arXiv subjects

Paweł Machnikowski

Publications and source records attributed to Paweł Machnikowski.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Spin-orbit-induced hole spin relaxation in a quantum dot molecule: the effect of $s$-$p$ coupling

We study the effect of the coupling between the hole $s$ shell of one quantum dot and the $p$ shell in the other dot forming a quantum dot molecule on the spin relaxation between the sublevels of the hole $s$ state. Using an effective model that captures the spin-orbit effects in the $p$ shell irrespective of their origin, we show that the strong spin mixing in the $p$ shell can be transferred to the $s$ shell of the other dot, leading to enhanced spin relaxation in a certain energy range around the $s$-$p$ resonance if the dots are misaligned and the magnetic field is tilted from the sample plane.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Time-resolved magneto-Raman study of carrier dynamics in low Landau levels of graphene

We study the relaxation dynamics of the electron system in graphene flakes under Landau quantization regime using a novel approach of time-resolved Raman scattering. The non-resonant character of the experiment allows us to analyze the field dependence of the relaxation rate. Our results clearly evidence sharp increase in the relaxation rate upon the resonance between the energy of the Landau transition and the G-band and shed new light on relaxation mechanism of the Landau-quantized electrons in graphene beyond the previously studied Auger scattering.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Controllable electron spin dephasing due to phonon state distinguishability in a coupled quantum dot system

We predict a spin pure dephasing channel in electron relaxation between states with unequal Zeeman splittings, exemplified by a spin-preserving electron tunneling between quantum dots in a magnetic field. The dephasing is caused by a mismatch in electron $g$-factors in the dots leading to distinguishability of phonons emitted during tunneling with opposite spins. Combining multiband $\boldsymbol{k}{\cdot}\boldsymbol{p}$ modeling and dynamical simulations via a Master equation we show that this fundamental effect of spin measurement effected by the phonon bath may be widely controlled by the size and composition of the dots or on demand, via tuning of external fields. By comparing the numerically simulated degree of dephasing with the predictions of general theory based on distinguishability of environment states, we show that the proposed mechanism is the dominant phonon-related spin dephasing channel and may limit spin coherence time in tunnel-coupled structures at cryogenic temperatures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Dominant role of the shear strain induced admixture in spin-flip processes in self-assembled quantum dots

We study theoretically the spin-flip relaxation processes for a single electron in a self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dot, using an 8-band kp theory in the envelope function approximation. We show that the dominating channel of spin relaxation is spin admixture induced by symmetry-breaking shear strain, which can be mapped onto two effective spin-phonon terms in a conduction band (effective mass) Hamiltonian that have a similar structure and interfere constructively. Unlike the Dresselhaus coupling that dominates spin relaxation in larger, unstrained dots, the shear strain contribution cannot be modeled by a unique standard term in the Hamiltonian but rather relies on the actual strain distribution in the quantum dot.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Limited accuracy of conduction band effective mass equations for semiconductor quantum dots

Effective mass equations are the simplest models of carrier states in a semiconductor structures that reduce the complexity of a solid-state system to Schrödinger- or Pauli-like equations resempling those well known from quantum mechanics textbooks. Here we present a systematic derivation of a conduction-band effective mass equation for a self-assembled semiconductor quantum dot in a magnetic field from the 8-band kp theory. The derivation allows us to classify various forms of the effective mass equations in terms of a hierarchy of approximations. We assess the accuracy of the approximations in calculating selected spectral and spin-related characteristics. We indicate the importance of preserving the off-diagonal terms of the valence band Hamiltonian and argue that an effective mass theory cannot reach satisfactory accuracy without self-consistently including non-parabolicity corrections and renormalization of kp parameters. Quantitative comparison with the 8-band kp results supports the phenomenological Roth-Lax-Zwerdling formula for the g-factor in a nanostructure.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Spin dynamics and magneto-optical response in charge-neutral tunnel-coupled quantum dots

We model the electron and hole spin dynamics in an undoped double quantum dot structure, considering the carrier tunneling between quantum dots. Taking into account also the presence of an in-plane or tilted magnetic field, we provide the simulation of magneto-optical experiments, like the time resolved Kerr rotation measurement, which are performed currently on such structures to probe the temporal spin dynamics. With our model, we reproduce the experimentally observed effect of the extension of the spin polarization life time caused by the spatial charge separation, which may occur in structures of this type. Moreover, we provide a number of qualitative predictions concerning the necessary conditions for observation of this effect as well as about possible channels of its suppression, including the spin-orbit coupling, which leads to tunneling of carriers accompanied by a spin-flip. We consider also the impact of the magnetic field tilting, which results in an interesting spin polarization dynamics.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Optical initialization of hole spins in p-doped quantum dots: orientation efficiency and loss of coherence

We study theoretically the recently proposed hole spin initialization scheme for $p$-doped quantum well or dot systems via coupling to trion states with sub-picosecond circularly polarized laser pulses. We analyze the efficiency of spin initialization an predict the intrinsic spin coherence loss due to the pulse excitation itself as well as the phonon-induced spin dephasing, both taking place on the timescale of the driving laser pulse. We show that the ratio of the degree of dephasing to the achieved orientation effect does not depend on the pulse area but is sensitive to the temperature and detuning. The optimal excitation parameters are identified.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Polaron resonances in two vertically stacked quantum dots

In this work, we present a theoretical study of polaron states in a double quantum dot system. We present realistic calculations which combine 8 band \kp model, configuration interaction approach and collective modes method. We investigate the dependence of polaron energy branches on axial electric field. We show that coupling between carriers and longitudinal optical phonons via Fröhlich interaction leads to qualitative and quantitative reconstruction of the optical spectra. In particular, we study the structure of resonances between the states localized in different dots. We show that $p$-shell states are strongly coupled to the phonon replicas of $s$-shell states, in contrast to the weak direct $s$-$p$ coupling. We discuss also the dependence of the phonon-assisted tunnel coupling strength on the separation between the dots.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Decay and persistence of spatial coherence during phonon-assisted relaxation in double quantum dots

We present a theoretical study of the evolution of spatial coherence during relaxation between delocalized exciton states in a pair of vertically stacked semiconductor quantum dots coupled to acoustic phonons. We show that spatial coherence can be transferred to the ground state even in a system of uncoupled non-identical quantum dots if a particular kind of degeneracy between the inter-level energy splittings is present. The phonon-assisted mechanism of coherence transfer leads to a dependence of the amount of the resulting coherence on the inter-dot distance and temperature. We analyze also the impact of carrier-phonon dynamics on a coupled system, where spatial coherence is present in the delocalized ground state.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Inter-band Coulomb coupling in narrow gap semiconductor nanocrystals: $\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{p}$ theory

We derive the matrix elements of Coulomb interaction between states with different number of electrons and holes in a semiconductor nanocrystal within the 8-band $\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{p}$ theory. These matrix elements are responsible for multiple exciton generation which may contribute to the enhancement of the efficiency of solar cells. Our calculations are performed within the multi band envelope function formalism based on the states resulting from diagonalization of the 8-band $\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{p}$ Hamiltonian. We study in detail and compare two contributions to the inter-band Coulomb coupling: the mesoscopic one, which involves only the envelope functions and relies on band mixing, and the microscopic one, that relies on the Bloch parts of the wave functions and is non-zero even between single- band states. We show that these two contributions are of a similar order of magnitude. We study also the statistical distribution of the magnitudes of the inter-band Coulomb matrix elements and show that the overall coupling to remote states decays according to a power law favorable for the convergence of numerical computations.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Superradiance and enhanced luminescence from ensembles of a few self-assembled quantum dots

We study the evolution of photoluminescence (PL) from homogeneous and inhomogeneous ensembles of a few coupled QDs. We discuss the relation between signals from a given QD ensemble under strong and weak excitation (full inversion and linear response regimes): A system homogeneous enough to manifest superradiant emission when strongly inverted shows a non-exponential decay of the PL signal under spatially coherent weak excitation. In an inhomogeneous ensemble the PL decay is always nearly exponential with a qualitatively different form of the time dependence in the two excitation regimes and with a higher rate under weak excitation.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Photon-photon correlation statistics in the collective emission from ensembles of self-assembled quantum dots

We present a theoretical analysis of the intensity autocorrelation for the spontaneous emission from a planar ensemble of self-assembled quantum dots. Using the quantum jump approach, we numerically simulate the evolution of the system and construct photon-photon delay time statistics that approximates the second order correlation function of the field. The form of this correlation function in the case of collective emission from a highly homogeneous ensemble qualitatively differs form that characterizing an ensemble of independent emitters (inhomogeneous ensemble of uncoupled dots). The signatures of collective emission in the intensity correlations are observed also in the case of an inhomogeneous but sufficiently strongly coupled ensemble. Thus, we show that the second order correlation function of the emitted field provides a sensitive test of cooperative effects.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

Quantum-state transfer in spin chains via isolated resonance of terminal spins

We propose a quantum-state transfer protocol in a spin chain that requires only the control of the spins at the ends of the quantum wire. The protocol is to a large extent insensitive to inhomogeneity caused by local magnetic fields and perturbation of exchange couplings. Moreover, apart from the free evolution regime, it allows one to induce an adiabatic spin transfer, which provides the possibility of performing the transfer on demand. We also show that the amount of information leaking into the central part of the chain is small throughout the whole transfer process (which protects the information sent from being eavesdropped) and can be controlled by the magnitude of the external magnetic field.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Phonon-assisted tunnelling of electrons in a quantum well-quantum dot injection structure

We study theoretically phonon-assisted relaxation and tunnelling in a system composed of a quantum dot which is coupled to a quantum well. Within the kp method combined with the Löwdin elimination, we calculate the electron states. We calculate acoustic phonon-assisted relaxation rates between the states in the quantum well and in the quantum dot and study the resulting electron kinetics. We show that transition efficiency crucially depends on the system geometry. We show also that under some conditions, transition efficiency can decrease with the temperature.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

Electron states in a double quantum dot with broken axial symmetry

We study theoretically the electron states in a system of two vertically stacked quantum dots. We investigate the influence of the geometrical symmetry breaking (caused by the displacement as well as the ellipticity of the dots) on the electron states. Our modeling is based on the 8-band kp method. We show that the absence of axial symmetry of the system leads to a coupling of the s state from one dot with the p and d states from the other. Our findings indicate, that this coupling can produce a strong energy splitting at resonance (on the order of several meV) in the case of closely spaced quantum dots. Furthermore, we show that in the presence of a piezoelectric field, the direction of the displacement plays an important role in the character of the coupling.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Decoherence enhanced quantum measurement of a quantum dot spin qubit

We study the effect of phonons on a proposed scheme for the direct measurement of two-electron spin states in a double quantum dot by monitoring the the noise of the current flowing through a quantum point contact coupled to one of the dots. We show that although the effect of phonons is damaging to the procedure at extremely low temperatures characteristic of spin-in-quantum-dots experiments, and may even be fatal, increasing the temperature leads to a revival of the schemes usefulness. Furthermore, at higher, but still reasonably low temperatures phonon effects become advantageous to the measurement scheme, and lead to the enhancement of the spin-singlet noise without disturbing the low spin-triplet noise. Hence, the uncontrollable interaction of the measured system with the open bosonic environment, can be harnessed to increase the distinguishability between the measured states.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Phonon influence on the measurement of spin states in double quantum dots using the quantum point contact

We study the influence of phonon scattering on the single-triplet measurement of two-electron spin states in a double quantum dot doped with two electrons. We point out that at low temperatures phonon-induced relaxation to the ground state suppresses transitions to doubly occupied singlet states which are the source of detectable current fluctuations in this measurement scheme. Thus, for a relatively strong electron-phonon interaction present in the system, the two configurations display the same noise characteristics. In this way, coupling to phonons reduces the distinguishability between the singlet and triplet configurations. Under such conditions, the measurement scheme is no longer valid even though the temporal characteristics of the measurement process and measurement- induced localization are essentially unchanged.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Double quantum dot in a quantum dash: optical properties

We study the optical properties of highly anisotropic quantum dot structures (quantum dashes) characterized by the presence of two trapping centers located along the structure. Such a system can exhibit some of the properties characteristic for double quantum dots. We show that sub- and super-radiant states can form for certain quantum dash geometries, which is manifested by a pronounced transfer of intensity between spectral lines, accompanied by the appearance of strong electron-hole correlations. We also compare exciton absorption spectra and polarization properties of a system with a single and double trapping center and show how the geometry of multiple trapping centers influences the optical properties of the system. We show that for a broad range of trapping geometries the relative absorption intensity of the ground state is larger than that of the lowest excited states, contrary to the quantum dash systems characterized by a single trapping center. Thus, optical properties of these structures are determined by fine details of their morphology.

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