We theoretically study quantum-optical properties of one- and two-dimensional semiconductor nanostructures, where the electronic band structure is described by a two-band tight-binding model. Since the focus of our work is on analyzing quantum-optical effects of systems with a continuous band structure, many-body processes like electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions are neglected. The quantum-optical interband excitations are fully incorporated and described by a Jaynes-Cummings-type model. The exciting quantum light can be a state with arbitrary photon statistics. For simplicity, the results discussed here are limited to single-photon and two-photon Fock states. Our analytical approach is based on the eigenvalue problem and can be utilized to obtain explicit expressions for the steady-state properties of the system. Numerical simulations are based on solutions of the equations of motion and allow for a more precise analysis of the dynamics and nonresonant excitations of the system. We demonstrate that during the interaction process, a collective excitation of the conduction band is formed. For nonresonant excitations, this collective dynamics results in interesting steady states, in which the resonantly addressed eigenstates are occupied. The presented model provides a framework for microscopic simulations of quantum-optically excited extended semiconductor nanostructures.
We theoretically study quantum-optical properties of one- and two-dimensional semiconductor nanostructures, where the electronic band structure is described by a two-band tight-binding model. Since the focus of our work is on analyzing quantum-optical effects of systems with a continuous band structure, many-body processes like electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions are neglected. The quantum-optical interband excitations are fully incorporated and described by a Jaynes-Cummings-type model. The exciting quantum light can be a state with arbitrary photon statistics. For simplicity, the results discussed here are limited to single-photon and two-photon Fock states. Our analytical approach is based on the eigenvalue problem and can be utilized to obtain explicit expressions for the steady-state properties of the system. Numerical simulations are based on solutions of the equations of motion and allow for a more precise analysis of the dynamics and nonresonant excitations of the system. We demonstrate that during the interaction process, a collective excitation of the conduction band is formed. For nonresonant excitations, this collective dynamics results in interesting steady states, in which the resonantly addressed eigenstates are occupied. The presented model provides a framework for microscopic simulations of quantum-optically excited extended semiconductor nanostructures.
We present a microscopic and fully quantized model to investigate the interaction between semiconductor nanostructures and quantum light fields including the many-body Coloumb interaction between photoexcited electrons and holes. Our approach describes the coupled dynamics of the quantum light field and single and double electron-hole pairs, i.e., excitons and biexcitons, and exactly accounts for Coulomb many-body correlations and carrier band dispersions. Using a straightforward yet exact approach, we study a one-dimensional two-band system interacting with a single-mode, two-photon quantum state within a Tavis-Cummings framework. By employing an exact coherent factorization scheme, the computational complexity is reduced significantly enabling numerical simulations. We also derive a simplified model that includes only the bound 1s-exciton and biexciton states for comparison. Our simulations reveal distinct single- and two-photon Rabi oscillations, corresponding to photon-exciton and exciton-biexciton transitions. We demonstrate, in particular, that biexciton continuum states significantly modify the dynamics in a way that cannot be captured by simplified models that consider only bound states. Our findings emphasize the importance of a comprehensive microscopic modeling in order to accurately describe quantum optical phenomena of interacting electronic many-body systems.
The dynamics of semiconductor quantum wires and wells that are coupled to a single-mode quantum field are analyzed. Within a two-band tight-binding model the Coulomb interaction between electrons and holes is included on a microscopic basis and the light-matter interaction is quantized. The dynamics of the system is described by equations of motion for the relevant set of expectation values of the coupled electronic-photonic system. Starting from the initial condition of a single photon occupying the field mode, we study the dynamics of the mean photon number. To analyze effects arising from the many-body Coulomb interaction, we use an exact truncation of the electronic hierarchy problem by employing the fact that N photons cannot excite more than N electron-hole pairs. We compare Rabi oscillations with and without Coulomb interaction for different excitation conditions. When the quantum field mode is initially occupied by two photons, two interacting electron-hole pairs, i.e., biexcitons, can be generated which characteristically modify the dynamics. Within a consistent and fully-quantized approach we show consequences of biexcitonic many-body correlations that are coupled to a quantum field and discuss the obtained dynamics.
In this paper, exciting progress of quantum optics in solid state is reviewed. The focus is on semiconductor microcavities with self-assembled quantum dots embedded in the active layer. Due to enormous progress in semiconductor nanotechnology, such photonic structures have become a model system for the study of quantum optics on a scalable and integrable technology platform with high potential for future applications in quantum information technology. Quantum optical phenomena have become accessible due to 3-D confinement of light and matter on the length scale of their wavelength in state-of-the-art semiconductor micro- and nanostructures. This confinement leads to a quantization of the associated photonic and electronic energy levels and requires a quantum mechanical description of the system in the framework of cavity quantum electrodynamics (cQED). This approach considers the dipole interaction between two-level quantum emitters and discrete photonic states of a microcavity. Within the well-known Jaynes-Cummings model, the dipole interaction is described in terms of a coherent exchange of energy between the emitter and the resonator mode. This coherent interaction in the so-called strong coupling regime of cQED is reflected in a normal mode splitting, the vacuum Rabi splitting, of the involved modes and represents a central feature of quantum optics in solid state. Another important example of quantum optics in semiconductor nanostructures is the generation of nonclassical light in specific quantum devices. Of particular interest is the realization of Fock states which represent states containing a well-defined number of photons. Single-photon sources, for instance, allow for the generation of single photons on demand, which is highly desirable for quantum communication systems. In this context, this review paper will present recent experimental studies of quantum optics in solid state. This paper is meant for readers who would like to become familiar with this topic and for experts being interested in the progress in this field. It will cover a broad range of studies ranging from examples of fundamental light-matter interaction in the quantum limit to devices capable of emitting single photons and entangled photon pairs on demand.
The nonlinear optical response of an ensemble of semiconductor quantum dots is analyzed by wave-mixing processes, where we focus on four-wave mixing with two incident pulses. Wave-mixing experiments are often described with semiclassical models, where the light is modeled classically and the material quantum mechanically. Here, however, we use a fully quantized model, where the light is given by a quantum state of light. Quantum light involves more degrees of freedom than classical light as e.g., its photon statistics and quantum correlations, which is a promising resource for quantum devices, such as quantum memories. The light-matter interaction is treated with a Jaynes-Cummings type model and the quantum field is given by a single mode since the quantum dots are embedded in a microcavity. We present numerical simulations of the four-wave-mixing response of a homogeneous system for pulse sequences and find a significant dependence of the result on the photon statistics of the incident pulses. The model constitutes a problem with a large state space which arises from the frequency distribution of the transition energies of the inhomogeneously broadened quantum dot ensemble that is coupled with a quantum light mode. Here we approximate the dynamics by summing over individual quantum dot-microcavity systems. Photon echoes arising from the excitation with different quantum states of light are simulated and compared.
This work focuses on the many-body properties of semiconductor nanostructures for quantum engineering of infrared optoelectronic devices. In particular, we theoretically investigate the optical response accounting for collective effects in systems of tunnel-coupled quantum wells. A clear manifestation of these effects appears in the optical spectrum of highly doped quantum wells, where the absorption peaks are at completely different energies with respect to the single-particle electronic transitions. We calculate light-matter interaction in two steps. First, we consider the microscopic polarization associated with the electronic transitions between confined levels of the wells, which are all coupled by dipole-dipole Coulomb interaction. Then we calculate the interaction of the resulting collective states with the electromagnetic field. The absorption spectrum is finally expressed in terms of microscopic currents, describing the collective charge oscillations. The theoretical model is applied to a series of relevant systems, and its outcomes are compared with experimental results. As the collective states are issued from the coherent superposition of several electronic excitations, they have the properties of superradiant states. They are thus a promising entity for the realization of efficient light emitters in the mid- and far-infrared frequency range.
This dissertation addresses both fundamental aspects of the coherent exciton kinetics in single semiconductor quantum wells and more application-oriented aspects of the collective excitonic optical properties in quantum well Bragg structures. We use a bosonic theory to investigate the ultrafast coherent exciton dynamics after an optical excitation in a single semiconductor quantum well. It is shown that, on intermediate time scales, nonlinear mean-field interactions between excitons lead to a coherent, wave-like evolution in the momentum distribution of optically inactive excitons, which can survive for some time before dephasing sets in. Driven by two-exciton correlations, this coherent quantum kinetic effect bridges the well-known kinetics associated with optical excitation on the one hand and incoherent relaxation on the other. We also study more general dynamical properties of bosonic mean field systems with N-species of excitons (in a single semiconductor quantum well). We find that the momentum-conserving exciton mean field equations, including the coupling to external fields and fermionic corrections, have the dynamical structure su(N,N). We show that one can define a non-real generalized "Bloch vector" and a non-hermitian "density matrix" description, which allow us to explicitly obtain all the constants of motion associated with the su(N,N) symmetry. The many-body effects and correlations of excitons in a single quantum well are mainly induced by the Coulomb interactions. In the case of a semiconductor quantum well Bragg structure, the light induced coupling between different quantum wells also dramatically affects the excitons' behavior, especially through the collective excitations of excitons in the whole structure. We investigate the linear excitonic optical properties of the quantum well Bragg structure induced by the collective excitations using the transfer matrix approach. We show that the so called "intermediate band" (IB) created by the exciton resonance, which does not exist in conventional photonic crystals, can be used for the stopping, storing and releasing of light, which is important in information processing devices. We also discuss the compensation of the dispersive distortion in the light delay process through reversing the IB band structure. Other conceptual and practical issues such as the decay rate of the IB modes and the generalized anti-reflection coating are also investigated.