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Journal of Applied Physics

Coherent all-optical polarization switching based on exciton–exciton interactions in quantum wells

Eric J. Gansen, K. Jarašiūnas, Scot A. Hawkins, Martin J. Stevens, Arthur L. Smirl

Published Aug 1, 2001• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A coherent all-optical nonlinear polarization switch based on exciton–exciton correlations is demonstrated in a multiple-quantum-well semiconductor structure. A contrast ratio of 8:1 and a relaxation time of less than a picosecond are reported at 80 K using only ten wells. The results are compared to a simple phenomenological model to demonstrate that many-body effects are solely responsible for the switching action and that the turn-on and turn-off times are determined by the dephasing time.

DOI
10.1063/1.1383015

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Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•Dec 11, 2008•0 citations
A coherent all-optical nonlinear polarization switch based on exciton–exciton correlations is demonstrated in a multiple-quantum-well semiconductor structure. A contrast ratio of 8:1 and a relaxation time of less than a picosecond are reported at 80 K using only ten wells. The results are compared to a simple phenomenological model to demonstrate that many-body effects are solely responsible for the switching action and that the turn-on and turn-off times are determined by the dephasing time.
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Summary form only given. We describe a novel optically-addressed coherent polarization switch that is based on the non-resonant excitation of spin-polarized "virtual excitons" in unstrained MQWs. By operating near (but below) resonance, we achieve nonlinearities that approach the magnitudes of those that can be obtained with resonant excitation, yet we are able to avoid the restrictions that accompany carrier generation, and we take advantage of speeds that are characteristic of non-resonant excitation. Consequently, our device exhibits a pulse-width-limited response that is determined solely by the length of the control and signal pulses and produces large contrast ratios in thin MQW samples.
By using a circularly polarized pulse that is tuned well below resonance, we create a virtual population of spin-polarized coherent excitons in a GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well, and we study its effects on the polarization state of a weak signal pulse using a combination of time-resolved and spectrally resolved ellipsometric techniques. From these data the polarization state contributions to an all-optical polarization switch, which exhibits a ~415 fs switching time and large contrast ratios, are identified and the performance of the switch is demonstrated.
Within the framework of light-semiconductor interaction and the Lutting-Kohn model for the semiconductor band structure, we theoretically studied the mechanism of the polarization switch with coherent transient features. The result shows, in the coherent limitation, when the pump pulse Ep and signal pulse Es are orthogonal polarized, the third order polarization P(3), with first order of Es and second order of |Ep|, approach to zero, due to the destructive quantum interference, which results in an ultrafast pump-signal relative polarization dependent P(3), therewith a polarization switch. The study also shows that, when the light interacts with semiconductors coherently, the polarization state of the light is transferred to the relative phase of the electron spin, rather than the electron spin itself. The population of the polarization eigenstate excited by the pump pulse, do not origin from the Coulomb force of electrons, and should not thought phenomenologically as the exciton characterized by light polarization. This population will dephase to real carriers population, i.e. electron with exact spin |↑> or |↓>, by losing phase coefficients of the polarization eigenstates, in an ultrashort quantum dephase time.