Spin dynamics in ultrathin quantum wells

• Grant number: 21/02820-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2021
• End date: May 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Condensed Matter Physics
• Principal Investigator: Marcio Daldin Teodoro
• Grantee: Anna Carolina Sardinha Alves
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Quantum dots (QDs) based on the In(Ga)As alloy are the basis of several technologies and promising candidates for applications in the field of quantum information. The growth of these nanostructures by the Stranski-Krastanov method also induces the formation of the so-called wetting layer (WL), which can deteriorate several optoelectronic properties of quantum dots. A viable alternative for the formation of QDs without the existence of WL can be achieved by the growth of In(Ga)As layers with a thicknesses of less than a single monolayer, which for this reason are called submonolayer quantum dots (SMLQDs). Recent results demonstrate that there is the formation of disordered islands rich in Indium that confine the holes in the three dimensions, while electrons experience the unidimensional confinement imposed by the formation of the quantum well profile, whose orbit can be the size of several islands. For this reason, these systems are also known as ultrafine quantum wells. Therefore, SMLQDs have a heterodimensional confinement whose main results demonstrate a narrow optical emission width comparable to that of quantum wells emitting in the spectral range from 860 to 920 nm at cryogenic temperatures. The peculiar confinement of SMQDs make them interesting nanostructures for exploring basic phenomena and possible applications, whose results under the spintronic point of view remain an open field. In this way, this scientific initiation project is dedicated to the exploration of the corresponding spin phenomena of these materials.