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6 - Coherent control of quantum dot excitons using ultra-fast optical techniques: the role of acoustic phonons

from Part II - Manipulation of individual quantum states in quantum dots using optical techniques

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2012

By
A. J. Ramsay  and
A. M. Fox
Edited by
Alexander Tartakovskii
A. J. Ramsay
Affiliation:
University of Sheffield, UK
A. M. Fox
Affiliation:
University of Sheffield, UK
Alexander Tartakovskii
Affiliation:
University of Sheffield
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Summary

Introduction

Quantum dots are often referred to as artificial atoms, since they trap carriers in discrete energy-levels due to the nanoscale three-dimensional finite potential energy well they provide. As such, dots exhibit a coherent light–matter interaction that is similar to an atom. This is evidenced by observations of atom–optics phenomena such as Rabi oscillations [43, 26], power broadening [27], Autler–Townes doublet [14, 42], Mollow triplet [42, 8], and coherent population trapping [6]. In this chapter, Rabi rotation measurements are used to examine how an exciton transition deviates from an ideal two-level atom due to its interaction with a reservoir of phonons.

The neutral exciton transition may be regarded as a two-level system, or qubit, composed of the crystal ground-state ∣0〉 and a single electron-hole pair ∣X〉. The state-vector of a qubit can be described as a pseudo spin-half. When an oscillating electro-magnetic field resonantly excites the two-level transition it drives an oscillation in the population inversion known as a Rabi oscillation. This results from the oscillations of the driving field and the dipole of the two-level system being synchronous, such that in its rotating frame, the driving field acts as a static magnetic field that causes the pseudo-spin to rotate. Coherent control of the pseudo-spin can be achieved by applying well-defined driving fields, enabling the preparation, and manipulation of superposition states. Such coherent control concepts have found widespread use in electron spin, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Type
Chapter
Information
Quantum Dots
Optics, Electron Transport and Future Applications
 , pp. 103 - 117
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2012

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References

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