Spatially and Time-Resolved Carrier Dynamics in Core-Shell InGaN/GaN Multiple-Quantum Wells on GaN Wire.

Time-resolved cathodoluminescence is a key tool with high temporal and spatial resolution. However, optical spectroscopic information can be also extracted using synchrotron pulses in a hard X-ray nanoprobe, exploiting a phenomenon called X-ray excited optical luminescence. Here, with 20 ps time resolution and 80 nm lateral resolution, we applied this time-resolved X-ray microscopy technique to individual core-shell InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well heterostructures deposited on GaN wires. Our findings suggest that the m-plane related multiple quantum well states govern the carrier dynamics. Likewise, our observations support not only the influence of In incorporation in the recombination rates, but also carrier localization phenomena at the hexagon wire apex. In addition, our experiment calls for further investigations of the spatiotemporal domain on the underlying mechanisms of optoelectronic nanodevices. Its great potential becomes more valuable when time-resolved X-ray excited optical luminescence microscopy is used in operando with other methods, such as X-ray absorption spectroscopy.

Role of re-growth interface preparation process for spectral line-width reduction of single InAs site-controlled quantum dots.

We present growth and optical characterization measurements of single InAs site-controlled quantum dots (SCQDs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs (001) patterned substrates by atomic force microscopy oxidation lithography. InAs SCQDs directly grown on the patterned surface were used as a seed layer and strain template for the nucleation of optically active single InAs SCQDs. The preservation of the initial geometry of the engraved pattern motifs after the re-growth interface preparation process, the lack of buffer layer growth prior to InAs seed layer deposition and the development of suitable growth conditions provide us an improvement of the SCQDs' active layer optical properties while retaining a high ratio of single occupation (89%). In this work a fivefold reduction of the average optical line-width from 870 µeV to 156 µeV for InAs SCQDs located 15 nm from the re-growth interface is obtained by increasing the temperature of the initial thermal treatment step of the re-growth interface from 490 °C to 530 °C.

Size-controlled Ge nanostructures for enhanced Er³âº light emission.

The potential of Ge nanoparticles (NPs) embedded in Al2O3 with tunable effective optical bandgap values in the range of 1.0-3.3 eV to induce enhanced Er3+ light emission is investigated. We demonstrate nonresonant indirect excitation of the Er3+ ions mediated by the Ge NPs at room temperature. Efficient Er3+ light emission enhancement is obtained for Ge NPs with large effective optical bandgaps in the range of 1.85 to 2.8 eV. The coupled Ge NP-Er emission shows a negligible thermal quenching from 10 K to room temperature that is related to Er3+ de-excitation through thermally activated defect states.

High quality factor GaAs-based photonic crystal microcavities by epitaxial re-growth.

We investigate L7 photonic crystal microcavities (PCMs) fabricated by epitaxial re-growth of GaAs pre-patterned substrates, containing InAs quantum dots. The resulting PCMs show hexagonal shaped nano-holes due to the development of preferential crystallographic facets during the re-growth step. Through a careful control of the fabrication processes, we demonstrate that the photonic modes are preserved throughout the process. The quality factor (Q) of the photonic modes in the re-grown PCMs strongly depends on the relative orientation between photonic lattice and crystallographic directions. The optical modes of the re-grown PCMs preserve the linear polarization and, for the most favorable orientation, a 36% of the Q measured in PCMs fabricated by the conventional procedure is observed, exhibiting values up to ~6000. The results aim to the future integration of site-controlled QDs with high-Q PCMs for quantum photonics and quantum integrated circuits.

Probing quantum confinement within single core-multishell nanowires.

Theoretically core-multishell nanowires under a cross-section of hexagonal geometry should exhibit peculiar confinement effects. Using a hard X-ray nanobeam, here we show experimental evidence for carrier localization phenomena at the hexagon corners by combining synchrotron excited optical luminescence with simultaneous X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Applied to single coaxial n-GaN/InGaN multiquantum-well/p-GaN nanowires, our experiment narrows the gap between optical microscopy and high-resolution X-ray imaging and calls for further studies on the underlying mechanisms of optoelectronic nanodevices.

Purcell effect in photonic crystal microcavities embedding InAs/InP quantum wires.

The spontaneous emission rate and Purcell factor of self-assembled quantum wires embedded in photonic crystal micro-cavities are measured at 80 K by using micro-photoluminescence, under transient and steady state excitation conditions. The Purcell factors fall in the range 1.1 - 2 despite the theoretical prediction of ≈15.5 for the figure of merit. We explain this difference by introducing a polarization dependence on the cavity orientation, parallel or perpendicular with respect to the wire axis, plus spectral and spatial detuning factors for the emitters and the cavity modes, taking in account the finite size of the quantum wires.

GaAs nanoscale membranes: prospects for seamless integration of III-Vs on silicon.

The growth of compound semiconductors on silicon has been widely sought after for decades, but reliable methods for defect-free combination of these materials have remained elusive. Recently, interconnected GaAs nanoscale membranes have been used as templates for the scalable integration of nanowire networks on III-V substrates. Here, we demonstrate how GaAs nanoscale membranes can be seamlessly integrated on silicon by controlling the density of nuclei in the initial stages of growth. We also correlate the absence or presence of defects with the existence of a single or multiple nucleation regime for the single membranes. Certain defects exhibit well-differentiated spectroscopic features that we identify with cathodoluminescence and micro-photoluminescence techniques. Overall, this work presents a new approach for the seamless integration of compound semiconductors on silicon.

Room temperature continuous wave operation in a photonic crystal microcavity laser with a single layer of InAs/InP self-assembled quantum wires.

We present continuous wave laser emission in a photonic crystal microcavity operating at 1.5 microm at room temperature. The structures have been fabricated in an InP slab including a single layer of self-assembled InAs/InP quantum wires (QWrs) as active material. Laser emission in air suspended membranes with thresholds of effective optical pump power of 22 microW and quality factors up to 55000 have been measured.

Two-dimensional surface emitting photonic crystal laser with hybrid triangular-graphite structure.

We present laser emission of a compact surface-emitting micro laser, optical pumped and operating at 1.5 microm at room temperature. A two-dimensional photonic crystal lattice conformed in a hybrid triangular-graphite configuration is designed for vertical emission. The structures have been fabricated in an InP slab, including four InAsP quantum wells as active layer, on the top of a Si substrate SiO(2) wafer bonded. Laser emission with thresholds around 70 microW and quality factors (Qs) up to 12000 have been measured. The Bloch mode selected for the emission keeps a high Q (>or= 2 x 10(5)) around the Gamma point for a wide range of in-plane values k(||)

Isolated self-assembled InAs/InP(001) quantum wires obtained by controlling the growth front evolution.

In this work we explore the first stages of quantum wire (QWR) formation studying the evolution of the growth front for InAs coverages below the critical thickness, theta(c), determined by reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED). Our results obtained by in situ measurement of the accumulated stress evolution during InAs growth on InP(001) show that the relaxation process starts at a certain InAs coverage theta(R)theta(R) this ensemble of isolated nanostructures progressively evolves towards QWRs that cover the whole surface for theta = theta(c). These results allow for a better understanding of the self-assembling process of QWRs and enable the study of the individual properties of InAs/InP self-assembled single quantum wires.

Cloaking of solar cell contacts at the onset of Rayleigh scattering.

Electrical contacts on the top surface of solar cells and light emitting diodes cause shadow losses. The phenomenon of extraordinary optical transmission through arrays of subwavelength holes suggests the possibility of engineering such contacts to reduce the shadow using plasmonics, but resonance effects occur only at specific wavelengths. Here we describe instead a broadband effect of enhanced light transmission through arrays of subwavelength metallic wires, due to the fact that, in the absence of resonances, metal wires asymptotically tend to invisibility in the small size limit regardless of the fraction of the device area taken up by the contacts. The effect occurs for wires more than an order of magnitude thicker than the transparency limit for metal thin films. Finite difference in time domain calculations predict that it is possible to have high cloaking efficiencies in a broadband wavelength range, and we experimentally demonstrate contact shadow losses less than half of the geometric shadow.

Exploring single semiconductor nanowires with a multimodal hard X-ray nanoprobe.

Semiconductor nanowires offer new opportunities for optoelectronic and spintronic nanodevices. However, their full potential is ultimately dictated by our ability to control multiple property-function relationships taking place at the nanoscale in the spatial and time domains. Only a combination of high-resolution analytical techniques can provide a comprehensive understanding of their complex functionalities. Here we describe how a multimodal hard X-ray nanoprobe addresses fundamental questions in nanowire research. Selected topics ranging from cluster formation, dopant segregation, and phase separations to quantum confinement effects are investigated with sub-100 nm spatial resolution and sub-50 ps temporal resolution. This approach opens new avenues for structural, composition and optical studies with broad applicability in materials science.

Selective optical pumping of charged excitons in unintentionally doped InAs quantum dots.

We have investigated the selective optical pumping of charged excitonic species in a sample containing quantum dots of different sizes and low areal density by photoluminescence and excitation of the photoluminescence microspectroscopy. We study the selective optical excitation of negatively charged excitons as an alternative to commonly used electrical methods. We demonstrate that under resonant excitation in impurity related bands, the selective pumping efficiency can be as high as 85% in small quantum dots having one electron shell and emitting at around 930 nm, and around 65% in big quantum dots having four electron shells and emitting at 1160 nm.