arXiv subjects

A. Ludwig

Publications and source records attributed to A. Ludwig.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

A photonic source with half-a-GHz single-photon flux

Advanced optical quantum technologies demands high quality quantum light generation at very high rates. Here, we report on a deterministic single-photon source that simultaneously combines high excitation rates with high system efficiency to reach over 500 MHz of in-fibre single-photon flux. The source delivers optical power of over 100 pW, as is measured with an off-the-shelf powermeter, enabling a simple and direct way of determining the single-photon source fiber efficiency.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Beam-Offset Thermoreflectance with Bayesian Optimization to Measure the Anisotropic Thermal Properties of Semiconductor Superlattices

The directional nature of heat conduction in semiconductor superlattices--marked by significant differences between in-plane and cross-plane pathways--poses substantial challenges for precise thermal property assessment. Conventional frequency-domain thermoreflectance (FDTR) techniques, while proficient at evaluating cross-plane thermal conductivity, suffer from restricted capability in resolving in-plane transport due to inherent phase-delay constraints and inadequate lateral resolution. In this investigation, we establish a non-contact beam-offset FDTR (BO-FDTR) approach that concurrently determines both directional thermal conductivities within layered semiconductor architectures. Our methodology implements spatial separation between excitation and detection beams while utilizing coupled normalized amplitude and phase responses as analytical inputs, thereby improving discrimination between anisotropic thermal parameters. We combine this experimental configuration with a Bayesian optimization scheme incorporating Gaussian Process Regression (BO-GPR) to reduce estimation inaccuracies, attaining measurement uncertainties under 1% to 2% at 95% confidence intervals. This technique demonstrates particular efficacy for intricate multilayer nanostructures, furnishing a structured protocol for superlattice thermal evaluation. Experimental characterization of an AlAs/GaAs superlattice (period thickness 52 nm) delivers thermal conductivity values of 14.7 W m-1 K-1 (cross-plane) and 37.4 W m-1 K-1 (in-plane). Our findings indicate that integrating frequency sweeps with varied beam offset locations yields superior measurement precision, exceeding conventional single-variable methods and confirming thermal assessment validity across both geometric arrangements.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Deterministic quantum dot single-photon sources: operational principles and state-of-the-art specifications

Non-classical states of light play a fundamental role in quantum technology. From photonic quantum computers and simulators, to quantum communication and sensing, quantum states of light enable performing tasks that may outperform their best classical counterparts. Semiconductor quantum dots embedded in photonic nanostructures offer the most advanced classes of quantum light sources. Importantly, the underlying physics processes determining device performance are today fully understood, and dedicated engineering projects are currently advancing these sources towards real-world quantum technology applications. We review the performance of deterministic single-photon sources based on quantum dots in photonic crystal waveguides, the approach with the highest performance specs since it intrinsically combines suppression of leaky modes and Purcell enhancement to slow-light waveguide mode. Furthermore, we present prototype data from sources that today are commercially available and with performance metrics approaching the ideal.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Quantum stochastic resonance in a single-photon emitter

Stochastic resonance is a phenomenon in which fluctuations enhance an otherwise weak signal. It has been found in many different systems in paleoclimatology, biology, medicine, and physics. The classical stochastic resonance due to thermal noise has recently been experimentally extended to the quantum regime, where the fundamental randomness of individual quantum events provides the noise source. Here, we demonstrate quantum stochastic resonance in the single-electron tunneling dynamics of a periodically driven single-photon emitter, consisting of a self-assembled quantum dot that is tunnel-coupled to an electron reservoir. Such highly-controllable quantum emitters are promising candidates for future applications in quantum information technologies. We monitor the charge dynamics by resonant optical excitation and identify quantum stochastic resonance with the help of full counting statistics of tunneling events in terms of the Fano factor and extend the statistical evaluation to factorial cumulants to gain a deeper understanding of this far-reaching phenomenon.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Accelerating Surface Composition Characterization of Thin-Film Materials Libraries using Multi-Output Gaussian Process Regression

Efficient characterization of surface compositions across high-dimensional materials spaces is critical for accelerating the discovery of surface-dominated functional materials. While X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy allows detailed surface composition investigation, it remains a time-intensive technique. In this work, it is demonstrated that Gaussian process regression can be used to accurately predict surface compositions from rapidly acquired volume composition data obtained by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, drastically reducing the number of required surface measurements. As a proof of principle, an exemplary system, the oxide Mg-Mn-Al-O, is synthesized as a composition-spread thin-film materials library and analyzed by high-throughput methods. We show that the surface composition of the entire library can be predicted with an accuracy of 96% with only 13 measurements, reducing the total measurement time by 277 h. This is a scalable and data-efficient solution for integrating surface analysis into materials discovery workflows.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Cosmic Rays and the Askaryan Effect Reveal Subsurface Structure and Buried Ice on the Moon

We present the first full-wavelength numerical simulations of the electric field generated by cosmic ray impacts into the Moon. Billions of cosmic rays fall onto the Moon every year. Ultra-high energy cosmic ray impacts produce secondary particle cascades within the regolith and subsequent coherent, widebandwidth, linearly-polarized radio pulses by the Askaryan Effect. Observations of the cosmic ray particle shower radio emissions can reveal subsurface structure on the Moon and enable the broad and deep prospecting necessary to confirm or refute the existence of polar ice deposits. Our simulations show that the radio emissions and reflections could reveal ice layers as thin as 10 cm and buried under regolith as deep as 9 m. The Askaryan Effect presents a novel and untapped opportunity for characterizing buried lunar ice at unprecedented depths and spatial scales.

physics.space-ph↗

arXiv2025

Accelerating Combinatorial Electrocatalyst Discovery with Bayesian Optimization: A Case Study in the Quaternary System Ni-Pd-Pt-Ru for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction

The discovery of high-performance electrocatalysts is crucial for advancing sustainable energy technologies. Compositionally complex solid solutions comprising multiple metals offer promising catalytic properties, yet their exploration is challenging due to the combinatorial explosion of possible compositions. In this work, we combine combinatorial sputtering of thin-film materials libraries and their high-throughput characterization with Bayesian optimization to efficiently explore the quaternary composition space Ni-Pd-Pt-Ru for the oxygen evolution reaction in alkaline media. Using this method, the global activity optimum of pure Ru was identified after covering less than 20% of the complete composition space with six materials libraries. Six additional libraries were fabricated to validate the activity trend. The resulting dataset is used to formulate general guidelines for the efficient composition space exploration using combinatorial synthesis paired with Bayesian optimization.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

MoSi Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detectors on GaAs for On-Chip Integration

We report on MoSi-based superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors on a gallium arsenide substrate. MoSi deposited on a passivated GaAs surface has the same critical temperature as MoSi deposited on silicon. The critical temperature decreases slightly on depositing MoSi directly on the native oxide of GaAs. Hence, MoSi works well as a thin-film superconductor on GaAs. We propose that the amorphous structure of MoSi ensures compatibility with the GaAs matrix. Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) are fabricated with MoSi on GaAs using a meander-wire design. The SNSPD metrics are very similar to those of devices fabricated with the same procedure on a silicon substrate. We observe a plateau in the response-versus-bias curve signalling a saturated internal quantum efficiency. The plateau remains even at an elevated temperature, 2.2 K, at a wavelength of 980 nm. We achieve a timing jitter of 50 ps and a recovery time of 29 ns. These results point to the promise of integrating MoSi SNSPDs with GaAs photonic circuits.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2023

Electrical resistance associated with the scattering of optically oriented electrons in n-GaAs

In a bulk GaAs crystal, an unusual magnetoresistance effect, which takes place when a spin-polarized current flows through the sample, was detected. Under conditions of optical pumping of electron spins, an external magnetic field directed along the electric current and perpendicular to the oriented spins decreases the resistance of the material. The phenomenon is due to the spin-dependent scattering of electrons by neutral donors. It was found that the sign of the magnetoresistance does not depend on the sign of the exciting light circular polarization, the effect is even with respect to the sign of the spin polarization of the carriers, which indicates a correlation between the spins of optically oriented free electrons and electrons localized on donors.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Making Every Photon Count: A Quantum Polyspectra Approach to the Dynamics of Blinking Quantum Emitters at Low Photon Rates Without Binning

The blinking statistics of quantum emitters and their corresponding Markov models play an important role in high resolution microscopy of biological samples as well as in nano-optoelectronics and many other fields of science and engineering. Current methods for analyzing the blinking statistics like the full counting statistics or the Viterbi algorithm break down for low photon rates. We present an evaluation scheme that eliminates the need for both a minimum photon flux and the usual binning of photon events which limits the measurement bandwidth. Our approach is based on higher order spectra of the measurement record which we model within the recently introduced method of quantum polyspectra from the theory of continuous quantum measurements. By virtue of this approach we can determine on- and off-switching rates of a semiconductor quantum dot at light levels 1000 times lower than in a standard experiment and 20 times lower than achieved with a scheme from full counting statistics. Thus a very powerful high-bandwidth approach to the parameter learning task of single photon hidden Markov models has been established with applications in many fields of science.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

A unipolar quantum dot diode structure for advanced quantum light sources

Triggered, indistinguishable, single photons play a central role in various quantum photonic implementations. Here, we realize a novel n$^+-$i$-$n$^{++}$ diode structure embedding semiconductor quantum dots: the gated device enables spectral tuning of the transitions and deterministic control of the observed charged states. Blinking-free single-photon emission and high two-photon indistinguishability is observed. The linewidth's temporal evolution is investigated for timescales spanning more than $6$ orders of magnitude, combining photon-correlation Fourier spectroscopy, high-resolution photoluminescence spectroscopy, and two-photon interference (visibility of $V_{\text{TPI, 2ns}}=\left(85.5\pm2.2\right){\%}$ and $V_{\text{TPI, 9ns}}=\left(78.3\pm3.0\right){\%}$). No spectral diffusion or decoherence on timescales above $\sim 9\,\text{ns}$ is observed for most of the dots, and the emitted photons' linewidth $\left(\left(420\pm30\right)\text{MHz}\right)$ deviates from the Fourier-transform limit only by a factor of $1.68$. Thus, for remote TPI experiments, visibilities above $74\%$ are anticipated. The presence of n-doping only signifies higher available carrier mobility, making the presented device highly attractive for future development of high-speed tunable, high-performance quantum light sources.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Design and Initial Performance of the Prototype for the BEACON Instrument for Detection of Ultrahigh Energy Particles

The Beamforming Elevated Array for COsmic Neutrinos (BEACON) is a planned neutrino telescope designed to detect radio emission from upgoing air showers generated by ultrahigh energy tau neutrino interactions in the Earth. This detection mechanism provides a measurement of the tau flux of cosmic neutrinos. We have installed an 8-channel prototype instrument at high elevation at Barcroft Field Station, which has been running since 2018, and consists of 4 dual-polarized antennas sensitive between 30-80 MHz, whose signals are filtered, amplified, digitized, and saved to disk using a custom data acquisition system (DAQ). The BEACON prototype is at high elevation to maximize effective volume and uses a directional beamforming trigger to improve rejection of anthropogenic background noise at the trigger level. Here we discuss the design, construction, and calibration of the BEACON prototype instrument. We also discuss the radio frequency environment observed by the instrument, and categorize the types of events seen by the instrument, including a likely cosmic ray candidate event.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2022

Extending the time of coherent optical response in ensemble of singly-charged InGaAs quantum dots

The ability to extend the time scale of the coherent optical response from large ensembles of quantum emitters is highly appealing for applications in quantum information devices. In semiconductor nanostructures, spin degrees of freedom can be used as auxiliary, powerful tools to modify the coherent optical dynamics. Here, we apply this approach to negatively charged (In,Ga)As/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots which are considered as excellent quantum emitters with robust optical coherence and high bandwidth. We study 3-pulse spin-dependent photon echoes subject to moderate transverse magnetic fields up to 1 T. We demonstrate that the timescale of coherent optical response can be extended by at least an order of magnitude by the field. Without magnetic field, the photon echo decays with $T_ 2$ = 0.45 ns which is determined by the radiative lifetime of trions $T_1$ = 0.27 ns. In the presence of the transverse magnetic field, the decay of the photon echo signal is given by spin dephasing time of the ensemble of resident electrons $T_{2,e}$ ~ 4 ns. We demonstrate that the non-zero transverse g-factor of the heavy holes in the trion state plays a crucial role in the temporal evolution and magnetic field dependence of the long-lived photon echo signal.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Wafer-Scale Epitaxial Modulation of Quantum Dot Density

Precise control of the properties of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) is vital for creating novel devices for quantum photonics and advanced opto-electronics. Suitable low QD-density for single QD devices and experiments are challenging to control during epitaxy and are typically found only in limited regions of the wafer. Here, we demonstrate how conventional molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) can be used to modulate the density of optically active QDs in one- and two- dimensional patterns, while still retaining excellent quality. We find that material thickness gradients during layer-by-layer growth result in surface roughness modulations across the whole wafer. Growth on such templates strongly influences the QD nucleation probability. We obtain density modulations between 1 and 10 QDs/$μm^{2}$ and periods ranging from several millimeters down to at least a few hundred microns. This novel method is universal and expected to be applicable to a wide variety of different semiconductor material systems. We apply the method to enable growth of ultra-low noise QDs across an entire 3-inch semiconductor wafer.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Electron g-factor determined for quantum dot circuit fabricated from (110)-oriented GaAs quantum well

The choice of substrate orientation for semiconductor quantum dot circuits offers opportunities for tailoring spintronic properties such as g-factors for specific functionality. In this letter, we demonstrate the operation of a few-electron double quantum dot circuit fabricated from a (110)-oriented GaAs quantum well. We estimate the in-plane electron g-factor from the profile of the enhanced inter-dot tunneling (leakage) current near zero magnetic field. Spin-blockade due to Pauli exclusion can block inter-dot tunneling. However, this blockade becomes inactive due to hyperfine interaction mediated spin flip-flop processes between electron spin states and the nuclear spin of the host material. The g-factor of absolute value ~0.1 found for a magnetic field parallel to the direction [11(bar)0], is approximately a factor of four lower than that for comparable circuits fabricated from material grown on widely-employed standard (001) GaAs substrates, and is in line with reported values determined by purely optical means for quantum well structures grown on (110) GaAs substrates.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Quantum polyspectra for modeling and evaluating quantum transport measurements: A unifying approach to the strong and weak measurement regime

Quantum polyspectra of up to fourth order are introduced for modeling and evaluating quantum transport measurements offering a powerful alternative to methods of the traditional full counting statistics. Experimental time-traces of the occupation dynamics of a single quantum dot are evaluated via simultaneously fitting their 2nd-, 3rd-, and 4th-order spectra. The scheme recovers the same electron tunneling and spin relaxation rates as previously obtained from an analysis of the same data in terms of factorial cumulants of the full counting statistics and waiting-time distributions. Moreover, the evaluation of time-traces via quantum polyspectra is demonstrated to be feasible also in the weak measurement regime even when quantum jumps can no longer be identified from time-traces and methods related to the full counting statistics cease to be applicable. A numerical study of a double dot system shows strongly changing features in the quantum polyspectra for the transition from the weak measurement regime to the Zeno-regime where coherent tunneling dynamics is suppressed. Quantum polyspectra thus constitute a general unifying approach to the strong and weak regime of quantum measurements with possible applications in diverse fields as nano-electronics, circuit quantum electrodynamics, spin noise spectroscopy, or quantum optics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Strong enhancement of heavy-hole Land\'e factor $q$ in InGaAs symmetric quantum dots revealed by coherent optical spectroscopy

We reveal the existence of a large in-plane heavy-hole $g$ factor in symmetric self-assembled (001) (In,Ga)As/GaAs quantum dots due to warping of valence band states. This warping dominates over the well-established mechanism associated with a reduced symmetry of quantum dots and the corresponding mixing of heavy-hole and light-hole states. The effect of band warping is manifested in a unique angular dependence of a trion photon echo signal on the direction of external magnetic field with respect to the sample axes. It results in a uniform magnetic-field-induced optical anisotropy for the entire quantum dot ensemble which is a prerequisite for realization of spin quantum memories and spin-photon entanglement in the ensemble.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Optical detection of single electron transport dynamics

The unpredictability of a single quantum event lies at the very core of quantum mechanics. Physical information is therefore drawn from a statistical evaluation of many such processes. Nevertheless, recording each single quantum event in a time trace the "random telegraph signal" is of great value, as it allows insight into the underlying physical system. Here, quantum dots have proven to be well suited systems, as they exhibit both single photon emission and single electron charge transport. While single photon emission is generally studied on self-assembled quantum dots, single electron transport studies are focused on gate-defined structures. We investigate, on a single self-assembled quantum dot, the single electron transport in the optical telegraph signal with high bandwidth and observe in the full counting statistics the interplay between charge and spin dynamics in a noninvasive way. In particular, we are able to identify the spin relaxation of the Zeeman-split quantum-dot level in the charge statistics.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗