2019, Gabler, F., Karnaushenko, D.D., Karnaushenko, D., Schmidt, O.G.

Self-assembly of two-dimensional patterned nanomembranes into three-dimensional micro-architectures has been considered a powerful approach for parallel and scalable manufacturing of the next generation of micro-electronic devices. However, the formation pathway towards the final geometry into which two-dimensional nanomembranes can transform depends on many available degrees of freedom and is plagued by structural inaccuracies. Especially for high-aspect-ratio nanomembranes, the potential energy landscape gives way to a manifold of complex pathways towards misassembly. Therefore, the self-assembly yield and device quality remain low and cannot compete with state-of-the art technologies. Here we present an alternative approach for the assembly of high-aspect-ratio nanomembranes into microelectronic devices with unprecedented control by remotely programming their assembly behavior under the influence of external magnetic fields. This form of magnetic Origami creates micro energy storage devices with excellent performance and high yield unleashing the full potential of magnetic field assisted assembly for on-chip manufacturing processes.

2017, Keil, R., Zopf, M., Chen, Y., Höfer, B., Zhang, J., Ding, F., Schmidt, O.G.

Semiconductor InAs/GaAs quantum dots grown by the Stranski-Krastanov method are among the leading candidates for the deterministic generation of polarization-entangled photon pairs. Despite remarkable progress in the past 20 years, many challenges still remain for this material, such as the extremely low yield, the low degree of entanglement and the large wavelength distribution. Here, we show that with an emerging family of GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots grown by droplet etching and nanohole infilling, it is possible to obtain a large ensemble of polarization-entangled photon emitters on a wafer without any post-growth tuning. Under pulsed resonant two-photon excitation, all measured quantum dots emit single pairs of entangled photons with ultra-high purity, high degree of entanglement and ultra-narrow wavelength distribution at rubidium transitions. Therefore, this material system is an attractive candidate for the realization of a solid-state quantum repeater - among many other key enabling quantum photonic elements.

2013, Shuai, Y., Ou, X., Luo, W., Mücklich, A., Bürger, D., Zhou, S., Wu, C., Chen, Y., Zhang, W., Helm, M., Mikolajick, T., Schmidt, O.G., Schmidt, H.

This work reports the effect of Ti diffusion on the bipolar resistive switching in Au/BiFeO 3/Pt/Ti capacitor-like structures. Polycrystalline BiFeO 3 thin films are deposited by pulsed laser deposition at different temperatures on Pt/Ti/SiO 2/Si substrates. From the energy filtered transmission electron microscopy and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry it is observed that Ti diffusion occurs if the deposition temperature is above 600 C. The current-voltage (I-V) curves indicate that resistive switching can only be achieved in Au/BiFeO 3/Pt/Ti capacitor-like structures where this Ti diffusion occurs. The effect of Ti diffusion is confirmed by the BiFeO 3 thin films deposited on Pt/sapphire and Pt/Ti/sapphire substrates. The resistive switching needs no electroforming process, and is incorporated with rectifying properties which is potentially useful to suppress the sneak current in a crossbar architecture. Those specific features open a promising alternative concept for nonvolatile memory devices as well as for other memristive devices like synapses in neuromorphic circuits.

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.

2018, Yuan, X., Weyhausen-Brinkmann, F., Martín-Sánchez, J., Piredda, G., Křápek, V., Huo, Y., Huang, H., Schimpf, C., Schmidt, O.G., Edlinger, J., Bester, G., Trotta, R., Rastelli, A.

The optical selection rules in epitaxial quantum dots are strongly influenced by the orientation of their natural quantization axis, which is usually parallel to the growth direction. This configuration is well suited for vertically emitting devices, but not for planar photonic circuits because of the poorly controlled orientation of the transition dipoles in the growth plane. Here we show that the quantization axis of gallium arsenide dots can be flipped into the growth plane via moderate in-plane uniaxial stress. By using piezoelectric strain-actuators featuring strain amplification, we study the evolution of the selection rules and excitonic fine structure in a regime, in which quantum confinement can be regarded as a perturbation compared to strain in determining the symmetry-properties of the system. The experimental and computational results suggest that uniaxial stress may be the right tool to obtain quantum-light sources with ideally oriented transition dipoles and enhanced oscillator strengths for integrated quantum photonics.

2017, Huber, D., Reindl, M., Huo, Y., Huang, H., Wildmann, J.S., Schmidt, O.G., Rastelli, A., Trotta, R.

The development of scalable sources of non-classical light is fundamental to unlocking the technological potential of quantum photonics. Semiconductor quantum dots are emerging as near-optimal sources of indistinguishable single photons. However, their performance as sources of entangled-photon pairs are still modest compared to parametric down converters. Photons emitted from conventional Stranski-Krastanov InGaAs quantum dots have shown non-optimal levels of entanglement and indistinguishability. For quantum networks, both criteria must be met simultaneously. Here, we show that this is possible with a system that has received limited attention so far: GaAs quantum dots. They can emit triggered polarization-entangled photons with high purity (g (2) (0) = 0.002±0.002), high indistinguishability (0.93±0.07 for 2 ns pulse separation) and high entanglement fidelity (0.94±0.01). Our results show that GaAs might be the material of choice for quantum-dot entanglement sources in future quantum technologies.

2014, Liu, X., Si, W., Zhang, J., Sun, X., Deng, J., Baunack, S., Oswald, S., Liu, L., Yan, C., Schmidt, O.G.

With Fe2O3 as a proof-of-concept, free-standing nanomembrane structure is demonstrated to be highly advantageous to improve the performance of Li-ion batteries. The Fe2O3 nanomembrane electrodes exhibit ultra-long cycling life at high current rates with satisfactory capacity (808 mAh g-1 after 1000 cycles at 2 C and 530 mAh g-1 after 3000 cycles at 6 C) as well as repeatable high rate capability up to 50 C. The excellent performance benefits particularly from the unique structural advantages of the nanomembranes. The mechanical feature can buffer the strain of lithiation/delithiation to postpone the pulverization. The two-dimensional transport pathways in between the nanomembranes can promote the pseudo-capacitive type storage. The parallel-laid nanomembranes, which are coated by polymeric gel-like film and SEI layer with the electrolyte in between layers, electrochemically behave like numerous "mini-capacitors" to provide the pseudo-capacitance thus maintain the capacity at high rate.

2018, Chen, Y., Zopf, M., Keil, R., Ding, F., Schmidt, O.G.

Many quantum photonic technologies require the efficient generation of entangled pairs of photons, but to date there have been few ways to produce them reliably. Sources based on parametric down conversion operate at very low efficiency per pulse due to the probabilistic generation process. Semiconductor quantum dots can emit single pairs of entangled photons deterministically but they fall short due to the extremely low-extraction efficiency. Strategies for extracting single photons from quantum dots, such as embedding them in narrowband optical cavities, are difficult to translate to entangled photons. Here, we build a broadband optical antenna with an extraction efficiency of 65% ± 4% and demonstrate a highly-efficient entangled-photon source by collecting strongly entangled photons (fidelity of 0.9) at a pair efficiency of 0.372 ± 0.002 per pulse. The high brightness achieved by our source represents a step forward in the development of optical quantum technologies.

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.

2013, Lin, G., Baraban, L., Han, L., Karnaushenko, D., Makarov, D., Cuniberti, G., Schmidt, O.G.

We realize a magnetoresistive emulsion analyzer capable of detection, multiparametric analysis and sorting of ferrofluid-containing nanoliter-droplets. The operation of the device in a cytometric mode provides high throughput and quantitative information about the dimensions and magnetic content of the emulsion. Our method offers important complementarity to conventional optical approaches involving ferrofluids, and paves the way to the development of novel compact tools for diagnostics and nanomedicine including drug design and screening.