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Now showing 1 - 10 of 40
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    Self-assembly of highly sensitive 3D magnetic field vector angular encoders
    (Washington : American Association for the Advancement of Science (A A A S), 2019) Becker, C.; Karnaushenko, D.; Kang, T.; Karnaushenko, D.D.; Faghih, M.; Mirhajivarzaneh, A.; Schmidt, O.G.
    Novel robotic, bioelectronic, and diagnostic systems require a variety of compact and high-performance sensors. Among them, compact three-dimensional (3D) vector angular encoders are required to determine spatial position and orientation in a 3D environment. However, fabrication of 3D vector sensors is a challenging task associated with time-consuming and expensive, sequential processing needed for the orientation of individual sensor elements in 3D space. In this work, we demonstrate the potential of 3D self-assembly to simultaneously reorient numerous giant magnetoresistive (GMR) spin valve sensors for smart fabrication of 3D magnetic angular encoders. During the self-assembly process, the GMR sensors are brought into their desired orthogonal positions within the three Cartesian planes in a simultaneous process that yields monolithic high-performance devices. We fabricated vector angular encoders with equivalent angular accuracy in all directions of 0.14°, as well as low noise and low power consumption during high-speed operation at frequencies up to 1 kHz.
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    Temperature-dependent Raman investigation of rolled up InGaAs/GaAs microtubes
    (New York, NY [u.a.] : Springer, 2012) Rodriguez, R.D.; Sheremet, E.; Thurmer, D.J.; Lehmann, D.; Gordan, O.D.; Seidel, F.; Milekhin, A.; Schmidt, O.G.; Hietschold, M.; Zahn, D.R.T.
    Large arrays of multifunctional rolled-up semiconductors can be mass-produced with precisely controlled size and composition, making them of great technological interest for micro- and nano-scale device fabrication. The microtube behavior at different temperatures is a key factor towards further engineering their functionality, as well as for characterizing strain, defects, and temperature-dependent properties of the structures. For this purpose, we probe optical phonons of GaAs/InGaAs rolled-up microtubes using Raman spectroscopy on defect-rich (faulty) and defect-free microtubes. The microtubes are fabricated by selectively etching an AlAs sacrificial layer in order to release the strained InGaAs/GaAs bilayer, all grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Pristine microtubes show homogeneity of the GaAs and InGaAs peak positions and intensities along the tube, which indicates a defect-free rolling up process, while for a cone-like microtube, a downward shift of the GaAs LO phonon peak along the cone is observed. Formation of other type of defects, including partially unfolded microtubes, can also be related to a high Raman intensity of the TO phonon in GaAs. We argue that the appearance of the TO phonon mode is a consequence of further relaxation of the selection rules due to the defects on the tubes, which makes this phonon useful for failure detection/prediction in such rolled up systems. In order to systematically characterize the temperature stability of the rolled up microtubes, Raman spectra were acquired as a function of sample temperature up to 300°C. The reversibility of the changes in the Raman spectra of the tubes within this temperature range is demonstrated.
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    Rolled-up functionalized nanomembranes as three-dimensional cavities for single cell studies
    (Washington, DC : American Chemical Society, 2014) Xi, W.; Schmidt, C.K.; Sanchez, S.; Gracias, D.H.; Carazo-Salas, R.E.; Jackson, S.P.; Schmidt, O.G.
    We use micropatterning and strain engineering to encapsulate single living mammalian cells into transparent tubular architectures consisting of three-dimensional (3D) rolled-up nanomembranes. By using optical microscopy, we demonstrate that these structures are suitable for the scrutiny of cellular dynamics within confined 3D-microenvironments. We show that spatial confinement of mitotic mammalian cells inside tubular architectures can perturb metaphase plate formation, delay mitotic progression, and cause chromosomal instability in both a transformed and nontransformed human cell line. These findings could provide important clues into how spatial constraints dictate cellular behavior and function.
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    Rolled-up magnetic microdrillers: Towards remotely controlled minimally invasive surgery
    (Cambridge [u.a.] : Royal Society of Chemistry, 2013) Xi, W.; Solovev, A.A.; Ananth, A.N.; Gracias, D.H.; Sanchez, S.; Schmidt, O.G.
    Self-folded magnetic microtools with sharp ends are directed at enabling drilling and related incision operations of tissues, ex vivo, in a fluid with a viscosity similar to that of blood. These microtools change their rotation from a horizontal to a vertical one when they are immersed into a rotational magnetic field. Novel self-assembly paradigms with magnetic materials can enable the creation of remotely controlled and mass-produced tools for potential applications in minimally invasive surgery.
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    Vectorial nonlinear coherent response of a strongly confined exciton-biexciton system
    (Bristol : IOP, 2013) Kasprzak, J.; Portolan, S.; Rastelli, A.; Wang, L.; Plumhof, J.D.; Schmidt, O.G.; Langbein, W.
    The vectorial four-wave mixing response of an individual strongly confined exciton-biexciton system with fine-structure splitting in a GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dot is measured by dual-polarization heterodyne spectral interferometry. The results are compared with theoretical predictions based on the optical Bloch equations. The system is described by a four-level scheme, which is a model system of the nonlinear excitonic response in low-dimensional semiconductors. We measure its coherence properties and determine the underlying dephasing mechanisms. An impact of the inhomogeneous broadening by spectral wandering on the coherent response is investigated. We further discuss the different four-wave mixing pathways, polarization selection rules, the time-resolved polarization state, the vectorial response in two-dimensional four-wave mixing and ensemble properties.
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    Experimental methods of post-growth tuning of the excitonic fine structure splitting in semiconductor quantum dots
    (New York, NY [u.a.] : Springer, 2012) Plumhof, J.D.; Trotta, R.; Rastelli, A.; Schmidt, O.G.
    Deterministic sources of polarization entangled photon pairs on demand are considered as important building blocks for quantum communication technology. It has been demonstrated that semiconductor quantum dots (QDs), which exhibit a sufficiently small excitonic fine structure splitting (FSS) can be used as triggered, on-chip sources of polarization entangled photon pairs. As-grown QDs usually do not have the required values of the FSS, making the availability of post-growth tuning techniques highly desired. This article reviews the effect of different post-growth treatments and external fields on the FSS such as thermal annealing, magnetic fields, the optical Stark effect, electric fields, and anisotropic stress. As a consequence of the tuning of the FSS, for some tuning techniques a rotation of the polarization of the emitted light is observed. The joint modification of polarization orientation and FSS can be described by an anticrossing of the bright excitonic states.
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    Coupling a single solid-state quantum emitter to an array of resonant plasmonic antennas
    (London : Nature Publishing Group, 2018) Pfeiffer, M.; Atkinson, P.; Rastelli, A.; Schmidt, O.G.; Giessen, H.; Lippitz, M.; Lindfors, K.
    Plasmon resonant arrays or meta-surfaces shape both the incoming optical field and the local density of states for emission processes. They provide large regions of enhanced emission from emitters and greater design flexibility than single nanoantennas. This makes them of great interest for engineering optical absorption and emission. Here we study the coupling of a single quantum emitter, a self-assembled semiconductor quantum dot, to a plasmonic meta-surface. We investigate the influence of the spectral properties of the nanoantennas and the position of the emitter in the unit cell of the structure. We observe a resonant enhancement due to emitter-array coupling in the far-field regime and find a clear difference from the interaction of an emitter with a single antenna.
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    Triggered polarization-entangled photon pairs from a single quantum dot up to 30 K
    (College Park, MD : Institute of Physics Publishing, 2007) Hafenbrak, R.; Ulrich, S.M.; Michler, P.; Wang, L.; Rastelli, A.; Schmidt, O.G.
    The radiative biexciton-exciton decay in a semiconductor quantum dot (QD) has the potential of being a source of triggered polarization-entangled photon pairs. However, in most cases the anisotropy-induced exciton fine structure splitting destroys this entanglement. Here, we present measurements on improved QD structures, providing both significantly reduced inhomogeneous emission linewidths and near-zero fine structure splittings. A high-resolution detection technique is introduced which allows us to accurately determine the fine structure in the photoluminescence emission and therefore select appropriate QDs for quantum state tomography. We were able to verify the conditions of entangled or classically correlated photon pairs in full consistence with observed fine structure properties. Furthermore, we demonstrate reliable polarization-entanglement for elevated temperatures up to 30 K. The fidelity of the maximally entangled state decreases only a little from 72% at 4 K to 68% at 30 K. This is especially encouraging for future implementations in practical devices. © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.
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    Slow and fast single photons from a quantum dot interacting with the excited state hyperfine structure of the Cesium D1-line
    (London : Nature Publishing Group, 2019) Kroh, T.; Wolters, J.; Ahlrichs, A.; Schell, A.W.; Thoma, A.; Reitzenstein, S.; Wildmann, J.S.; Zallo, E.; Trotta, R.; Rastelli, A.; Schmidt, O.G.; Benson, O.
    Hybrid interfaces between distinct quantum systems play a major role in the implementation of quantum networks. Quantum states have to be stored in memories to synchronize the photon arrival times for entanglement swapping by projective measurements in quantum repeaters or for entanglement purification. Here, we analyze the distortion of a single-photon wave packet propagating through a dispersive and absorptive medium with high spectral resolution. Single photons are generated from a single In(Ga)As quantum dot with its excitonic transition precisely set relative to the Cesium D1 transition. The delay of spectral components of the single-photon wave packet with almost Fourier-limited width is investigated in detail with a 200 MHz narrow-band monolithic Fabry-Pérot resonator. Reflecting the excited state hyperfine structure of Cesium, “slow light” and “fast light” behavior is observed. As a step towards room-temperature alkali vapor memories, quantum dot photons are delayed for 5 ns by strong dispersion between the two 1.17 GHz hyperfine-split excited state transitions. Based on optical pumping on the hyperfine-split ground states, we propose a simple, all-optically controllable delay for synchronization of heralded narrow-band photons in a quantum network.
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    Photoactive rolled-up TiO2 microtubes: Fabrication, characterization and applications
    (London [u.a.] : Royal Society of Chemistry, 2014) Giudicatti, S.; Marz, S.M.; Soler, L.; Madani, A.; Jorgensen, M.R.; Sanchez, S.; Schmidt, O.G.
    Because of its unique properties, titania (TiO2) represents a promising candidate in a wide variety of research fields. In this paper, some of the properties and potential applications of titania within rolled-up nanotechnology are explored. It is shown how the structural and optical properties of rolled titania microtubes can be controlled by properly tuning the microfabrication parameters. The rolling up of titania films on different sacrificial layers and containing different shapes, achieving a control on the diameter of the fabricated titania microtubes, is presented. In order to obtain the more photoactive crystalline form of titania, one during-fabrication and two post-fabrication methods are demonstrated. Interesting applications in the fields of photocatalysis and photonics are suggested: the use of titania rolled-up microtubes as micromotors and optical microresonators is presented.