Structural and compositional analysis of (InGa)(AsSb)/GaAs/GaP Stranski-Krastanov quantum dots.

We investigated metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy grown (InGa)(AsSb)/GaAs/GaP Stranski-Krastanov quantum dots (QDs) with potential applications in QD-Flash memories by cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy (X-STM) and atom probe tomography (APT). The combination of X-STM and APT is a very powerful approach to study semiconductor heterostructures with atomic resolution, which provides detailed structural and compositional information on the system. The rather small QDs are found to be of truncated pyramid shape with a very small top facet and occur in our sample with a very high density of ∼4 × 1011 cm-2. APT experiments revealed that the QDs are GaAs rich with smaller amounts of In and Sb. Finite element (FE) simulations are performed using structural data from X-STM to calculate the lattice constant and the outward relaxation of the cleaved surface. The composition of the QDs is estimated by combining the results from X-STM and the FE simulations, yielding ∼InxGa1 - xAs1 - ySby, where x = 0.25-0.30 and y = 0.10-0.15. Noticeably, the reported composition is in good agreement with the experimental results obtained by APT, previous optical, electrical, and theoretical analysis carried out on this material system. This confirms that the InGaSb and GaAs layers involved in the QD formation have strongly intermixed. A detailed analysis of the QD capping layer shows the segregation of Sb and In from the QD layer, where both APT and X-STM show that the Sb mainly resides outside the QDs proving that Sb has mainly acted as a surfactant during the dot formation. Our structural and compositional analysis provides a valuable insight into this novel QD system and a path for further growth optimization to improve the storage time of the QD-Flash memory devices.

Optimization of VCSEL photon lifetime for minimum energy consumption at varying bit rates.

Optimum photon lifetimes of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) are shown to be target bit rate dependent. A comparison of the power budget in fJ/bit for optimized VCSELs operating at 25 Gb/s and 50 Gb/s is given. At 25 Gbit/s, the energy per bit ratio is lower than 100 fJ/bit presenting a 75% reduction as compared to the 50 Gb/s values. The cavity dip / gain peak detuning for maximizing temperature stability must be similarly adjusted to the bit rate as shown here. These conclusions are valid for any VCSELs, e.g. those emitting at 850 nm, 880 nm, 910 nm, 940 nm or 980 nm, presently investigated by us.

Strain analysis from nano-beam electron diffraction: Influence of specimen tilt and beam convergence.

Strain analyses from experimental series of nano-beam electron diffraction (NBED) patterns in scanning transmission electron microscopy are performed for different specimen tilts. Simulations of NBED series are presented for which strain analysis gives results that are in accordance with experiment. This consequently allows to study the relation between measured strain and actual underlying strain. A two-tilt method which can be seen as lowest-order electron beam precession is suggested and experimentally implemented. Strain determination from NBED series with increasing beam convergence is performed in combination with the experimental realization of a probe-forming aperture with a cross inside. It is shown that using standard evaluation techniques, the influence of beam convergence on spatial resolution is lower than the influence of sharp rings around the diffraction disc which occur at interfaces and which are caused by the tails of the intensity distribution of the electron probe.

Multimode optical feedback dynamics in InAs/GaAs quantum dot lasers emitting exclusively on ground or excited states: transition from short- to long-delay regimes.

The optical feedback dynamics of two multimode InAs/GaAs quantum dot lasers emitting exclusively on sole ground or excited lasing states is investigated. The transition from long- to short-delay regimes is analyzed, while the boundaries associated to the birth of periodic and chaotic oscillations are unveiled to be a function of the external cavity length. The results show that depending on the initial lasing state, different routes to chaos are observed. These results are of importance for the development of isolator-free transmitters in short-reach networks.

Comparison of optical feedback dynamics of InAs/GaAs quantum-dot lasers emitting solely on ground or excited states.

We experimentally compare the dynamics of InAs/GaAs quantum dot lasers under optical feedback emitting exclusively on ground states (GSs) or excited states (ESs). By varying the feedback parameters and putting focus either on their short or long cavity regions, various periodic and chaotic oscillatory states are found. The GS laser is shown to be more resistant to feedback, benefiting from its strong relaxation oscillation damping. In contrast, the ES laser can easily be driven into complex dynamics. While the GS laser is of importance for the development of isolator-free transmitters, the ES laser is essential for applications taking advantages of chaos.

Morphology and valence band offset of GaSb quantum dots grown on GaP(001) and their evolution upon capping.

This work presents a detailed study of GaSb quantum dot (QD) epitaxy on (001) GaP substrates by means of molecular beam epitaxy. Despite the large mismatch between GaP and GaSb, we show that in the nucleation-diffusion regime, the QD size distribution follows the predictions of the scaling theory. Scanning transmission electron microscopy analysis of grown QDs reveal that they are plastically relaxed by 60° pairs of misfit dislocations and the valence band offset measured by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy on such QDs amounts to 0.5 eV. After capping, the QD morphology is strongly modified with a large P/Sb exchange-segregation reaction, which even leads to the formation of core-shell nanostructures. Remarkably the resulting QD layer is coherent to the substrate without any remaining misfit dislocation and exhibits still strong composition modulations.

Astigmatism-free high-brightness 1060 nm edge-emitting lasers with narrow circular beam profile.

1060 nm high-brightness vertical broad-area edge-emitting lasers providing anastigmatic high optical power into a narrow circular beam profile are demonstrated. Ridge-waveguide (RW) lasers yield record 2.2 W single-transverse mode power in the 1060-nm wavelength range under continuous-wave (cw) operation at room temperature with excellent beam quality factor M2 ≤ 2. Independent of operating current the astigmatism is only 2.5 µm. 3 mm long broad-area (BA) lasers produce a θvert as narrow as 9° full width at half maximum, which agrees well with our simulation results, being insensitive to drive current. 5 mm long BA lasers deliver highest ever reported cw 12 W multimode output power among lasers showing θvert <10° in the 1060-nm wavelength range. The emitted laser beams from both RW and BA lasers show a perfect circular shape with ≤10° divergence angle at record 2.1 W and 4.2 W cw-mode output power, respectively.

Manifestation of unconventional biexciton states in quantum dots.

Although semiconductor excitons consist of a fermionic subsystem (electron and hole), they carry an integer net spin similar to Cooper-electron-pairs. While the latter cause superconductivity by forming a Bose-Einstein-condensate, excitonic condensation is impeded by, for example, a fast radiative decay of the electron-hole pairs. Here, we investigate the behaviour of two electron-hole pairs in a quantum dot with wurtzite crystal structure evoking a charge carrier separation on the basis of large spontaneous and piezoelectric polarizations, thus reducing carrier overlap and consequently decay probabilities. As a direct consequence, we find a hybrid-biexciton complex with a water molecule-like charge distribution enabling anomalous spin configurations. In contrast to the conventional-biexciton complex with a net spin of s=0, the hybrid-biexciton exhibits s=±3, leading to completely different photoluminescence signatures in addition to drastically enhanced charge carrier-binding energies. Consequently, the biexcitonic cascade via the dark exciton can be enhanced on the rise of temperature as approved by photon cross-correlation measurements.

Two dimensional analysis of finite size high-contrast gratings for applications in VCSELs.

2-dimensional simulations of high-contrast gratings (HCGs) of finite size are carried out, targeting at their applications in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs). Finite HCGs show a very different behavior from infinite grating ones. The reflectivity of a finite HCG strongly depends on the HCG size and the source size. Our simulation results predict finite reflectivity and transmission values, well consistent with reported experimental results. The band of high reflectivity (>99.5%) of finite HCGs is less broad as compared to the infinite case. Losses into a guided mode excited in the HCG plane are identified as being at the root. This guided mode is excited due to the nonzero angular components in the finite source size, and greatly enhances the transmission and the light leakage from the slab. In addition, the simulation results show that the details of the finite HCG can shape the output beam, whilst a Gaussian-like reflected wave is typically achieved. Our simulations can explain the current discrepancies between numerical predictions of reflectivities approaching 100% and working HCG-VCSELs showing finite reflectivities and nearly Gaussian-like output. Consequently, our analysis of finite HCGs is indispensable for HCG-VCSEL design.

Quantum coherence induces pulse shape modification in a semiconductor optical amplifier at room temperature.

Coherence in light-matter interaction is a necessary ingredient if light is used to control the quantum state of a material system. Coherent effects are firmly associated with isolated systems kept at low temperature. The exceedingly fast dephasing in condensed matter environments, in particular at elevated temperatures, may well erase all coherent information in the material at timescales shorter than a laser excitation pulse. Here we show for an ensemble of semiconductor quantum dots that even in the presence of ultrafast dephasing, for suitably designed condensed matter systems quantum-coherent effects are robust enough to be observable at room temperature. Our conclusions are based on an analysis of the reshaping an ultrafast laser pulse undergoes on propagation through a semiconductor quantum dot amplifier. We show that this pulse modification contains the signature of coherent light-matter interaction and can be controlled by adjusting the population of the quantum dots via electrical injection.

Collective light emission revisited: reservoir induced coherence.

We study the collective emission of a few emitters (up to three) in a cavity. In addition to the radiation coupling responsible for sub- and superradiance, we investigate emitters additionally coupled through a joint carrier reservoir. For such emitters, typically embedded in a solid state environment, the carrier reservoir provides a continuous pumping mechanism for the steady state emission. We show that the statistical properties of the emitted light depend strongly on the interaction between the emitters and the reservoir. Unexpectedly, the presence of the reservoir enhances the coherence of the emitted light already for a few emitters. This results from the fact that the carrier reservoir introduces new many-body correlations to the electronic transition and in this way suppresses multiphoton processes.

Theory and experiment of submonolayer quantum-dot metal-cavity surface-emitting microlasers.

We present a theoretical model for metal-cavity submonolayer quantum-dot surface-emitting microlasers, which operate at room temperature under electrical injection. Size-dependent lasing characteristics are investigated experimentally and theoretically with device radius ranging from 5 µm to 0.5 µm. The quantum dot emission and cavity optical properties are used in a rate-equation model to study the laser light output power vs. current behavior. Our theory explains the observed size-dependent physics and provides a guide for future device size reduction.

Generation of ultra-wideband triplet pulses based on four-wave mixing and phase-to-intensity modulation conversion.

We propose and demonstrate a novel scheme to generate ultra-wideband (UWB) triplet pulses based on four-wave mixing and phase-to-intensity modulation conversion. First a phase-modulated Gaussian doublet pulse is generated by four-wave mixing in a highly nonlinear fiber. Then an UWB triplet pulse is generated by generating the first-order derivative of the phase-modulated Gaussian doublet pulse using an optical filter serving as a frequency discriminator. By locating the optical signal at the linear slope of the optical filter, the phase modulated Gaussian doublet pulse is converted to an intensity-modulated UWB triplet pulse which well satisfies the Federal Communications Commission spectral mask requirements, even in the extremely power-restricted global positioning system band.

Electro-optical resonance modulation of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers.

Optical and electrical investigations of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL) with a monolithically integrated electro-optical modulator (EOM) allow for a detailed physical understanding of this complex compound cavity laser system. The EOM VCSEL light output is investigated to identify optimal working points. An electro-optic resonance feature triggered by the quantum confined Stark effect is used to modulate individual VCSEL modes by more than 20 dB with an extremely small EOM voltage change of less than 100 mV. Spectral mode analysis reveals modulation of higher order modes and very low wavelength chirp of < 0.5 nm. Dynamic experiments and simulation predict an intrinsic bandwidth of the EOM VCSEL exceeding 50 GHz.

Metal-cavity surface-emitting microlaser with hybrid metal-DBR reflectors.

We demonstrate a metal-cavity surface-emitting microlaser at room temperature using hybrid metal/distributed Bragg reflectors as well as substrate removal. Our devices operate under continuous-wave current injection at room temperature. The smallest laser is 1.0 µm in radius and ~4.0 µm in height with a circular beam shape and an output over 8 µW. The device lases at 995 nm wavelength with a threshold current of about 2.6 mA.

Polarization switching and polarization mode hopping in quantum dot vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers.

We show experimentally that polarization mode hopping in quantum dot vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) takes place between nonorthogonal elliptically polarized modes. In contrast to quantum well VCSELs the average dwell time decreases with injection current. This decrease is by 8 orders of magnitude: from seconds to nanoseconds and is achieved without any modifications of the VCSEL internal anisotropies. The observed scaling happens in a range of currents as wide as 8 times the threshold value.

40 Gb/s wavelength conversion via four-wave mixing in a quantum-dot semiconductor optical amplifier.

The static and dynamic characteristics of degenerate four-wave mixing in a quantum dot semiconductor optical amplifier are investigated. A high chip conversion efficiency of 1.5 dB at 0.3 nm detuning, a low (< 5 dB) asymmetry of up and down conversion and a spectral conversion range of 15 nm with an optical signal-to-noise ratio above 20 dB is observed. The comparison of pumping near the gain peak and at the edge of the gain spectrum reveals the optical signal-to-noise ratio as the crucial parameter for error-free wavelength conversion. Small-signal bandwidths well beyond 40 GHz and 40 Gb/s error-free 5 nm wavelength down conversion with penalties below 1 dB are presented. Due to the optical signal-to-noise ratio limitation, wavelength up conversion is error-free at a pump wavelength of 1311 nm with a penalty of 2.5 dB, whereas an error floor is observed for pumping at 1291 nm. A dual pump configuration is demonstrated, to extend the wavelength conversion range enabling 15.4 nm error-free wavelength up conversion with 3.5 dB penalty caused by the additional saturation of the second pump. This is the first time that 40 Gb/s error-free wavelength conversion via four-wave mixing in quantum-dot semiconductor optical amplifiers is presented.

80 Gb/s wavelength conversion using a quantum-dot semiconductor optical amplifier and optical filtering.

Wavelength conversion of 40 Gb/s and 80 Gb/s return-to-zero on-off-keying signals using a quantum-dot semiconductor optical amplifier in combination with a delay interferometer as subsequent filter is demonstrated. The performance of the 80 Gb/s wavelength converter measured in terms of the bit-error ratio demonstrated here is the highest reported up to now for quantum-dot semiconductor optical amplifiers. The typical fast gain dynamics manifests itself in open eye diagrams of the converted signal. The slow phase dynamics of the carrier reservoir however induces severe patterning and requires compensation. Adaptation of the free-spectral range of the delay interferometer is necessary in order to mitigate these phase effects and to achieve error-free wavelength conversion.

Confined states of individual type-II GaSb/GaAs quantum rings studied by cross-sectional scanning tunneling spectroscopy.

Combined cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy results reveal the interplay between the atomic structure of ring-shaped GaSb quantum dots in GaAs and the corresponding electronic properties. Hole confinement energies between 0.2 and 0.3 eV and a type-II conduction band offset of 0.1 eV are directly obtained from the data. Additionally, the hole occupancy of quantum dot states and spatially separated Coulomb-bound electron states are observed in the tunneling spectra.

22-Gb/s Long Wavelength VCSELs.

1.55-microm vertical cavity surface-emitting low-parasitic lasers show open eyes up to 22-Gb/s modulation speed. Uncooled error-free operation over a wide temperature range up to 85 degrees C under constant bias conditions is demonstrated at 12.5-Gb/s data rate. At these fixed bias conditions the laser characteristics are practically invariant with temperature. These are the highest data-rates reported from a long-wavelength VCSEL structure to date.