Spontaneous Spin and Valley Symmetry-Broken States of Interacting Massive Dirac Fermions in a Bilayer Graphene Quantum Dot.

We predict the existence of spontaneous spin and valley symmetry-broken states of interacting massive Dirac Fermions in a gated bilayer graphene quantum dot based on the exact diagonalization of the many-body Hamiltonian. The dot is defined by a vertical electric field and lateral gates, and its single-particle (SP) energies, wave functions, and Coulomb matrix elements are computed by using the atomistic tight-binding model. The effect of the Coulomb interaction is measured by the ratio of Coulomb elements to the SP level spacing. As we increase the interaction strength, we find the electrons in a series of spin and valley symmetry-broken phases with increasing valley and spin polarizations. The phase transitions result from the competition of the SP, exchange, and correlation energy scales. A phase diagram for N = 1-6 electrons is mapped out as a function of the Coulomb interaction strength.

Theory of Excitons in Gated Bilayer Graphene Quantum Dots.

We present a theory of excitons in gated bilayer graphene (BLG) quantum dots (QDs). Electrical gating of BLG opens an energy gap, turning this material into an electrically tunable semiconductor. Unlike in laterally gated semiconductor QDs, where electrons are attracted and holes repelled, we show here that lateral structuring of metallic gates results in a gated lateral QD confining both electrons and holes. Using an accurate atomistic approach and exact diagonalization tools, we describe strongly interacting electrons and holes forming an electrically tunable exciton. We find these excitons to be different from those found in semiconductor QDs and nanocrystals, with exciton energy tunable by voltage from the terahertz to far infrared (FIR) range. The conservation of spin, valley, and orbital angular momentum results in an exciton fine structure with a band of dark low-energy states, making this system a promising candidate for storage, detection and emission of photons in the terahertz range.

Continuous-wave lasing in colloidal quantum dot solids enabled by facet-selective epitaxy.

Colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) feature a low degeneracy of electronic states at the band edges compared with the corresponding bulk material, as well as a narrow emission linewidth. Unfortunately for potential laser applications, this degeneracy is incompletely lifted in the valence band, spreading the hole population among several states at room temperature. This leads to increased optical gain thresholds, demanding high photoexcitation levels to achieve population inversion (more electrons in excited states than in ground states-the condition for optical gain). This, in turn, increases Auger recombination losses, limiting the gain lifetime to sub-nanoseconds and preventing steady laser action. State degeneracy also broadens the photoluminescence linewidth at the single-particle level. Here we demonstrate a way to decrease the band-edge degeneracy and single-dot photoluminescence linewidth in CQDs by means of uniform biaxial strain. We have developed a synthetic strategy that we term facet-selective epitaxy: we first switch off, and then switch on, shell growth on the (0001) facet of wurtzite CdSe cores, producing asymmetric compressive shells that create built-in biaxial strain, while still maintaining excellent surface passivation (preventing defect formation, which otherwise would cause non-radiative recombination losses). Our synthesis spreads the excitonic fine structure uniformly and sufficiently broadly that it prevents valence-band-edge states from being thermally depopulated. We thereby reduce the optical gain threshold and demonstrate continuous-wave lasing from CQD solids, expanding the library of solution-processed materials that may be capable of continuous-wave lasing. The individual CQDs exhibit an ultra-narrow single-dot linewidth, and we successfully propagate this into the ensemble of CQDs.

Bright Single InAsP Quantum Dots at Telecom Wavelengths in Position-Controlled InP Nanowires: The Role of the Photonic Waveguide.

We report on the site-selected growth of bright single InAsP quantum dots embedded within InP photonic nanowire waveguides emitting at telecom wavelengths. We demonstrate a dramatic dependence of the emission rate on both the emission wavelength and the nanowire diameter. With an appropriately designed waveguide, tailored to the emission wavelength of the dot, an increase in the count rate by nearly 2 orders of magnitude (0.4 to 35 kcps) is obtained for quantum dots emitting in the telecom O-band, showing high single-photon purity with multiphoton emission probabilities down to 2%. Using emission-wavelength-optimized waveguides, we demonstrate bright, narrow-line-width emission from single InAsP quantum dots with an unprecedented tuning range of 880 to 1550 nm. These results pave the way toward efficient single-photon sources at telecom wavelengths using deterministically grown InAsP/InP nanowire quantum dots.

Landau-Zener-Stückelberg-Majorana Interferometry of a Single Hole.

We perform Landau-Zener-Stückelberg-Majorana (LZSM) spectroscopy on a system with strong spin-orbit interaction (SOI), realized as a single hole confined in a gated double quantum dot. Analogous to electron systems, at a magnetic field B=0 and high modulation frequencies, we observe photon-assisted tunneling between dots, which smoothly evolves into the typical LZSM funnel-shaped interference pattern as the frequency is decreased. In contrast to electrons, the SOI enables an additional, efficient spin-flip interdot tunneling channel, introducing a distinct interference pattern at finite B. Magnetotransport spectra at low-frequency LZSM driving show the two channels to be equally coherent. High-frequency LZSM driving reveals complex photon-assisted tunneling pathways, both spin conserving and spin flip, which form closed loops at critical magnetic fields. In one such loop, an arbitrary hole spin state is inverted, opening the way toward its all-electrical manipulation.

Atomistic Design of CdSe/CdS Core-Shell Quantum Dots with Suppressed Auger Recombination.

We design quasi-type-II CdSe/CdS core-shell colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) exhibiting a suppressed Auger recombination rate. We do so using fully atomistic tight-binding wave functions and microscopic Coulomb interactions. The recombination rate as a function of the core and shell size and shape is tested against experiments. Because of a higher density of deep hole states and stronger hole confinement, Auger recombination is found to be up to six times faster for positive trions compared to negative ones in 4 nm core/10 nm shell CQDs. Soft-confinement at the interface results in weak suppression of Auger recombination compared to same-bandgap sharp-interface CQDs. We find that the suppression is due to increased volume of the core resulting in delocalization of the wave functions, rather than due to soft-confinement itself. We show that our results are consistent with previous effective mass models with the same system parameters. Increasing the dot volume remains the most efficient way to suppress Auger recombination. We predict that a 4-fold suppression of Auger recombination can be achieved in 10 nm CQDs by increasing the core volume by using rodlike cores embedded in thick shells.

Biexciton Binding of Dirac fermions Confined in Colloidal Graphene Quantum Dots.

We present transient absorption measurements and microscopic theory of biexciton binding in triangular colloidal graphene quantum dots consisting of 168 sp(2)-hybridized C atoms. We observe optical transitions from the lowest orbitally dark singlet exciton states to states below the energy of an unbound dark+bright singlet-exciton pair. Through microscopic calculations of the low-energy exciton and biexciton states via tight-binding, Hartree-Fock, and configuration interaction methods, the spectra reveal a biexciton consisting primarily of a dark-bright singlet-pair bound by ∼0.14 eV.

Coherence Characteristics of a GaAs Single Heavy-Hole Spin Qubit Using a Modified Single-Shot Latching Readout Technique.

We present an experimental study of the coherence properties of a single heavy-hole spin qubit formed in one quantum dot of a gated GaAs/AlGaAs double quantum dot device. We use a modified spin-readout latching technique in which the second quantum dot serves both as an auxiliary element for a fast spin-dependent readout within a 200 ns time window and as a register for storing the spin-state information. To manipulate the single-spin qubit, we apply sequences of microwave bursts of various amplitudes and durations to make Rabi, Ramsey, Hahn-echo, and CPMG measurements. As a result of the qubit manipulation protocols combined with the latching spin readout, we determine and discuss the achieved qubit coherence times: T1, TRabi, T2*, and T2CPMG vs. microwave excitation amplitude, detuning, and additional relevant parameters.

Majorana Excitons in a Kitaev Chain of Semiconductor Quantum Dots in a Nanowire.

We present here a theory of Majorana excitons, photo-excited conduction electron-valence band hole pairs, interacting with Majorana Fermions in a Kitaev chain of semiconductor quantum dots embedded in a nanowire. Using analytical tools and exact diagonalization methods, we identify the presence of Majorana zero modes in the nanowire absorption spectra.

Physics of lateral triple quantum-dot molecules with controlled electron numbers.

We review the recent progress in theory and experiments with lateral triple quantum dots with controlled electron numbers down to one electron in each dot. The theory covers electronic and spin properties as a function of topology, number of electrons, gate voltage and external magnetic field. The orbital Hund's rules and Nagaoka ferromagnetism, magnetic frustration and chirality, interplay of quantum interference and electron-electron interactions and geometrical phases are described and related to charging and transport spectroscopy. Fabrication techniques and recent experiments are covered, as well as potential applications of triple quantum-dot molecule in coherent control, spin manipulation and quantum computation.

Spin textures in strongly coupled electron spin and magnetic or nuclear spin systems in quantum dots.

Controlling electron spins strongly coupled to magnetic and nuclear spins in solid state systems is an important challenge in the field of spintronics and quantum computation. We show here that electron droplets with no net spin in semiconductor quantum dots strongly coupled with magnetic ion or nuclear spin systems break down at low temperature and form a nontrivial antiferromagnetic spatially ordered spin texture of magnetopolarons. The spatially ordered combined electron-magnetic ion spin texture, associated with spontaneous symmetry breaking in the parity of electronic charge and spin densities and magnetization of magnetic ions, emerges from an ab initio density functional approach to the electronic system coupled with mean-field approximation for the magnetic or nuclear spin system. The predicted phase diagram determines the critical temperature as a function of coupling strength and identifies possible phases of the strongly coupled spin system. The prediction may arrest fluctuations in the spin system and open the way to control, manipulate, and prepare magnetic and nuclear spin ensembles in semiconductor nanostructures.

Edge States and Strain-Driven Topological Phase Transitions in Quantum Dots in Topological Insulators.

We present here a theory of the electronic properties of quasi two-dimensional quantum dots made of topological insulators. The topological insulator is described by either eight band k→·p→ Hamiltonian or by a four-band k→·p→ Bernevig-Hughes-Zhang (BHZ) Hamiltonian. The trivial versus topological properties of the BHZ Hamiltonian are characterized by the different topologies that arise when mapping the in-plane wavevectors through the BHZ Hamiltonian onto a Bloch sphere. In the topologically nontrivial case, edge states are formed in the disc and square geometries of the quantum dot. We account for the effects of compressive strain in topological insulator quantum dots by means of the Bir-Pikus Hamiltonian. Tuning strain allows topological phase transitions between topological and trivial phases, which results in the vanishing of edge states from the energy gap. This may enable the design of a quantum strain sensor based on strain-driven transitions in HgTe topological insulator square quantum dots.

Unity yield of deterministically positioned quantum dot single photon sources.

We report on a platform for the production of single photon devices with a fabrication yield of 100%. The sources are based on InAsP quantum dots embedded within position-controlled bottom-up InP nanowires. Using optimized growth conditions, we produce large arrays of structures having highly uniform geometries. Collection efficiencies are as high as 83% and multiphoton emission probabilities as low as 0.6% with the distribution away from optimal values associated with the excitation of other charge complexes and re-excitation processes, respectively, inherent to the above-band excitation employed. Importantly, emission peak lineshapes have Lorentzian profiles indicating that linewidths are not limited by inhomogeneous broadening but rather pure dephasing, likely elastic carrier-phonon scattering due to a high phonon occupation. This work establishes nanowire-based devices as a viable route for the scalable fabrication of efficient single photon sources and provides a valuable resource for hybrid on-chip platforms currently being developed.

Magnetic tuning of tunnel coupling between InAsP double quantum dots in InP nanowires.

We study experimentally and theoretically the in-plane magnetic field dependence of the coupling between dots forming a vertically stacked double dot molecule. The InAsP molecule is grown epitaxially in an InP nanowire and interrogated optically at millikelvin temperatures. The strength of interdot tunneling, leading to the formation of the bonding-antibonding pair of molecular orbitals, is investigated by adjusting the sample geometry. For specific geometries, we show that the interdot coupling can be controlled in-situ using a magnetic field-mediated redistribution of interdot coupling strengths. This is an important milestone in the development of qubits required in future quantum information technologies.

Full polarization control of fiber-delivered light in a dilution refrigerator.

Birefringence in optical fibers poses a challenge to controllably delivering polarized light. Strain-induced birefringence caused by bends in the fiber, vibrations, or a large temperature gradient can significantly alter the polarization, making it particularly difficult to deliver polarization states to low-temperature environments by fiber. In this paper, we investigate the transmission of polarized light through a fiber and discuss a method we have developed for delivering arbitrarily polarized light to the base stage of a dilution refrigerator using a standard optical fiber. We have created a compact, cryogenic optical system to identify the polarization of the delivered light, while room-temperature waveplates and a mathematical fiber model are used to fully characterize and compensate for the fiber's birefringent effects. We show here that we are able to deliver horizontal, vertical, diagonal, anti-diagonal, right circular, and left circular polarization states to milli-Kelvin temperatures, with state fidelities of greater than 0.96 being achieved in all cases. Additionally, we demonstrate that we can deliver randomly selected elliptical states through a standard fiber to the refrigerator. This opens up new opportunities for fiber-based optical experiments using polarized light, such as quantum information experiments using quantum states encoded in the polarization of single photons.

Uniaxial transition dipole moments in semiconductor quantum rings caused by broken rotational symmetry.

Semiconductor quantum rings are topological structures that support fascinating phenomena such as the Aharonov-Bohm effect and persistent current, which are of high relevance in the research of quantum information devices. The annular shape of quantum rings distinguishes them from other low-dimensional materials, and enables topologically induced properties such as geometry-dependent spin manipulation and emission. While optical transition dipole moments (TDMs) in zero to two-dimensional optical emitters have been well investigated, those in quantum rings remain obscure despite their utmost relevance to the quantum photonic applications of quantum rings. Here, we study the dimensionality and orientation of TDMs in CdSe quantum rings. In contrast to those in other two-dimensional optical emitters, we find that TDMs in CdSe quantum rings show a peculiar in-plane linear distribution. Our theoretical modeling reveals that this uniaxial TDM originates from broken rotational symmetry in the quantum ring geometries.

Ultrafast Carrier Trapping in Thick-Shell Colloidal Quantum Dots.

It has previously been found that Auger processes can lead to femtosecond carrier trapping in quantum dots, limiting their performance in optoelectronic applications that rely on radiative recombination. Using atomistic simulations, we investigate whether a shell can protect carriers from Auger-assisted trapping. For these studies we investigate CdSe/CdS core-shell quantum dots having total diameters reaching up to 10 nm. We find trapping lifetimes as fast as 1 ps for 2 nm shells, and we report that shells as thick as 6 nm are required to suppress trapping fully. The most efficient recombination mechanism is found to proceed through shallow empty traps, suggesting it can be suppressed by filling the traps through doping or external electrochemical potential. Our findings suggest that to achieve efficient light emission, surface traps have to be completely eliminated, even in thick-shell quantum dots.

Quantum strain sensor with a topological insulator HgTe quantum dot.

We present a theory of electronic properties of HgTe quantum dot and propose a strain sensor based on a strain-driven transition from a HgTe quantum dot with inverted bandstructure and robust topologically protected quantum edge states to a normal state without edge states in the energy gap. The presence or absence of edge states leads to large on/off ratio of conductivity across the quantum dot, tunable by adjusting the number of conduction channels in the source-drain voltage window. The electronic properties of a HgTe quantum dot as a function of size and applied strain are described using eight-band k · p Luttinger and Bir-Pikus Hamiltonians, with surface states identified with chirality of Luttinger spinors and obtained through extensive numerical diagonalization of the Hamiltonian.

Optical signatures of spin polarization of carriers in quantum dots.

We predict theoretically the optical signatures of spin polarization of carriers in self-assembled quantum dots. The emission spectra are mapped out as a function of increasing electron spin polarization for a fixed number of electrons and holes. The spin-polarized spectra are determined using exact diagonalization techniques for up to 12 particles, corresponding to two lowest filled shells. We predict that the spin polarization leads to photon polarization, to redshifts of emission lines due to excess exchange interactions among the spin-polarized electrons, and to a complete breakup of emission lines for spin-polarized electronic shells.

Pairing of spin excitations in lateral quantum dots.

We demonstrate the existence of correlated electronic states as paired spin excitations of lateral quantum dots in the integer quantum Hall regime. Starting from the spin-singlet filling-factor nu=2 droplet, by increasing the magnetic field we force the electrons to flip spins and increase the spin polarization. We identify the second spin-flip process as one accompanied by correlated, spin depolarized phases, interpreted as pairs of spin excitons. The correlated states are identified experimentally in few-electron lateral quantum dots using high source-drain voltage spectroscopy.