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

Biexcitonic effects in the coherent control of the excitonic polarization detected in six-wave-mixing signals

T. Voss, Hans Georg Breunig, Ilja Rückmann, J. Gutowski, V. M. Axt, T. Kühn

Published Oct 1, 2002• 19 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Coherently controlled six-wave-mixing experiments on a ZnSe single quantum well are performed with different polarizations of the excitation pulses to enable or disable the creation of a biexcitonic polarization. A significant contribution of the biexcitonic polarization and other two-pair correlations is observed in the signal which is mainly modulated with the exciton transition frequency. A microscopic theory based on the dynamics controlled truncation scheme including six-point correlations is able to reproduce the experimental results.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.66.155301

Related papers

Coherent control of the exciton and exciton-biexciton transitions in the generation of nonlinear wave-mixing signals in a semiconductor quantum well

T. Voss, Ilja Rückmann, J. Gutowski +2 more

By use of an optical coherent-control technique we demonstrate and analyze the control of transitions involved in the generation of four-wave-mixing signals in a semiconductor quantum well for the two different four-wave-mixing directions and for different sequences of the excitation pulses. Results are presented for frequency- as well as for time-resolved signals. A doubling of the coherent switching frequency is found which occurs if the laser pulses performing the control process contribute quadratically to the wave-mixing signal. A direct comparison between experiment and microscopic theory reveals how the coherent-control process acts on the coherent polarization of the exciton-biexciton system in all different configurations. An additional interpretation of the experimental results based on a simplified few-level model is able to provide an intuitive understanding of the relevant processes which govern the coherent control of the excitonic and biexcitonic wave-mixing polarizations.

Physical Review B•Mar 9, 2006•31 citations

Influence of higher Coulomb correlations on optical coherent-control signals from a ZnSe quantum well

Hans Georg Breunig, T. Voss, Ilja Rückmann +3 more

The manipulation of the coherent optical polarization in a quantum well with a pair of phase-locked laser pulses is investigated by using wave-mixing signals. The measurements are performed in four- and six-wave-mixing geometries with different polarization states of the excitation pulses. Even at moderate excitation densities, the signals are modulated by higher harmonics that correspond to high-order optical nonlinearities. A significant effect of higher Coulomb correlations on the coherent-control signals is demonstrated by comparing the experiments with calculations based on a microscopic density-matrix theory. The theoretical approach makes use of the dynamics-controlled truncation scheme. The corresponding numerical results are in good agreement with the experiment.

Journal of the Optical Society of America B•Aug 1, 2003•14 citations

Coherent control of biexcitonic polarization

Hans Georg Breunig, T. Voss, Ilja Rückmann +1 more

Biexcitonic polarization excited in a ZnSe quantum well is coherently controlled with a pair of phase-locked laser pulses. The coherent control of this four-particle correlation is directly verified by observing a spectrally resolved four-wave-mixing signal in direction of the first order of diffraction of the pulse pair. By using polarization selection rules for the generation of biexcitons and changing the interpulse delay of the pulse pair the oscillations of the four-wave-mixing signal are studied at the energetic position of the excitonic as well as the biexcitonic resonance. The excitonic and biexcitonic signals exhibit a phase shift in dependence on the interpulse delay which clearly indicates the separate coherent control of the excitonic and biexcitonic polarization.

Physical review. B, Condensed matter•Nov 7, 2002•11 citations

Simultaneous optical coherent control of excitonic and biexcitonic polarization in a ZnSe quantum well

T. Voss, Hans Georg Breunig, Ilja Rückmann +1 more

The optical coherent-control technique is used to study biexcitonic effects in the four-wave-mixing signal of a ZnSe single quantum well. The signal is analyzed in both directions 2k1 − k2 and 2k2 − k1 which are not equivalent if a pulse pair is applied from direction k1 to achieve coherent control of the induced polarization. It is shown that the coherent control enables a selective enhancement or suppression of the contribution at the exciton and biexciton resonance to the signal, respectively, but only for certain sequences of the excitation pulses. Further, the suppression of exciton-biexciton beats in the signal as a function of tdel by a selective destruction of the biexciton polarization is demonstrated.

Physica status solidi. C, Conferences and critical reviews/Physica status solidi. C, Current topics in solid state physics•Aug 1, 2003•0 citations

Biexcitonic effects in coherently controlled six-wave-mixing experiments on ZnSe quantum wells

Hans Georg Breunig, T. Voss, Ilja Rückmann +1 more

Coherently controlled four-wave-mixing (FWM) measurements have turned out to be a very sensitive tool to investigate the microscopic origin of the nonlinear optical response of semiconductor quantum-well structures, in particular if excitons are excited [1-3]. The measured signal oscillates as a function of the phase difference of the two interferometric pulses and is modulated additionally by contributions that oscillate with integer multiples of the excitonic resonance frequency. The influence of these harmonics can be measured in background free directions, i.e., the first (FWM) or second (six-wave mixing, SWM) diffracted order in direction 2k2-k1 or 3k2-2k1, respectively. Their intensity is easily quantified by inspecting the corresponding Fourier transforms (FT). Here, we report on transient interferometric SWM measurements and the influence of biexcitons on the signal.

International Conference on Ultrafast Phenomena•Jan 1, 2002•0 citations

Real-time observation of the coherent control of linear- and four-wave-mixing polarization of excitons in a ZnSe single quantum well

T. Voss, Hans-Georg Breunig, Ilja Rückmann +1 more

The coherent control of excitonic and biexcitonic polarization in pulse-transmission and four-wave-mixing (FWM) experiments is analysed with real time resolution. As a model system a ZnSe single quantum well is exclusively excited at the heavy-hole exciton and exciton–biexciton resonance. In pulse-transmission experiments the coherent control of excitonic polarization is shown for low excitation intensities. At elevated excitation intensities the dephasing time of the polarization is found to be strongly dependent on the relative phase of two phase-locked laser pulses which perform the coherent manipulation of the polarization. In FWM experiments the separate coherent control of the excitonic and biexcitonic FWM polarization is demonstrated which enables a coherent manipulation of the amplitude and phase of exciton–biexciton beats which are observed on the FWM polarization transients.

Semiconductor Science and Technology•Mar 3, 2004•0 citations
Coherently controlled six-wave-mixing experiments on a ZnSe single quantum well are performed with different polarizations of the excitation pulses to enable or disable the creation of a biexcitonic polarization. A significant contribution of the biexcitonic polarization and other two-pair correlations is observed in the signal which is mainly modulated with the exciton transition frequency. A microscopic theory based on the dynamics controlled truncation scheme including six-point correlations is able to reproduce the experimental results.
By use of an optical coherent-control technique we demonstrate and analyze the control of transitions involved in the generation of four-wave-mixing signals in a semiconductor quantum well for the two different four-wave-mixing directions and for different sequences of the excitation pulses. Results are presented for frequency- as well as for time-resolved signals. A doubling of the coherent switching frequency is found which occurs if the laser pulses performing the control process contribute quadratically to the wave-mixing signal. A direct comparison between experiment and microscopic theory reveals how the coherent-control process acts on the coherent polarization of the exciton-biexciton system in all different configurations. An additional interpretation of the experimental results based on a simplified few-level model is able to provide an intuitive understanding of the relevant processes which govern the coherent control of the excitonic and biexcitonic wave-mixing polarizations.
The manipulation of the coherent optical polarization in a quantum well with a pair of phase-locked laser pulses is investigated by using wave-mixing signals. The measurements are performed in four- and six-wave-mixing geometries with different polarization states of the excitation pulses. Even at moderate excitation densities, the signals are modulated by higher harmonics that correspond to high-order optical nonlinearities. A significant effect of higher Coulomb correlations on the coherent-control signals is demonstrated by comparing the experiments with calculations based on a microscopic density-matrix theory. The theoretical approach makes use of the dynamics-controlled truncation scheme. The corresponding numerical results are in good agreement with the experiment.
Biexcitonic polarization excited in a ZnSe quantum well is coherently controlled with a pair of phase-locked laser pulses. The coherent control of this four-particle correlation is directly verified by observing a spectrally resolved four-wave-mixing signal in direction of the first order of diffraction of the pulse pair. By using polarization selection rules for the generation of biexcitons and changing the interpulse delay of the pulse pair the oscillations of the four-wave-mixing signal are studied at the energetic position of the excitonic as well as the biexcitonic resonance. The excitonic and biexcitonic signals exhibit a phase shift in dependence on the interpulse delay which clearly indicates the separate coherent control of the excitonic and biexcitonic polarization.
The optical coherent-control technique is used to study biexcitonic effects in the four-wave-mixing signal of a ZnSe single quantum well. The signal is analyzed in both directions 2k1 − k2 and 2k2 − k1 which are not equivalent if a pulse pair is applied from direction k1 to achieve coherent control of the induced polarization. It is shown that the coherent control enables a selective enhancement or suppression of the contribution at the exciton and biexciton resonance to the signal, respectively, but only for certain sequences of the excitation pulses. Further, the suppression of exciton-biexciton beats in the signal as a function of tdel by a selective destruction of the biexciton polarization is demonstrated.
Coherently controlled four-wave-mixing (FWM) measurements have turned out to be a very sensitive tool to investigate the microscopic origin of the nonlinear optical response of semiconductor quantum-well structures, in particular if excitons are excited [1-3]. The measured signal oscillates as a function of the phase difference of the two interferometric pulses and is modulated additionally by contributions that oscillate with integer multiples of the excitonic resonance frequency. The influence of these harmonics can be measured in background free directions, i.e., the first (FWM) or second (six-wave mixing, SWM) diffracted order in direction 2k2-k1 or 3k2-2k1, respectively. Their intensity is easily quantified by inspecting the corresponding Fourier transforms (FT). Here, we report on transient interferometric SWM measurements and the influence of biexcitons on the signal.
The coherent control of excitonic and biexcitonic polarization in pulse-transmission and four-wave-mixing (FWM) experiments is analysed with real time resolution. As a model system a ZnSe single quantum well is exclusively excited at the heavy-hole exciton and exciton–biexciton resonance. In pulse-transmission experiments the coherent control of excitonic polarization is shown for low excitation intensities. At elevated excitation intensities the dephasing time of the polarization is found to be strongly dependent on the relative phase of two phase-locked laser pulses which perform the coherent manipulation of the polarization. In FWM experiments the separate coherent control of the excitonic and biexcitonic FWM polarization is demonstrated which enables a coherent manipulation of the amplitude and phase of exciton–biexciton beats which are observed on the FWM polarization transients.