We study the Landé $g$-factor of conduction electrons in the $L$-valley of bulk GaAs and AlAs by using a three-band $\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{p}$ model together with the tight-binding model. We find that the $L$-valley $g$-factor is highly anisotropic, and can be characterized by two components, $g_{\perp}$ and $g_{\|}$. $g_{\perp}$ is close to the free electron Landé factor but $g_{\|}$ is strongly affected by the remote bands. The contribution from remote bands on $g_{\|}$ depends on how the remote bands are treated. However, when the magnetic field is in the Voigt configuration, which is widely used in the experiments, different models give almost identical $g$-factor.
We have contrasted the quantum confinement of (i) multiple quantum wells of flat GaAs and AlAs layers, i.e. $(\GaAs)_{m}/(\AlAs)_n/(\GaAs)_p/(\AlAs)_q$, with (ii) ``cylindrical Russian Dolls'' -- an equivalent sequence of wells and barriers arranged as concentric wires. Using a pseudopotential plane-wave calculation, we identified theoretically a set of numbers ($m,n,p$ and $q$) such that charge separation can exist in ``cylindrical Russian Dolls'': the CBM is localized in the inner GaAs layer, while the VBM is localized in the outer GaAs layer.
By means of a microscopic valence force field model, a series of novel microscopic interface phonon modes are identified in shell quantum dots(SQDs) composed of a GaAs quantum dot of nanoscale embedded in an AlAs shell of a few atomic layers in thickness. In SQDs with such thin shells, the basic principle of the continuum dielectric model and the macroscopic dielectric function are not valid any more. The frequencies of these microscopic interface modes lie inside the gap between the bulk GaAs band and the bulk AlAs band, contrary to the macroscopic interface phonon modes. The average vibratio…
The linear combination of bulk bands method recently introduced by Wang, Franceschetti and Zunger [Phys. Rev. Lett.78, 2819 (1997)] is applied to a calculation of energy bands and optical constants of (GaAs)$_n$/(AlAs)$_n$ and (GaAs)$_n$/(vacuum)$_n$ (001) superlattices with n ranging from 4 to 20. Empirical pseudopotentials are used for the calculation of the bulk energy bands. Quantum-confined induced shifts of critical point energies are calculated and are found to be larger for the GaAs/vacuum system. The $E_1$ peak in the absorption spectra has a blue shift and splits into two peaks for d…
We demonstrate nearly-spherical, strain-free, self-assembled Ge quantum dots (QDs) fully encapsulated by AlAs, grown on (100) GaAs by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The QDs were formed without a wetting layer using a high temperature, in-situ anneal. Subsequent AlAs overgrowth was free from threading dislocations and anti-phase domains. The straddling band alignment for Ge in AlAs promises strong and tunable confinement for both electrons and holes. The reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) pattern changed from 2x3 to 2x5 with anneal, which can be explained by surface reconstructi…
The experimentally observed order-of-magnitude reduction in the thermal conductivity along the growth axis of (GaAs)_n/(AlAs)_n (or n x n) superlattices is investigated theoretically for (2x2), (3x3) and (6x6) structures using an accurate model of the lattice dynamics. The modification of the phonon dispersion relation due to the superlattice geometry leads to flattening of the phonon branches and hence to lower phonon velocities. This effect is shown to account for a factor-of-three reduction in the thermal conductivity with respect to bulk GaAs along the growth direction; the remainder is at…
We present a study of the photoluminescence (PL) properties of heavily Be delta-doped GaAs/AlAs multiple quantum wells measured at room and liquid nitrogen temperatures. Possible mechanisms for photocarriers recombination are discussed, with a particular focus on the peculiarities of the excitonic and free carriers-acceptors PL emissions occurring below and above the Mott metal-insulator transition. Moreover, based on a simple theoretical model, it is found that the critical impurities concentration to observe the Mott transition in the MQW samples exhibiting 15 nm wells width and 5 nm-thick b…
Selective sensing of terahertz (THz) radiation by beryllium and silicon delta-doped GaAs/AlAs multiple quantum wells (MQWs) is demonstrated. A sensitivity up to 0.3 V/W within 0.5{4.2 THz in silicon- and up to 1 V/W within 4.2-7.3 THz range in beryllium-doped MQWs at liquid helium temperatures is shown. The built-in electric fields as estimated from the observed Franz-Keldysh oscillations in photoreflectance spectra were found to be located close to the cap and buffer layers of MQWs and vary from 18 kV/cm up to 49 kV/cm depending on the structure design.
X-ray reflectometry (XRR) provides researchers and manufacturers with a non-destructive way to determine thickness, roughness, and density of thin films deposited on smooth substrates. Due to the nested nature of equations modeling this phenomenon, the inter-relation between instrument alignment and parameter estimation accuracy is somewhat opaque. In this study, we intentionally shift incident angle information contained in a high-quality XRR data set and refine this shifted data using an identical structural model to assess the effect angle misalignment has on parameter estimation. We develo…
The ultrafast response of a high-reflectivity GaAs/AlAs Bragg mirror to optical pumping is investigated for all-optical switching applications. Both Kerr and free carrier nonlinearities are induced with 100 fs, 780 nm pulses with a fluence of 0.64 kJ/m^2 and 0.8 kJ/m^2. The absolute transmission of the mirror at 931 nm increases by a factor of 27 from 0.0024% to 0.065% on a picosecond timescale. These results demonstrate the potential for a high-reflectivity ultrafast switchable mirror for quantum optics and optical communication applications. A design is proposed for a structure to be pumped …
Quantum coherent coupling between a zone-center phonon and two acoustic phonons was observed in two GaAs/AlAs superlattices (8 nm/8 nm and 5.4 nm/5.4 nm) at ambient temperature. Using degenerate coherent phonon spectroscopy, a multi-cycle oscillation feature appears in the time-resolved phonon amplitudes of both samples, as a result of the coherent energy exchange between a driving phonon mode near first Brillouin zone center and two target acoustic phonon modes. This feature resembles the photon resonant parametric down/up-conversion processes, as well as the reversible coherent energy exchan…
Application of the so called mxing-roughness-information depth (MRI)-model to the quantitative reconstruction of the in-depth distribution of composition is demonstrated by comparing SIMS and AES depth profiles. A GaAs/AlAs reference sample consisting of two layers of AlAs (1 ML and 36 ML) separated by 44 ML of a GaAs matrix was depth profiled using almost identical sputtering conditions: Ar+ ions of 3 keV impact energy and 52 (SIMS: CAMECA 4f) and 58 deg. (AES: VG Microlab 310F) incidence angle. Both the Al+ intensity of the SIMS profile and the Al (LVV) intensity of the AES profile were quan…
Achieving significant doping in GaAs/AlAs core/shell nanowires (NWs) is of considerable technological importance but remains a challenge due to the amphoteric behavior of the dopant atoms. Here we show that placing a narrow GaAs quantum well in the AlAs shell effectively getters residual carbon acceptors leading to an \emph{unintentional} p-type doping. Magneto-optical studies of such a GaAs/AlAs core multi-shell NW reveal quantum confined emission. Theoretical calculations of NW electronic structure confirm quantum confinement of carriers at the core/shell interface due to the presence of ion…
We measure the lifetime of the zone-center 340 GHz longitudinal phonon mode in a GaAs-AlAs superlattice excited and probed with femtosecond laser pulses. By comparing measurements conducted at room temperature and liquid nitrogen temperature we separate the intrinsic (phonon-phonon scattering) and extrinsic contributions to phonon relaxation. The estimated room temperature intrinsic lifetime of 0.95 ns is compared to available calculations and experimental data for bulk GaAs. We conclude that ~0.3 THz phonons are in the transition zone between Akhiezer and Landau-Rumer regimes of phonon-phonon…
We report experimental observation of Kondo-Fano resonant tunneling in Si-doped GaAs/AlAs multiple quantum wells. The spectrum of differential tunneling conductance at low bias shows a strong temperature dependent resonance, whose peak is split in the presence of a magnetic field, characteristic of a Kondo resonance. The data is well explained as a resonant tunneling of conduction electrons at the Fermi level through the doped silicon impurity states inside the wells by using an impurity Anderson model. The Coulomb blockade resonance of the impurity states induces a Fano dip above the Kondo re…
We use realistic pseudopotentials and a plane-wave basis to study the electronic structure of non-periodic, three-dimensional, 2000-atom (AlAs)_n/(GaAs)_m (001) superlattices, where the individual layer thicknesses n,m = {1,2,3} are randomly selected. We find that while the band gap of the equivalent (n = m = 2) ordered superlattice is indirect, random fluctuations in layer thicknesses lead to a direct gap in the planar Brillouin zone, strong wavefunction localization along the growth direction, short radiative lifetimes, and a significant band-gap reduction, in agreement with experiments on s…
The authors demonstrate selective detection of terahertz radiation employing beryllium delta-doped GaAs/AlAs multiple quantum wells. The sensitivity up to 1 V/W within 4.2-7.3 THz range at liquid helium temperatures is reached. The Franz-Keldysh oscillations observed in photo- and electro-reflectance spectra allowed one to estimate built-in electric fields in the structures studied. It was found that the electric field strength in the cap layer region could vary from 10 kV/cm up to 26 kV/cm, depending on the structure design and temperature.
We report on polariton states bound to defects in planar GaAs/AlAs microcavities grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The defect types relevant for the spatial polariton dynamics in these structures are cross-hatch misfit dislocations, and point-like defects extended over several micrometers. We attribute the latter defects to Ga droplets emitted occasionally by the Ga cell during the growth. These defects, also known as oval defects, result in a dome-like local modulation of surface, which is translated into the cavity structure and leads to a lateral modulation of the cavity polariton energy of …
Understanding and control of thermal transport in solids at nanoscale is crucial to engineer and to enhance properties of a new generation of optoelectronic, thermoelectric, and photonic devices. In this regard, semiconductor superlattice structures provide a unique platform to study phenomena associated with phonon propagations in solids such as heat conduction. Transient X-ray diffraction can directly probe atomic motions and therefore is among the rare techniques sensitive to phonon dynamics in a condensed matter. Here, we study optically induced transient heat conduction in GaAs/AlAs super…
The exciton spin dynamics are investigated both experimentally and theoretically in two-monolayer-thick GaAs/AlAs quantum wells with an indirect band gap and a type-II band alignment. The magnetic-field-induced circular polarization of photoluminescence, $P_c$, is studied as function of the magnetic field strength and direction as well as sample temperature. The observed nonmonotonic behaviour of these functions is provided by the interplay of bright and dark exciton states contributing to the emission. To interpret the experiment, we have developed a kinetic master equation model which accoun…
Boron arsenide, the typically-ignored member of the III-V arsenide series BAs-AlAs-GaAs-InAs is found to resemble silicon electronically: its Gamma conduction band minimum is p-like (Gamma_15), not s-like (Gamma_1c), it has an X_1c-like indirect band gap, and its bond charge is distributed almost equally on the two atoms in the unit cell, exhibiting nearly perfect covalency. The reasons for these are tracked down to the anomalously low atomic p orbital energy in the boron and to the unusually strong s-s repulsion in BAs relative to most other III-V compounds. We find unexpected valence band of…
Thanks to their multi-valley, anisotropic, energy band structure, two-dimensional electron systems (2DESs) in modulation-doped AlAs quantum wells (QWs) provide a unique platform to investigate electron interaction physics and ballistic transport. Indeed, a plethora of phenomena unseen in other 2DESs have been observed over the past decade. However, a foundation for sample design is still lacking for AlAs 2DESs, limiting the means to achieve optimal quality samples. Here we present a systematic study on the fabrication of modulation-doped AlAs and GaAs QWs over a wide range of AlxGa1-xAs barrie…
Hole spin relaxation in $p$-type (111) GaAs quantum wells is investigated in the case with only the lowest hole subband, which is heavy-hole like in (111) GaAs/AlAs and light-hole like in (111) GaAs/InP quantum wells, being relevant. The subband Löwdin perturbation method is applied to obtain the effective Hamiltonian including the Dresselhaus and Rashba spin-orbit couplings. Under a proper gate voltage, the total in-plane effective magnetic field in (111) GaAs/AlAs quantum wells can be strongly suppressed in the whole momentum space, while the one in (111) GaAs/InP quantum wells can be suppre…
The spin-orbit interaction generally leads to spin splitting (SS) of electron and hole energy states in solids, a splitting that is characterized by a scaling with the wavevector $\bf k$. Whereas for {\it 3D bulk zincblende} solids the electron (heavy hole) SS exhibits a cubic (linear) scaling with $k$, in {\it 2D quantum-wells} the electron (heavy hole) SS is currently believed to have a mostly linear (cubic) scaling. Such expectations are based on using a small 3D envelope function basis set to describe 2D physics. By treating instead the 2D system explicitly in a multi-band many-body approa…
We present an extensive density functional theory study of the electronic, magnetic and transport properties of GaAs and AlAs digital ferromagnetic heterostructures. These can be obtained by $δ$-doping with Mn the GaAs layers of a GaAs/AlAs superlattice. Our analysis spans a range of Mn concentrations and considers the presence of compensating defects such as As antisites. In the defect-free case all the heterostructures studied present an half-metallic electronic structure. In contrast when As antisites are present the half-metallic state is destroyed and the heterostructures behave as dirty …
We present a correlative study of structural and optical properties of natural defects in planar semiconductor microcavities grown by molecular beam epitaxy, which are showing a localized polariton spectrum as reported in Zajac et al., Phys. Rev. B 85, 165309 (2012). The three-dimensional spatial structure of the defects was studied using combined focussed ion beam (FIB) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We find that the defects originate from a local increase of a GaAs layer thickness. Modulation heights of up to 140nm for oval defects and 90nm for round defects are found, while the lat…
This work studies the spontaneous self-assembly of Ge QDs on AlAs, GaAs, and AlGaAs by high temperature in-situ annealing in molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The morphology of Ge dots formed on AlAs are observed by atom probe tomography, which revealed nearly spherical QDs with diameters approaching 10 nm and confirmed the complete absence of a wetting layer. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) of Ge annealed under similar conditions on GaAs and Al0.3Ga0.7As surfaces reveal the gradual suppression of QD formation with decreasing Al-content of the …
Multi-valley spin relaxation in $n$-type GaAs quantum wells with in-plane electric field is investigated at high temperature by means of kinetic spin Bloch equation approach. The spin relaxation time first increases and then decreases with electric field, especially when the temperature is relatively low. We show that $L$ valleys play the role of a ``drain'' of the total spin polarization due to the large spin-orbit coupling in $L$ valleys and the strong $Γ$-$L$ inter-valley scattering, and thus can enhance spin relaxation of the total system effectively when the in-plane electric field is hig…
The GaAs/GaAsN interface band offset is calculated from first principles. The electrostatic potential at the core regions of the atoms is used to estimate the interface potential and align the band structures obtained from respective bulk calculations. First, it is shown that the present method performs well on the well-known conventional/conventional AlAs/GaAs (001) superlattice system. Then the method is applied to a more challenging nonconventional/conventional GaAsN/GaAs (001) system, and consequently type I band lineup and valence-band offset of about 35 meV is obtained for nitrogen conce…
Optical orientation experiments have been performed in GaAs epilayers with photoexcitation energies in the 3 eV region yielding the photogeneration of spin-polarized electrons in the satellite L valley. We demonstrate that a significant fraction of the electron spin memory can be conserved when the electron is scattered from the L to the $Γ$ valley following an energy relaxation of several hundreds of meV. Combining these high energy photo-excitation experiments with time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy of $Γ$ valley spin-polarized photogenerated electrons allows us to deduce a typical…
We propose an engineering of the optical properties of GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells using AlAs and InAs monolayer insertions. A quantitative study of the effects of the monolayer position and the well thickness on the interband and intersubband transitions, based on the extended-basis sp3d5s* tight-binding model, is presented. The effect of insertion on the interband transitions is compared with existing experimental data. As for intersubband transitions, we show that in a GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well including two AlAs and one InAs insertions, a three level {e1 , e2 , e3 } system where the transitio…
We propose two possible quantum microscopic mechanisms for intervalley transitions just at the Franck-Condon state in GaAs. The first is the simultaneously combined coulombic elastic transitions of two electrons,from the originally photo-excited $Γ$ valley to the mutually opposite L and -L valleys in the Brillouin zone. The second is the "elastic" scattering of an electron from the $Γ$ valley to the L one by the frozen phonon, which is not newly created in the excited state, but already exists, being inherited from the starting ground state, according to the Franck-Condon principle of the phot…
Using an atomistic first principles approach, we investigate the band offset of the GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs heterojunctions for the entire range of the Al doping concentration 0<x<=1. We apply the coherent potential approach to handle the configuration average of Al doping and a recently proposed semi-local exchange potential to accurately determine the band gaps of the materials. The calculated band structures of the GaAs, AlAs crystals and band gaps of the GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs alloys, are in very good agreement with the experimental results. We predict that valence band offset of the GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs hete…
We use a fully relativistic layer Green's functions approach to investigate spin-dependent tunneling through a symmetric indirect band gap barrier like GaAs/AlAs/GaAs heterostructure along [100] direction. The method is based on Linear Muffin Tin Orbitals and it is within the Density Functional Theory (DFT) in the Local Density Approximation (LDA). We find that the results of our {\it ab-initio} calculations are in good agreement with the predictions of our previous empirical tight binding model [Phys. Rev. {\bf B}, 075313 (2006)]. In addition we show the $k_{||}$-dependence of the spin polari…
We consider (AlAs)_n/(GaAs)_n superlattices with random thickness fluctuations Delta-n around the nominal period n. Using three-dimensional pseudopotential plane-wave band theory, we show that (i) any amount Delta-n/n of thickness fluctuations leads to band-edge wavefunction localization, (ii) for small Delta-n/n the SL band gap is pinned at the gap level produced by a single layer with ``wrong'' thickness n + Delta-n, (iii) the bound states due to monolayer thickness fluctuations lead to significant band-gap reductions, (iv) <001> AlAs/GaAs SL's with monolayer thickness fluctuations have a di…
We study the spin-orbit coupling in the whole Brillouin zone for GaAs using both the $sp^3s^{\ast}d^5$ and $sp^3s^{\ast}$ nearest-neighbor tight-binding models. In the $Γ$-valley, the spin splitting obtained is in good agreement with experimental data. We then further explicitly present the coefficients of the spin splitting in GaAs $L$ and $X$ valleys. These results are important to the realization of spintronic device and the investigation of spin dynamics far away from equilibrium.
Multivalley spin relaxation in $n$-type bulk GaAs in the presence of high electric field is investigated from the microscopic kinetic spin Bloch equation approach with the $Γ$ and $L$ valleys included. We show that the spin relaxation time decreases monotonically with the electric field, which differs from the two-dimensional case and is recognized due to to the cubic form of the Dresselhauss spin-orbit coupling of the $Γ$ valley in bulk. In addition to the direct modulation of the spin relaxation time, the electric field also strongly influences the density and temperature dependences of the …
There has been significant progress in the implementation and manipulation of singlet-triplet qubits in GaAs quantum dots. Given the considerably longer spin coherence times measured in Si, considerable interest has been generated recently in Si quantum dots. The physics of these systems is considerably more complex than the physics of GaAs quantum dots owing to the presence of the valley degree of freedom, which constitutes the focus of this work. In this paper we investigate the physics of Si quantum dots and focus on the feasibility of quantum coherent singlet-triplet qubit experiments anal…
We report our theoretically investigation on the spin-orbit coupling and $g$-factor of the $X$-valley in cubic GaN. We find that the spin-orbit coupling coefficient from $sp^3d^5s^\ast$ tight-binding model is 0.029\,eV$\cdot$Å, which is comparable with that in cubic GaAs. By employing the ${\bf k}\cdot{\bf p}$ theory, we find that the $g$-factor in this case is only slightly different from the free electron $g$-factor. These results are expected to be important for the on-going study on spin dynamics far away from equilibrium in cubic GaN.
Electrons' multiple quantum degrees of freedom can lead to rich physics, including a competition between various exotic ground states, as well as novel applications such as spintronics and valleytronics. Here we report magneto-transport experiments demonstrating how the valley degree of freedom impacts the fractional quantum states (FQHSs), and the related magnetic-flux-electron composite fermions (CFs), at very high magnetic fields in the extreme quantum limit when only the lowest Landau level is occupied. Unlike in other multivalley two-dimensional electron systems such as Si or monolayer gr…
Fractional quantum Hall states (FQHSs) at even-denominator Landau level filling factors ($ν$) are of prime interest as they are predicted to host exotic, topological states of matter. We report here the observation of a FQHS at $ν=1/2$ in a two-dimensional electron system of exceptionally high quality, confined to a wide AlAs quantum well, where the electrons can occupy multiple conduction-band valleys with an anisotropic effective mass. The anisotropy and multi-valley degree of freedom offer an unprecedented tunability of the $ν=1/2$ FQHS as we can control both the valley occupancy via the ap…
We investigate hole spin relaxation in intrinsic and $p$-type bulk GaAs from a fully microscopic kinetic spin Bloch equation approach. In contrast to the previous study on hole spin dynamics, we explicitly include the intraband coherence and the nonpolar hole-optical-phonon interaction, both of which are demonstrated to be of great importance to the hole spin relaxation. The relative contributions of the D'yakonov-Perel' and Elliott-Yafet mechanisms on hole spin relaxation are also analyzed. In our calculation, the screening constant, playing an important role in the hole spin relaxation, is t…
