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Physica Scripta

Dispersion-dependent superluminal propagation and photon drag in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dot molecule

Azmat Iqbal Bashir, Syeda Uzma Batool, Ayesha Arif, Asim Shazad

Published Oct 2, 2023• 21 citations

Abstract

Abstract Controlling the basic properties of light such as polarization, angular momentum, and speed through various optical media leads to interesting phenomena in various fields such as quantum optics, photonics, plasmonics, and quantum information technology. Few of the phenomenon include, for instance, light storage, ultra-slow and ultra-fast propagation, optical transparency, and quantum entanglement via quantum coherence or superposition. The understanding of these phenomenon of milestone implications paved the way for the invention of novel classical and quantum technology. In this article, we present detailed theoretical and numerical demonstration on the dispersion-dependent phenomenon of slow and fast light, optically induced transparency, and photon drag. For this, we employ a three-level scheme of an ensemble of GaAs\AlGaAs double quantum dot molecule in cascade configuration. In particular, by tuning the medium dispersion we predict interesting interplay between ultra-slow and ultra-fast light propagation with vanishing, infinite, ultra-positive and ultra-negative group velocities, and optical-assisted quantum transparency. The quantum coherence of the dressed states modifies considerably the optical properties of the system in view of dispersion, absorption, electron energy loss, transmission, and photon drag. An interesting interplay between ultra-slow to ultra-fast propagation is found by tuning various optical parameters. The calculated superluminal value of group velocity is ± 6 × 1 0 11 m s −1 . We also predict light propagation at vanishing and infinite group velocity. The calculated light drag is ± 6 × 10 − 6 rad/m.

DOI: 10.1088/1402-4896/acff4f

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Superluminal propagation of light is a well-established phenomenon and has motivated immense research interest that has led to state-of-the-art knowledge and potential applications in the emerging technology of quantum optics and photonics. This study presents a theoretical analysis of the gain-assisted superluminal light propagation in a four-level

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This study investigates the tunable propagation of optical pulses in a three-level system of coupled quantum dots. The system forms an effective closed configuration, supporting strong quantum coherence and controllable light–matter interactions. Using the density matrix formalism, we analyze the quantum dynamical response under the influence of both a weak probe and a strong control field, with inter-dot tunneling acting as a key tunable parameter. Our results reveal that both the tunneling strength (Te) and control field Rabi frequency (Ωc) play crucial roles in shaping the system’s optical properties. We observe the emergence of electromagnetically induced transparency-like windows, the splitting and shifting of dispersion peaks, and the formation of absorption doublets and transparency windows. The real and imaginary parts of the electric permittivity exhibit pronounced sensitivity to these external controls. Furthermore, the group index and group velocity are shown to be highly tunable, enabling transitions between slow-light and fast-light regimes. Detailed analysis of temporal pulse dynamics demonstrates the ability to achieve controllable delay and advancement of optical pulses, depending on the interaction between Te and Ωc. These findings highlight the potential of such quantum dot systems for dynamic photonic control, including applications in optical buffering, reconfigurable delay lines, coherent switching, and quantum information processing. The demonstrated tunability and coherence effects make this platform a promising candidate for next-generation optoelectronic and quantum photonic technologies.

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Abstract Based on a GaAs/AlGaAs quadruple-coupled quantum dot heterostructure, an optical switch for controlling superluminal and subluminal light propagation is suggested. The transient and steady state behaviour of the absorption and dispersion of a probe pulse laser field through a quadruple quantum dot molecule are studied. We show that the group velocity of a light pulse can be controlled from superluminal to subluminal, or vice versa, by controlling the tunnelling rates between the quantum dots. The required switching time is calculated and we find it to be about 8 ps. We also investigated a method for the all-optical switching of probe field absorption from a large amount to nearly zero just by applying an incoherent pumping field. We estimated the required switching time for this case to be between 3 and 14 ps.