arXiv subjects

P. Voisin

Publications and source records attributed to P. Voisin.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2016

Potential-inserted quantum well design for quantum cascade terahertz lasers

We report on a new design of terahertz quantum cascade laser based on a single, potential-inserted quantum well active region. The quantum well properties are engineered through single monolayer InAs inserts. The modeling is based on atomistic, spds* tight-binding calculations, and performances are compared to that of the classical three-well design. We obtain a 100% increase of the oscillator strength per unit length, while maintaining a high, nearly temperature-independent contrast between phonon-induced relaxation times of the upper and lower lasing states. The improved performances are expected to allow THz lasing at room temperature.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Spin splitting of electron states in lattice-mismatched (110)-oriented quantum wells

We show that for lattice-mismatched zinc-blende-type (110)-grown quantum wells a significant contribution to the zero-magnetic-field spin splitting of electron subbands comes from strain-induced spin-orbit coupling. Combining envelope function theory and atomistic tight-binding approach we calculate spin-orbit splitting constants for realistic quantum wells. It is found that the strain due to lattice mismatch in conventional GaAs/AlGaAs structures may noticeably modify the spin splitting while in InGaAs/GaAs structures it plays a major role and may even change the sign of the spin splitting constant.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Tuning optical properties of Ge nanocrystals by Si shell

We present a theoretical study of Ge-core/Si-shell nanocrystals in a wide bandgap matrix and compare the results with experimental data obtained from the samples prepared by co-sputtering. The empirical tight-binding technique allows us to account for the electronic structure under strain on the atomistic level. We find that a Si shell as thick as 1 monolayer is enough to reduce the radiative recombination rate as a result of valley $L - X$ cross-over. Thin Si shell leads to a dramatic reduction of the optical bandgap from visible to near-infrared range, which is promising for photovoltaics and photodetector applications. Our detailed analysis of the structure of the confined electron and hole states in real and reciprocal spaces indicates that the type-II heterostructure is not yet achieved for Si shells with the thickness below 0.8 nm, despite some earlier theoretical predictions. The energy levels of holes are affected by the Si shell stronger than the electron states, even though holes are completely confined to the Ge core. This occurs probably due to a strong influence of strain on the band offsets.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Optical properties of potential-inserted quantum wells in the near infrared and Terahertz ranges

We propose an engineering of the optical properties of GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells using AlAs and InAs monolayer insertions. A quantitative study of the effects of the monolayer position and the well thickness on the interband and intersubband transitions, based on the extended-basis sp3d5s* tight-binding model, is presented. The effect of insertion on the interband transitions is compared with existing experimental data. As for intersubband transitions, we show that in a GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well including two AlAs and one InAs insertions, a three level {e1 , e2 , e3 } system where the transition energy e3-e2 is lower and the transition energy e2-e1 larger than the longitudinal optical phonon energy (36 meV) can be engineered together with a e3-e2 transition energy widely tunable through the TeraHertz range.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Virtual crystal description of III-V semiconductor alloys in the tight binding approach

We propose a simple and effective approach to construct the empirical tight-binding parameters of ternary alloys in the virtual crystal approximation. This combines a new, compact formulation of the strain parameters and a linear interpolation of the hamiltonians of binary materials strained to the alloy equilibrium lattice parameter. We show that it is possible to obtain a perfect description of the bandgap bowing of ternary alloys in the InGaAsSb family of materials. Furthermore, this approach is in a good agreement with supercell calculations using the same set of parameters. This scheme opens a way for atomistic modeling of alloy-based opto-electronic devices without extensive supercell calculations.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Intrinsic interface states in InAs-AlSb heterostructures

We examine the possibility of intrinsic interface states bound to the plane of In-Sb chemical bonds at InAs/AlSb interfaces. Careful parameterization of the bulk materials in the frame of the extended basis spds^* tight-binding model and recent progress in predictions of band offsets severely limit the span of tight-binding parameters describing this system. We find that a heavy-hole like interface state bound to the plane of In-Sb bonds exists for a large range of values of the InSb/InAs band offset.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2014

Microscopic Electronic Wavefunction and interactions between quasi particles in Empirical Tight-Binding Theory

A procedure to obtain single-electron wavefunctions within the tight-binding formalism is proposed. It is based on linear combinations of Slater-type orbitals whose screening coefficients are extracted from the optical matrix elements of the tight-binding Hamiltonian. Bloch functions obtained for zinc-blende semiconductors in the extended-basis spds* tight-binding model demonstrate very good agreement with first-principles wavefunctions. We apply this method to the calculation of electron-hole exchange interaction, and obtain the dispersion of excitonic fine structure of bulk GaAs. Beyond semiconductor nanostructures, this work is a fundamental step toward modeling many-body effects from post-processing single particle wavefunctions within the tight-binding theory.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2014

Fine structure of neutral acceptor states of isolated impurity in zinc-blende semiconductors

The properties of neutral acceptor states in zinc-blende semiconductors are re-examined in the frame of extended-basis $sp^3d^5s^*$ tight-binding model. The symmetry discrepancy between envelope function theory and atomistic calculations is explained in terms of over symmetric potential in current k$\cdot$p approaches. Spherical harmonics decomposition of microscopic Local Density Of States (LDOS) allows for the direct analysis of the tight-binding results in terms of envelope function. Lifting of degeneracy by strain and electric field and their effect on LDOS is examined. The fine structure of magnetic impurity caused by exchange interaction of hole with impurity $d$-shell and its dependence on strain is studied. It is shown that exchange interaction by mixing heavy and light hole makes the ground state more isotropic. The results are important in the context of Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) images of subsurface impurities.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Tight-binding calculations of image charge effects in colloidal nanoscale platelets of CdSe

CdSe nanoplatelets show perfectly quantized thicknesses of few monolayers. They present a situation of extreme, yet well defined quantum confinement. Due to large dielectric contrast between the semiconductor and its ligand environment, interaction between carriers and their dielectric images strongly renormalize bare single particle states. We discuss the electronic properties of this original system in an advanced tight-binding model, and show that Coulomb interactions, including self-energy corrections and enhanced electron-hole interaction, lead to exciton binding energies up to several hundred meVs.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

Anisotropic magneto-resistance in a GaMnAs-based single impurity tunnel diode: a tight binding approach

Using an advanced tight-binding approach, we estimate the anisotropy of the tunnel transmission associated with the rotation of the 5/2 spin of a single Mn atom forming an acceptor state in GaAs and located near an AlGaAs tunnel barrier. Significant anisotropies in both in-plane and out-of-plane geometries are found, resulting from the combination of the large spin-orbit coupling associated with the p-d exchange interaction, cubic anisotropy of heavy-hole dispersion and the low C2v symmetry of the chemical bonds.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Full control of spontaneous emission in confined Tamm plasmon structures

We demonstrate strong confinement of the optical field by depositing a micron sized metallic disk on a planar interferential mirror. Zero dimensional Tamm plasmon modes are evidenced both experimentally and theoretically, with a lateral confinement limited to the disk area and strong coupling to TE polarized fields. Single quantum dots deterministically coupled to these modes are shown to experience acceleration of their spontaneous emission when spectrally resonant with the mode. For quantum dots spectrally detuned from the confined Tamm Plasmon mode, an inhibition of spontaneous emission by a factor 40 is observed, a record value in the optical domain.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2009

Anomalous Hanle Effect in Quantum Dots : Evidence for Strong Dynamical Nuclear Polarization in Transverse Magnetic Field

Hanle effect is ubiquitous in the study of spin-related phenomena and has been used to determine spin lifetime, precession and transport in semiconductors. Here, we report an experimental observation of anomalous Hanle effect in individual self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots where we find that a sizeable photo-created electron spin polarization can be maintained in transverse fields as high as 1T until it abruptly collapses. The striking broadening of the Hanle curve by a factor of ~20 and its bistability upon reversal of the magnetic sweep direction points to a novel dynamical nuclear spin polarization mechanism where the effective nuclear magnetic field compensates the transverse applied field. This interpretation is further supported by the measurement of actual electron Zeeman splitting which exhibits an abrupt increase at the Hanle curve collapse. Strong inhomogeneous quadrupolar interactions typical for strained quantum dots are likely to play a key role in polarizing nuclear spins perpendicular to the optically injected spin orientation.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Hyperfine interaction in InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots : dynamical nuclear polarization versus spin relaxation

We report on the influence of hyperfine interaction on the optical orientation of singly charged excitons X+ and X- in self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots. All measurements were carried out on individual quantum dots studied by micro-photoluminescence at low temperature. We show that the hyperfine interaction leads to an effective partial spin relaxation, under 50kHz modulated excitation polarization, which becomes however strongly inhibited under steady optical pumping conditions because of dynamical nuclear polarization. This optically created magnetic-like nuclear field can become very strong (up to ~4 T) when it is generated in the direction opposite to a longitudinally applied field, and exhibits then a bistability regime. This effect is very well described by a theoretical model derived in a perturbative approach, which reveals the key role played by the energy cost of an electron spin flip in the total magnetic field. Eventually, we emphasize the similarities and differences between X+ and X- trions with respect to the hyperfine interaction, which turn out to be in perfect agreement with the theoretical description.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2009

Origin of the emission within the cavity mode of coupled quantum dot-cavity systems

The origin of the emission within the optical mode of a coupled quantum dot-micropillar system is investigated. Time-resolved photoluminescence is performed on a large number of deterministically coupled devices in a wide range of temperature and detuning. The emission within the cavity mode is found to exhibit the same dynamics as the spectrally closest quantum dot state. Our observations indicate that fast dephasing of the quantum dot state is responsible for the emission within the cavity mode. An explanation for recent photon correlation measurements reported on similar systems is proposed.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Optical alignment and polarization conversion of neutral exciton spin in individual InAs/GaAs quantum dots

We investigate exciton spin memory in individual InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots via optical alignment and conversion of exciton polarization in a magnetic field. Quasiresonant phonon-assisted excitation is successfully employed to define the initial spin polarization of neutral excitons. The conservation of the linear polarization generated along the bright exciton eigenaxes of up to 90% and the conversion from circular- to linear polarization of up to 47% both demonstrate a very long spin relaxation time with respect to the radiative lifetime. Results are quantitatively compared with a model of pseudo-spin 1/2 including heavy-to-light hole mixing.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2007

Electric field effect on electron spin splitting in SiGe/Si quantum wells

Effect of electric field on spin splitting in SiGe quantum wells (QWs) has been studied theoretically. Microscopical calculations of valley and spin splittings are performed in the effective $sp^3d^5s^*$ tight-binding model. The splittings oscillate as a function of the QW width due to inter-valley reflection of the electron wave off the interfaces. In accordance with the symmetry considerations additional electric-field-induced terms appear in the electron spin-dependent Hamiltonian. The oscillations of splitting are suppressed in rather low electric fields. The tight-binding calculations have been analyzed by using the envelope function approach extended to asymmetrical QWs.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2007

Optically probing the fine structure of a single Mn atom in an InAs quantum dot

We report on the optical spectroscopy of a single InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) doped with a single Mn atom in a longitudinal magnetic field of a few Tesla. Our findings show that the Mn impurity is a neutral acceptor state A^0 whose effective spin J=1 is significantly perturbed by the QD potential and its associated strain field. The spin interaction with photo-carriers injected in the quantum dot is shown to be ferromagnetic for holes, with an effective coupling constant of a few hundreds of micro-eV, but vanishingly small for electrons.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2007

Efficient dynamical nuclear polarization in quantum dots: Temperature dependence

We investigate in micro-photoluminescence experiments the dynamical nuclear polarization in individual InGaAs quantum dots. Experiments carried out in an applied magnetic field of 2T show that the nuclear polarization achieved through the optical pumping of electron spins is increasing with the sample temperature between 2K and 55K, reaching a maximum of about 50%. Analysing the dependence of the Overhauser shift on the spin polarization of the optically injected electron as a function of temperature enables us to identify the main reasons for this increase.

cond-mat.other↗