arXiv subjects

C. R. Stanley

Publications and source records attributed to C. R. Stanley.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2012

Application of photoreflectance to advanced multilayer structures for photovoltaics

Photoreflectance (PR) is a convenient characterization tool able to reveal optoelectronic properties of semiconductor materials and structures. It is a simple non-destructive and contactless technique which can be used in air at room temperature. We will present experimental results of the characterization carried out by means of PR on different types of advanced photovoltaic (PV) structures, including quantum-dot-based prototypes of intermediate band solar cells, quantum-well structures, highly mismatched alloys, and III-V-based multi-junction devices, thereby demonstrating the suitability of PR as a powerful diagnostic tool. Examples will be given to illustrate the value of this spectroscopic technique for PV including (i) the analysis of the PR spectra in search of critical points associated to absorption onsets; (ii) distinguishing signatures related to quantum confinement from those originating from delocalized band states; (iii) determining the intensity of the electric field related to built-in potentials at interfaces according to the Franz-Keldysh (FK) theory; and (v) determining the nature of different oscillatory PR signals among those ascribed to FK-oscillations, interferometric and photorefractive effects. The aim is to attract the interest of researchers in the field of PV to modulation spectroscopies, as they can be helpful in the analysis of their devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2005

Verification of polarization selection rules and implementation of selective coherent manipulations of hydrogenic transitions in n-GaAs

Electrons bound to shallow donors in GaAs have orbital energy levels analogous to those of the hydrogen atom. The polarization selection rules for optical transitions between the states analogous to the 1s and 2p states of hydrogen in a magnetic field are verified using Terahertz (THz) radiation from the UCSB Free Electron Laser. A polarization-selective coherent manipulation of the quantum states is demonstrated and the relevance to quantum information processing schemes is discussed.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2005

Optical modulation at around 1550 nm in a InGaAlAs optical waveguide containing a InGaAs/AlAs resonant tunnelling diode

We report electro-absorption modulation of light at around 1550 nm in a unipolar InGaAlAs optical waveguide containing a InGaAs/AlAs double-barrier resonant tunneling diode (DB-RTD). The RTD peak-to-valley transition increases the electric field across the waveguide, which shifts the core material absorption band-edge to longer wavelengths via the Franz-Keldysh effect, thus changing the light-guiding characteristics of the waveguide. Low-frequency characterisation of a device shows modulation up to 28 dB at 1565 nm. When dc biased close to the negative differential conductance (NDC) region, the RTD optical waveguide behaves as an electro-absorption modulator integrated with a wide bandwidth electrical amplifier, offering a potential advantage over conventional pn modulators.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2005

Optical modulation in a resonant tunneling relaxation oscillator

We report high speed optical modulation in a resonant tunneling relaxation oscillator consisting of a resonant tunneling diode (RTD) integrated with a unipolar optical waveguide and incorporated in a package with a coplanar waveguide transmission line. When appropriately biased, the RTD can provide wide-bandwidth electrical gain. For wavelengths near the material band-edge, small changes of the applied voltage give rise to large, high-speed electro-absorption modulation of the light. We have observed optical modulation at frequencies up to 14 GHz, associated with sub harmonic injection locking of the RTD oscillation at the fundamental mode of the coplanar transmission line, as well as generation of 33 ps optical pulses due to relaxation oscillation.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2005

Electric field switching in a resonant tunneling diode electroabsorption modulator

The basic mechanism underlying electric field switching produced by a resonant tunnelling diode (RTD) is analysed and the theory compared with experimental results; agreement to within 12% is achieved. The electro-absorption modulator (EAM) device potential of this effect is explored in an optical waveguide configuration. It is shown that a RTD-EAM can provide significant absorption coefficient change, via the Franz-Keldysh effect, at appropriate optical communication wavelengths around 1550 nm and can achieve up to 28 dB optical modulation in a 200 um active length device. The advantage of the RTD-EAM, over the conventional reversed biased pn junction EAM, is that the RTD-EAM has in essence an integrated electronic amplifier and therefore requires considerably less switching power.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2005

Ultra-low voltage resonant tunnelling diode electroabsorption modulator

Embedding a double barrier resonant tunnelling diode (RTD) in an unipolar InGaAlAs optical waveguide gives rise to a very low driving voltage electroabsorption modulator (EAM) at optical wavelengths around 1550 nm. The presence of the RTD within the waveguide core introduces high non-linearity and negative differential resistance in the current-voltage (I-V) characteristic of the waveguide. This makes the electric field distribution across the waveguide core strongly dependent on the bias voltage: when the current decreases from the peak to the valley there is an increase of the electric field across the depleted core. The electric field enhancement in the core-depleted layer causes the Franz-Keldysh absorption band-edge to red shift, which is responsible for the electroabsorption effect. High frequency ac signals as low as 100 mV can induce electric field high speed switching, producing substantial light modulation (up to 15 dB) at photon energies slightly lower than the waveguide core band-gap energy. The key difference between this device and conventional p-i-n EAMs is that the tunnelling characteristics of the RTD are employed to switch the electric field across the core depleted region; the RTDEAM has in essence an integrated electronic amplifier and therefore requires considerably less switching power.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2005

Terahertz-induced depletion of the ground-state population of neutral donors in GaAs measured by resonant elastic light scattering from donor-bound excitons

Strong resonant elastic light scattering (RELS) from the donor-bound exciton transition in GaAs (1.514eV) occurs at neutral donors in the ground (1S) state, but not at neutral donors in excited hydrogenic states. When 1.6 THz radiation is incident on an ensemble of neutral donors, we observe up to a 30% decrease in the RELS, corresponding to a decrease in the population of neutral donors in their ground states. This optical detection method is similar to quantum nondemolition measurement techniques used for readout of ion trap quantum computers and diamond nitrogen-vacancy centers. In this scheme, Auger recombination of the bound exciton, which changes the state of the donor during measurement, limits the measurement fidelity and maximum NIR excitation intensity.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2003

A quantum coherent approach to transport and noise in double barrier resonant diodes: shot noise a way to distinguish coherent from sequential tunneling

We implement a quantum approach which includes long range Coulomb interaction and investigate current voltage characteristics and shot noise in double barrier resonant diodes. Theory applies to the region of low applied voltages up to the region of the current peak and considers the wide temperature range from zero to room temperature. The shape of the current voltage characteristic is well reproduced and we confirm that even in the presence of Coulomb interaction shot noise can be suppressed with a Fano factor well below the value of 0.5. This feature is a signature of coherent tunnelling since the standard sequential tunnelling predicts in general a Fano factor equal to or greater than the value 0.5. This giant suppression is a consequence of Pauli principle as well as long range Coulomb interaction. The theory generalizes previous findings and is compared with experiments.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗