Yuqing Huang

Anomalous spectral dependence of optical polarization and its impact on spin detection in InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots

We show that circularly polarized emission light from InGaAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) ensembles under optical spin injection from an adjacent GaAs layer can switch its helicity depending on emission wavelengths and optical excitation density. We attribute this anomalous behavior to simultaneous contributions from both positive and negative trions and a lower number of photo-excited holes than electrons being injected into the QDs due to trapping of holes at ionized acceptors and a lower hole mobility. Our results call for caution in reading out electron spin polarization by optical polarization of the QD ensembles and also provide a guideline in improving efficiency of spin light emitting devices that utilize QDs.

Spin injection and helicity control of surface spin photocurrent in a three dimensional topological insulator

A three-dimensional (3D) topological insulator (TI) is a unique quantum phase of matter with exotic physical properties and promising spintronic applications. However, surface spin current in a common 3D TI remains difficult to control and the out-of-plane spin texture is largely unexplored. Here, by means of surface spin photocurrent in Bi2Te3 TI devices driven by circular polarized light, we identify the subtle effect of the spin texture of the topological surface state including the hexagonal warping term on the surface current. By exploring the out-of-plane spin texture, we demonstrate spin injection from GaAs to TI and its significant contribution to the surface current, which can be manipulated by an external magnetic field. These discoveries pave the way to not only intriguing new physics but also enriched spin functionalities by integrating TI with conventional semiconductors, such that spin-enabled optoelectronic devices may be fabricated in such hybrid structures.

Size dependence of electron spin dephasing in InGaAs quantum dots

We investigate ensemble electron spin dephasing in self-assembled InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) of different lateral sizes by employing optical Hanle measurements. Using low excitation power, we are able to obtain a spin dephasing time T2* (in the order of ns) of the resident electron after recombination of negative trions in the QDs. We show that T2* is determined by the hyperfine field arising from the frozen fluctuation of nuclear spins, which scales with the size of QDs following the Merkulov-Efros-Rosen model. This scaling no longer holds in large QDs, most likely due to a breakdown in the lateral electron confinement.

Exciton Fine-Structure Splitting in Self-Assembled Lateral InAs/GaAs Quantum-Dot Molecular Structures

Fine-structure splitting (FSS) of excitons in semiconductor nanostructures is a key parameter that has significant implications in photon entanglement and polarization conversion between electron spins and photons, relevant to quantum information technology and spintronics. Here, we investigate exciton FSS in self-organized lateral InAs/GaAs quantum-dot molecular structures (QMSs) including laterally aligned double quantum dots (DQDs), quantum-dot clusters (QCs), and quantum rings (QRs), by employing polarization-resolved microphotoluminescence (μPL) spectroscopy. We find a clear trend in FSS between the studied QMSs depending on their geometric arrangements, from a large FSS in the DQDs to a smaller FSS in the QCs and QRs. This trend is accompanied by a corresponding difference in the optical polarization directions of the excitons between these QMSs, namely, the bright-exciton lines are linearly polarized preferably along or perpendicular to the [11̅0] crystallographic axis in the DQDs that also defines the alignment direction of the two constituting QDs, whereas in the QCs and QRs, the polarization directions are randomly oriented. We attribute the observed trend in the FSS to a significant reduction of the asymmetry in the lateral confinement potential of the excitons in the QRs and QCs as compared with the DQDs, as a result of a compensation between the effects of lateral shape anisotropy and piezoelectric field. Our work demonstrates that FSS strongly depends on the geometric arrangements of the QMSs, which effectively tune the degree of the compensation effects and are capable of reducing FSS even in a strained QD system to a limit similar to strain-free QDs. This approach provides a pathway in obtaining high-symmetry quantum emitters desirable for realizing photon entanglement and spintronic devices based on such nanostructures, utilizing an uninterrupted epitaxial growth procedure without special requirements for lattice-matched materials combinations, specific substrate orientations, and nanolithography.

Understanding and optimizing spin injection in self- assembled InAs/GaAs quantum-dot molecular structures

Semiconductor quantum-dot (QD) structures are promising for spintronic applications owing to their strong quenching of spin relaxation processes that are promoted by carrier and exciton motions. Unfortunately, the spin injection efficiency in such nanostructures is very low and the exact physical mechanism of the spin loss is still not fully understood. Here, we show that exciton spin injection in self-assembled InAs/GaAs QDs and QD molecular structures (QMSs) is dominated by localized excitons confined within the QD-like regions of the wetting layer (WL) and GaAs barrier layer that immediately surround the QDs and QMSs. These localized excitons in fact lack the commonly believed 2D and 3D character with an extended wavefunction. We attribute the microscopic origin of the severe spin loss observed during spin injection to a sizable anisotropic exchange interaction (AEI) of the localized excitons in the WL and GaAs barrier layer, which has so far been overlooked. We determined that the AEI of the injected excitons and, thus, the efficiency of the spin injection processes are correlated with the overall geometric symmetry of the QMSs. This symmetry largely defines the anisotropy of the confinement potential of the localized excitons in the surrounding WL and GaAs barrier. These results pave the way for a better understanding of spin injection processes and the microscopic origin of spin loss in QD structures. Furthermore, they provide a useful guideline to significantly improve spin injection efficiency by optimizing the lateral arrangement of QMSs and overcome a major challenge in spintronic device applications utilizing semiconductor QDs.

Dual-wavelength excited photoluminescence spectroscopy of deep-level hole traps in Ga(In)NP

By employing photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy under dual-wavelength optical excitation, we uncover the presence of deep-level hole traps in Ga(In)NP alloys grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The energy level positions of the traps are determined to be at 0.56 eV and 0.78 eV above the top of the valance band. We show that photo-excitation of the holes from the traps, by a secondary light source with a photon energy below the bandgap energy, can lead to a strong enhancement (up to 25%) of the PL emissions from the alloys under a primary optical excitation above the bandgap energy. We further demonstrate that the same hole traps can be found in various MBE-grown Ga(In)NP alloys, regardless of their growth temperatures, chemical compositions, and strain. The extent of the PL enhancement induced by the hole de-trapping is shown to vary between different alloys, however, likely reflecting their different trap concentrations. The absence of theses traps in the GaNP alloy grown by vapor phase epitaxy suggests that their incorporation could be associated with a contaminant accompanied by the N plasma source employed in the MBE growth, possibly a Cu impurity.

Room-temperature polarized spin-photon interface based on a semiconductor nanodisk-in-nanopillar structure driven by few defects

Owing to their superior optical properties, semiconductor nanopillars/nanowires in one-dimensional (1D) geometry are building blocks for nano-photonics. They also hold potential for efficient polarized spin-light conversion in future spin nano-photonics. Unfortunately, spin generation in 1D systems so far remains inefficient at room temperature. Here we propose an approach that can significantly enhance the radiative efficiency of the electrons with the desired spin while suppressing that with the unwanted spin, which simultaneously ensures strong spin and light polarization. We demonstrate high optical polarization of 20%, inferring high electron spin polarization up to 60% at room temperature in a 1D system based on a GaNAs nanodisk-in-GaAs nanopillar structure, facilitated by spin-dependent recombination via merely 2–3 defects in each nanodisk. Our approach points to a promising direction for realization of an interface for efficient spin-photon quantum information transfer at room temperature—a key element for future spin-photonic applications.Room-temperature spin-generation in 1D systems like semiconductor nanopillars is typically inefficient. Here, the authors demonstrate an approach to achieve efficient spin polarization, even in the absence of a magnetic field, by selectively enhancing the radiative efficiency of one spin direction.

Spin Texture And Spin Injection In A 3D Topological Insulator

View Online Nano-Micro Conf., 2017, 1, 01063 | 1 Published by Nature Research Society http://nrs.org Spin Texture And Spin Injection In A 3D Topological Insulator W. M. Chen,* Y. Q. Huang, I. A. Buyanova, Y. X. Song, S. M. Wang Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Linköping University, S-581 83 Linköping, Sweden State Key Laboratory of Functional Materials for Informatics, CAS Center of Excellence for Superconducting Electronics, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 865 Changning Road, Shanghai 200050, China Corresponding Author. Email: wmc@ifm.liu.se Received: 31 May 2017, Accepted: 12 June 2017, Published Online: 30 October 2017 Citation Information: W. M. Chen, Y. Q. Huang, I. A. Buyanova, Y. X. Song, S. M. Wang, Nano-Micro Conference, 2017, 1, 01063 doi: 10.11605/ cp.nmc2017.01063

Spin injection loss in self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dot structures from disordered barrier layers

Semiconductor quantum dot (QD) structures are considered as promising building block for spintronic applications with the advantage of prolonged spin relaxation time owing to 0D character of confined carriers or excitons. However, feasible application is haunted by severe spin injection loss from its adjacent barrier layers and its mechanism is still not fully understood. Here, we show that exciton spin injection in self-assembled InAs/GaAs QD molecular structures (QMSs) is dominated by localized excitons confined within the QD-like regions of the wetting layer (WL) and GaAs barrier layer surrounding QD structures. The origin of spin injection loss is attribute to finite anisotropic exchange interaction (AEI) of the localized excitons subjected to asymmetric confinement potential in the injection layers. As a result, the AEI of the injected excitons and, thus, the spin injection efficiency is determined to be correlated with the overall geometric symmetry of QMSs, which hold strong influence on the confinement potential of the localized excitons in the surrounding barrier layers. Our results shed light on the microscopic origin of the spin injection loss in QD structures. More importantly, they offer a useful guideline to significantly improve spin injection efficiency by optimizing the lateral arrangement of QMSs and overcome a major challenge in the QD based spintronic device applications.

Spin injection and detection in semiconductor nanostructures

We review our recent results from optical spin orientation studies of In(Ga)As/GaAs quantum dots (QD) and QD molecular structures (QMSs), which shed light on some critical issues in spin injection and spin detection in these semiconductor nanostructures.