Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Physical review. B, Condensed matter

Pulse-propagation-induced higher orders of diffraction in transient four-wave mixing with semiconductors

B. Lummer, J.‐M. Wagner, R. Heitz, A. Hoffmann, I. Broser, R. Zimmermann

Published Dec 15, 1996• 10 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Higher orders of diffraction observed in a transient four-wave mixing experiment with acceptor-bound exciton complexes in CdS are analyzed in terms of pulse propagation. The description is based on a mean-field correction to the driving electric field in the optical Bloch equations, which are shown to generally lack higher-order diffraction for two-pulse self-diffraction. A propagation-induced sequence of stimulated echoes diffracted at the population grating dominates at least the second order of diffraction. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.54.16727

Related papers

Pulse Propagation and Many-body Effects in Semiconductor Four Wave Mixing

A. Schulze, A. Knorr, S. W. Koch

The simultaneous influence of pulse propagation and Coulomb many-body interaction in Four Wave Mixing experiments is theoretically studied using the Semiconductor-Maxwell-Bloch equations. In this framework, the propagation of the optical fields and the microscopic interaction of the light with the semiconductor are treated consistently. The Maxwell equation is used as a reduced wave equation and the many-body Coulomb interaction are treated at the level of a screened Hartree-Fock approximation including phenomenological decay terms. We have analyzed the interplay of the propagation and Coulomb effects by calculating the Four Wave Mixing signal (FWMS) for different sample lengths and various excitation conditions, i.e, for pulses with different intensities at the exciton and in the continuum.

Quantum Optoelectronics•Jan 1, 1995•0 citations

Linear and nonlinear pulse propagation at bound excitons in CdS

Marcus Jütte, H. Stolz, Wolf von der Osten

Pulse propagation experiments are performed with coherent picosecond laser pulses in resonance with the donor bound A-exciton (I2) state in CdS. Using bandwidth-limited time-resolved spectroscopy, we investigate the intensity of the transmitted laser pulse as a function of monochromator energy position and time. This method permits the determination of both the amplitude and the phase of the complex electric-field amplitude. Studying the dependence of pulse propagation on the input intensity, for small-area pulses we found at the rear of the sample the spectral hole formation and beating characteristic of a 0π pulse. At large pulse areas close to 2π the pulse propagates nearly unperturbed, showing no oscillatory reshaping or significant absorption losses. This provides clear evidence for self-induced transparency at an excitonic state in solids. Our interpretation is substantiated by an analysis within the framework of the combined Maxwell and optical Bloch equations.

Journal of the Optical Society of America B•Jun 1, 1996•27 citations

Coherent high-intensity pulse propagation on a free-exciton resonance in a semiconductor

Harald W. Giessen, Stefan Lindén, J. Kühl +2 more

Summary form only given.Free-exciton resonances in semiconductors cannot be treated as bare two-level systems because Coulomb interaction and correlation/exchange effects between the carriers substantially modify the optical Bloch equations that describe the behavior of a two-level system under the influence of an external light field. The semiconductor Bloch equations (SBEs) give a more realistic description of the dynamic response of the system on ultrafast time scales. Therefore, the coherent transients known from two-level systems in atomic physics have been found to be substantially modified in semiconductors. Whereas self-induced transparency (SIT) on bound excitons, which are known to behave as atomiclike two-level systems, has been found, the question whether SIT could also appear on a free-exciton resonance is still subject of controversial discussions. We addressed this problem in a combined theory-experiment study.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics•Nov 27, 2002•0 citations

Biexponential decoherence in photon echoes: spectral evidence for nearly degenerate localized excitons

John Erland, J.C. Kim, D. Gammon +1 more

Summary form only given.Much recent progress has been made in the understanding of the optical response of low dimensional semiconductors. However, additional complications of strong localization and their effects on dynamics and the coherent optical response remain unresolved. Using a highly disordered GaAs single quantum well (width 42 /spl Aring/), we report the nonlinear signal in a self-diffracted transient four-wave mixing (FWM) experiment extending over more than three decades in amplitude as a function of pulse delay.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics•Nov 27, 2002•0 citations

High-Order Diffraction in Photorefractive Quantum Well Structures

Q. N. Wang, David D. Nolte, M. R. Melloch

Recently, the high speed of semiconductor materials was combined with the large optical nonlinearity of the Franz-Kelydish effect near the quantum confined exciton absorption within semi-insulating multiple quantum well structures (SIMQW)[1]. The diffraction efficiency of four wave mixing obtained in the SIMQW with an optical interaction length of 1.05 µm is comparable with the diffraction efficiency for a semiconductor bulk sample with an optical interaction length of several mm operating under similar conditions. Thus, SIMQW become a ideal candidate to study the diffraction process in the Raman-Nath regime[2]. Here, we report two effects of the second order diffraction in a SIMQW sample under applied field: 1) the direct observation of a strong second order diffraction signal; 2) the intensity of the degenerate four wave mixing signal depends on the direction of applied field when the fringe spacing becomes large.

Photorefractive Effects, Materials, and Devices•Jan 1, 1991•0 citations

Observation of new scattering orders in degenerate four-wave mixing with semiconductors

Brian P. McGinnis, Ewan M. Wright, S. W. Koch +1 more

New scattering orders in degenerate four-wave mixing with a bulk semiconductor have been observed due to spatial subharmonic bifurcation of the laser-induced grating. For the observation, wave mixing in the Raman-Nath regime was performed in a thin platelet of CdS that exhibited increasing absorption optical bistability. A qualitative theoretical model is presented that explains the appearance of new scattering orders.

Physical Review A•Jan 1, 1990•1 citation
Higher orders of diffraction observed in a transient four-wave mixing experiment with acceptor-bound exciton complexes in CdS are analyzed in terms of pulse propagation. The description is based on a mean-field correction to the driving electric field in the optical Bloch equations, which are shown to generally lack higher-order diffraction for two-pulse self-diffraction. A propagation-induced sequence of stimulated echoes diffracted at the population grating dominates at least the second order of diffraction. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
The simultaneous influence of pulse propagation and Coulomb many-body interaction in Four Wave Mixing experiments is theoretically studied using the Semiconductor-Maxwell-Bloch equations. In this framework, the propagation of the optical fields and the microscopic interaction of the light with the semiconductor are treated consistently. The Maxwell equation is used as a reduced wave equation and the many-body Coulomb interaction are treated at the level of a screened Hartree-Fock approximation including phenomenological decay terms. We have analyzed the interplay of the propagation and Coulomb effects by calculating the Four Wave Mixing signal (FWMS) for different sample lengths and various excitation conditions, i.e, for pulses with different intensities at the exciton and in the continuum.
Pulse propagation experiments are performed with coherent picosecond laser pulses in resonance with the donor bound A-exciton (I2) state in CdS. Using bandwidth-limited time-resolved spectroscopy, we investigate the intensity of the transmitted laser pulse as a function of monochromator energy position and time. This method permits the determination of both the amplitude and the phase of the complex electric-field amplitude. Studying the dependence of pulse propagation on the input intensity, for small-area pulses we found at the rear of the sample the spectral hole formation and beating characteristic of a 0π pulse. At large pulse areas close to 2π the pulse propagates nearly unperturbed, showing no oscillatory reshaping or significant absorption losses. This provides clear evidence for self-induced transparency at an excitonic state in solids. Our interpretation is substantiated by an analysis within the framework of the combined Maxwell and optical Bloch equations.
Summary form only given.Free-exciton resonances in semiconductors cannot be treated as bare two-level systems because Coulomb interaction and correlation/exchange effects between the carriers substantially modify the optical Bloch equations that describe the behavior of a two-level system under the influence of an external light field. The semiconductor Bloch equations (SBEs) give a more realistic description of the dynamic response of the system on ultrafast time scales. Therefore, the coherent transients known from two-level systems in atomic physics have been found to be substantially modified in semiconductors. Whereas self-induced transparency (SIT) on bound excitons, which are known to behave as atomiclike two-level systems, has been found, the question whether SIT could also appear on a free-exciton resonance is still subject of controversial discussions. We addressed this problem in a combined theory-experiment study.
Summary form only given.Much recent progress has been made in the understanding of the optical response of low dimensional semiconductors. However, additional complications of strong localization and their effects on dynamics and the coherent optical response remain unresolved. Using a highly disordered GaAs single quantum well (width 42 /spl Aring/), we report the nonlinear signal in a self-diffracted transient four-wave mixing (FWM) experiment extending over more than three decades in amplitude as a function of pulse delay.
Recently, the high speed of semiconductor materials was combined with the large optical nonlinearity of the Franz-Kelydish effect near the quantum confined exciton absorption within semi-insulating multiple quantum well structures (SIMQW)[1]. The diffraction efficiency of four wave mixing obtained in the SIMQW with an optical interaction length of 1.05 µm is comparable with the diffraction efficiency for a semiconductor bulk sample with an optical interaction length of several mm operating under similar conditions. Thus, SIMQW become a ideal candidate to study the diffraction process in the Raman-Nath regime[2]. Here, we report two effects of the second order diffraction in a SIMQW sample under applied field: 1) the direct observation of a strong second order diffraction signal; 2) the intensity of the degenerate four wave mixing signal depends on the direction of applied field when the fringe spacing becomes large.