2008, Stotz, J.A.H., Hey, R., Santos, P.V., Ploog, K.H.

Long coherence lifetimes of electron spins transported using moving potential dots are shown to result from the mesoscopic confinement of the spin vector. The confinement condition to control electron spin dephasing is governed by the relation between the characteristic spin–orbit length of the electron spins and the dimensions of the dot potential, which governs the electron spin coherence lifetime. The spin–orbit length is a sample-dependent parameter determined by the Dresselhaus contribution to the spin–orbit coupling and can be predictably controlled by varying the sample geometry. We further show that the coherence lifetime of the electron spins is independent of the local carrier densities within each potential dot, which suggests the possibility of coherent, long-range transport of single electron spins.

2016, Buller, J.V.T., Cerda-Méndez, E.A., Balderas-Navarro, R.E., Biermann, K., Santos, P.V.

Exciton-polariton systems can sustain macroscopic quantum states (MQSs) under a periodic potential modulation. In this paper, we investigate the structure of these states in acoustic square lattices by probing their wave functions in real and momentum spaces using spectral tomography. We show that the polariton MQSs, when excited by a Gaussian laser beam, self-organize in a concentric structure, consisting of a single, two-dimensional gap-soliton (GS) state surrounded by one dimensional (1D) MQSs with lower energy. The latter form at hyperbolical points of the modulated polariton dispersion. While the size of the GS tends to saturate with increasing particle density, the emission region of the surrounding 1D states increases. The existence of these MQSs in acoustic lattices is quantitatively supported by a theoretical model based on the variational solution of the Gross–Pitaevskii equation. The formation of the 1D states in a ring around the central GS is attributed to the energy gradient in this region, which reduces the overall symmetry of the lattice. The results broaden the experimental understanding of self-localized polariton states, which may prove relevant for functionalities exploiting solitonic objects.

2012, Lazić, S., Hey, R., Santos, P.V.

We employ surface acoustic waves (SAWs) to control the transfer of photo-generated carriers between interconnected quantum wells and quantum wires (QWRs) grown on pre-patterned (311)A GaAs substrates. Optical studies, carried out under remote acoustic excitation of a single QWR, have shown sharp photoluminescence lines and antibunched photons with tunable emission energy. These features are attributed to recombination of acoustically transported carriers in potential inhomogeneities within the wire. The origin of the photon antibunching is discussed in terms of a 'bottleneck' in the number of carriers trapped in the QWR, which restricts the number of recombination events per SAW cycle. We propose a model for antibunching based on the trapping of carriers induced by the SAW piezoelectric field in states at the interface between the GaAs QWR and the AlGaAs barriers. Non-classical light is emitted during the subsequent release of the trapped carriers into the recombination centers within the wire. The spatial distribution of the emitting recombination centers is estimated using time-resolved measurements.