-dependent and show remarkably abrupt variations near scattering-assisted tunneling resonances. Our results show that these two dimensional gases act as spin-polarized sources for carriers tunneling through the well in resonant tunneling diodes.

Carrier transfer in vertically stacked quantum ring-quantum dot chains

The interplay between structural properties and charge transfer in self-assembled quantum ring (QR) chains grown by molecular beam epitaxy on top of an InGaAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) superlattice template is analyzed and characterized. The QDs and QRs are vertically stacked and laterally coupled as well as aligned within each layer due to the strain field distributions that governs the ordering. The strong interdot coupling influences the carrier transfer both along as well as between chains in the ring layer and dot template structures. A qualitative contrast between different dynamic models has been developed. By combining temperature and excitation intensity effects, the tuning of the photoluminescence gain for either the QR or the QD mode is attained. The information obtained here about relaxation parameters, energy scheme, interlayer and interdot coupling resulting in creation of 1D structures is very important for the usage of such specific QR–QD systems for applied purposes such as lasing, detection, and energy-harvesting technology of future solar panels.