Microwave band on-chip coil technique for single electron spin resonance in a quantum dot

Microwave band on-chip microcoils are developed for the application to single electron spin resonance measurement with a single quantum dot. Basic properties such as characteristic impedance and electromagnetic field distribution are examined for various coil designs by means of experiment and simulation. The combined setup operates relevantly in the experiment at dilution temperature. The frequency responses of the return loss and Coulomb blockade current are examined. Capacitive coupling between a coil and a quantum dot causes photon assisted tunneling, whose signal can greatly overlap the electron spin resonance signal. To suppress the photon assisted tunneling effect, a technique for compensating for the microwave electric field is developed. Good performance of this technique is confirmed from measurement of Coulomb blockade oscillations.     

Broadband electron spin resonance at low frequency without resonant cavity

We have developed a nonconventional broadband electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometer operating continuously in the frequency range from 0.5 to 9 GHz. Dual antenna structure and the microwave absorbing environment differentiate the setup from the conventional one and enable broadband operation with any combination of frequency or magnetic field modulation and frequency or magnetic field sweeping. Its performance has been tested with the measurements on a 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) sample and with the measurements on the single molecular magnet, V6, in solid state at low temperature.     

Excitation dynamics in a three-quantum dot system driven by optical near-field interaction: towards a nanometric photonic device

Using density operator formalism, we discuss interdot excitation energy transfer dynamics driven by the optical near‐field and phonon bath reservoir, as well as coherent excitation dynamics of a quantum dot system. As an effective interaction between quantum dots induced by the optical near‐field, the projection operator method gives a renormalized dipole interaction, which is expressed as a sum of the Yukawa functions and is used as the optical near‐field coupling of quantum dots. We examine one‐ and two‐exciton dynamics of a three‐quantum dot system suggesting a nanometric photonic switch, and numerically obtain a transfer time comparable with the recent experimental results for CuCl quantum dots.     

Dark field transmission electron microscope images of III-V quantum dot structures

Multi-layer quantum dot structures are becoming increasingly common in order to improve the efficiency of quantum dot lasers. Each layer of dots may be influenced by the preceding dot layer, and the dot density can vary from layer to layer. Characterization of such structures relies on the reliable determination of the shape, size and density of dots in each layer. Dark field transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images using the 002 diffraction condition are frequently used, viewing the layers edge-on in a cross-section sample. A simple model is used to describe the contrast as a function of dot size and shape, specimen thickness, and the composition of the dot and surrounding materials. Good agreement with experimental results is obtained. It is found that the dot size is not accurately related to the bright region seen in such images. While 002 images can be used to determine the size and shape of dots, a density per unit area cannot be calculated in the cross section geometry without either measuring--or assuming--the specimen thickness. In multilayer structures, plan-view TEM images show the layers as overlapping, losing the information from individual layers. By tilting a cross-section specimen to allow imaging with the dark field 113 diffraction condition, the density in individual layers can be measured. Additional information, such as wetting layer thickness variations and alignment of dots due to surface roughness or substrate offcut, can also be obtained.     

Hybrid microcavity for superminiature single quantum dot based emitters

This paper describes the development and implementation of a microcavity based on a semiconductor Bragg reflector and a microlens selectively positioned over a single (111) InGaAs quantum dot. The structure of the microcavity ensures effective pumping of quantum dots and high external quantum emission output efficiency. This microcavity can be used to create single photon emitters and emitters of entangled photon pairs based on single semiconductor quantum dots.     

Torque detected broad band electron spin resonance

We present a novel technique to measure high frequency electron spin resonance spectra in a broad frequency range (30-1440 GHz) with high sensitivity. We use a quasioptical setup with tunable frequency sources to induce magnetic resonance transitions. These transitions are detected by measuring the change in the magnetic torque signal by means of cantilever torque magnetometry. The setup allows tuning of the frequency, magnetic field, polarization, and the angle between the sample and the external magnetic field. We demonstrate the capabilities of this technique by showing preliminary results obtained on a single crystal of an Fe(4) molecular nanomagnet.     

Near-field spectroscopy of single quantum dots at room temperature

The observation of photoluminescence spectra of self-assembled single InGaAs quantum dots at room temperature was performed under weak excitation conditions using a near-field scanning optical microscope. Operation in illumination-collection mode with a highly sensitive double-tapered optical fibre probe enabled detection of weak photoluminescence signals at room temperature with high efficiency and high spatial resolution. Each single quantum dot was imaged with a spatial resolution of about 250 nm, which corresponded to a quarter of the wavelength of the photoluminescence from quantum dots. The photoluminescence yields of individual quantum dots were widely distributed and were found to decrease with photoluminescence energy. This result serves as a clue to be pursued for better understanding of the thermal excitation of the carrier from confined states in quantum dots.     

Electron tomography of III‐V quantum dots using dark field 002 imaging conditions

We present an evaluation of electron tomography of buried InAs quantum dots using dark field 002 imaging conditions. The compositional sensitivity of this imaging condition gives strong contrast among III‐V materials of differing compositions and, in principle, should allow an accurate 3D model of the buried structures to be produced. The large extinction distance allows specimens several hundred nanometres in thickness to be examined and reduces the effect of strain contrast in the images, with the advantage that it can be performed using conventional transmission electron microscopy techniques. A two‐beam condition must be maintained for all images, and the presence of other strong diffraction effects at certain specimen orientation results reduces the number of orientations available for tomography by approximately 10%. The data presented here are limited due to a lack of angular range in the data set but we find that an acceptable 3D model of a buried quantum dot may be produced by imposing cylindrical symmetry on the data set.     

CdTe量子点分子印迹传感器对水中磺胺类药物残留的检测

磺胺类抗生素被广泛应用于水产养殖,会对环境造成危害。为了检测水环境中该类药物的浓度,本研究合成了磺胺类药物量子点分子印迹传感器,用于快速检测水样中的磺胺类抗生素。在CdTe量子点表面,以磺胺嘧啶为虚拟模板,采用溶胶-凝胶法合成了具有良好光学性质的分子印迹荧光传感器。通过红外光谱(FT-IR)、透射电子显微镜(TEM)和扫描电子显微镜(SEM)对传感器进行了表征,并测试了pH值对测定条件的影响,分析了传感器对不同药物的选择性。印迹聚合物成功接枝在了量子点表面,在pH为8.0时,具有最佳荧光吸收。在该条件下,当磺胺嘧啶在2~10μmol/L的浓度范围内,CdTe@SiO2@MIPs的荧光猝灭率(F0/F)随体系中磺胺嘧啶的浓度变化关系符合SternVolmer方程(R2=0.982 7,n=5)。加标回收率显示,磺胺嘧啶的回收率范围为90.0%~104.4%,相对标准偏差不超过14.7%。实验结果表明制备的CdTe@SiO_2@MIPs可快速灵敏地检测水样中磺胺类药物的残留。     

高频高场电子顺磁共振技术在自旋量子态研究中的应用

电子顺磁共振(EPR)技术是研究具有未成对电子的顺磁性物质的电子结构与动力学信息的有效分析方法,广泛应用于 生物医药、化学、材料科学、辐射检测与量子信息处理等领域。 与传统的 X 波段(9. 5 GHz)EPR 相比,高频 EPR 具有更高的分 辨率、灵敏度与初始化效率等诸多优势,在研究分子中电子自旋的量子性质方面具有重要应用价值。 简要介绍了高频高场电子 顺磁共振技术的发展、原理、特点与仪器构造等,重点介绍了其在自旋量子态研究中的应用,并对其未来进行了展望。 高频高场 电子顺磁共振技术可详细表征分子中电子自旋的磁能级结构并对其进行高效精准的量子相干操控,进一步可演示量子算法与 逻辑门等。     

Microsecond Lifetime of Exciton Spin Polarization in (In,Al)As/AlAs Quantum Dots

The time of spin relaxation of excitons in (In,Al)As/AlAs quantum dots with an indirect bandgap and type-I band alignment is determined by measuring the dynamics of photoluminescence circular polarization induced by a magnetic field B. The spin relaxation time τ _S increases with decreasing magnetic field in proportion to B ^?5; its value is ～40 µs in a magnetic field of 6 T at a temperature of 1.8 K. As the temperature T increases in a magnetic field of 7 T, the value of τ _S decreases as T ^?1.1. The character of the dependences of τ _S on the magnetic field and temperature evidences that spin relaxation of excitons is provided by a process with participation of one acoustic phonon.     

Polarization effects in near-field excitation — collection probe optical microscopy of a single quantum dot

We solve numerically the three-dimensional vector form of Maxwell's equation for the situation of near-field excitation and collection of luminescence from a single quantum dot, using a scanning near-field optical fibre probe with sub-wavelength resolution. We highlight the importance of polarization-dependent effects in both the near-field excitation and collection processes. Applying a finite-difference time domain method, we calculate the complete vector fields emerging from a realistic probe structure which is in close proximity to a semiconductor surface. We model the photoluminescence from the quantum dot in terms of electric dipoles of different polarization directions, and determine the near-field luminescence images of the dot captured by the same probe. We show that a collimating effect in the high index semiconductor significantly improves the spatial resolution in the excitation–collection mode. We find that the spatial resolution, image shape and collection efficiency of near-field luminescence imaging strongly depend on the polarization direction as represented by the orientation of the radiating electric dipoles inside the quantum dot.     

Polarization effects in near-field excitation-collection probe optical microscopy of a single quantum dot

We solve numerically the three-dimensional vector form of Maxwell's equation for the situation of near-field excitation and collection of luminescence from a single quantum dot, using a scanning near-field optical fibre probe with subwavelength resolution. We highlight the importance of polarization-dependent effects in both the near-field excitation and collection processes. Applying a finite-difference time domain method, we calculate the complete vector fields emerging from a realistic probe structure which is in close proximity to a semiconductor surface. We model the photoluminescence from the quantum dot in terms of electric dipoles of different polarization directions, and determine the near-field luminescence images of the dot captured by the same probe. We show that a collimating effect in the high index semiconductor significantly improves the spatial resolution in the excitation-collection mode. We find that the spatial resolution, image shape and collection efficiency of near-field luminescence imaging strongly depend on the polarization direction as represented by the orientation of the radiating electric dipoles inside the quantum dot.     

Force detected electron spin resonance at 94 GHz

Force detected electron spin resonance (FDESR) detects the presence of unpaired electrons in a sample by measuring the change in force on a mechanical resonator as the magnetization of the sample is modulated under magnetic resonance conditions. The magnetization is coupled to the resonator via a magnetic field gradient. It has been used to both detect and image distributions of electron spins, and it offers both extremely high absolute sensitivity and high spatial imaging resolution. However, compared to conventional induction mode ESR the technique also has a comparatively poor concentration sensitivity and it introduces complications in interpreting and combining both spectroscopy and imaging. One method to improve both sensitivity and spectral resolution is to operate in high magnetic fields in order to increase the sample magnetization and g-factor resolution. In this article we present FDESR measurements on the organic conductor (fluoranthene)(2)PF(6) at 3.2 T, with a corresponding millimeter-wave frequency of 93.5 GHz, which we believe are the highest field results for FDESR reported in the literature to date. A magnet-on-cantilever approach was used, with a high-anisotropy microwave ferrite as the gradient source and employing cyclic saturation to modulate the magnetization at the cantilever fundamental frequency.     

Spin and energy analyzed photoemission: a feasibility analysis

New scientific opportunities, particularly for investigation of surface magnetism, will be provided by spin and energy analyzed photoemission. Electron-optical conservation laws and phase space concepts are summarized and applied to determine the feasiblity of an experiment consisting of a photoemitter in a magnetic field, a photoelectron energy analyzer and an electron spin analyzer. For the example of photoemission from a Ni crystal using He I resonance radiation and typical parameters for the energy and spin analyzers, a final signal count rate of approximately 220 counts/s is calculated. Ways to increase the count rate by orders of magnitude are described. In particular, a new experimental configuration is suggested which may avoid the large reduction in count rate caused by the magnetic field.     

Atomically resolved field emission patterns of single-walled carbon nanotubes

The electron emission and structural properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were investigated by using field emission microscopy (FEM). The transmission electron microscopy micrograph confirmed the existence of an SWCNT bundle on the W tip. Under appropriate experimental conditions, an FEM image with an elliptic ring-like structure composed of separated bright dots was obtained, a reasonable interpretation of it is that it was produced from the open end for a zigzag (16,0) SWCNT protruding from the SWCNT bundle, each bright dot corresponding to a single atom at the open end. And, if true, this means that the FEM demonstrated 0.2nm resolution, which was theoretically possible for the assumed geometry. The calculated value of the magnification of the pattern was also consistent with the measured value if the value of the compression factor beta was set at 1.76.     

Spectroscopy of Single AlInAs Quantum Dots

A system of quantum dots based on Al _x In_1?xAs/Al _y Ga_1?yAs solid solutions is investigated. The use of Al _x In_1?xAs wide-gap solid solutions as the basis of quantum dots substantially extends the spectral emission range to the short-wavelength region, including the wavelength region near 770 nm, which is of interest for the development of aerospace systems of quantum cryptography. The optical characteristics of Al _x In_1?xAs single quantum dots grown by the Stranski–Krastanov mechanism were studied by cryogenic microphotoluminescence. The statistics of the emission of single quantum dot excitons was studied using a Hanbury Brown–Twiss interferometer. The pair photon correlation function indicates the sub-Poissonian nature of the emission statistics, which directly confirms the possibility of developing single-photon emitters based on Al _x In_1?xAs quantum dots. The fine structure of quantum dot exciton states was investigated at wavelengths near 770 nm. The splitting of the exciton states is found to be similar to the natural width of exciton lines, which is of great interest for the development of entangled photon pair emitters based on Al _x In_1?xAs quantum dots.     

Electron microscope characterization of CdSe/ZnSe quantum dots based on molecular dynamics structure relaxations

Molecular dynamics simulations using empirical potentials are applied to characterize the structure, the energy relaxation and the stability of pyramidal-shaped quantum dots in the CdSe/ZnSe system. The relaxed structure models are used for a reliable interpretation of electron microscope investigations to analyze the size, the shape and the strain fields of the quantum dots. Though the elastic strains modify the electron microsope image contrast by creating virtual truncations of the pyramids or additional black-white lobes, optimum imaging conditions chosen will reveal the shape and the size of the dots.