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Tunable Optical Phenomena and Carrier Recombination Dynamics in III-V Semiconductor Nanostructures

Thota, Venkata Ramana Kumar
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1451807323

Abstract Details

2016, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Physics and Astronomy (Arts and Sciences).
Semiconductor nanostructures such as quantum dots, quantum wires and quantum wells have gained significant attention in the scientific community due to their peculiar properties, which arise from the quantum confinement of charge carriers. In such systems, confinement plays key role and governs the emission spectra. With the advancements in growth techniques, which enable the fabrication of these nanostructured devices with great precision down to the atomic scale, it is intriguing to study and observe quantum mechanical effects through light-matter interactions and new physics governed by the confinement, size, shape and alloy composition. The goal is to reduce the size of semiconductor bulk material to few nanometers, which in turn localizes the charge carriers inside these structures such that the spin associated with them is used to carry and process information within ultra-short time scales. The main focus of this dissertation is the optical studies of quantum dot molecule (QDM) systems. A system where the electrons can tunnel between the two dots leading to observable tunneling effects. The emission spectra of such system has been demonstrated to have both intradot transitions (electron-hole pair residing in the same dot) and interdot transitions (electron-hole pair participating in the recombination origin from different dots). In such a system, it is possible to apply electric field such that the wavefunction associated with the charge carriers can be tuned to an extent of delocalizing between the two dots. This forms the first project of this dissertation, which addresses the origin of the fine structure splitting in the exciton-biexciton cascade. Moreover, we also show how this fine structure can be tuned in the quantum dot molecule system with the application of electric field along the growth direction. This is demonstrated through high resolution polarization dependent photoluminescence spectroscopy on a single QDM, which was described in great detail by H. Ramirez (et al.) and also experimentally observed by N. Skold (et al.) for a fixed barrier thickness. However, we measured the strength of FSS as a function of barrier thickness in the strong tunneling regime. The results are discussed in chapter 4. The second project is carried out with an intention to generate entangled photon pairs from molecular states found in the emission spectra of a single QDM: A pair of photons, which reveals the information associated with the intrinsic property (polarization for example) of the other photon simultaneously and spontaneously when a measurement has been performed in either one of the two. The exciton-biexciton cascade not only has intradot transitions but the photoluminescence spectra also depicts interdot transitions, realizing the molecular nature of the system. Since the charge carriers are localized in different dots, the wavefunction overlap between the two is also reduced significantly. It is with this goal of enhancing the intensity of interdot or indirect transitions between the molecular biexciton-indirect exciton that we performed two color photoluminescence excitation studies and the results are discussed in chapter 5. Thirdly, the continuous creation of electron-hole pairs through photoexcitation leads to some local electric field effects, which arises due to the ionization of charge carriers inside the device structure. The advantage of the interdot transition in the emission spectra is the large Quantum Confined Stark Effect (QCSE) associated with it. This interdot QCSE is over an order of magnitude larger than for the intradot or direct transition and varies linearly with the applied electric field. By making use of the interdot exciton as a sensitive probe, the effects of optically generated electric field as a function of time are measured experimentally. Both rise time and fall time of the optically generated electric field as a function of excitation wavelength and applied field are studied in detail. The results are presented in chapter 6. Finally, carrier recombination dynamics in rare-earth doped nanostructures are measured by using ultrafast spectroscopy. Carrier dynamics in InGaN:Yb3+ nanowires and InGaN/GaN-Eu3+ superlattices are measured by frequency doubling the excitation laser, and the effects of implantation of rare-earth ions into the host material have been investigated. The results from the experimental measurements are presented in chapters 7 & 8. These experimental findings might help to understand the challenges associated with these nanostructured materials in the applications of quantum information processing, single photon emitters, and to integrate them into existing optoelectronic devices.
Eric A. Stinaff, Prof. (Advisor)
Sergio E. Ulloa, Prof. (Committee Member)
Arthur R. Smith, Prof. (Committee Member)
Wojciech M. Jadwisienczak, Prof. (Committee Member)
160 p.
Condensed Matter Physics; Materials Science; Nanoscience; Nanotechnology; Optics; Physics; Quantum Physics; Solid State Physics
Quantum Dots; Quantum Dot Molecules; Light-Matter Interactions; Photoluminescence Excitation; III-V Semiconductor Nanostructures; Tunable Fine Structure Splitting; Time-Resolved Photoluminescence Measurements; Carrier Dynamics in III-V Nanostructures;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Thota, V. R. K. (2016). Tunable Optical Phenomena and Carrier Recombination Dynamics in III-V Semiconductor Nanostructures [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1451807323

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Thota, Venkata . Tunable Optical Phenomena and Carrier Recombination Dynamics in III-V Semiconductor Nanostructures. 2016. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1451807323.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Thota, Venkata . "Tunable Optical Phenomena and Carrier Recombination Dynamics in III-V Semiconductor Nanostructures." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1451807323

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.