Robust Quantum Dot Exciton Generation via Adiabatic Passage with Frequency-Swept Optical Pulses

Claire-Marie Simon (1, 2) , Thomas Belhadj (3) , Béatrice Chatel (1, 2) , Thierry Amand (3) , Pierre Renucci (3) , Aristide Lemaître (4) , Olivier Krebs (4) , P. A. Dalgarno (5) , R. J. Warburton (5) , Xavier Marie (3) , Bernard Urbaszek (3)

1 Femto (LCAR)
2 LCAR - Laboratoire Collisions Agrégats Réactivité
3 LPCNO - Laboratoire de physique et chimie des nano-objets
4 LPN - Laboratoire de photonique et de nanostructures
5 School of Engineering and Physical Sciences

The energy states in semiconductor quantum dots are discrete as in atoms, and quantum states can be coherently controlled with resonant laser pulses. Long coherence times allow the observation of Rabi flopping of a single dipole transition in a solid state device, for which occupancy of the upper state depends sensitively on the dipole moment and the excitation laser power. We report on the robust population inversion in a single quantum dot using an optical technique that exploits rapid adiabatic passage from the ground to an excited state through excitation with laser pulses whose frequency is swept through the resonance. This observation in photoluminescence experiments is made possible by introducing a novel optical detection scheme for the resonant electron hole pair (exciton) generation.

Mots clés: Quantum dots

Domaines: Optique [physics.optics]

Claire-Marie Simon, Thomas Belhadj, Béatrice Chatel, Thierry Amand, Pierre Renucci, et al.. Robust Quantum Dot Exciton Generation via Adiabatic Passage with Frequency-Swept Optical Pulses. Physical Review Letters, 2011, 106 (16), pp.166801. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.166801⟩. ⟨hal-00920811⟩