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M. Bayer

Publications and source records attributed to M. Bayer.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
arXiv2015

Observation of high angular momentum excitons in cuprous oxide

The recent observation of dipole-allowed $P$-excitons up to principal quantum numbers of $n=25$ in cuprous oxide has given insight into exciton states with unprecedented spectral resolution. While so far the exciton description as a hydrogen-like complex has been sufficient for cubic crystals, we demonstrate here distinct deviations: The breaking of rotational symmetry leads to mixing of high angular momentum $F$- and $H$-excitons with the $P$-excitons so that they can be observed in absorption. The $F$-excitons show a three-fold splitting that depends systematically on $n$, in agreement with theoretical considerations. From detailed comparison of experiment and theory we determine the cubic anisotropy parameter of the Cu$_2$O valence band.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2015

Optical properties of two-dimensional gallium chalcogenide films

Gallium chalcogenides are promising building blocks for novel van der Waals heterostructures. We report low-temperature micro-photoluminescence (PL) of GaTe and GaSe films with thickness ranging from from 200 nm to a single unit cell. In both materials, PL shows dramatic decrease by 10$^4$-10$^5$ when film thickness is reduced from 200 to 10 nm. Based on evidence from cw and time-resolved PL, we propose a model explaining the PL decrease as a result of non-radiative carrier escape via surface states.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2015

Exciton spin dynamics and photoluminescence polarization of CdSe/CdS dot-in-rod nanocrystals in high magnetic fields

The exciton spin dynamics and polarization properties of the related emission are investigated in colloidal CdSe/CdS dot-in-rod (DiR) and spherical core/shell nanocrystal (NC) ensembles by magneto-optical photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy in magnetic fields up to 15 T. It is shown that the degree of circular polarization (DCP) of the exciton emission induced by the magnetic field is affected by the NC geometry as well as the exciton fine structure and can provide information on nanorod orientation. A theory to describe the circular and linear polarization properties of the NC emission in magnetic field is developed. It takes into account phonon mediated coupling between the exciton fine structure states as well as the dielectric enhancement effect resulting from the anisotropic shell of DiR NCs. This theoretical approach is used to model the experimental results and allows us to explain most of the measured features. The spin dynamics of the dark excitons is investigated in magnetic fields by time-resolved photoluminescence. The results highlight the importance of confined acoustic phonons in the spin relaxation of dark excitons. The bare core surface as well as the core/shell interface give rise to an efficient spin relaxation channel, while the surface of core/shell NCs seems to play only a minor role.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2014

Two-color spin noise spectroscopy: Using spin fluctuation correlations to reveal homogeneous linewidths within quantum dot ensembles

"Spin noise spectroscopy" (SNS) is a powerful optical technique for probing electron and hole spin dynamics that is based on detecting their intrinsic and random fluctuations while in thermal equilibrium, an approach guaranteed by the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. Because SNS measures fluctuation properties rather than conventional response functions, we show that fluctuation \emph{correlations} can be exploited in multi-probe noise studies to reveal information that in general cannot be accessed by conventional linear optical spectroscopy, such as the underlying homogeneous linewidths of individual constituents within inhomogeneously-broadened systems. This is demonstrated in an ensemble of singly-charged (In,Ga)As quantum dots using two weak probe lasers: When the two lasers have the same wavelength, they are sensitive to the same QDs in the ensemble and their spin fluctuation signals are correlated. In contrast, two probe lasers that are widely detuned from each other measure different subsets of QDs, leading to uncorrelated fluctuations. Measuring the noise correlation versus laser detuning directly reveals the QD homogeneous linewidth even in the presence of a strong inhomogeneous broadening. Such noise-based correlation techniques are not limited to semiconductor spin systems, but can be widely applied to any system in which intrinsic fluctuations are measurable.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2014

Spin noise spectroscopy beyond thermal equilibrium and linear response

Per the fluctuation-dissipation theorem, the information obtained from spin fluctuation studies in thermal equilibrium is necessarily constrained by the system's linear response functions. However, by including weak radiofrequency magnetic fields, we demonstrate that intrinsic and random spin fluctuations even in strictly unpolarized ensembles \emph{can} reveal underlying patterns of correlation and coupling beyond linear response, and can be used to study non-equilibrium and even multiphoton coherent spin phenomena. We demonstrate this capability in a classical vapor of $^{41}$K alkali atoms, where spin fluctuations alone directly reveal Rabi splittings, the formation of Mollow triplets and Autler-Townes doublets, ac Zeeman shifts, and even nonlinear multiphoton coherences.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2014

Spin-flip Raman scattering of the $Γ$-X mixed exciton in indirect band-gap (In,Al)As/AlAs quantum dots

The band structure of type-I (In,Al)As/AlAs quantum dots with band gap energy exceeding 1.63 eV is indirect in momentum space, leading to long-lived exciton states with potential applications in quantum information. Optical access to these excitons is provided by mixing of the $Γ$- and X-conduction band valleys, from which control of their spin states can be gained. This access is used here for studying the exciton spin-level structure by resonant spin-flip Raman scattering, allowing us to accurately measure the anisotropic hole and isotropic electron $g$ factors. The spin-flip mechanisms for the indirect exciton and its constituents as well as the underlying optical selection rules are determined. The spin-flip intensity is a reliable measure of the strength of $Γ$-X-valley mixing, as evidenced by both experiment and theory.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2014

Hypersonic properties of monodisperse spherical mesoporous silica particles

We use the picosecond acoustic pump-probe technique to study the elastic properties of monodispersemesoporous silica spheres filled with nickel and deposited in the form of opal-like films on silica substrates. The picosecond pump-probe optical transmission signal shows harmonic oscillations corresponding to the lower energy radial Lamb mode in the vibrational spectrum of the spheres. These oscillations, with a frequency of several gigahertz last for several nanoseconds in the spheres with diameter 1050 nm, showing high homogeneity of the sphere parameters. By analysis of the oscillation spectrum of films with different sphere diameter and nickel content we obtain the elastic moduli of the mesoporous silica spheres.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2014

All-optical NMR in semiconductors provided by resonant cooling of nuclear spins interacting with electrons in the resonant spin amplification regime

Resonant cooling of different nuclear isotopes manifested in optically-induced nuclear magnetic resonances (NMR) is observed in n-doped CdTe/(Cd,Mg)Te and ZnSe/(Zn,Mg)Se quantum wells and for donor-bound electrons in ZnSe:F and GaAs epilayers. By time-resolved Kerr rotation used in the regime of resonant spin amplification we can expand the range of magnetic fields where the effect can be observed up to nuclear Larmor frequencies of 170 kHz. The mechanism of the resonant cooling of the nuclear spin system is analyzed theoretically. The developed approach allows us to model the resonant spin amplification signals with NMR resonances.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2014

Nuclear magnetic resonances in (In,Ga)As/GaAs quantum dots studied by resonant optical pumping

The photoluminescence polarizations of (In,Ga)As/GaAs quantum dots annealed at different temperatures are studied as a function of external magnetic field (Hanle curves). In these dependencies, remarkable resonant features appear due to all-optical nuclear magnetic resonances (NMR) for optical excitation with modulated circular polarization. Application of an additional radio-frequency field synchronously with the polarization modulation strongly modifies the NMR features. The resonances can be related to transitions between different nuclear spin states split by the strain-induced gradient of the crystal field and by the externally applied magnetic field. A theoretical model is developed to simulate quadrupole and Zeeman splittings of the nuclear spins in a strained quantum dot. Comparison with the experiment allows us to uniquely identify the observed resonances. The large broadening of the NMR resonances is attributed to variations of the quadrupole splitting within the quantum dot volume, which is well described by the model.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2014

Controlled lasing from active optomechanical resonators

Planar microcavities with distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) host, besides confined optical modes, also mechanical resonances due to stop bands in the phonon dispersion relation of the DBRs. These resonances have frequencies in the sub-terahertz (10E10-10E11 Hz) range with quality factors exceeding 1000. The interaction of photons and phonons in such optomechanical systems can be drastically enhanced, opening a new route toward manipulation of light. Here we implemented active semiconducting layers into the microcavity to obtain a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL). Thereby three resonant excitations -photons, phonons, and electrons- can interact strongly with each other providing control of the VCSEL laser emission: a picosecond strain pulse injected into the VCSEL excites long-living mechanical resonances therein. As a result, modulation of the lasing intensity at frequencies up to 40 GHz is observed. From these findings prospective applications such as THz laser control and stimulated phonon emission may emerge.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2014

Photon echoes retrieved from semiconductor spins: access to basis for long-term optical memories

The possibility to store optical information is important for classical and quantum communication. Atoms or ions as well as color centers in crystals offer suitable two-level systems for absorbing incoming photons. To obtain a reliable transfer of coherence, strong enough light-matter interaction is required, which may enforce use of ensembles of absorbers, but has the disadvantage of unavoidable inhomogeneities leading to fast dephasing. This obstacle can be overcome by echo techniques that allow recovery of the information as long as the coherence is preserved. Albeit semiconductor quantum structures appear appealing for information storage due to the large oscillator strength of optical transitions, inhomogeneity typically is even more pronounced for them and most importantly the optical coherence is limited to nanoseconds or shorter. Here we show that by transferring the information to electron spins the storage times for the optical coherence can be extended by orders of magnitude up to the spin relaxation time. From the spin reservoir it can be retrieved on purpose by inducing a stimulated photon echo. We demonstrate this for an n-doped CdTe/(Cd,Mg)Te quantum well for which the storage time thereby could be increased by more than three orders of magnitude from the picosecond-range up to tens of nanoseconds.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2013

Exciton spin dynamics of colloidal CdTe nanocrystals in magnetic field

The recombination and spin dynamics of excitons in colloidal CdTe nanocrystals (NCs) are studied by time-resolved photoluminescence in high magnetic fields up to 15 T and at cryogenic temperatures. The recombination decay shows a nonexponential temporal behavior, with the longest component corresponding to the dark excitons having 260 ns decay time at zero magnetic field and 4.2 K temperature. This long component shortens to 150 ns at 15 T due to the magnetic-field-induced mixing of the bright and dark exciton states. The spin dynamics, assessed through the evolution of the magnetic-field-induced circular polarization degree of the photoluminescence, has a fast component shorter than 1 ns related to the bright excitons and a slow component of 5-10 ns associated with the dark excitons. The latter shortens with increasing magnetic field, which is characteristic for a phonon-assisted spin relaxation mechanism. The relatively low saturation level of the associated magnetic-field-induced circular polarization degree of -30 % is explained by a model that suggests the CdTe NCs to constitute an ensemble of prolate and oblate NCs, both having a structural quantization axis. The exciton g-factor of 2.4-2.9 evaluated from fitting the experimental data in the frame of the suggested approach is in good agreement with the expected value for the dark excitons in CdTe NCs.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2013

Second harmonic generation spectroscopy of excitons in ZnO

Nonlinear optics of semiconductors is an important field of fundamental and applied research, but surprisingly the role of excitons in the coherent processes leading to harmonics generation has remained essentially unexplored. Here we report results of a comprehensive experimental and theoretical study of the three-photon process of optical second harmonic generation (SHG) involving the exciton resonances of the noncentrosymmetric hexagonal wide-band-gap semiconductor ZnO in the photon energy range of 3.2-3.5 eV. Resonant crystallographic SHG is observed for the 1s(A,B), 2s(A,B), 2p(A,B), and 1s(C) excitons. We show that strong SHG signals at these exciton resonances are induced by the application of a magnetic field when the incident and the SHG light wave vectors are along the crystal z-axis where the crystallographic SHG response vanishes. A microscopic theory of SHG generation through excitons is developed, which shows that the nonlinear interaction of coherent light with excitons has to be considered beyond the electric-dipole approximation. Depending on the particular symmetry of the exciton states SHG can originate from the electric- and magnetic-field-induced perturbations of the excitons due to the Stark effect, the spin as well as orbital Zeeman effects, or the magneto-Stark effect. The importance of each mechanism is analyzed and discussed by confronting experimental data and theoretical results for the dependencies of the SHG signals on photon energy, magnetic field, electric field, crystal temperature, and light polarization. Good agreement is obtained between experiment and theory proving the validity of our approach to the complex problem of nonlinear interaction of light with ZnO excitons. This general approach can be applied also to other semiconductors.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2013

Exciton-Trion Coherent Interactions in a CdTe/CdMgTe Quantum Well

We present a collection of zero-, one- and two-quantum two-dimensional coherent spectra of excitons and trions in a CdTe/(Cd,Mg)Te quantum well. The set of spectra provides a unique and comprehensive picture of the exciton and trion nonlinear optical response. Exciton-exciton and exciton-trion coherent coupling is manifest as distinct peaks in the spectra, whereas signatures of trion-trion interactions are absent. Excellent agreement using density matrix calculations is obtained, which highlights the essential role of many-body effects on coherent interactions in the quantum well.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2013

Resources of polarimetric sensitivity in spin noise spectroscopy

We attract attention to the fact that the ultimate (shot-noise-limited) polarimetric sensitivity can be enhanced by orders of magnitude leaving the photon flux incident onto the photodetector on the same low level. This opportunity is of crucial importance for present-day spin noise spectroscopy, where a direct increase of sensitivity by increasing the probe beam power is strongly restricted by the admissible input power of the broadband photodetectors. The gain in sensitivity is achieved by replacing the 45-deg polarization geometry commonly used in conventional schemes with balanced detectors by geometries with stronger polarization extinction. The efficiency of these high-extinction polarization geometries with enhancement of the detected signal by more than an order of magnitude is demonstrated by measurements of the spin noise spectra of bulk n:GaAs in the spectral range 835-918 nm. It is shown that the inevitable growth of the probe beam power with the sensitivity gain makes spin noise spectroscopy much more perturbative, but, at the same time, opens up fresh opportunities for studying nonlinear interactions of strong light fields with spin ensembles.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2013

Picosecond opto-acoustic interferometry and polarimetry in high-index GaAs

By means of a metal opto-acoustic transducer we generate quasi-longitudinal and quasi-transverse picosecond strain pulses in a (311)-GaAs substrate and monitor their propagation by picosecond acoustic interferometry. By probing at the sample side opposite to the transducer the signals related to the compressive and shear strain pulses can be separated in time. In addition to conventional monitoring of the reflected probe light intensity we monitor also the polarization rotation of the optical probe beam. This polarimetric technique results in improved sensitivity of detection and provides comprehensive information about the elasto-optical anisotropy. The experimental observations are in a good agreement with a theoretical analysis.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2013

Hanle effect in (In,Ga)As quantum dots: Role of nuclear spin fluctuations

The role of nuclear spin fluctuations in the dynamic polarization of nuclear spins by electrons is investigated in (In,Ga)As quantum dots. The photoluminescence polarization under circularly polarized optical pumping in transverse magnetic fields (Hanle effect) is studied. A weak additional magnetic field parallel to the optical axis is used to control the efficiency of nuclear spin cooling and the sign of nuclear spin temperature. The shape of the Hanle curve is drastically modified with changing this control field, as observed earlier in bulk semiconductors and quantum wells. However, the standard nuclear spin cooling theory, operating with the mean nuclear magnetic field (Overhauser field), fails to describe the experimental Hanle curves in a certain range of control fields. This controversy is resolved by taking into account the nuclear spin fluctuations owed to the finite number of nuclei in the quantum dot. We propose a model describing cooling of the nuclear spin system by electron spins experiencing fast vector precession in the random Overhauser fields of nuclear spin fluctuations. The model allows us to accurately describe the measured Hanle curves and to determine the parameters of the electron-nuclear spin system of the studied quantum dots.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗