We report on the coherent phase manipulation of quantum dot excitons by electric means. For our experiments, we use a low capacitance single quantum dot photodiode which is electrically controlled by a custom designed SiGe:C BiCMOS chip. The phase manipulation is performed and quantified in a Ramsey experiment, where ultrafast transient detuning of the exciton energy is performed synchronous to double pulse p/2 ps laser excitation. We are able to demonstrate electrically controlled phase manipulations with magnitudes up to 3p within 100 ps which is below the dephasing time of the quantum dot exciton.

In recent years, Raman spectroscopy has been used to visualize and analyze ferroelectric domain structures. The technique makes use of the fact that the intensity or frequency of certain phonons is strongly influenced by the presence of domain walls. Although the method is used frequently, the underlying mechanism responsible for the changes in the spectra is not fully understood. This inhibits deeper analysis of domain structures based on this method. Two different models have been proposed. However, neither model completely explains all observations. In this work, we have systematically investigated domain walls in different scattering geometries with Raman spectroscopy in the common ferroelectric materials used in integrated optics, i.e., KTiOPO4, LiNbO3, and LiTaO3. Based on the two models, we can demonstrate that the observed contrast for domain walls is in fact based on two different effects. We can identify on the one hand microscopic changes at the domain wall, e.g., strain and electric fields, and on the other hand a macroscopic change of selection rules at the domain wall. While the macroscopic relaxation of selection rules can be explained by the directional dispersion of the phonons in agreement with previous propositions, the microscopic changes can be explained qualitatively in terms of a simplified atomistic model.

In this work we study the impact of ion implantation on the nonlinear optical properties in MgO:LiNbO3 via confocal second-harmonic microscopy. In detail, we spatially characterize the nonlinear susceptibility in carbon-ion implanted lithium niobate planar waveguides for different implantation energies and fluences, as well as the effect of annealing. In a further step, a computational simulation is used to calculate the implantation range of carbon-ions and the corresponding defect density distribution. A comparison between the simulation and the experimental data indicates that the depth profile of the second-order effective nonlinear coefficient is directly connected to the defect density that is induced by the ion irradiation. Furthermore it can be demonstrated that the annealing treatment partially recovers the second-order optical susceptibility.

Semiconductor quantum dots are promising sources for polarization-entangled photons. As an alternative to the usual cascaded biexciton-exciton emission, direct two-photon emission from the biexciton can be used. With a high-quality optical resonator tuned to half the biexciton energy, a large proportion of the photons can be steered into the two-photon emission channel. In this case the degree of polarization entanglement is inherently insensitive to the exciton fine-structure splitting. In the present work we analyze the biexciton emission with particular emphasis on the influence of coupling of the quantum-dot cavity system to its environment. Especially for a high-quality cavity, the coupling to the surrounding semiconductormaterial can open up additional phonon-assisted decay channels. Our analysis demonstrates that with the cavity tuned to half the biexciton energy, the potentially detrimental influence of the phonons on the polarization entanglement is strongly suppressed—high degrees of entanglement can still be achieved. We further discuss spectral properties and statistics of the emitted twin photons.

In this article we demonstrate a fully CMOS compatible fabrication process for the realization of microdisk resonators based on silicon oxynitride. The layer fabrication using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition is optimized in terms of surface roughness and internal material absorption. Resulting surface roughness due to the etching process is reduced by using optimized etching parameters. Whispering gallery modes of the fabricated microdisk resonators have been investigated by tapered fiber coupling and show quality factors as high as 10 6.

Semiconductor quantum-dot cavity systems are promising sources for solid-state-based on-demand generation of single photons for quantum communication. Commonly, the spectral characteristics of the emitted single photon are fixed by system properties such as electronic transition energies and spectral properties of the cavity. In the present work we study cavity-enhanced single-photon generation from the quantum-dot biexciton through a partly stimulated nondegenerate two-photon emission. We show that frequency and linewidth of the single photon can be fully controlled by the stimulating laser pulse, ultimately allowing for efficient all-optical spectral shaping of the single photon.

We present phase sensitive cavity field measurements on photonic crystal microcavities. The experiments have been performed as autocorrelation measurements with ps double pulse laser excitation for resonant and detuned conditions. Measured E-field autocorrelation functions reveal a very strong detuning dependence of the phase shift between laser and cavity field and of the autocorrelation amplitude of the cavity field. The fully resolved phase information allows for a precise frequency discrimination and hence for a precise measurement of the detuning between laser and cavity. The behavior of the autocorrelation amplitude and phase and their detuning dependence can be fully described by an analytic model. Furthermore, coherent control of the cavity field is demonstrated by tailored laser excitation with phase and amplitude controlled pulses. The experimental proof and verification of the above described phenomena became possible by an electric detection scheme, which employs planar photonic crystal microcavity photo diodes with metallic Schottky contacts in the defect region of the resonator. The applied photo current detection was shown to work also efficiently at room temperature, which make electrically contacted microcavities attractive for real world applications.

We report the fabrication of periodically poled domain patterns in x-cut lithium niobate thin-film. Here, thin films on insulator have drawn particular attention due to their intrinsic waveguiding properties offering high mode confinement and smaller devices compared to in-diffused waveguides in bulk material. In contrast to z-cut thin film lithium niobate, the x-cut geometry does not require back electrodes for poling. Further, the x-cut geometry grants direct access to the largest nonlinear and electro-optical tensor element, which overall promises smaller devices. The domain inversion was realized via electric field poling utilizing deposited aluminum top electrodes on a stack of LN thin film/SiO2 layer/Bulk LN, which were patterned by optical lithography. The periodic domain inversion was verified by non-invasive confocal second harmonic microscopy. Our results show domain patterns in accordance to the electrode mask layout. The second harmonic signatures can be interpreted in terms of spatially, overlapping domain filaments which start their growth on the þz side.

In this work we study the resonant and coherent properties of single InP-based InAs quantum dots, which show an optical emission in the telecom C-band and L-band. High-resolution resonant photocurrent spectroscopy on p–i–n devices reveals narrow linewidths and fully resolved fine structure splittings. We observe Lorentzian line shapes, which allow for the extraction of dephasing times as a function of the applied bias voltage. Coherent ps laser excitation results in pronounced Rabi rotations with increasing pulse area. For π-pulse excitation, we obtain more than 93 % of the theoretically expected photocurrent amplitude. Our results also demonstrate that such state-of-the-art InP-based quantum dots for the telecom band exhibit promising key parameters comparable to well-established InAs/GaAs counterparts.

Congruent lithium niobate and lithium tantalate mixed crystals have been grown over the complete compositional range with the Czochralski method. The structural and vibrational properties of the mixed crystals are studied extensively by x-ray diffraction measurements, Raman spectroscopy, and density functional theory. The measured lattice parameters and vibrational frequencies are in good agreement with our theoretical predictions. The observed dependence of the Raman frequencies on the crystal composition is discussed on the basis of the calculated phonon displacement patterns. The phononic contribution to the static dielectric tensor is calculated by means of the generalized Lyddane-Sachs-Teller relation. Due to the pronounced dependence of the optical response on the Ta concentration, lithium niobate tantalate mixed crystals represent a perfect model system to study the properties of uniaxial mixed ferroelectric materials for application in integrated optics.

Cubic gallium nitride (GaN) films are analyzed with highresolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) and Raman spectroscopy. Several cubic GaN layers were grown on 3C-SiC (001) substrate by radio-frequency plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The layer thickness of the cubic GaN was varied between 75 and 505 nm. The HRXRD analysis reveals a reduction of the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of omega scans for growing layer thicknesses, which is caused by a partial compensation of defects. The Raman characterization confirms well-formed c-GaN layers. A more detailed examination of the longitudinal optical mode hints at a correlation of the FWHM of the Raman mode with the dislocation density, which shows the possibility to determine dislocation densities by Ramanspectroscopy on a micrometer scale, which is not possible by HRXRD. Furthermore, this Raman analysis shows that normalized Raman spectra present an alternative way to determine layer thicknesses of thin GaN films.

Confocal Raman spectroscopy is applied to identify ferroelectric domain structure sensitive phonon modes in potassium titanyl phosphate. Therefore, polarization-dependent measurements in various scattering configurations have been performed to characterize the fundamental Raman spectra of the material. The obtained spectra are discussed qualitatively based on an internal mode assignment. In the main part of this work, we have characterized z-cut periodically poled potassium titanyl phosphate in terms of polarity- and structure-sensitive phonon modes. Here, we find vibrations whose intensities are linked to the ferroelectric domain walls. We interpret this in terms of changes in the polarizability originating from strain induced by domain boundaries and the inner field distribution. Hence, a direct and 3D visualization of ferroelectric domain structures becomes possible in potassium titanyl phosphate.

Spins in semiconductor quantum dots have been considered as prospective quantum bit excitations. Their coupling to the crystal environment manifests itself in a limitation of the spin coherence times to the microsecond range, both for electron and hole spins. This rather short-lived coherence compared to atomic states asks for manipulations on timescales as short as possible. Due to the huge dipole moment for transitions between the valence and conduction band, pulsed laser systems offer the possibility to perform manipulations within picoseconds or even faster. Here, we report on results that show the potential of optical spin manipulations with currently available pulsed laser systems. Using picosecond laser pulses, we demonstrate optically induced spin rotations of electron and hole spins. We further realize the optical decoupling of the hole spins from the nuclear surrounding at the nanosecond timescales and demonstrate an all-optical spin tomography for interacting electron spin sub-ensembles.

We report about the fabrication and analysis of high Q photonic crystal cavities with metallic Schottky-contacts. The structures are based on GaAs n-i membranes with an InGaAs quantum well in the i-region and nanostructured low ohmic metal top-gates. They are designed for photocurrent readout within the cavity and fast electric manipulations. The cavity structures are characterized by photoluminescence and photocurrent spectroscopy under resonant excitation. We find strong cavity resonances in the photocurrent spectra and surprisingly high Q-factors up to 6500. Temperature dependent photocurrent measurements in the region between 4.5K and 310K show an exponential enhancement of the photocurrent signal and an external quantum efficiency up to 0.26.

LiTaO3 and LiNbO3 crystals are investigated here in a combined experimental and theoretical study that uses Raman spectroscopy in a complete set of scattering geometries and corresponding density-functional theory calculations to provide microscopic information on their vibrational properties. The Raman scattering efficiency is computed from first principles in order to univocally assign the measured Raman peaks to the calculated eigenvectors. Measured and calculated Raman spectra are shown to be in qualitative agreement and confirm the mode assignment by Margueron et al. [J. Appl. Phys. 111, 104105 (2012)], thus finally settling a long debate. While the two crystals show rather similar vibrational properties overall, the E-TO9 mode is markedly different in the two oxides. The deviations are explained by a different anion-cation bond type in LiTaO3 and LiNbO3 crystals.

The coherent state preparation and control of single quantum systems is an important prerequisite for the implementation of functional quantum devices. Prominent examples for such systems are semiconductor quantum dots, which exhibit a fine structure split single exciton state and a V-type three level structure, given by a common ground state and two distinguishable and separately excitable transitions. In this work we introduce a novel concept for the preparation of a robust inversion by the sequential excitation in a V-type system via distinguishable paths.

We analyse an InAs/GaAs-based electric field tunable single quantum dot diode with a thin tunnelling barrier between a buried n þ -back contact and a quantum dot layer. In voltage- dependent photoluminescence measurements, we observe rich signatures from spatially direct and indirect transitions from the wetting layer and from a single quantum dot. By analysing the Stark effect, we show that the indirect transitions result from a recombination between confined holes in the wetting or quantum dot layer with electrons from the edge of the Fermi sea in the back contact. Using a 17 nm tunnel barrier which provides comparably weak tunnel coupling allowed us to observe clear signatures of direct and corresponding indirect lines for a series of neutral and positively charged quantum dot states.

Sources of single photons are key elements for applications in quantum information science. Among the different sources available, semiconductor quantum dots excel with their integrability in semiconductor on-chip solutions and the potential that photon emission can be triggered on demand. Usually, the photon is emitted from a single-exciton ground state. Polarization of the photon and time of emission are either probabilistic or pre-determined by electronic properties of the system. Here, we study the direct two-photon emission from the biexciton. The two-photon emission is enabled by a laser pulse driving the system into a virtual state inside the band gap. From this intermediate state, the single photon of interest is then spontaneously emitted. We show that emission through this higher-order transition provides a versatile approach to generate a single photon. Through the driving laser pulse, polarization state, frequency and emission time of the photon can be controlled on-the-fly.

We explore the impact of ∼500 MHz surface acoustic waves traveling across a commensurable plasmonic grating coupler. A stroboscopic technique involving surface acoustic waves synchronized to a modelocked optical source allows to time-resolve the dynamical impact of the electromechanically induced perturbation. The surface acoustic wave periodically enhances or decreases the surface ripple of the static grating. Most remarkably, the dynamic surface deformation deliberately modulates the coupler’s efficiency by ±2% during the ∼2 ns acoustic cycle.

Atomistic simulations in the framework of the density functional theory have been used to model morphologic and vibrational properties of lithium niobate–lithium tantalate mixed crystals as a function of the [Nb]/[Ta] ratio. Structural parameters such as the crystal volume and the lattice parameters a and c vary roughly linearly from LiTaO3 to LiNbO3, showing only minor deviations from the Vegard behavior. Our ab initio calculations demonstrate that the TO1, TO2 and TO4 vibrational modes become harder with increasing Nb concentration. TO3 becomes softer with increasing Nb content, instead. Furthermore, the investigated zone center A1 -TO phonon modes are characterized by a pronounced stoichiometry dependence. Frequency shifts as large as 30 cm−1 are expected as the [Nb]/[Ta] ratio grows from 0 to 1. Therefore, spectroscopic techniques sensitive to the A1 modes (such as Raman spectroscopy), can be employed for a direct and non-destructive determination of the crystal composition.

Using a finite-difference time-domain method, we theoretically investigate the optical spectra of crossing perpendicular photonic crystal waveguides with quantum dots embedded in the central rod. The waveguides are designed so that the light mainly propagates along one direction and the cross talk is greatly reduced in the transverse direction. It is shown that when a quantum dot (QD) is resonant with the cavity, strong coupling can be observed via both the transmission and crosstalk spectrum. If the cavity is far off-resonant from the QD, both the cavity mode and the QD signal can be detected in the transverse direction since the laser field is greatly suppressed in this direction. This structure could have strong implications for resonant excitation and in-plane detection of QD optical spectroscopy.

We study the quantum properties and statistics of photons emitted by a quantum-dot biexciton inside a cavity. In the biexciton-exciton cascade, fine-structure splitting between exciton levels degrades polarization-entanglement for the emitted pair of photons. However, here we show that the polarization-entanglement can be preserved in such a system through simultaneous emission of two degenerate photons into cavity modes tuned to half the biexciton energy. Based on detailed theoretical calculations for realistic quantum-dot and cavity parameters, we quantify the degree of achievable entanglement.

We numerically investigate the interaction dynamics of coupled cavities in planar photonic crystal slabs in different configurations. The single cavity is optimized for a long lifetime of the fundamental mode, reaching a Q-factor of ≈43, 000 using the method of gentle confinement. For pairs of cavities we consider several configurations and present a setup with strongest coupling observable as a line splitting of about 30 nm. Based on this configuration, setups with three cavities are investigated.

Uniform mesoporous Si double layers are formed on 4 inch p-type < 100> wafers with an off orientation of 6º towards < 111> by means of electrochemical etching in ethanoic-based HF electrolytes. These substrates are of interest for the epitaxial growth of III–V compound semiconductor stacks on their top for the production of multi-junction solar cells and very thin electronic devices. We demonstrate transfer of porous layers after an annealing process in hydrogen atmosphere. Electron Back-Scatter Diffraction analysis confirms that the substrate orientation is conserved during the etching and annealing steps. Confocal μ-Raman spectroscopy analysis shows a decrease in the Raman signal intensity after etching and a subsequent increase after annealing while no shift is observed. By means of Atomic Force Microscopy, analysis the surface appearance after the etching and annealing steps can be visualized. The mean surface roughness varies during the process from 0.55 nm for the unprocessed wafers to 0.27 nm after etching and 0.78 nm after annealing. The decrease of average roughness after etching is caused by an electropolishing step prior to porous formation. Despite of slight increase of mean surface roughness after annealing the samples are still appropriate for high quality epitaxial growth and subsequent lift-off.

Laser irradiation damage in ZnTe epilayers was analyzed in situ by power-density-dependent and time-resolved micro-Raman spectroscopy. Damage by ablation or compound decomposition on the sample surface was revealed by the decrease of the ZnTe–nLO mode intensity with the increase of laser power density. The appearance of the peaks associated with the stronger crystalline-tellurium modes, tellurium aggregates and second-order Raman scattering at room temperature μ-Raman spectra was observed for higher power densities than 4.4 × 105 W cm−2. The Raman signal time transients of ZnTe–nLO and crystalline-tellurium modes reveal an exponential evolution of the laser irradiation damage and a fast formation of crystalline tellurium aggregates on the layer surface.

The vibrational properties of the LiNbO3 (0001) surfaces have been investigated both from first principles and with Raman spectroscopy measurements. Firstly, the phonon modes of bulk and of the (0001) surface are calculated by means of the density functional theory. Our calculations reveal the existence of localised vibrational modes both at the positive and at the negative surface. The surface vibrations are found at energies above and within the bulk bands. Phonon modes localised at the positive and at the negative surface differ substantially. In a second step, the Raman spectra of LiNbO3 bulk and of the two surfaces have been measured. Raman spectroscopy is shown to be sensitive to differences between bulk and surface and between positive and negative surface. The calculated and measured frequencies are in agreement within the error of the method.

Confocal Raman spectroscopy was performed as an archetype imaging method to study the ferroelectric domain structure of periodically poled lithium niobate. More precisely, the linkage out of spatial resolution and spectral information proved itself as very useful. Here a specific modulation of the Raman lines by the local variation of polarity and a non-symmetric measuring-signal across the domain structure were found, which allows for imaging of domain boundaries as well as oppositely orientated domains. The high potential of this method is demonstrated by the visualization of the ferroelectric domain structures based on various phonon modes.

Using a combined all-ultra-high-vacuum process employing lateral patterning with focused ion beams and molecular beam epitaxy, site-selective growth of single (In,Ga)As quantum dots is achieved. We have embedded such a layer of intentionally positioned quantum dots in the intrinsic region of a p-i-n junction so that the quantum dots can be driven electrically. In this contribution, we will present our results on the morphological properties of the ion-beam modified surface on which the quantum dot nucleation occurs together with a characterization of the electrical and optoelectronic properties. We will demonstrate that a single, individual quantum dot can directly be electrically addressed.

The existence of localized vibrational modes both at the positive and at the negative LiNbO3 (0001) surface is demonstrated by means of first-principles calculations and Raman spectroscopy measurements. First, the phonon modes of the crystal bulk and of the (0001) surface are calculated within the density functional theory. In a second step, the Raman spectra of LiNbO3 bulk and of the two surfaces are measured. The phonon modes localized at the two surfaces are found to be substantially different, and are also found to differ from the bulk modes. The calculated and measured frequencies are in agreement within the error of the method. Raman spectroscopy is shown to be sensitive to differences between bulk and surface and between positive and negative surface. It represents therefore an alternative method to determine the surface polarity, which does not exploit the pyroelectric or piezoelectric properties of the material.

Here we report on investigations on CdSe quantum dots incorporated in ZnSe based Schottky photodiodes with near-field shadow masks. Photoluminescence and photocurrent of individual quantum dots were studied as a function of the applied bias voltage. The exciton energy of the quantum dot ground state transition was shifted to the excitation energy by using the Stark effect tuning via an external bias voltage. Under the condition of resonance with the laser excitation energy we observed a resonant photocurrent signal due to the tunnelling of carriers out of the quantum dots at electric fields above 500 kV/cm.

The coherent state manipulation of single quantum systems is a fundamental requirement for the implementation of quantum information processors. Exciton qubits are of particular interest for coherent optoelectronic applications, in particular due to their excellent coupling to photons. Until now, coherent manipulations of exciton qubits in semiconductor quantum dots have been performed predominantly by pulsed laser fields. Coherent control of the population of excitonic states with a single laser pulse, observed by Rabi oscillations, has been demonstrated by several groups using different techniques1,2,3. By using two laser pulses, more general state control can be achieved4, and coupling of two excitons has been reported5,6. Here, we present a conceptually new approach for implementing the coherent control of an exciton two-level system (qubit) by means of a time-dependent electric interaction. The new scheme makes use of an optical clock signal and a synchronous electric gate signal, which controls the coherent manipulation.

A fluorescence study of acetonitrile solutions of bis(tetramethylguanidine)propane, copper(I)-iodide and [Cu(btmgp)I] was performed and the chemical reaction of the latter species with O2 was investigated at room temperature. The actual quenching process via O2 gassing was studied and an exponential dependence of the fluorescence intensity with respect to the complex concentration was observed. Furthermore the survey was deepened on time resolved fluorescence properties of solved [Cu(btmgp)I] in a wider concentration range. The applicability of this complex for O2 sensing inside a microreactor system was proven by confocal fluorescence measurements. It was shown that the investigated system can be used for oxygen sensing in the copper concentration range from 10−2 to 10−9 mol/l.

We have integrated individual (In,Ga)As quantum dots (QDs) using site-controlled molecular beam epitaxial growth into the intrinsic region of a p-i-n junction diode. This is achieved using an in situ combination of focused ion beam prepatterning, annealing, and overgrowth, resulting in arrays of individually electrically addressable (In,Ga)As QDs with full control on the lateral position. Using microelectroluminescence spectroscopy we demonstrate that these QDs have the same optical quality as optically pumped Stranski–Krastanov QDs with random nucleation located in proximity to a doped interface. The results suggest that this technique is scalable and highly interesting for different applications in quantum devices.

Strömungsbasierte Mischprozesse sind grundlegender Bestandteil vieler chemischer Prozesse. Realisierbare Mischzeiten reichen von einigen Millisekunden bis zu Sekunden, wobei die vollständige Homogenisierung oft nicht sichergestellt ist. Werden kinetische Parameter chemischer Reaktionen dieses Zeitskalenbereichs ohne Berücksichtigung der Mischprozesse bestimmt, sind sie mischungsmaskiert und geben die inhärente chemische Kinetik nicht wieder. In dieser Arbeit wird die Validierung und Anwendung einer Methode zur Bestimmung inhärenter chemischer Kinetiken von in Flüssigphase ablaufenden chemischen Reaktionen im stationären, laminaren Flachbettmikroreaktor vorgestellt. Der verfolgte Ansatz basiert auf der mechanistischen Modellierung der Molmengen unter Berücksichtigung von Konvektion, Diffusion und Reaktion und der Bestimmung der unbekannten Parameter durch Anpassung des Modells an experimentell ermittelte Konzentrationsverläufe.

Damage caused by laser irradiation on the surface of ZnTe epilayers was studied by micro-Raman and atomic force microscopy (AFM). ZnTe LO-phonon overtones up to four order and TO + (n − 1)LO zone-center phonons were observed in the resonant micro-Raman spectra at room temperature. Discrepancies in the literature regarding the origin of two features observed at low frequencies around 120 and 140 cm−1 in the Raman spectrum of ZnTe are discussed and resolved. These Raman peaks were not detected by using a low excitation laser power density on a Zn-terminated ZnTe surface; however, with the increase of the laser power density they were found to arise irreversibly. The correspondence of these peaks in a wave number with the strongest Raman peaks of the crystalline tellurium phase and the intensity enhancement behavior with the laser power in a similar way as for CdTe strongly suggests the formation of crystalline tellurium aggregates on the layer surface due to laser irradiation damage. AFM data reveal the occurrence of laser ablation on the ZnTe surface even though the surface temperature of the sample is below the melting point.

An intentional positioning of optically active quantum dots using site-selective growth by a combination of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and focused ion beam (FIB) implantation in an all-ultra-high-vacuum (UHV) setup has been successfully demonstrated. A square array of periodic holes on GaAs substrate was fabricated with FIB of 30 keV ions followed by an in situ annealing step. Subsequently, the patterned holes were overgrown with an optimized amount of InAs in order to achieve site-selective growth of the QDs on the patterned holes. Under well-optimized conditions, a selectivity of single quantum dot growth in the patterned holes of 52% was achieved. Thereafter, carrier injection and subsequent radiative recombination from the positioned InAs/GaAs self-assembled QDs was investigated by embedding the QDs in the intrinsic part of a GaAs-based p–i–n junction device. Electroluminescence spectra taken at 77 K show interband transitions up to the fifth excited state from the QDs.

We present results on ferroelectric micro-domains obtained by confocal second harmonic microscopy. The high potential of this technique is demonstrated by imaging periodic ferroelectric domain structures in the surface of planar X-cut lithium niobate (LN) and in the body of ridges fabricated by plasma etching on X-cut LN as well. In both cases the measured second harmonic signal reveals a strong contrast between inverted and non-inverted domain sections. This enabled a depth-resolved non-destructive tomography of micro-domains in ridge structures in all three dimensions.

The optical properties of semiconductor quantum dots are in many respects similar to those of atoms. Since quantum dots can be defined by state-of-the-art semiconductor technologies, they exhibit long-term stability and allow for well-controlled and efficient interactions with both optical and electrical fields. Resonant ps excitation of single quantum dot photodiodes leads to new classes of coherent optoelectronic functions and devices, which exhibit precise state preparation, phase-sensitive optical manipulations and the control of quantum states by electrical fields.

We have investigated the properties of neutral and charged excitons in single CdSe/ZnSe QD photodiodes by μ-photoluminescence spectroscopy. By applying a bias voltage, we have been able to control the number of electrons in a single QD by shifting the energy levels of the QD with respect to the Fermi level in the back contact. Also the quantum-confined Stark effect was observed as a function of the applied electric field.

Semiconductor microdiscs are promising for applications in photonics and quantum-information processing, such as efficient solid-state-based single-photon emitters. Strain in the multilayer structure of those devices has an important influence on their optical properties. We present measurements of the strain distribution in ZnMgSe/ZnSe microdiscs by means of micro-photoluminescence and micro-Raman imaging. Photoluminescence measurements of microdiscs reveal substantially broadened emission lines with a shift to lower energy at the undercut part of microdiscs, indicating local relaxation in this area. The distribution of the strain in the microdiscs is obtained from an imaging micro-Raman analysis, revealing that the freestanding part of the microdiscs is free of defects.

Very clean single photon emission from a single InGaAs/GaAs quantum dot is demonstrated by the use of a coherent optical state preparation. We present a concept for single photon emission, which uses p-shell Rabi-flopping followed by a sequence of relaxation and recombination. The proof of the (clean) single photon emission is performed by photon correlation measurements.