Professor Robert Taylor

Abstract:

We find that the emission from laterally coupled quantum dots is strongly polarized along the coupled direction [1[Formula: see text]0], and its polarization anisotropy can be shaped by changing the orientation of the polarized excitation. When the nonresonant excitation is linearly polarized perpendicular to the coupled direction [110], excitons (X₁ and X₂) and local biexcitons (X₁X₁ and X₂X₂) from the two separate quantum dots (QD₁ and QD₂) show emission anisotropy with a small degree of polarization (10%). On the other hand, when the excitation polarization is parallel to the coupled direction [1[Formula: see text]0], the polarization anisotropy of excitons, local biexcitons, and coupled biexcitons (X₁X₂) is enhanced with a degree of polarization of 74%. We also observed a consistent anisotropy in the time-resolved photoluminescence. The decay rate of the polarized photoluminescence intensity along the coupled direction is relatively high, but the anisotropic decay rate can be modified by changing the orientation of the polarized excitation. An energy difference is also observed between the polarized emission spectra parallel and perpendicular to the coupled direction, and it increases by up to three times by changing the excitation polarization orientation from [110] to [1[Formula: see text]0]. These results suggest that the dipole-dipole interaction across the two separate quantum dots is mediated and that the anisotropic wavefunctions of the excitons and biexcitons are shaped by the excitation polarization.

Abstract:

We have developed an inductively coupled plasma etching technique using a Faraday cage to create suspended gallium-nitride devices in a single step. The angle of the Faraday cage, gas mix, and chamber condition define the angle of the etch and the cross-sectional profile, which can feature undercut angles of up to 45°. We fabricate singly- and doubly-clamped cantilevers of a triangular cross section and show that they can support single optical modes in the telecom C-band.

Abstract:

Diminishing surface defect states in perovskite nanocrystals is a highly challenging subject for enhancing optoelectronic device performance. We synthesized organic/inorganic lead-halide perovskite MAPbBr3 (MA = methylammonium) clusters comprising nanocrystals with diameters ranging between 20–30 nm and characterized an enhanced photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield (as much as ~ 7 times) by encapsulating the MAPbBr3 with graphene (Gr). The optical properties of MAPbBr3 and Gr/MAPbBr3 were investigated by temperature-dependent micro-PL and time-resolved PL measurements. Density functional theory calculations show that the surface defect states in MAPbBr3 are removed and the optical band gap is reduced by a 0.15 eV by encapsulation with graphene due to partial restoration of lattice distortions.

Abstract:

Because of the strong strain in nitrides, superlattice layers have been used to release the strain in the QW and reduce the quantum confined Stark effect. However, few reports discuss comprehensively the strain relaxation behavior and optical performance of a GaN/AlGaN single quantum well (QW) with inserted GaN/AlGaN superlattices (SLs). In this work, we examined a group of graded Al content GaN/Al_xGa_1–xN SL layers under the GaN/Al_0.3Ga_0.7N single QW grown on c-plane sapphire. Both the excitation power and temperature dependence of the time-integrated micro-photoluminescence (μ-PL) and time-resolved μ-PL were measured. The samples exhibited very narrow UV emission and had almost unchanged emission wavelength and stable line width behavior with excitation power as well as “S-shape” and weak “W-shape” characteristics with temperature due to the localization. The temperature-dependent PL lifetime was measured from 5 to 300 K, and the relatively fast recombination lifetime of the two samples was examined. Micro-Raman spectroscopy was also conducted to probe the strain state. All the results showed that adopting SLs around the QW structure produced a much more stable and desirable performance, which can be attributed to an effective relaxation of the strain in the QW.