Strain Tuning Of Single Semiconductor Quantum Dots

This book reviews recent advances in the field of semiconductor quantum dots via contributions from prominent researchers in the scientific community. Special focus is given to optical, quantum optical, and spin properties of single quantum dots.

In this book, leading experts on quantum dot theory and technology provide comprehensive reviews of all aspects of quantum dot systems. The following topics are covered: (1) energy states in quantum dots, including the effects of strain and many-body effects; (2) self-assembly and self-ordering of quantum dots in semiconductor systems; (3) growth, structures, and optical properties of III-nitride quantum dots; (4) quantum dot lasers.

The work provides fundamental expertise of quantum optics and photonic quantum technology with particular attention to the generation of non-classical light with semiconductor nanostructures. The book is written by experimentalists for experimentalists at various career stages: physics and engineering students, researchers in quantum optics, industry experts in quantum technology. A didactical structure is followed, having in each chapter overview and summary of the discussed topics, allowing for a quick consultation. The book covers:

Special focus is given to the optical and electronic properties of single quantum dots due to their potential applications in devices operating with single electrons and/or single photons. This includes quantum dots in electric and magnetic fields, cavity-quantum electrodynamics, nonclassical light generation, and coherent optical control of excitons.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art in the development of semiconductor nanostructures and nanophotonic devices. It covers epitaxial growth processes for GaAs- and GaN-based quantum dots and quantum wells, describes the fundamental optical, electronic, and vibronic properties of nanomaterials, and addresses the design and realization of various nanophotonic devices. These include energy-efficient and high-speed vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) and ultra-small metal-cavity nano-lasers for applications in multi-terabus systems; silicon photonic I/O engines based on the hybrid integration of VCSELs for highly efficient chip-to-chip communication; electrically driven quantum key systems based on q-bit and entangled photon emitters and their implementation in real information networks; and AlGaN-based deep UV laser diodes for applications in medical diagnostics, gas sensing, spectroscopy, and 3D printing. The experimental results are accompanied by reviews of theoretical models that describe nanophotonic devices and their base materials. The book details how optical transitions in the active materials, such as semiconductor quantum dots and quantum wells, can be described using a quantum approach to the dynamics of solid-state electrons under quantum confinement and their interaction with phonons, as well as their external pumping by electrical currents. With its broad and detailed scope, this book is indeed a cutting-edge resource for researchers, engineers and graduate-level students in the area of semiconductor materials, optoelectronic devices and photonic systems.

This book captures cutting-edge research in semiconductor quantum dot devices, discussing preparation methods and properties, and providing a comprehensive overview of their optoelectronic applications. Quantum dots (QDs), with particle sizes in the nanometer range, have unique electronic and optical properties. They have the potential to open an avenue for next-generation optoelectronic methods and devices, such as lasers, biomarker assays, field effect transistors, LEDs, photodetectors, and solar concentrators. By bringing together leaders in the various application areas, this book is both a comprehensive introduction to different kinds of QDs with unique physical properties as well as their preparation routes, and a platform for knowledge sharing and dissemination of the latest advances in a novel area of nanotechnology.

Nanotechnology is one of the growing areas of this century, also opening new horizons for tuning optical properties. This book introduces basic tuning schemes, including those on a single quantum object level, with an emphasis on surface and interface manipulation of semiconducting and metallic quantum dots. There are two opposing demands in current forefront applications of quantum dots as optical labels, namely high luminescence stability (suppression of luminescence intermittency) and controllable intermittency and bleaching on a single-particle level to facilitate super-resolution optical microscopy (for which Eric Betzig, Stefan W. Hell, and William E. Moerner were awarded the 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry). The book discusses these contradictory demands with respect to both an understanding of the basic processes and applications. The chapters are a combination of scholarly presentation and comprehensive review and include case studies from the authors’ research, including unpublished results. Special emphasis is on a detailed understanding of spectroscopic and dynamic properties of semiconducting quantum dots. The book is suitable for senior undergraduates and researchers in the fields of optical nanoscience, materials science, and nanotechnology.

Reducing the size of a coherently grown semiconductor cluster in all three directions of space to a value below the de Broglie wavelength of a charge carrier leads to complete quantization of the energy levels, density of states, etc. Such “quantum dots” are more similar to giant atoms in a dielectric cage than to classical solids or semiconductors showing a dispersion of energy as a function of wavevector. Their electronic and optical properties depend strongly on their size and shape, i.e. on their geometry. By designing the geometry by controlling the growth of QDs, absolutely novel possibilities for material design leading to novel devices are opened. This multiauthor book written by world-wide recognized leaders of their particular fields and edited by the recipient of the Max-Born Award and Medal 2006 Professor Dieter Bimberg reports on the state of the art of the growing of quantum dots, the theory of self-organised growth, the theory of electronic and excitonic states, optical properties and transport in a variety of materials. It covers the subject from the early work beginning of the 1990s up to 2006. The topics addressed in the book are the focus of research in all leading semiconductor and optoelectronic device laboratories of the world.