Laser diode bars based on AlGaAs/GaAs quantum-well heterostructures with an efficiency up to 70%

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ladugin, M. A.; Marmalyuk, A. A.; Padalitsa, A. A.; Bagaev, T. A.; Andreev, A. Yu.; Telegin, K. Yu.; Lobintsov, A. V.; Davydova, E. I.; Sapozhnikov, S. M.; Danilov, A. I.; Podkopaev, A. V.; Ivanova, E. B.; Simakov, V. A.

2017-05-01

The results of the development and fabrication of laser diode bars (λ = 800 - 810 nm) based on AlGaAs/GaAs quantum-well heterostructures with a high efficiency are presented. An increase in the internal quantum and external differential efficiencies together with a decrease in the working voltage and the series resistance allowed us to improve the output parameters of the semiconductor laser under quasi-cw pumping. The output power of the laser diode bars with a 5-mm transverse length reached 210 W, and the efficiency was ~70%.

Efficient quantum dialogue without information leakage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Ai-Han; Tang, Zhi-Hui; Chen, Dong

2015-02-01

A two-step quantum dialogue scheme is put forward with a class of three-qubit W state and quantum dense coding. Each W state can carry three bits of secret information and the measurement result is encrypted without information leakage. Furthermore, we utilize the entangle properties of W state and decoy photon checking technique to realize three-time channel detection, which can improve the efficiency and security of the scheme.

High Storage Efficiency and Large Fractional Delay of EIT-Based Memory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yi-Hsin; Lee, Meng-Jung; Wang, I.-Chung; Du, Shengwang; Chen, Yong-Fan; Chen, Ying-Cheng; Yu, Ite

2013-05-01

In long-distance quantum communication and optical quantum computation, an efficient and long-lived quantum memory is an important component. We first experimentally demonstrated that a time-space-reversing method plus the optimum pulse shape can improve the storage efficiency (SE) of light pulses to 78% in cold media based on the effect of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). We obtain a large fractional delay of 74 at 50% SE, which is the best record so far. The measured classical fidelity of the recalled pulse is higher than 90% and nearly independent of the storage time, implying that the optical memory maintains excellent phase coherence. Our results suggest the current result may be readily applied to single-photon quantum states due to quantum nature of the EIT light-matter inference. This study advances the EIT-based quantum memory in practical quantum information applications.

GaN-based light emitting diodes using p-type trench structure for improving internal quantum efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Garam; Sun, Min-Chul; Kim, Jang Hyun; Park, Euyhwan; Park, Byung-Gook

2017-01-01

In order to improve the internal quantum efficiency of GaN-based LEDs, a LED structure featuring a p-type trench in the multi-quantum well (MQW) is proposed. This structure has effects on spreading holes into the MQW and reducing the quantum-confined stark effect (QCSE). In addition, two simple fabrication methods using electron-beam (e-beam) lithography or selective wet etching for manufacturing the p-type structure are also proposed. From the measurement results of the manufactured GaN-based LEDs, it is confirmed that the proposed structure using e-beam lithography or selective wet etching shows improved light output power compared to the conventional structure because of more uniform hole distribution. It is also confirmed that the proposed structure formed by e-beam lithography has a significant effect on strain relaxation and reduction in the QCSE from the electro-luminescence measurement.

Bright colloidal quantum dot light-emitting diodes enabled by efficient chlorination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiyan; Zhao, Yong-Biao; Fan, Fengjia; Levina, Larissa; Liu, Min; Quintero-Bermudez, Rafael; Gong, Xiwen; Quan, Li Na; Fan, James; Yang, Zhenyu; Hoogland, Sjoerd; Voznyy, Oleksandr; Lu, Zheng-Hong; Sargent, Edward H.

2018-03-01

The external quantum efficiencies of state-of-the-art colloidal quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) are now approaching the limit set by the out-coupling efficiency. However, the brightness of these devices is constrained by the use of poorly conducting emitting layers, a consequence of the present-day reliance on long-chain organic capping ligands. Here, we report how conductive and passivating halides can be implemented in Zn chalcogenide-shelled colloidal quantum dots to enable high-brightness green QLEDs. We use a surface management reagent, thionyl chloride (SOCl2), to chlorinate the carboxylic group of oleic acid and graft the surfaces of the colloidal quantum dots with passivating chloride anions. This results in devices with an improved mobility that retain high external quantum efficiencies in the high-injection-current region and also feature a reduced turn-on voltage of 2.5 V. The treated QLEDs operate with a brightness of 460,000 cd m-2, significantly exceeding that of all previously reported solution-processed LEDs.

Disorder-assisted quantum transport in suboptimal decoherence regimes

PubMed Central

Novo, Leonardo; Mohseni, Masoud; Omar, Yasser

2016-01-01

We investigate quantum transport in binary tree structures and in hypercubes for the disordered Frenkel-exciton Hamiltonian under pure dephasing noise. We compute the energy transport efficiency as a function of disorder and dephasing rates. We demonstrate that dephasing improves transport efficiency not only in the disordered case, but also in the ordered one. The maximal transport efficiency is obtained when the dephasing timescale matches the hopping timescale, which represent new examples of the Goldilocks principle at the quantum scale. Remarkably, we find that in weak dephasing regimes, away from optimal levels of environmental fluctuations, the average effect of increasing disorder is to improve the transport efficiency until an optimal value for disorder is reached. Our results suggest that rational design of the site energies statistical distributions could lead to better performances in transport systems at nanoscale when their natural environments are far from the optimal dephasing regime. PMID:26726133

Multi-Hop Teleportation of an Unknown Qubit State Based on W States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Xiang-Zhen; Yu, Xu-Tao; Zhang, Zai-Chen

2018-04-01

Quantum teleportation is important in quantum communication networks. Considering that quantum state information is also transmitted between two distant nodes, intermediated nodes are employed and two multi-hop teleportation protocols based on W state are proposed. One is hop-by-hop teleportation protocol and the other is the improved multi-hop teleportation protocol with centralized unitary transformation. In hop-by-hop protocol, the transmitted quantum state needs to be recovered at every node on the route. In improved multi-hop teleportation protocol with centralized unitary transformation, intermediate nodes need not to recover the transmitted quantum state. Compared to the hop-by-hop protocol, the improved protocol can reduce the transmission delay and improve the transmission efficiency.

Comparative study on stained InGaAs quantum wells for high-speed optical-interconnect VCSELs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Hui; Jia, Xiaowei

2018-05-01

The gain-carrier characteristics of InGaAs quantum well for 980 nm high-speed, energy-efficient vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers are investigated. We specially studied the potentially InGaAs quantum well designs can be used for the active region of energy-efficient, temperature-stable 980-nm VCSEL, which introduced a quantum well gain peak wavelength-to-cavity resonance wavelength offset to improve the dynamic performance at high operation temperature. Several candidate quantum wells are being compared in theory and measurement. We found that ∼5 nm InGaAs QW with ∼6 nm barrier thickness is suitable for the active region of high-speed optical interconnect 980 nm VCSELs, and no significant improvement in the 20% range of In content of InGaAs QWs. The results are useful for next generation green photonic device design.

Improving the efficiency of hierarchical equations of motion approach and application to coherent dynamics in Aharonov–Bohm interferometers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hou, Dong; Xu, RuiXue; Zheng, Xiao, E-mail: xz58@ustc.edu.cn

2015-03-14

Several recent advancements for the hierarchical equations of motion (HEOM) approach are reported. First, we propose an a priori estimate for the optimal number of basis functions for the reservoir memory decomposition. Second, we make use of the sparsity of auxiliary density operators (ADOs) and propose two ansatzs to screen out all the intrinsic zero ADO elements. Third, we propose a new truncation scheme by utilizing the time derivatives of higher-tier ADOs. These novel techniques greatly reduce the memory cost of the HEOM approach, and thus enhance its efficiency and applicability. The improved HEOM approach is applied to simulate themore » coherent dynamics of Aharonov–Bohm double quantum dot interferometers. Quantitatively accurate dynamics is obtained for both noninteracting and interacting quantum dots. The crucial role of the quantum phase for the magnitude of quantum coherence and quantum entanglement is revealed.« less

Cryptanalysis and Improvement of the Semi-quantum Secret Sharing Protocol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Xiang; Zhang, Shibin; Chang, Yan

2017-08-01

Recently, Xie et al. Int. J. Theor. Phys. 54, 3819-3824, (2015) proposed a Semi-quantum secret sharing protocol (SQSS). Yin et al. Int. J. Theor. Phys. 55: 4027-4035, (2016) pointed out that this protocol suffers from the intercept-resend attack. Yin et al. also proposed an improved protocol. However, we find out that Yin et al.'s paper has some problems, we analyze Yin et al.'s paper, then proposed the improved semi-quantum secret sharing protocol. Our protocol is more secure and efficient, most importantly, our protocol satisfies the condition of semi-quantum.

CdS/CdSe co-sensitized SnO2 photoelectrodes for quantum dots sensitized solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Yibing; Lin, Yu; Meng, Yongming; Tu, Yongguang; Zhang, Xiaolong

2015-07-01

SnO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by hydrothermal method and applied to photo-electrodes of quantum dots-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). After sensitizing SnO2 films via CdS quantum dots, CdSe quantum dots was decorated on the surface of CdS/SnO2 photo-electrodes to further improve the power conversion efficiency. CdS and CdSe quantum dots were deposited by successive ionic layer absorption and reaction method (SILAR) and chemical bath deposition method (CBD) respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to identify the surface profile and crystal structure of SnO2 photo-electrodes before and after deposited quantum dots. After CdSe co-sensitized process, an overall power conversion efficiency of 1.78% was obtained in CdSe/CdS/SnO2 QDSSC, which showed 66.4% improvement than that of CdS/SnO2 QDSSC.

Efficient single photon detection by quantum dot resonant tunneling diodes.

PubMed

Blakesley, J C; See, P; Shields, A J; Kardynał, B E; Atkinson, P; Farrer, I; Ritchie, D A

2005-02-18

We demonstrate that the resonant tunnel current through a double-barrier structure is sensitive to the capture of single photoexcited holes by an adjacent layer of quantum dots. This phenomenon could allow the detection of single photons with low dark count rates and high quantum efficiencies. The magnitude of the sensing current may be controlled via the thickness of the tunnel barriers. Larger currents give improved signal to noise and allow sub-mus photon time resolution.

High efficiency quantum cascade laser frequency comb.

PubMed

Lu, Quanyong; Wu, Donghai; Slivken, Steven; Razeghi, Manijeh

2017-03-06

An efficient mid-infrared frequency comb source is of great interest to high speed, high resolution spectroscopy and metrology. Here we demonstrate a mid-IR quantum cascade laser frequency comb with a high power output and narrow beatnote linewidth at room temperature. The active region was designed with a strong-coupling between the injector and the upper lasing level for high internal quantum efficiency and a broadband gain. The group velocity dispersion was engineered for efficient, broadband mode-locking via four wave mixing. The comb device exhibits a narrow intermode beatnote linewidth of 50.5 Hz and a maximum wall-plug efficiency of 6.5% covering a spectral coverage of 110 cm -1 at λ ~ 8 μm. The efficiency is improved by a factor of 6 compared with previous demonstrations. The high power efficiency and narrow beatnote linewidth will greatly expand the applications of quantum cascade laser frequency combs including high-precision remote sensing and spectroscopy.

High efficiency quantum cascade laser frequency comb

PubMed Central

Lu, Quanyong; Wu, Donghai; Slivken, Steven; Razeghi, Manijeh

2017-01-01

An efficient mid-infrared frequency comb source is of great interest to high speed, high resolution spectroscopy and metrology. Here we demonstrate a mid-IR quantum cascade laser frequency comb with a high power output and narrow beatnote linewidth at room temperature. The active region was designed with a strong-coupling between the injector and the upper lasing level for high internal quantum efficiency and a broadband gain. The group velocity dispersion was engineered for efficient, broadband mode-locking via four wave mixing. The comb device exhibits a narrow intermode beatnote linewidth of 50.5 Hz and a maximum wall-plug efficiency of 6.5% covering a spectral coverage of 110 cm−1 at λ ~ 8 μm. The efficiency is improved by a factor of 6 compared with previous demonstrations. The high power efficiency and narrow beatnote linewidth will greatly expand the applications of quantum cascade laser frequency combs including high-precision remote sensing and spectroscopy. PMID:28262834

Quantum-enhanced Sensing and Efficient Quantum Computation

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-07-27

accuracy. The system was used to improve quantum boson sampling tests. 15. SUBJECT TERMS EOARD, Quantum Information Processing, Transition Edge Sensors...quantum  boson  sampling (QBS) problem are reported in Ref. [7]. To substantially  increase the scale of feasible tests, we developed a new variation

Nano-patterned superconducting surface for high quantum efficiency cathode

DOEpatents

Hannon, Fay; Musumeci, Pietro

2017-03-07

A method for providing a superconducting surface on a laser-driven niobium cathode in order to increase the effective quantum efficiency. The enhanced surface increases the effective quantum efficiency by improving the laser absorption of the surface and enhancing the local electric field. The surface preparation method makes feasible the construction of superconducting radio frequency injectors with niobium as the photocathode. An array of nano-structures are provided on a flat surface of niobium. The nano-structures are dimensionally tailored to interact with a laser of specific wavelength to thereby increase the electron yield of the surface.

Phosphor-Free Apple-White LEDs with Embedded Indium-Rich Nanostructures Grown on Strain Relaxed Nano-epitaxy GaN.

PubMed

Soh, C B; Liu, W; Yong, A M; Chua, S J; Chow, S Y; Tripathy, S; Tan, R J N

2010-08-01

Phosphor-free apple-white light emitting diodes have been fabricated using a dual stacked InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells comprising of a lower set of long wavelength emitting indium-rich nanostructures incorporated in multiple quantum wells with an upper set of cyan-green emitting multiple quantum wells. The light-emitting diodes were grown on nano-epitaxially lateral overgrown GaN template formed by regrowth of GaN over SiO(2) film patterned with an anodic aluminum oxide mask with holes of 125 nm diameter and a period of 250 nm. The growth of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells on these stress relaxed low defect density templates improves the internal quantum efficiency by 15% for the cyan-green multiple quantum wells. Higher emission intensity with redshift in the PL peak emission wavelength is obtained for the indium-rich nanostructures incorporated in multiple quantum wells. The quantum wells grown on the nano-epitaxially lateral overgrown GaN has a weaker piezoelectric field and hence shows a minimal peak shift with application of higher injection current. An enhancement of external quantum efficiency is achieved for the apple-white light emitting diodes grown on the nano-epitaxially lateral overgrown GaN template based on the light -output power measurement. The improvement in light extraction efficiency, η(extraction,) was found to be 34% for the cyan-green emission peak and 15% from the broad long wavelength emission with optimized lattice period.

Phosphor-Free Apple-White LEDs with Embedded Indium-Rich Nanostructures Grown on Strain Relaxed Nano-epitaxy GaN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soh, C. B.; Liu, W.; Yong, A. M.; Chua, S. J.; Chow, S. Y.; Tripathy, S.; Tan, R. J. N.

2010-11-01

Phosphor-free apple-white light emitting diodes have been fabricated using a dual stacked InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells comprising of a lower set of long wavelength emitting indium-rich nanostructures incorporated in multiple quantum wells with an upper set of cyan-green emitting multiple quantum wells. The light-emitting diodes were grown on nano-epitaxially lateral overgrown GaN template formed by regrowth of GaN over SiO2 film patterned with an anodic aluminum oxide mask with holes of 125 nm diameter and a period of 250 nm. The growth of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells on these stress relaxed low defect density templates improves the internal quantum efficiency by 15% for the cyan-green multiple quantum wells. Higher emission intensity with redshift in the PL peak emission wavelength is obtained for the indium-rich nanostructures incorporated in multiple quantum wells. The quantum wells grown on the nano-epitaxially lateral overgrown GaN has a weaker piezoelectric field and hence shows a minimal peak shift with application of higher injection current. An enhancement of external quantum efficiency is achieved for the apple-white light emitting diodes grown on the nano-epitaxially lateral overgrown GaN template based on the light -output power measurement. The improvement in light extraction efficiency, ηextraction, was found to be 34% for the cyan-green emission peak and 15% from the broad long wavelength emission with optimized lattice period.

Optimal approach to quantum communication using dynamic programming.

PubMed

Jiang, Liang; Taylor, Jacob M; Khaneja, Navin; Lukin, Mikhail D

2007-10-30

Reliable preparation of entanglement between distant systems is an outstanding problem in quantum information science and quantum communication. In practice, this has to be accomplished by noisy channels (such as optical fibers) that generally result in exponential attenuation of quantum signals at large distances. A special class of quantum error correction protocols, quantum repeater protocols, can be used to overcome such losses. In this work, we introduce a method for systematically optimizing existing protocols and developing more efficient protocols. Our approach makes use of a dynamic programming-based searching algorithm, the complexity of which scales only polynomially with the communication distance, letting us efficiently determine near-optimal solutions. We find significant improvements in both the speed and the final-state fidelity for preparing long-distance entangled states.

Efficient amplitude-modulated pulses for triple- to single-quantum coherence conversion in MQMAS NMR.

PubMed

Colaux, Henri; Dawson, Daniel M; Ashbrook, Sharon E

2014-08-07

The conversion between multiple- and single-quantum coherences is integral to many nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments of quadrupolar nuclei. This conversion is relatively inefficient when effected by a single pulse, and many composite pulse schemes have been developed to improve this efficiency. To provide the maximum improvement, such schemes typically require time-consuming experimental optimization. Here, we demonstrate an approach for generating amplitude-modulated pulses to enhance the efficiency of the triple- to single-quantum conversion. The optimization is performed using the SIMPSON and MATLAB packages and results in efficient pulses that can be used without experimental reoptimisation. Most significant signal enhancements are obtained when good estimates of the inherent radio-frequency nutation rate and the magnitude of the quadrupolar coupling are used as input to the optimization, but the pulses appear robust to reasonable variations in either parameter, producing significant enhancements compared to a single-pulse conversion, and also comparable or improved efficiency over other commonly used approaches. In all cases, the ease of implementation of our method is advantageous, particularly for cases with low sensitivity, where the improvement is most needed (e.g., low gyromagnetic ratio or high quadrupolar coupling). Our approach offers the potential to routinely improve the sensitivity of high-resolution NMR spectra of nuclei and systems that would, perhaps, otherwise be deemed "too challenging".

Efficient Amplitude-Modulated Pulses for Triple- to Single-Quantum Coherence Conversion in MQMAS NMR

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

The conversion between multiple- and single-quantum coherences is integral to many nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments of quadrupolar nuclei. This conversion is relatively inefficient when effected by a single pulse, and many composite pulse schemes have been developed to improve this efficiency. To provide the maximum improvement, such schemes typically require time-consuming experimental optimization. Here, we demonstrate an approach for generating amplitude-modulated pulses to enhance the efficiency of the triple- to single-quantum conversion. The optimization is performed using the SIMPSON and MATLAB packages and results in efficient pulses that can be used without experimental reoptimisation. Most significant signal enhancements are obtained when good estimates of the inherent radio-frequency nutation rate and the magnitude of the quadrupolar coupling are used as input to the optimization, but the pulses appear robust to reasonable variations in either parameter, producing significant enhancements compared to a single-pulse conversion, and also comparable or improved efficiency over other commonly used approaches. In all cases, the ease of implementation of our method is advantageous, particularly for cases with low sensitivity, where the improvement is most needed (e.g., low gyromagnetic ratio or high quadrupolar coupling). Our approach offers the potential to routinely improve the sensitivity of high-resolution NMR spectra of nuclei and systems that would, perhaps, otherwise be deemed “too challenging”. PMID:25047226

Electronic Two-Transition-Induced Enhancement of Emission Efficiency in Polymer Light-Emitting Diodes

PubMed Central

Chen, Ren-Ai; Wang, Cong; Li, Sheng; George, Thomas F.

2013-01-01

With the development of experimental techniques, effective injection and transportation of electrons is proven as a way to obtain polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs) with high quantum efficiency. This paper reveals a valid mechanism for the enhancement of quantum efficiency in PLEDs. When an external electric field is applied, the interaction between a negative polaron and triplet exciton leads to an electronic two-transition process, which induces the exciton to emit light and thus improve the emission efficiency of PLEDs. PMID:28809346

Optoelectronic engineering of colloidal quantum-dot solar cells beyond the efficiency black hole: a modeling approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahpeykar, Seyed Milad; Wang, Xihua

2017-02-01

Colloidal quantum dot (CQD) solar cells have been under the spotlight in recent years mainly due to their potential for low-cost solution-processed fabrication and efficient light harvesting through multiple exciton generation (MEG) and tunable absorption spectrum via the quantum size effect. Despite the impressive advances achieved in charge carrier mobility of quantum dot solids and the cells' light trapping capabilities, the recent progress in CQD solar cell efficiencies has been slow, leaving them behind other competing solar cell technologies. In this work, using comprehensive optoelectronic modeling and simulation, we demonstrate the presence of a strong efficiency loss mechanism, here called the "efficiency black hole", that can significantly hold back the improvements achieved by any efficiency enhancement strategy. We prove that this efficiency black hole is the result of sole focus on enhancement of either light absorption or charge extraction capabilities of CQD solar cells. This means that for a given thickness of CQD layer, improvements accomplished exclusively in optic or electronic aspect of CQD solar cells do not necessarily translate into tangible enhancement in their efficiency. The results suggest that in order for CQD solar cells to come out of the mentioned black hole, incorporation of an effective light trapping strategy and a high quality CQD film at the same time is an essential necessity. Using the developed optoelectronic model, the requirements for this incorporation approach and the expected efficiencies after its implementation are predicted as a roadmap for CQD solar cell research community.

Local surface plasmon enhanced polarization and internal quantum efficiency of deep ultraviolet emissions from AlGaN-based quantum wells.

PubMed

Zhang, Cai; Tang, Ning; Shang, Liangliang; Fu, Lei; Wang, Weiying; Xu, Fujun; Wang, Xinqiang; Ge, Weikun; Shen, Bo

2017-05-24

We report the enhancement of the polarization and internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of deep-UV LEDs by evaporating Al nanoparticles on the device surface to induce localized surface plasmons (LSPs). The deep-UV LEDs polarization is improved due to part of TM emission turns into TE emission through LSPs coupling. The significantly enhanced IQE is attributed to LSPs coupling, which suppress the participation of delocalized and dissociated excitons to non-radiative recombination process.

Enhancement of photoluminescence from GaInNAsSb quantum wells upon annealing: improvement of material quality and carrier collection by the quantum well.

PubMed

Baranowski, M; Kudrawiec, R; Latkowska, M; Syperek, M; Misiewicz, J; Sarmiento, T; Harris, J S

2013-02-13

In this study we apply time resolved photoluminescence and contactless electroreflectance to study the carrier collection efficiency of a GaInNAsSb/GaAs quantum well (QW). We show that the enhancement of photoluminescence from GaInNAsSb quantum wells annealed at different temperatures originates not only from (i) the improvement of the optical quality of the GaInNAsSb material (i.e., removal of point defects, which are the source of nonradiative recombination) but it is also affected by (ii) the improvement of carrier collection by the QW region. The total PL efficiency is the product of these two factors, for which the optimal annealing temperatures are found to be ~700 °C and ~760 °C, respectively, whereas the optimal annealing temperature for the integrated PL intensity is found to be between the two temperatures and equals ~720 °C. We connect the variation of the carrier collection efficiency with the modification of the band bending conditions in the investigated structure due to the Fermi level shift in the GaInNAsSb layer after annealing.

Symmetric Blind Information Reconciliation for Quantum Key Distribution

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kiktenko, Evgeniy O.; Trushechkin, Anton S.; Lim, Charles Ci Wen

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a quantum-proof key-exchange scheme which is fast approaching the communication industry. An essential component in QKD is the information reconciliation step, which is used for correcting the quantum-channel noise errors. The recently suggested blind-reconciliation technique, based on low-density parity-check codes, offers remarkable prospectives for efficient information reconciliation without an a priori quantum bit error rate estimation. We suggest an improvement of the blind-information-reconciliation protocol promoting a significant increase in the efficiency of the procedure and reducing its interactivity. Finally, the proposed technique is based on introducing symmetry in operations of parties, and the consideration ofmore » results of unsuccessful belief-propagation decodings.« less

Symmetric Blind Information Reconciliation for Quantum Key Distribution

DOE PAGES

Kiktenko, Evgeniy O.; Trushechkin, Anton S.; Lim, Charles Ci Wen; ...

2017-10-27

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a quantum-proof key-exchange scheme which is fast approaching the communication industry. An essential component in QKD is the information reconciliation step, which is used for correcting the quantum-channel noise errors. The recently suggested blind-reconciliation technique, based on low-density parity-check codes, offers remarkable prospectives for efficient information reconciliation without an a priori quantum bit error rate estimation. We suggest an improvement of the blind-information-reconciliation protocol promoting a significant increase in the efficiency of the procedure and reducing its interactivity. Finally, the proposed technique is based on introducing symmetry in operations of parties, and the consideration ofmore » results of unsuccessful belief-propagation decodings.« less

Symmetric Blind Information Reconciliation for Quantum Key Distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiktenko, E. O.; Trushechkin, A. S.; Lim, C. C. W.; Kurochkin, Y. V.; Fedorov, A. K.

2017-10-01

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a quantum-proof key-exchange scheme which is fast approaching the communication industry. An essential component in QKD is the information reconciliation step, which is used for correcting the quantum-channel noise errors. The recently suggested blind-reconciliation technique, based on low-density parity-check codes, offers remarkable prospectives for efficient information reconciliation without an a priori quantum bit error rate estimation. We suggest an improvement of the blind-information-reconciliation protocol promoting a significant increase in the efficiency of the procedure and reducing its interactivity. The proposed technique is based on introducing symmetry in operations of parties, and the consideration of results of unsuccessful belief-propagation decodings.

Quantum-splitting oxide-based phosphors and method of producing the same

DOEpatents

Setlur, Anant Achyut; Srivastava, Alok Mani

2003-09-02

Strontium, calcium, strontium calcium, strontium calcium magnesium, calcium magnesium aluminates, and strontium borates activated with Pr.sup.3+ exhibit characteristics of quantum-splitting phosphors under VUV excitation. A large emission peak at about 405 nm under VUV excitation is used conveniently to identify quantum-splitting phosphors. Improvements may be achieved with addition of fluorides or boric acid as a flux during the preparation of the phosphors. It is also possible to predict improvement in quantum efficiency by observing the ratio of emission intensities at about 480 nm and about 610 nm.

Improvements of Quantum Private Comparison Protocol Based on Cluster States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Ming-Kuai

2018-01-01

Quantum private comparison aims to determine whether the secrets from two different users are equal or not by utilizing the laws of quantum mechanics. Recently, Sun and Long put forward a quantum private comparison (QPC) protocol by using four-particle cluster states (Int. J. Theor. Phys. 52, 212-218, 2013). In this paper, we investigate this protocol in depth, and suggest the corresponding improvements. Compared with the original protocol, the improved protocol has the following advantages: 1) it can release the requirements of authenticated classical channels and unitary operations; 2) it can prevent the malicious attack from the genuine semi-honest TP; 3) it can enhance the qubit efficiency.

Very high quantum efficiency in InAs/GaSb superlattice for very long wavelength detection with cutoff of 21 μm

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jiang, Dongwei; Guo, Fengyun, E-mail: guowen@hit.edu.cn; Li, Xiaochao

2016-03-21

The authors report the dependence of the quantum efficiency on beryllium concentration in the active region of type-II InAs/GaSb superlattice infrared detector with a cutoff wavelength around 21 μm. It is found that the quantum efficiency and responsivity show a clear delineation in comparison to the doping concentration. The quantum efficiency is further improved by gradually doping in the absorbing region. At 77 K, the 50% cutoff wavelength of the VLWIR detector is 18 μm, and the R{sub 0}A is kept at a stable value of 6 Ω cm{sup 2}. Different beryllium concentration leads to an increase of an average quantum efficiency in the 8–15 μmmore » window from 35% to 55% with a π-region thickness of 3.0 μm, for U{sub bias} = −0.3 V, and no anti-reflection coating. As for a further result, the quantum efficiency reaches at a maximum value of 66% by gradually doping in the absorbing region with the peak detectivity of 3.33 × 10{sup 10 }cm Hz{sup 1/2}/W at 15 μm.« less

Reduction of CO2 to C1 products and fuel

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mill, T.; Ross, D.

2002-01-01

Photochemical semiconductor processes readily reduced CO2 to a broad range of C1 products. However the intrinsic and solar efficiencies for the processes were low. Improved quantum efficiencies could be realized utilizing quantum-sized particles, but at the expense of using less of the visible solar spectrum. Conversely, semiconductors with small bandgaps used more of the visible solar spectrum at the expense of quantum efficiency. Thermal reduction of CO2 with Fe(II) was thermodynamically favored for forming many kinds of organic compounds and occurred readily with olivine and other Fe(II) minerals above 200??C to form higher alkanes and alkenes. No added hydrogen was required.

Improving hole injection and carrier distribution in InGaN light-emitting diodes by removing the electron blocking layer and including a unique last quantum barrier

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cheng, Liwen, E-mail: lwcheng@yzu.edu.cn; Chen, Haitao; Wu, Shudong

2015-08-28

The effects of removing the AlGaN electron blocking layer (EBL), and using a last quantum barrier (LQB) with a unique design in conventional blue InGaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs), were investigated through simulations. Compared with the conventional LED design that contained a GaN LQB and an AlGaN EBL, the LED that contained an AlGaN LQB with a graded-composition and no EBL exhibited enhanced optical performance and less efficiency droop. This effect was caused by an enhanced electron confinement and hole injection efficiency. Furthermore, when the AlGaN LQB was replaced with a triangular graded-composition, the performance improved further and the efficiency droopmore » was lowered. The simulation results indicated that the enhanced hole injection efficiency and uniform distribution of carriers observed in the quantum wells were caused by the smoothing and thinning of the potential barrier for the holes. This allowed a greater number of holes to tunnel into the quantum wells from the p-type regions in the proposed LED structure.« less

Multiscale Modeling of Plasmon-Enhanced Power Conversion Efficiency in Nanostructured Solar Cells.

PubMed

Meng, Lingyi; Yam, ChiYung; Zhang, Yu; Wang, Rulin; Chen, GuanHua

2015-11-05

The unique optical properties of nanometallic structures can be exploited to confine light at subwavelength scales. This excellent light trapping is critical to improve light absorption efficiency in nanoscale photovoltaic devices. Here, we apply a multiscale quantum mechanics/electromagnetics (QM/EM) method to model the current-voltage characteristics and optical properties of plasmonic nanowire-based solar cells. The QM/EM method features a combination of first-principles quantum mechanical treatment of the photoactive component and classical description of electromagnetic environment. The coupled optical-electrical QM/EM simulations demonstrate a dramatic enhancement for power conversion efficiency of nanowire solar cells due to the surface plasmon effect of nanometallic structures. The improvement is attributed to the enhanced scattering of light into the photoactive layer. We further investigate the optimal configuration of the nanostructured solar cell. Our QM/EM simulation result demonstrates that a further increase of internal quantum efficiency can be achieved by scattering light into the n-doped region of the device.

Effective suppression of efficiency droop in GaN-based light-emitting diodes: role of significant reduction of carrier density and built-in field.

PubMed

Yoo, Yang-Seok; Na, Jong-Ho; Son, Sung Jin; Cho, Yong-Hoon

2016-10-19

A critical issue in GaN-based high power light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is how to suppress the efficiency droop problem occurred at high current injection while improving overall quantum efficiency, especially in conventional c-plane InGaN/GaN quantum well (QW), without using complicated bandgap engineering or unconventional materials and structures. Although increasing thickness of each QW may decrease carrier density in QWs, formation of additional strain and defects as well as increased built-in field effect due to enlarged QW thickness are unavoidable. Here, we propose a facile and effective method for not only reducing efficiency droop but also improving quantum efficiency by utilizing c-plane InGaN/GaN QWs having thinner barriers and increased QW number while keeping the same single well thickness and total active layer thickness. As the barrier thickness decreases and the QW number increases, both internal electric field and carrier density within QWs are simultaneously reduced without degradation of material quality. Furthermore, we found overall improved efficiency and reduced efficiency droop, which was attributed to the decrease of the built-in field and to less influence by non-radiative recombination processes at high carrier density. This simple and effective approach can be extended further for high power ultraviolet, green, and red LEDs.

Effective suppression of efficiency droop in GaN-based light-emitting diodes: role of significant reduction of carrier density and built-in field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoo, Yang-Seok; Na, Jong-Ho; Son, Sung Jin; Cho, Yong-Hoon

2016-10-01

A critical issue in GaN-based high power light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is how to suppress the efficiency droop problem occurred at high current injection while improving overall quantum efficiency, especially in conventional c-plane InGaN/GaN quantum well (QW), without using complicated bandgap engineering or unconventional materials and structures. Although increasing thickness of each QW may decrease carrier density in QWs, formation of additional strain and defects as well as increased built-in field effect due to enlarged QW thickness are unavoidable. Here, we propose a facile and effective method for not only reducing efficiency droop but also improving quantum efficiency by utilizing c-plane InGaN/GaN QWs having thinner barriers and increased QW number while keeping the same single well thickness and total active layer thickness. As the barrier thickness decreases and the QW number increases, both internal electric field and carrier density within QWs are simultaneously reduced without degradation of material quality. Furthermore, we found overall improved efficiency and reduced efficiency droop, which was attributed to the decrease of the built-in field and to less influence by non-radiative recombination processes at high carrier density. This simple and effective approach can be extended further for high power ultraviolet, green, and red LEDs.

A Strategy to Enhance the Efficiency of Quantum Dot-Sensitized Solar Cells by Decreasing Electron Recombination with Polyoxometalate/TiO2 as the Electronic Interface Layer.

PubMed

Chen, Li; Chen, Weilin; Li, Jianping; Wang, Jiabo; Wang, Enbo

2017-07-21

Electron recombination occurring at the TiO 2 /quantum dot sensitizer/electrolyte interface is the key reason for hindering further efficiency improvements to quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSCs). Polyoxometalate (POM) can act as an electron-transfer medium to decrease electron recombination in a photoelectric device owing to its excellent oxidation/reduction properties and thermostability. A POM/TiO 2 electronic interface layer prepared by a simple layer-by-layer self-assembly method was added between fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) and mesoporous TiO 2 in the photoanode of QDSCs, and the effect on the photovoltaic performance was systematically investigated. Photovoltaic experimental results and the electron transmission mechanism show that the POM/TiO 2 electronic interface layer in the QDSCs can clearly suppress electron recombination, increase the electron lifetime, and result in smoother electron transmission. In summary, the best conversion efficiency of QDSCs with POM/TiO 2 electronic interface layers increases to 8.02 %, which is an improvement of 25.1 % compared with QDSCs without POM/TiO 2 . This work first builds an electron-transfer bridge between FTO and the quantum dot sensitizer and paves the way for further improved efficiency of QDSCs. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Quantum-Enhanced Machine Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dunjko, Vedran; Taylor, Jacob M.; Briegel, Hans J.

2016-09-01

The emerging field of quantum machine learning has the potential to substantially aid in the problems and scope of artificial intelligence. This is only enhanced by recent successes in the field of classical machine learning. In this work we propose an approach for the systematic treatment of machine learning, from the perspective of quantum information. Our approach is general and covers all three main branches of machine learning: supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning. While quantum improvements in supervised and unsupervised learning have been reported, reinforcement learning has received much less attention. Within our approach, we tackle the problem of quantum enhancements in reinforcement learning as well, and propose a systematic scheme for providing improvements. As an example, we show that quadratic improvements in learning efficiency, and exponential improvements in performance over limited time periods, can be obtained for a broad class of learning problems.

Simple and Efficient Single Photon Filter for a Rb-based Quantum Memory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stack, Daniel; Li, Xiao; Quraishi, Qudsia

2015-05-01

Distribution of entangled quantum states over significant distances is important to the development of future quantum technologies such as long-distance cryptography, networks of atomic clocks, distributed quantum computing, etc. Long-lived quantum memories and single photons are building blocks for systems capable of realizing such applications. The ability to store and retrieve quantum information while filtering unwanted light signals is critical to the operation of quantum memories based on neutral-atom ensembles. We report on an efficient frequency filter which uses a glass cell filled with 85Rb vapor to attenuate noise photons by an order of magnitude with little loss to the single photons associated with the operation of our cold 87Rb quantum memory. An Ar buffer gas is required to differentiate between signal and noise photons or similar statement. Our simple, passive filter requires no optical pumping or external frequency references and provides an additional 18 dB attenuation of our pump laser for every 1 dB loss of the single photon signal. We observe improved non-classical correlations and our data shows that the addition of a frequency filter increases the non-classical correlations and readout efficiency of our quantum memory by ~ 35%.

Modeling and simulation of InGaN/GaN quantum dots solar cell

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aissat, A., E-mail: sakre23@yahoo.fr; LASICOMLaboratory, Faculty of Sciences, University of Blida 1; Benyettou, F.

2016-07-25

Currently, quantum dots have attracted attention in the field of optoelectronics, and are used to overcome the limits of a conventional solar cell. Here, an In{sub 0.25}Ga{sub 0.75}N/GaN Quantum Dots Solar Cell has been modeled and simulated using Silvaco Atlas. Our results show that the short circuit current increases with the insertion of the InGaN quantum dots inside the intrinsic region of a GaN pin solar cell. In contrary, the open circuit voltage decreases. A relative optimization of the conversion efficiency of 54.77% was achieved comparing a 5-layers In{sub 0.25}Ga{sub 0.75}N/GaN quantum dots with pin solar cell. The conversion efficiencymore » begins to decline beyond 5-layers quantum dots introduced. Indium composition of 10 % improves relatively the efficiency about 42.58% and a temperature of 285 K gives better conversion efficiency of 13.14%.« less

Improving Si solar cell performance using Mn:ZnSe quantum dot-doped PLMA thin film

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Poly(lauryl methacrylate) (PLMA) thin film doped with Mn:ZnSe quantum dots (QDs) was spin-deposited on the front surface of Si solar cell for enhancing the solar cell efficiency via photoluminescence (PL) conversion. Significant solar cell efficiency enhancements (approximately 5% to 10%) under all-solar-spectrum (AM0) condition were observed after QD-doped PLMA coatings. Furthermore, the real contribution of the PL conversion was precisely assessed by investigating the photovoltaic responses of the QD-doped PLMA to monochromatic and AM0 light sources as functions of QD concentration, combined with reflectance and external quantum efficiency measurements. At a QD concentration of 1.6 mg/ml for example, among the efficiency enhancement of 5.96%, about 1.04% was due to the PL conversion, and the rest came from antireflection. Our work indicates that for the practical use of PL conversion in solar cell performance improvement, cautions are to be taken, as the achieved efficiency enhancement might not be wholly due to the PL conversion. PMID:23787125

Homeotropic alignment and Förster resonance energy transfer: The way to a brighter luminescent solar concentrator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tummeltshammer, Clemens; Taylor, Alaric; Kenyon, Anthony J.

2014-11-07

We investigate homeotropically aligned fluorophores and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) for luminescent solar concentrators using Monte-Carlo ray tracing. The homeotropic alignment strongly improves the trapping efficiency, while FRET circumvents the low absorption at homeotropic alignment by separating the absorption and emission processes. We predict that this design doped with two organic dye molecules can yield a 82.9% optical efficiency improvement compared to a single, arbitrarily oriented dye molecule. We also show that quantum dots are prime candidates for absorption/donor fluorophores due to their wide absorption band. The potentially strong re-absorption and low quantum yield of quantum dots is notmore » a hindrance for this design.« less

Generation of heralded entanglement between distant quantum dot hole spins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delteil, Aymeric

Entanglement plays a central role in fundamental tests of quantum mechanics as well as in the burgeoning field of quantum information processing. Particularly in the context of quantum networks and communication, some of the major challenges are the efficient generation of entanglement between stationary (spin) and propagating (photon) qubits, the transfer of information from flying to stationary qubits, and the efficient generation of entanglement between distant stationary (spin) qubits. In this talk, I will present such experimental implementations achieved in our team with semiconductor self-assembled quantum dots.Not only are self-assembled quantum dots good single-photon emitters, but they can host an electron or a hole whose spin serves as a quantum memory, and then present spin-dependent optical selection rules leading to an efficient spin-photon quantum interface. Moreover InGaAs quantum dots grown on GaAs substrate can profit from the maturity of III-V semiconductor technology and can be embedded in semiconductor structures like photonic cavities and Schottky diodes.I will report on the realization of heralded quantum entanglement between two semiconductor quantum dot hole spins separated by more than five meters. The entanglement generation scheme relies on single photon interference of Raman scattered light from both dots. A single photon detection projects the system into a maximally entangled state. We developed a delayed two-photon interference scheme that allows for efficient verification of quantum correlations. Moreover the efficient spin-photon interface provided by self-assembled quantum dots allows us to reach an unprecedented rate of 2300 entangled spin pairs per second, which represents an improvement of four orders of magnitude as compared to prior experiments carried out in other systems.Our results extend previous demonstrations in single trapped ions or neutral atoms, in atom ensembles and nitrogen vacancy centers to the domain of artificial atoms in semiconductor nanostructures that allow for on-chip integration of electronic and photonic elements. This work lays the groundwork for the realization of quantum repeaters and quantum networks on a chip.

Physics of Quantum Structures in Photovoltaic Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Raffaelle, Ryne P.; Andersen, John D.

2005-01-01

There has been considerable activity recently regarding the possibilities of using various nanostructures and nanomaterials to improve photovoltaic conversion of solar energy. Recent theoretical results indicate that dramatic improvements in device efficiency may be attainable through the use of three-dimensional arrays of zero-dimensional conductors (i.e., quantum dots) in an ordinary p-i-n solar cell structure. Quantum dots and other nanostructured materials may also prove to have some benefits in terms of temperature coefficients and radiation degradation associated with space solar cells. Two-dimensional semiconductor superlattices have already demonstrated some advantages in this regard. It has also recently been demonstrated that semiconducting quantum dots can also be used to improve conversion efficiencies in polymeric thin film solar cells. Improvement in thin film cells utilizing conjugated polymers has also be achieved through the use of one-dimensional quantum structures such as carbon nanotubes. It is believed that carbon nanotubes may contribute to both the disassociation as well as the carrier transport in the conjugated polymers used in certain thin film photovoltaic cells. In this paper we will review the underlying physics governing some of the new photovoltaic nanostructures being pursued, as well as the the current methods being employed to produce III-V, II-VI, and even chalcopyrite-based nanomaterials and nanostructures for solar cells.

InP/ZnSe/ZnS core-multishell quantum dots for improved luminescence efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greco, Tonino; Ippen, Christian; Wedel, Armin

2012-04-01

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) exhibit unique optical properties like size-tunable emission color, narrow emission peak, and high luminescence efficiency. QDs are therefore investigated towards their application in light-emitting devices (QLEDs), solar cells, and for bio-imaging purposes. In most cases QDs made from cadmium compounds like CdS, CdSe or CdTe are studied because of their facile and reliable synthesis. However, due to the toxicity of Cd compounds and the corresponding regulation (e.g. RoHS directive in Europe) these materials are not feasible for customer applications. Indium phosphide is considered to be the most promising alternative because of the similar band gap (InP 1.35 eV, CdSe 1.73 eV). InP QDs do not yet reach the quality of CdSe QDs, especially in terms of photoluminescence quantum yield and peak width. Typically, QDs are coated with another semiconductor material of wider band gap, often ZnS, to passivate surface defects and thus improve luminescence efficiency. Concerning CdSe QDs, multishell coatings like CdSe/CdS/ZnS or CdSe/ZnSe/ZnS have been shown to be advantageous due to the improved compatibility of lattice constants. Here we present a method to improve the luminescence efficiency of InP QDs by coating a ZnSe/ZnS multishell instead of a ZnS single shell. ZnSe exhibits an intermediate lattice constant of 5.67 Å between those of InP (5.87 Å) and ZnS (5.41 Å) and thus acts as a wetting layer. As a result, InP/ZnSe/ZnS is introduced as a new core-shell quantum dot material which shows improved photoluminescence quantum yield (up to 75 %) compared to the conventional InP/ZnS system.

Improvement of carrier injection symmetry and quantum efficiency in InGaN light-emitting diodes with Mg delta-doped barriers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, F.; Can, N.; Hafiz, S.; Monavarian, M.; Das, S.; Avrutin, V.; Özgür, Ü.; Morkoç, H.

2015-05-01

The effect of δ-doping of In0.06Ga0.94N barriers with Mg on the quantum efficiency of blue light-emitting-diodes (LEDs) with active regions composed of 6 (hex) 3-nm In0.15Ga0.85N is investigated. Compared to the reference sample, δ-doping of the first barrier on the n-side of the LED structure improves the peak external quantum efficiency (EQE) by 20%, owing to the increased hole concentration in the wells adjacent to the n-side, as confirmed by numerical simulations of carrier distributions across the active region. Doping the second barrier, in addition to the first one, did not further enhance the EQE, which likely indicates compensation of improved hole injection by degradation of the active region quality due to Mg doping. Both LEDs with Mg δ-doped barriers effectively suppress the drop of efficiency at high injection when compared to the reference sample, and the onset of EQE peak roll-off shifts from ˜80 A/cm2 in the reference LED to ˜120 A/cm2 in the LEDs with Mg δ-doped barriers.

Revisiting Deng et al.'s Multiparty Quantum Secret Sharing Protocol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hwang, Tzonelih; Hwang, Cheng-Chieh; Yang, Chun-Wei; Li, Chuan-Ming

2011-09-01

The multiparty quantum secret sharing protocol [Deng et al. in Chin. Phys. Lett. 23: 1084-1087, 2006] is revisited in this study. It is found that the performance of Deng et al.'s protocol can be much improved by using the techniques of block-transmission and decoy single photons. As a result, the qubit efficiency is improved 2.4 times and only one classical communication, a public discussion, and two quantum communications between each agent and the secret holder are needed rather than n classical communications, n public discussions, and 3n/2 quantum communications required in the original scheme.

Nanostructured Materials for Solar Cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bailey, Sheila; Raffaelle, Ryne; Castro, Stephanie; Fahey, S.; Gennett, T.; Tin, P.

2003-01-01

The use of both inorganic and organic nanostructured materials in producing high efficiency photovoltaics is discussed in this paper. Recent theoretical results indicate that dramatic improvements in device efficiency may be attainable through the use of semiconductor quantum dots in an ordinary p-i-n solar cell. In addition, it has also recently been demonstrated that quantum dots can also be used to improve conversion efficiencies in polymeric thin film solar cells. A similar improvement in these types of cells has also been observed by employing single wall carbon nanotubes. This relatively new carbon allotrope may assist both in the disassociation of excitons as well as carrier transport through the composite material. This paper reviews the efforts that are currently underway to produce and characterize these nanoscale materials and to exploit their unique properties.

Mn-doped quantum dot sensitized solar cells: a strategy to boost efficiency over 5%.

PubMed

Santra, Pralay K; Kamat, Prashant V

2012-02-08

To make Quantum Dot Sensitized Solar Cells (QDSC) competitive, it is necessary to achieve power conversion efficiencies comparable to other emerging solar cell technologies. By employing Mn(2+) doping of CdS, we have now succeeded in significantly improving QDSC performance. QDSC constructed with Mn-doped-CdS/CdSe deposited on mesoscopic TiO(2) film as photoanode, Cu(2)S/Graphene Oxide composite electrode, and sulfide/polysulfide electrolyte deliver power conversion efficiency of 5.4%.

Quantum efficiency measurements of eROSITA pnCCDs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebermayer, Stefanie; Andritschke, Robert; Elbs, Johannes; Meidinger, Norbert; Strüder, Lothar; Hartmann, Robert; Gottwald, Alexander; Krumrey, Michael; Scholze, Frank

2010-07-01

For the eROSITA X-ray telescope, which is planned to be launched in 2012, detectors were developed and fabricated at the MPI Semiconductor Laboratory. The fully depleted, back-illuminated pnCCDs have an ultrathin pn-junction to improve the low-energy X-ray response function and quantum efficiency. The device thickness of 450 μm is fully sensitive to X-ray photons yielding high quantum efficiency of more than 90% at photon energies of 10 keV. An on-chip filter is deposited on top of the entrance window to suppress visible and UV light which would interfere with the X-ray observations. The pnCCD type developed for the eROSITA telescope was characterized in terms of quantum efficiency and spectral response function. The described measurements were performed in 2009 at the synchrotron radiation sources BESSY II and MLS as cooperation between the MPI Semiconductor Laboratory and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB). Quantum efficiency measurements over a wide range of photon energies from 3 eV to 11 keV as well as spectral response measurements are presented. For X-ray energies from 3 keV to 10 keV the quantum efficiency of the CCD including on-chip filter is shown to be above 90% with an attenuation of visible light of more than five orders of magnitude. A detector response model is described and compared to the measurements.

Influence of quantum dot's quantum yield to chemiluminescent resonance energy transfer.

PubMed

Wang, Hai-Qiao; Li, Yong-Qiang; Wang, Jian-Hao; Xu, Qiao; Li, Xiu-Qing; Zhao, Yuan-Di

2008-03-03

The resonance energy transfer between chemiluminescence donor (luminol-H2O2 system) and quantum dots (QDs, emission at 593 nm) acceptors (CRET) was investigated. The resonance energy transfer efficiencies were compared while the oil soluble QDs, water soluble QDs (modified with thioglycolate) and QD-HRP conjugates were used as acceptor. The fluorescence of QD can be observed in the three cases, indicating that the CRET occurs while QD acceptor in different status was used. The highest CRET efficiency (10.7%) was obtained in the case of oil soluble QDs, and the lowest CRET efficiency (2.7%) was observed in the QD-HRP conjugates case. This result is coincident with the quantum yields of the acceptors (18.3% and 0.4%). The same result was observed in another similar set of experiment, in which the amphiphilic polymer modified QDs (emission at 675 nm) were used. It suggests that the quantum yield of the QD in different status is the crucial factor to the CRET efficiency. Furthermore, the multiplexed CRET between luminol donor and three different sizes QD acceptors was observed simultaneously. This work will offer useful support for improving the CRET studies based on quantum dots.

Conservation of quantum efficiency in quantum well intermixing by stress engineering with dielectric bilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arslan, Seval; Demir, Abdullah; Şahin, Seval; Aydınlı, Atilla

2018-02-01

In semiconductor lasers, quantum well intermixing (QWI) with high selectivity using dielectrics often results in lower quantum efficiency. In this paper, we report on an investigation regarding the effect of thermally induced dielectric stress on the quantum efficiency of quantum well structures in impurity-free vacancy disordering (IFVD) process using photoluminescence and device characterization in conjunction with microscopy. SiO2 and Si x O2/SrF2 (versus SrF2) films were employed for the enhancement and suppression of QWI, respectively. Large intermixing selectivity of 75 nm (125 meV), consistent with the theoretical modeling results, with negligible effect on the suppression region characteristics, was obtained. Si x O2 layer compensates for the large thermal expansion coefficient mismatch of SrF2 with the semiconductor and mitigates the detrimental effects of SrF2 without sacrificing its QWI benefits. The bilayer dielectric approach dramatically improved the dielectric-semiconductor interface quality. Fabricated high power semiconductor lasers demonstrated high quantum efficiency in the lasing region using the bilayer dielectric film during the intermixing process. Our results reveal that stress engineering in IFVD is essential and the thermal stress can be controlled by engineering the dielectric strain opening new perspectives for QWI of photonic devices.

Analysis of future generation solar cells and materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamaguchi, Masafumi; Zhu, Lin; Akiyama, Hidefumi; Kanemitsu, Yoshihiko; Tampo, Hitoshi; Shibata, Hajime; Lee, Kan-Hua; Araki, Kenji; Kojima, Nobuaki

2018-04-01

The efficiency potentials of future generation solar cells such as wide bandgap chalcopyrite, Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS), Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 (CZTSSe), multi quantum well (MQW) and quantum dot (QD) solar cells are discussed on the basis of external radiative efficiency (ERE), open-circuit voltage loss, fill factor loss, and nonradiative recombination losses. CZTS and CZTSSe solar cells have efficiency potentials of more than 20% owing to the improvement in ERE from about 0.001 to 1%. MQW and QD cells have efficiency potentials of 24.8%, and 25.8% owing to the improvement in ERE from around 0.01 to 0.1%, and 1%, respectively. In this paper, the effects of nonradiative recombination on the properties of future generation solar cells are discussed.

Quantum dot solar cells. Tuning photoresponse through size and shape control of CdSe-TiO2 architecture.

PubMed

Kongkanand, Anusorn; Tvrdy, Kevin; Takechi, Kensuke; Kuno, Masaru; Kamat, Prashant V

2008-03-26

Different-sized CdSe quantum dots have been assembled on TiO2 films composed of particle and nanotube morphologies using a bifunctional linker molecule. Upon band-gap excitation, CdSe quantum dots inject electrons into TiO2 nanoparticles and nanotubes, thus enabling the generation of photocurrent in a photoelectrochemical solar cell. The results presented in this study highlight two major findings: (i) ability to tune the photoelectrochemical response and photoconversion efficiency via size control of CdSe quantum dots and (ii) improvement in the photoconversion efficiency by facilitating the charge transport through TiO2 nanotube architecture. The maximum IPCE (photon-to-charge carrier generation efficiency) obtained with 3 nm diameter CdSe nanoparticles was 35% for particulate TiO2 and 45% for tubular TiO2 morphology. The maximum IPCE observed at the excitonic band increases with decreasing particle size, whereas the shift in the conduction band to more negative potentials increases the driving force and favors fast electron injection. The maximum power-conversion efficiency

High-performance visible/UV CCD focal plane technology for spacebased applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burke, B. E.; Mountain, R. W.; Gregory, J. A.; Huang, J. C. M.; Cooper, M. J.; Savoye, E. D.; Kosicki, B. B.

1993-01-01

We describe recent technology developments aimed at large CCD imagers for space based applications in the visible and UV. Some of the principal areas of effort include work on reducing device degradation in the natural space-radiation environment, improvements in quantum efficiency in the visible and UV, and larger-device formats. One of the most serious hazards for space based CCD's operating at low signal levels is the displacement damage resulting from bombardment by energetic protons. Such damage degrades charge-transfer efficiency and increases dark current. We have achieved improved hardness to proton-induced displacement damage by selective ion implants into the CCD channel and by reduced temperature of operation. To attain high quantum efficiency across the visible and UV we have developed a technology for back-illuminated CCD's. With suitable antireflection (AR) coatings such devices have quantum efficiencies near 90 percent in the 500-700-nm band. In the UV band from 200 to 400 nm, where it is difficult to find coatings that are sufficiently transparent and can provide good matching to the high refractive index of silicon, we have been able to substantially increase the quantum efficiency using a thin film of HfO2 as an AR coating. These technology efforts were applied to a 420 x 420-pixel frame-transfer imager, and future work will be extended to a 1024 x 1024-pixel device now under development.

Polymer as an Additive in the Emitting Layer for High-Performance Quantum Dot Light-Emitting Diodes.

PubMed

Liang, Feng; Liu, Yuan; Hu, Yun; Shi, Ying-Li; Liu, Yu-Qiang; Wang, Zhao-Kui; Wang, Xue-Dong; Sun, Bao-Quan; Liao, Liang-Sheng

2017-06-14

A facile but effective method is proposed to improve the performance of quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) by incorporating a polymer, poly(9-vinlycarbazole) (PVK), as an additive into the CdSe/CdS/ZnS quantum dot (QD) emitting layer (EML). It is found that the charge balance of the device with the PVK-added EML was greatly improved. In addition, the film morphology of the hole-transporting layer (HTL) which is adjacent to the EML, is substantially improved. The surface roughness of the HTL is reduced from 5.87 to 1.38 nm, which promises a good contact between the HTL and the EML, resulting in low leakage current. With the improved charge balance and morphology, a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 16.8% corresponding to the current efficiency of 19.0 cd/A is achievable in the red QLEDs. The EQE is 1.6 times as high as that (10.5%) of the reference QLED, comprising a pure QD EML. This work demonstrates that incorporating some polymer molecules into the QD EML as additives could be a facile route toward high-performance QLEDs.

Improved current extraction from ZnO/PbS quantum dot heterojunction photovoltaics using a MoO3 interfacial layer.

PubMed

Brown, Patrick R; Lunt, Richard R; Zhao, Ni; Osedach, Timothy P; Wanger, Darcy D; Chang, Liang-Yi; Bawendi, Moungi G; Bulović, Vladimir

2011-07-13

The ability to engineer interfacial energy offsets in photovoltaic devices is one of the keys to their optimization. Here, we demonstrate that improvements in power conversion efficiency may be attained for ZnO/PbS heterojunction quantum dot photovoltaics through the incorporation of a MoO(3) interlayer between the PbS colloidal quantum dot film and the top-contact anode. Through a combination of current-voltage characterization, circuit modeling, Mott-Schottky analysis, and external quantum efficiency measurements performed with bottom- and top-illumination, these enhancements are shown to stem from the elimination of a reverse-bias Schottky diode present at the PbS/anode interface. The incorporation of the high-work-function MoO(3) layer pins the Fermi level of the top contact, effectively decoupling the device performance from the work function of the anode and resulting in a high open-circuit voltage (0.59 ± 0.01 V) for a range of different anode materials. Corresponding increases in short-circuit current and fill factor enable 1.5-fold, 2.3-fold, and 4.5-fold enhancements in photovoltaic device efficiency for gold, silver, and ITO anodes, respectively, and result in a power conversion efficiency of 3.5 ± 0.4% for a device employing a gold anode.

Enhanced autocompensating quantum cryptography system.

PubMed

Bethune, Donald S; Navarro, Martha; Risk, William P

2002-03-20

We have improved the hardware and software of our autocompensating system for quantum key distribution by replacing bulk optical components at the end stations with fiber-optic equivalents and implementing software that synchronizes end-station activities, communicates basis choices, corrects errors, and performs privacy amplification over a local area network. The all-fiber-optic arrangement provides stable, efficient, and high-contrast routing of the photons. The low-bit error rate leads to high error-correction efficiency and minimizes data sacrifice during privacy amplification. Characterization measurements made on a number of commercial avalanche photodiodes are presented that highlight the need for improved devices tailored specifically for quantum information applications. A scheme for frequency shifting the photons returning from Alice's station to allow them to be distinguished from backscattered noise photons is also described.

Efficiency and droop improvement in a blue InGaN-based light emitting diode with a p-InGaN layer inserted in the GaN barriers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xing-Fu; Tong, Jin-Hui; Zhao, Bi-Jun; Chen, Xin; Ren, Zhi-Wei; Li, Dan-Wei; Zhuo, Xiang-Jing; Zhang, Jun; Yi, Han-Xiang; Li, Shu-Ti

2013-09-01

The advantages of a blue InGaN-based light-emitting diode with a p-InGaN layer inserted in the GaN barriers is studied. The carrier concentration in the quantum well, radiative recombination rate in the active region, output power, and internal quantum efficiency are investigated. The simulation results show that the InGaN-based light-emitting diode with a p-InGaN layer inserted in the barriers has better performance over its conventional counterpart and the light emitting diode with p-GaN inserted in the barriers. The improvement is due to enhanced Mg acceptor activation and enhanced hole injection into the quantum wells.

Quantum-splitting oxide-based phosphors, method of producing, and rules for designing the same

DOEpatents

Setlur, Anant Achyut; Comanzo, Holly Ann; Srivastava, Alok Mani

2003-09-16

Strontium and strontium calcium aluminates and lanthanum and lanthanum magnesium borates activated with Pr.sup.3+ and Mn.sup.2+ exhibit characteristics of quantum-splitting phosphors. Improved quantum efficiency may be obtained by further doping with Gd.sup.3+. Refined rules for designing quantum-splitting phosphors include the requirement of incorporation of Gd.sup.3+ and Mn.sup.2+ in the host lattice for facilitation of energy migration.

Graphene/CdTe heterostructure solar cell and its enhancement with photo-induced doping

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lin, Shisheng, E-mail: shishenglin@zju.edu.cn; Chen, Hongsheng; State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027

2015-11-09

We report a type of solar cell based on graphene/CdTe Schottky heterostructure, which can be improved by surface engineering as graphene is atomic thin. By coating a layer of ultrathin CdSe quantum dots onto graphene/CdTe heterostructure, the power conversion efficiency is increased from 2.08% to 3.10%. Photo-induced doping is mainly accounted for this enhancement, as evidenced by field effect transport, Raman, photoluminescence, and quantum efficiency measurements. This work demonstrates a feasible way of improving the performance of graphene/semiconductor heterostructure solar cells by combining one dimensional with two dimensional materials.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Behaghel, B.; Institute of Research and Development on Photovoltaic Energy; NextPV, RCAST and CNRS, The University of Tokyo, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8904

We study light management in a 430 nm-thick GaAs p-i-n single junction solar cell with 10 pairs of InGaAs/GaAsP multiple quantum wells (MQWs). The epitaxial layer transfer on a gold mirror improves light absorption and increases the external quantum efficiency below GaAs bandgap by a factor of four through the excitation of Fabry-Perot resonances. We show a good agreement with optical simulation and achieve around 10% conversion efficiency. We demonstrate numerically that this promising result can be further improved by anti-reflection layers. This study paves the way to very thin MQWs solar cells.

Nanocrystal Size-Dependent Efficiency of Quantum Dot Sensitized Solar Cells in the Strongly Coupled CdSe Nanocrystals/TiO2 System.

PubMed

Yun, Hyeong Jin; Paik, Taejong; Diroll, Benjamin; Edley, Michael E; Baxter, Jason B; Murray, Christopher B

2016-06-15

Light absorption and electron injection are important criteria determining solar energy conversion efficiency. In this research, monodisperse CdSe quantum dots (QDs) are synthesized with five different diameters, and the size-dependent solar energy conversion efficiency of CdSe quantum dot sensitized solar cell (QDSSCs) is investigated by employing the atomic inorganic ligand, S(2-). Absorbance measurements and transmission electron microscopy show that the diameters of the uniform CdSe QDs are 2.5, 3.2, 4.2, 6.4, and 7.8 nm. Larger CdSe QDs generate a larger amount of charge under the irradiation of long wavelength photons, as verified by the absorbance results and the measurements of the external quantum efficiencies. However, the smaller QDs exhibit faster electron injection kinetics from CdSe QDs to TiO2 because of the high energy level of CBCdSe, as verified by time-resolved photoluminescence and internal quantum efficiency results. Importantly, the S(2-) ligand significantly enhances the electronic coupling between the CdSe QDs and TiO2, yielding an enhancement of the charge transfer rate at the interfacial region. As a result, the S(2-) ligand helps improve the new size-dependent solar energy conversion efficiency, showing best performance with 4.2-nm CdSe QDs, whereas conventional ligand, mercaptopropionic acid, does not show any differences in efficiency according to the size of the CdSe QDs. The findings reported herein suggest that the atomic inorganic ligand reinforces the influence of quantum confinement on the solar energy conversion efficiency of QDSSCs.

Improved efficiency of InGaN/GaN-based multiple quantum well solar cells by reducing contact resistance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Jun-Hyuk; Oh, Joon-Ho; Shim, Jae-Phil; Min, Jung-Hong; Lee, Dong-Seon; Seong, Tae-Yeon

2012-08-01

We report on the improvement in the performance of InGaN/GaN multi-quantum well-based solar cells by the introduction of a Cu-doped indium oxide (CIO) layer at the interface between indium tin oxide (ITO) p-electrode and p-GaN. The solar cell fabricated with the 3 nm-sample exhibits an external quantum efficiency of 29.8% (at a peak wavelength of 376 nm) higher than those (25.2%) of the cell with the ITO-only sample. The use of the 3-nm-thick CIO layer gives higher short circuit current density (0.72 mA/cm2) and fill factor (78.85%) as compared to those (0.65 mA/cm2 and 74.08%) of the ITO only sample. Measurements show that the conversion efficiency of the solar cells with the ITO-only sample and the 3 nm-sample is 1.12% and 1.30%, respectively. Based on their electrical and optical properties, the dependence of the CIO interlayer thickness on the efficiency of solar cells is discussed.

An integrated approach to realizing high-performance liquid-junction quantum dot sensitized solar cells

PubMed Central

McDaniel, Hunter; Fuke, Nobuhiro; Makarov, Nikolay S.; Pietryga, Jeffrey M.; Klimov, Victor I.

2013-01-01

Solution-processed semiconductor quantum dot solar cells offer a path towards both reduced fabrication cost and higher efficiency enabled by novel processes such as hot-electron extraction and carrier multiplication. Here we use a new class of low-cost, low-toxicity CuInSexS2−x quantum dots to demonstrate sensitized solar cells with certified efficiencies exceeding 5%. Among other material and device design improvements studied, use of a methanol-based polysulfide electrolyte results in a particularly dramatic enhancement in photocurrent and reduced series resistance. Despite the high vapour pressure of methanol, the solar cells are stable for months under ambient conditions, which is much longer than any previously reported quantum dot sensitized solar cell. This study demonstrates the large potential of CuInSexS2−x quantum dots as active materials for the realization of low-cost, robust and efficient photovoltaics as well as a platform for investigating various advanced concepts derived from the unique physics of the nanoscale size regime. PMID:24322379

Quantum optics with nanowires (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zwiller, Val

2017-02-01

Nanowires offer new opportunities for nanoscale quantum optics; the quantum dot geometry in semiconducting nanowires as well as the material composition and environment can be engineered with unprecedented freedom to improve the light extraction efficiency. Quantum dots in nanowires are shown to be efficient single photon sources, in addition because of the very small fine structure splitting, we demonstrate the generation of entangled pairs of photons from a nanowire. By doping a nanowire and making ohmic contacts on both sides, a nanowire light emitting diode can be obtained with a single quantum dot as the active region. Under forward bias, this will act as an electrically pumped source of single photons. Under reverse bias, an avalanche effect can multiply photocurrent and enables the detection of single photons. Another type of nanowire under study in our group is superconducting nanowires for single photon detection, reaching efficiencies, time resolution and dark counts beyond currently available detectors. We will discuss our first attempts at combining semiconducting nanowire based single photon emitters and superconducting nanowire single photon detectors on a chip to realize integrated quantum circuits.

The influence of random indium alloy fluctuations in indium gallium nitride quantum wells on the device behavior

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, Tsung-Jui; Wu, Yuh-Renn, E-mail: yrwu@ntu.edu.tw; Shivaraman, Ravi

2014-09-21

In this paper, we describe the influence of the intrinsic indium fluctuation in the InGaN quantum wells on the carrier transport, efficiency droop, and emission spectrum in GaN-based light emitting diodes (LEDs). Both real and randomly generated indium fluctuations were used in 3D simulations and compared to quantum wells with a uniform indium distribution. We found that without further hypothesis the simulations of electrical and optical properties in LEDs such as carrier transport, radiative and Auger recombination, and efficiency droop are greatly improved by considering natural nanoscale indium fluctuations.

Enhancing the quantum efficiency of InGaN yellow-green light-emitting diodes by growth interruption

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Du, Chunhua; Ma, Ziguang; Zhou, Junming

2014-08-18

We studied the effect of multiple interruptions during the quantum well growth on emission-efficiency enhancement of InGaN-based yellow-green light emitting diodes on c-plane sapphire substrate. The output power and dominant wavelength at 20 mA are 0.24 mW and 556.3 nm. High resolution x-ray diffraction, photoluminescence, and electroluminescence measurements demonstrate that efficiency enhancement could be partially attributed to crystal quality improvement of the active region resulted from reduced In clusters and relevant defects on the surface of InGaN layer by introducing interruptions. The less tilted energy band in the quantum well is also caused by the decrease of In-content gradient along c-axis resultedmore » from In segregation during the interruptions, which increases spatial overlap of electron-hole wavefunction and thus the internal quantum efficiency. The latter also leads to smaller blueshift of dominant wavelength with current increasing.« less

Improvement in luminance of light-emitting diode using InP/ZnS quantum dot with 1-dodecanethiol ligand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fukuda, Takeshi; Sasaki, Hironao

2018-03-01

We present the synthesis protocol of a red emissive InP/ZnS quantum dot with a 1-dodecanthiol ligand and its application to a quantum dot light-emitting diode. The ligand change from oleylamine to 1-dodecanthiol, which were connected around the InP/ZnS quantum dot, was confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and thermal analysis. The absorption peak was blue-shifted by changing 1-dodecanthiol ligands from oleylamine ligands to prevent the unexpected nucleation of the InP core. In addition, the luminance of the light-emitting device was improved by using the InP/ZnS quantum dot with 1-dodecanthiol ligands, and the maximum current efficiency of 7.2 × 10-3 cd/A was achieved. The 1-dodecanthiol ligand is often used for capping to reduce the number of surface defects and/or prevent unexpected core growth, resulting in reduced Auger recombination. This result indicates that 1-dodecanthiol ligands prevent the deactivation of excitons while injecting carriers by applying a voltage, resulting in a high luminance efficiency.

Thorough subcells diagnosis in a multi-junction solar cell via absolute electroluminescence-efficiency measurements

PubMed Central

Chen, Shaoqiang; Zhu, Lin; Yoshita, Masahiro; Mochizuki, Toshimitsu; Kim, Changsu; Akiyama, Hidefumi; Imaizumi, Mitsuru; Kanemitsu, Yoshihiko

2015-01-01

World-wide studies on multi-junction (tandem) solar cells have led to record-breaking improvements in conversion efficiencies year after year. To obtain detailed and proper feedback for solar-cell design and fabrication, it is necessary to establish standard methods for diagnosing subcells in fabricated tandem devices. Here, we propose a potential standard method to quantify the detailed subcell properties of multi-junction solar cells based on absolute measurements of electroluminescence (EL) external quantum efficiency in addition to the conventional solar-cell external-quantum-efficiency measurements. We demonstrate that the absolute-EL-quantum-efficiency measurements provide I–V relations of individual subcells without the need for referencing measured I–V data, which is in stark contrast to previous works. Moreover, our measurements quantify the absolute rates of junction loss, non-radiative loss, radiative loss, and luminescence coupling in the subcells, which constitute the “balance sheets” of tandem solar cells. PMID:25592484

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhou, Kun; Ikeda, Masao, E-mail: mikeda2013@sinano.ac.cn, E-mail: jpliu2010@sinano.ac.cn; Liu, Jianping, E-mail: mikeda2013@sinano.ac.cn, E-mail: jpliu2010@sinano.ac.cn

The efficiency droop of InGaN/GaN(InGaN) multiple quantum well (MQW) light emitting diodes (LEDs) with thin quantum barriers (QB) is studied. With thin GaN QB (3 nm–6 nm thickness), the efficiency droop is not improved, which indicates that hole transport cannot be significantly enhanced by the thin GaN QBs. On the contrary, the efficiency droop was remarkably reduced by using a InGaN staircase QB (InGaN SC-QB) MQWs structure where InGaN SC-QBs lower the transport energy barrier of holes. The efficiency droop ratio was as low as 3.3% up to 200 A/cm{sup 2} for the InGaN SC-QB LED. By using monitoring QW with longer wavelengthmore » we observe a much uniform carrier distribution in the InGaN SC-QB LEDs, which reveals the mechanism of improvement in the efficiency droop.« less

Enhanced power conversion efficiency in InGaN-based solar cells via graded composition multiple quantum wells.

PubMed

Tsai, Yu-Lin; Wang, Sheng-Wen; Huang, Jhih-Kai; Hsu, Lung-Hsing; Chiu, Ching-Hsueh; Lee, Po-Tsung; Yu, Peichen; Lin, Chien-Chung; Kuo, Hao-Chung

2015-11-30

This work demonstrates the enhanced power conversion efficiency (PCE) in InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well (MQWs) solar cells with gradually decreasing indium composition in quantum wells (GQWs) toward p-GaN as absorber. The GQW can improve the fill factor from 42% to 62% and enhance the short current density from 0.8 mA/cm² to 0.92 mA/cm², as compares to the typical MQW solar cells. As a result, the PCE is boosted from 0.63% to 1.11% under AM1.5G illumination. Based on simulation and experimental results, the enhanced PCE can be attributed to the improved carrier collection in GQW caused by the reduction of potential barriers and piezoelectric polarization induced fields near the p-GaN layer. The presented concept paves a way toward highly efficient InGaN-based solar cells and other GaN-related MQW devices.

Sub-Shot-Noise Transmission Measurement Enabled by Active Feed-Forward of Heralded Single Photons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sabines-Chesterking, J.; Whittaker, R.; Joshi, S. K.; Birchall, P. M.; Moreau, P. A.; McMillan, A.; Cable, H. V.; O'Brien, J. L.; Rarity, J. G.; Matthews, J. C. F.

2017-07-01

Harnessing the unique properties of quantum mechanics offers the possibility of delivering alternative technologies that can fundamentally outperform their classical counterparts. These technologies deliver advantages only when components operate with performance beyond specific thresholds. For optical quantum metrology, the biggest challenge that impacts on performance thresholds is optical loss. Here, we demonstrate how including an optical delay and an optical switch in a feed-forward configuration with a stable and efficient correlated photon-pair source reduces the detector efficiency required to enable quantum-enhanced sensing down to the detection level of single photons and without postselection. When the switch is active, we observe a factor of improvement in precision of 1.27 for transmission measurement on a per-input-photon basis compared to the performance of a laser emitting an ideal coherent state and measured with the same detection efficiency as our setup. When the switch is inoperative, we observe no quantum advantage.

Hybrid polymer/ZnO solar cells sensitized by PbS quantum dots

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy-p-phenylenevinylene)]/ZnO nanorod hybrid solar cells consisting of PbS quantum dots [QDs] prepared by a chemical bath deposition method were fabricated. An optimum coating of the QDs on the ZnO nanorods could strongly improve the performance of the solar cells. A maximum power conversion efficiency of 0.42% was achieved for the PbS QDs' sensitive solar cell coated by 4 cycles, which was increased almost five times compared with the solar cell without using PbS QDs. The improved efficiency is attributed to the cascade structure formed by the PbS QD coating, which results in enhanced open-circuit voltage and exciton dissociation efficiency. PMID:22313746

High Efficiency Thermoelectric Materials and Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kochergin, Vladimir (Inventor)

2013-01-01

Growth of thermoelectric materials in the form of quantum well super-lattices on three-dimensionally structured substrates provide the means to achieve high conversion efficiency of the thermoelectric module combined with inexpensiveness of fabrication and compatibility with large scale production. Thermoelectric devices utilizing thermoelectric materials in the form of quantum well semiconductor super-lattices grown on three-dimensionally structured substrates provide improved thermoelectric characteristics that can be used for power generation, cooling and other applications..

Modeling photovoltaic performance in periodic patterned colloidal quantum dot solar cells.

PubMed

Fu, Yulan; Dinku, Abay G; Hara, Yukihiro; Miller, Christopher W; Vrouwenvelder, Kristina T; Lopez, Rene

2015-07-27

Colloidal quantum dot (CQD) solar cells have attracted tremendous attention mostly due to their wide absorption spectrum window and potentially low processability cost. The ultimate efficiency of CQD solar cells is highly limited by their high trap state density. Here we show that the overall device power conversion efficiency could be improved by employing photonic structures that enhance both charge generation and collection efficiencies. By employing a two-dimensional numerical model, we have calculated the characteristics of patterned CQD solar cells based of a simple grating structure. Our calculation predicts a power conversion efficiency as high as 11.2%, with a short circuit current density of 35.2 mA/cm2, a value nearly 1.5 times larger than the conventional flat design, showing the great potential value of patterned quantum dot solar cells.

Hybrid Inorganic/Organic Photovoltaics: Translating Fundamental Nanostructure Research to Enhanced Solar Conversion Efficiency

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-12-31

component hybrid nanocrystals constituting pentacene or single wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) as well as through control of interfacial chemistry and linkage...nanotubes-quantum dot conjugates or pentacene -quantum dot composits into organic matrices significantly improved photoconductivity of polymer/nanocrystal

Photovoltaic efficiency of intermediate band solar cells based on CdTe/CdMnTe coupled quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prado, Silvio J.; Marques, Gilmar E.; Alcalde, Augusto M.

2017-11-01

In this work we show the calculation of optimized efficiencies of intermediate band solar cells (IBSCs) based on Mn-doped II-VI CdTe/CdMnTe coupled quantum dot (QD) structures. We focus our attention on the combined effects of geometrical and Mn-doping parameters on optical properties and solar cell efficiency. In the framework of {k \\cdot p} theory, we accomplish detailed calculations of electronic structure, transition energies, optical selection rules and their corresponding intra- and interband oscillator strengths. With these results and by following the intermediate band model, we have developed a strategy which allows us to find optimal photovoltaic efficiency values. We also show that the effects of band admixture which can lead to degradation of optical transitions and reduction of efficiency can be partly minimized by a careful selection of the structural parameters and Mn-concentration. Thus, the improvement of band engineering is mandatory for any practical implementation of QD systems as IBSC hardware. Finally, our calculations show that it is possible to reach significant efficiency, up to  ∼26%, by selecting a restricted space of parameters such as quantum dot size and shape and Mn-concentration effects, to improve the modulation of optical absorption in the structures.

Photovoltaic efficiency of intermediate band solar cells based on CdTe/CdMnTe coupled quantum dots.

PubMed

Prado, Silvio J; Marques, Gilmar E; Alcalde, Augusto M

2017-11-08

In this work we show the calculation of optimized efficiencies of intermediate band solar cells (IBSCs) based on Mn-doped II-VI CdTe/CdMnTe coupled quantum dot (QD) structures. We focus our attention on the combined effects of geometrical and Mn-doping parameters on optical properties and solar cell efficiency. In the framework of [Formula: see text] theory, we accomplish detailed calculations of electronic structure, transition energies, optical selection rules and their corresponding intra- and interband oscillator strengths. With these results and by following the intermediate band model, we have developed a strategy which allows us to find optimal photovoltaic efficiency values. We also show that the effects of band admixture which can lead to degradation of optical transitions and reduction of efficiency can be partly minimized by a careful selection of the structural parameters and Mn-concentration. Thus, the improvement of band engineering is mandatory for any practical implementation of QD systems as IBSC hardware. Finally, our calculations show that it is possible to reach significant efficiency, up to  ∼26%, by selecting a restricted space of parameters such as quantum dot size and shape and Mn-concentration effects, to improve the modulation of optical absorption in the structures.

Quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells fabricated by the combined process of the direct attachment of colloidal CdSe quantum dots having a ZnS glue layer and spray pyrolysis deposition.

PubMed

Im, Sang Hyuk; Lee, Yong Hui; Seok, Sang Il; Kim, Sung Woo; Kim, Sang-Wook

2010-12-07

We were able to attach CdSe quantum dots (QDs) having a ZnS inorganic glue layer directly to a mesoporous TiO(2) (mp-TiO(2)) surface by spray coating and thermal annealing. Quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells based on CdSe QDs having ZnS as the inorganic glue layer could easily transport generated charge carriers because of the intimate bonding between CdSe and mp-TiO(2). The application of spray pyrolysis deposition (SPD) to obtain additional CdSe layers improved the performance characteristics to V(oc) = 0.45 V, J(sc) = 10.7 mA/cm(2), fill factor = 35.8%, and power conversion efficiency = 1.7%. Furthermore, ZnS post-treatment improved the device performance to V(oc) = 0.57 V, J(sc) = 11.2 mA/cm(2), fill factor = 35.4%, and power conversion efficiency = 2.2%.

Efficient Multi-Dimensional Simulation of Quantum Confinement Effects in Advanced MOS Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Biegel, Bryan A.; Rafferty, Conor S.; Ancona, Mario G.; Yu, Zhi-Ping

2000-01-01

We investigate the density-gradient (DG) transport model for efficient multi-dimensional simulation of quantum confinement effects in advanced MOS devices. The formulation of the DG model is described as a quantum correction to the classical drift-diffusion model. Quantum confinement effects are shown to be significant in sub-100nm MOSFETs. In thin-oxide MOS capacitors, quantum effects may reduce gate capacitance by 25% or more. As a result, the inclusion or quantum effects in simulations dramatically improves the match between C-V simulations and measurements for oxide thickness down to 2 nm. Significant quantum corrections also occur in the I-V characteristics of short-channel (30 to 100 nm) n-MOSFETs, with current drive reduced by up to 70%. This effect is shown to result from reduced inversion charge due to quantum confinement of electrons in the channel. Also, subthreshold slope is degraded by 15 to 20 mV/decade with the inclusion of quantum effects via the density-gradient model, and short channel effects (in particular, drain-induced barrier lowering) are noticeably increased.

Effect of broad recombination zone in multiple quantum well structures on lifetime and efficiency of blue organic light-emitting diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Seok Jae; Lee, Song Eun; Lee, Dong Hyung; Koo, Ja Ryong; Lee, Ho Won; Yoon, Seung Soo; Park, Jaehoon; Kim, Young Kwan

2014-10-01

Blue phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes with multiple quantum well (MQW) structures (from one to four quantum wells) within an emitting layer (EML) are fabricated with charge control layers (CCLs) to control carrier movement. The distributed recombination zone and balanced charge carrier injection within EML are achieved through the MQW structure with CCLs. Remarkably, the half-decay lifetime of a blue device with three quantum wells, measured at an initial luminance of 500 cd/m2, is 3.5 times longer than that using a conventional structure. Additionally, the device’s efficiency improved. These results are explained with the effects of triplet exciton confinement and triplet-triplet annihilation within each EML.

Quantum secret sharing with identity authentication based on Bell states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abulkasim, Hussein; Hamad, Safwat; Khalifa, Amal; El Bahnasy, Khalid

Quantum secret sharing techniques allow two parties or more to securely share a key, while the same number of parties or less can efficiently deduce the secret key. In this paper, we propose an authenticated quantum secret sharing protocol, where a quantum dialogue protocol is adopted to authenticate the identity of the parties. The participants simultaneously authenticate the identity of each other based on parts of a prior shared key. Moreover, the whole prior shared key can be reused for deducing the secret data. Although the proposed scheme does not significantly improve the efficiency performance, it is more secure compared to some existing quantum secret sharing scheme due to the identity authentication process. In addition, the proposed scheme can stand against participant attack, man-in-the-middle attack, impersonation attack, Trojan-horse attack as well as information leaks.

A noise immunity controlled quantum teleportation protocol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Dong-fen; Wang, Rui-jin; Zhang, Feng-li; Baagyere, Edward; Qin, Zhen; Xiong, Hu; Zhan, Huayi

2016-11-01

With the advent of the Internet and information and communication technology, quantum teleportation has become an important field in information security and its application areas. This is because quantum teleportation has the ability to attain a timely secret information delivery and offers unconditional security. And as such, the field of quantum teleportation has become a hot research topic in recent years. However, noise has serious effect on the safety of quantum teleportation within the aspects of information fidelity, channel capacity and information transfer. Therefore, the main purpose of this paper is to address these problems of quantum teleportation. Firstly, in order to resist collective noise, we construct a decoherence-free subspace under different noise scenarios to establish a two-dimensional fidelity quantum teleportation models. And also create quantum teleportation of multiple degree of freedom, and these models ensure the accuracy and availability of the exchange of information and in multiple degree of freedom. Secondly, for easy preparation, measurement and implementation, we use super dense coding features to build an entangled quantum secret exchange channel. To improve the channel utilization and capacity, an efficient super dense coding method based on ultra-entanglement exchange is used. Thirdly, continuous variables of the controlled quantum key distribution were designed for quantum teleportation; in addition, we perform Bell-basis measurement under the collective noise and also prepare the storage technology of quantum states to achieve one-bit key by three-photon encoding to improve its security and efficiency. We use these two methods because they conceal information, resist a third party attack and can detect eavesdropping. Our proposed methods, according to the security analysis, are able to solve the problems associated with the quantum teleportation under various noise environments.

Multiphoton luminescent graphene quantum dots for in vivo tracking of human adipose-derived stem cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jin; Song, Sung Ho; Jin, Yoonhee; Park, Hyun-Ji; Yoon, Hyewon; Jeon, Seokwoo; Cho, Seung-Woo

2016-04-01

The applicability of graphene quantum dots (GQDs) for the in vitro and in vivo live imaging and tracking of different types of human stem cells is investigated. GQDs synthesized by the modified graphite intercalated compound method show efficient cellular uptake with improved biocompatibility and highly sensitive optical properties, indicating their feasibility as a bio-imaging probe for stem cell therapy.The applicability of graphene quantum dots (GQDs) for the in vitro and in vivo live imaging and tracking of different types of human stem cells is investigated. GQDs synthesized by the modified graphite intercalated compound method show efficient cellular uptake with improved biocompatibility and highly sensitive optical properties, indicating their feasibility as a bio-imaging probe for stem cell therapy. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Additional results. See DOI: 10.1039/c6nr02143c

Robust nonfullerene solar cells approaching unity external quantum efficiency enabled by suppression of geminate recombination.

PubMed

Baran, Derya; Gasparini, Nicola; Wadsworth, Andrew; Tan, Ching Hong; Wehbe, Nimer; Song, Xin; Hamid, Zeinab; Zhang, Weimin; Neophytou, Marios; Kirchartz, Thomas; Brabec, Christoph J; Durrant, James R; McCulloch, Iain

2018-05-25

Nonfullerene solar cells have increased their efficiencies up to 13%, yet quantum efficiencies are still limited to 80%. Here we report efficient nonfullerene solar cells with quantum efficiencies approaching unity. This is achieved with overlapping absorption bands of donor and acceptor that increases the photon absorption strength in the range from about 570 to 700 nm, thus, almost all incident photons are absorbed in the active layer. The charges generated are found to dissociate with negligible geminate recombination losses resulting in a short-circuit current density of 20 mA cm -2 along with open-circuit voltages >1 V, which is remarkable for a 1.6 eV bandgap system. Most importantly, the unique nano-morphology of the donor:acceptor blend results in a substantially improved stability under illumination. Understanding the efficient charge separation in nonfullerene acceptors can pave the way to robust and recombination-free organic solar cells.

Discrimination of correlated and entangling quantum channels with selective process tomography

DOE PAGES

Dumitrescu, Eugene; Humble, Travis S.

2016-10-10

The accurate and reliable characterization of quantum dynamical processes underlies efforts to validate quantum technologies, where discrimination between competing models of observed behaviors inform efforts to fabricate and operate qubit devices. We present a protocol for quantum channel discrimination that leverages advances in direct characterization of quantum dynamics (DCQD) codes. We demonstrate that DCQD codes enable selective process tomography to improve discrimination between entangling and correlated quantum dynamics. Numerical simulations show selective process tomography requires only a few measurement configurations to achieve a low false alarm rate and that the DCQD encoding improves the resilience of the protocol to hiddenmore » sources of noise. Lastly, our results show that selective process tomography with DCQD codes is useful for efficiently distinguishing sources of correlated crosstalk from uncorrelated noise in current and future experimental platforms.« less

Fundamental and future prospects of printed ambipolar fluorene-type polymer light-emitting transistors for improved external quantum efficiency, mobility, and emission pattern

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kajii, Hirotake

2018-05-01

In this review, we focus on the improved external quantum efficiency, field-effect mobility, and emission pattern of top-gate-type polymer light-emitting transistors (PLETs) based on ambipolar fluorene-type polymers. A low-temperature, high-efficiency, printable red phosphorescent PLET based on poly(alkylfluorene) with modified alkyl side chains fabricated by a film transfer process is demonstrated. Device fabrication based on oriented films leads to an improved EL intensity owing to the increase in field-effect mobility. There are three factors that affect the transport of carriers, i.e., the energy level, threshold voltage, and mobility of each layer for heterostructure PLETs, which result in various emission patterns such as the line-shaped, multicolor and in-plane emission pattern in the full-channel area between source and drain electrodes. Fundamentals and future prospects in heterostructure devices are discussed and reviewed.

10.6% Certified Colloidal Quantum Dot Solar Cells via Solvent-Polarity-Engineered Halide Passivation.

PubMed

Lan, Xinzheng; Voznyy, Oleksandr; García de Arquer, F Pelayo; Liu, Mengxia; Xu, Jixian; Proppe, Andrew H; Walters, Grant; Fan, Fengjia; Tan, Hairen; Liu, Min; Yang, Zhenyu; Hoogland, Sjoerd; Sargent, Edward H

2016-07-13

Colloidal quantum dot (CQD) solar cells are solution-processed photovoltaics with broad spectral absorption tunability. Major advances in their efficiency have been made via improved CQD surface passivation and device architectures with enhanced charge carrier collection. Herein, we demonstrate a new strategy to improve further the passivation of CQDs starting from the solution phase. A cosolvent system is employed to tune the solvent polarity in order to achieve the solvation of methylammonium iodide (MAI) and the dispersion of hydrophobic PbS CQDs simultaneously in a homogeneous phase, otherwise not achieved in a single solvent. This process enables MAI to access the CQDs to confer improved passivation. This, in turn, allows for efficient charge extraction from a thicker photoactive layer device, leading to a certified solar cell power conversion efficiency of 10.6%, a new certified record in CQD photovoltaics.

An Adaptive Cultural Algorithm with Improved Quantum-behaved Particle Swarm Optimization for Sonar Image Detection.

PubMed

Wang, Xingmei; Hao, Wenqian; Li, Qiming

2017-12-18

This paper proposes an adaptive cultural algorithm with improved quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization (ACA-IQPSO) to detect the underwater sonar image. In the population space, to improve searching ability of particles, iterative times and the fitness value of particles are regarded as factors to adaptively adjust the contraction-expansion coefficient of the quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization algorithm (QPSO). The improved quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization algorithm (IQPSO) can make particles adjust their behaviours according to their quality. In the belief space, a new update strategy is adopted to update cultural individuals according to the idea of the update strategy in shuffled frog leaping algorithm (SFLA). Moreover, to enhance the utilization of information in the population space and belief space, accept function and influence function are redesigned in the new communication protocol. The experimental results show that ACA-IQPSO can obtain good clustering centres according to the grey distribution information of underwater sonar images, and accurately complete underwater objects detection. Compared with other algorithms, the proposed ACA-IQPSO has good effectiveness, excellent adaptability, a powerful searching ability and high convergence efficiency. Meanwhile, the experimental results of the benchmark functions can further demonstrate that the proposed ACA-IQPSO has better searching ability, convergence efficiency and stability.

Design of Efficient Mirror Adder in Quantum- Dot Cellular Automata

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishra, Prashant Kumar; Chattopadhyay, Manju K.

2018-03-01

Lower power consumption is an essential demand for portable multimedia system using digital signal processing algorithms and architectures. Quantum dot cellular automata (QCA) is a rising nano technology for the development of high performance ultra-dense low power digital circuits. QCA based several efficient binary and decimal arithmetic circuits are implemented, however important improvements are still possible. This paper demonstrate Mirror Adder circuit design in QCA. We present comparative study of mirror adder cells designed using conventional CMOS technique and mirror adder cells designed using quantum-dot cellular automata. QCA based mirror adders are better in terms of area by order of three.

Quantum partial search for uneven distribution of multiple target items

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Kun; Korepin, Vladimir

2018-06-01

Quantum partial search algorithm is an approximate search. It aims to find a target block (which has the target items). It runs a little faster than full Grover search. In this paper, we consider quantum partial search algorithm for multiple target items unevenly distributed in a database (target blocks have different number of target items). The algorithm we describe can locate one of the target blocks. Efficiency of the algorithm is measured by number of queries to the oracle. We optimize the algorithm in order to improve efficiency. By perturbation method, we find that the algorithm runs the fastest when target items are evenly distributed in database.

A Silicon–Singlet Fission Tandem Solar Cell Exceeding 100% External Quantum Efficiency with High Spectral Stability

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

After 60 years of research, silicon solar cell efficiency saturated close to the theoretical limit, and radically new approaches are needed to further improve the efficiency. The use of tandem systems raises this theoretical power conversion efficiency limit from 34% to 45%. We present the advantageous spectral stability of using voltage-matched tandem solar cells with respect to their traditional series-connected counterparts and experimentally demonstrate how singlet fission can be used to produce simple voltage-matched tandems. Our singlet fission silicon–pentacene tandem solar cell shows efficient photocurrent addition. This allows the tandem system to benefit from carrier multiplication and to produce an external quantum efficiency exceeding 100% at the main absorption peak of pentacene. PMID:28261671

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dumitrescu, Eugene; Humble, Travis S.

The accurate and reliable characterization of quantum dynamical processes underlies efforts to validate quantum technologies, where discrimination between competing models of observed behaviors inform efforts to fabricate and operate qubit devices. We present a protocol for quantum channel discrimination that leverages advances in direct characterization of quantum dynamics (DCQD) codes. We demonstrate that DCQD codes enable selective process tomography to improve discrimination between entangling and correlated quantum dynamics. Numerical simulations show selective process tomography requires only a few measurement configurations to achieve a low false alarm rate and that the DCQD encoding improves the resilience of the protocol to hiddenmore » sources of noise. Lastly, our results show that selective process tomography with DCQD codes is useful for efficiently distinguishing sources of correlated crosstalk from uncorrelated noise in current and future experimental platforms.« less

Efficient Multi-Dimensional Simulation of Quantum Confinement Effects in Advanced MOS Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Biegel, Bryan A.; Ancona, Mario G.; Rafferty, Conor S.; Yu, Zhiping

2000-01-01

We investigate the density-gradient (DG) transport model for efficient multi-dimensional simulation of quantum confinement effects in advanced MOS devices. The formulation of the DG model is described as a quantum correction ot the classical drift-diffusion model. Quantum confinement effects are shown to be significant in sub-100nm MOSFETs. In thin-oxide MOS capacitors, quantum effects may reduce gate capacitance by 25% or more. As a result, the inclusion of quantum effects may reduce gate capacitance by 25% or more. As a result, the inclusion of quantum effects in simulations dramatically improves the match between C-V simulations and measurements for oxide thickness down to 2 nm. Significant quantum corrections also occur in the I-V characteristics of short-channel (30 to 100 nm) n-MOSFETs, with current drive reduced by up to 70%. This effect is shown to result from reduced inversion charge due to quantum confinement of electrons in the channel. Also, subthreshold slope is degraded by 15 to 20 mV/decade with the inclusion of quantum effects via the density-gradient model, and short channel effects (in particular, drain-induced barrier lowering) are noticeably increased.

Bidirectional microwave-mechanical-optical transducer in a dilution refrigerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burns, Peter S.; Higginbotham, Andrew P.; Peterson, Robert W.; Urmey, Maxwell D.; Kampel, Nir S.; Menke, Timothy; Cicak, Katarina; Simmonds, Raymond. W.; Regal, Cindy A.; Lehnert, Konrad W.

Transferring quantum states between microwave and optical networks would be a powerful resource for quantum communication and computation. Our approach is to simultaneously couple one mode of a micromechanical oscillator to a resonant microwave circuit and a high-finesse optical cavity. Building on previous work demonstrating bidirectional and efficient classical conversion at 4 K, a new microwave-to-optical transducer is operated at 0.1 K and preparations are underway to operate it in the quantum regime. To improve transfer efficiency, we characterize and implement wireless microwave access to the converter chip. Transfer efficiency of the device is measured, and loss in the LC circuit due to laser light is characterized. We acknowledge support from AFOSR MURI Grant FA9550-15-1-0015 and PFC National Science Foundation Grant 1125844.

Perspective: The future of quantum dot photonic integrated circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Norman, Justin C.; Jung, Daehwan; Wan, Yating; Bowers, John E.

2018-03-01

Direct epitaxial integration of III-V materials on Si offers substantial manufacturing cost and scalability advantages over heterogeneous integration. The challenge is that epitaxial growth introduces high densities of crystalline defects that limit device performance and lifetime. Quantum dot lasers, amplifiers, modulators, and photodetectors epitaxially grown on Si are showing promise for achieving low-cost, scalable integration with silicon photonics. The unique electrical confinement properties of quantum dots provide reduced sensitivity to the crystalline defects that result from III-V/Si growth, while their unique gain dynamics show promise for improved performance and new functionalities relative to their quantum well counterparts in many devices. Clear advantages for using quantum dot active layers for lasers and amplifiers on and off Si have already been demonstrated, and results for quantum dot based photodetectors and modulators look promising. Laser performance on Si is improving rapidly with continuous-wave threshold currents below 1 mA, injection efficiencies of 87%, and output powers of 175 mW at 20 °C. 1500-h reliability tests at 35 °C showed an extrapolated mean-time-to-failure of more than ten million hours. This represents a significant stride toward efficient, scalable, and reliable III-V lasers on on-axis Si substrates for photonic integrate circuits that are fully compatible with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) foundries.

Deterministic Placement of Quantum-Size Controlled Quantum Dots for Seamless Top-Down Integration

DOE PAGES

Fischer, Arthur J.; Anderson, P. Duke; Koleske, Daniel D.; ...

2017-08-18

We demonstrate a new route toward the integration and deterministic placement of quantum dots (QDs) within prepatterned nanostructures. Using standard electron-beam lithography (EBL) and inductively coupled plasma reactive-ion etching (ICP-RIE), we fabricate arrays of nanowires on a III-nitride platform. Next, we integrate QDs of controlled size within the prepatterned nanowires using a bandgap-selective, wet-etching technique: quantum-size-controlled photoelectrochemical (QSC-PEC) etching. Low-temperature microphotoluminescence (μ-PL) measurements of individual nanowires reveal sharp spectral signatures, indicative of QD formation. Further, internal quantum efficiency (IQE) measurements reveal a near order of magnitude improvement in emitter efficiency following QSC-PEC etching. Finally, second-order cross-correlation (g(2)(0)) measurements of individualmore » QDs directly confirm nonclassical, antibunching behavior. Lastly, our results illustrate an exciting approach toward the top-down integration of nonclassical light sources within nanophotonic platforms.« less

Deterministic Placement of Quantum-Size Controlled Quantum Dots for Seamless Top-Down Integration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fischer, Arthur J.; Anderson, P. Duke; Koleske, Daniel D.

We demonstrate a new route toward the integration and deterministic placement of quantum dots (QDs) within prepatterned nanostructures. Using standard electron-beam lithography (EBL) and inductively coupled plasma reactive-ion etching (ICP-RIE), we fabricate arrays of nanowires on a III-nitride platform. Next, we integrate QDs of controlled size within the prepatterned nanowires using a bandgap-selective, wet-etching technique: quantum-size-controlled photoelectrochemical (QSC-PEC) etching. Low-temperature microphotoluminescence (μ-PL) measurements of individual nanowires reveal sharp spectral signatures, indicative of QD formation. Further, internal quantum efficiency (IQE) measurements reveal a near order of magnitude improvement in emitter efficiency following QSC-PEC etching. Finally, second-order cross-correlation (g(2)(0)) measurements of individualmore » QDs directly confirm nonclassical, antibunching behavior. Lastly, our results illustrate an exciting approach toward the top-down integration of nonclassical light sources within nanophotonic platforms.« less

Enhancing Thermoelectric Performance Using Nonlinear Transport Effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Jian-Hua; Imry, Yoseph

2017-06-01

We study nonlinear transport effects on the maximum efficiency and power for both inelastic and elastic thermoelectric generators. The former device refers to phonon-assisted hopping in double quantum dots, while the latter device is represented by elastic tunneling through a single quantum dot. We find that nonlinear thermoelectric transport can lead to enhanced efficiency and power for both types of devices. A comprehensive survey of various quantum-dot energy, temperature, and parasitic heat conduction reveals that the nonlinear transport-induced improvements of the maximum efficiency and power are overall much more significant for inelastic devices than for elastic devices, even for temperature biases as small as Th=1.2 Tc (Th and Tc are the temperatures of the hot and cold reservoirs, respectively). The underlying mechanism is revealed as due to the fact that, unlike the Fermi distribution, the Bose distribution is not bounded when the temperature bias increases. A large flux density of absorbed phonons leads to a great enhancement of the electrical current, output power, and energy efficiency, dominating over the concurrent increase of the parasitic heat current. Our study reveals that nonlinear transport effects can be a useful tool for improving thermoelectric performance.

High quantum efficiency and low dark count rate in multi-layer superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jafari Salim, A., E-mail: ajafaris@uwaterloo.ca; Eftekharian, A.; University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1

In this paper, we theoretically show that a multi-layer superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD) is capable of approaching characteristics of an ideal SNSPD in terms of the quantum efficiency, dark count, and band-width. A multi-layer structure improves the performance in two ways. First, the potential barrier for thermally activated vortex crossing, which is the major source of dark counts and the reduction of the critical current in SNSPDs is elevated. In a multi-layer SNSPD, a vortex is made of 2D-pancake vortices that form a stack. It will be shown that the stack of pancake vortices effectively experiences a larger potentialmore » barrier compared to a vortex in a single-layer SNSPD. This leads to an increase in the experimental critical current as well as significant decrease in the dark count rate. In consequence, an increase in the quantum efficiency for photons of the same energy or an increase in the sensitivity to photons of lower energy is achieved. Second, a multi-layer structure improves the efficiency of single-photon absorption by increasing the effective optical thickness without compromising the single-photon sensitivity.« less

In Search of the Perfect Photocage: Structure-Reactivity Relationships in meso-Methyl BODIPY Photoremovable Protecting Groups.

PubMed

Slanina, Tomáš; Shrestha, Pradeep; Palao, Eduardo; Kand, Dnyaneshwar; Peterson, Julie A; Dutton, Andrew S; Rubinstein, Naama; Weinstain, Roy; Winter, Arthur H; Klán, Petr

2017-10-25

A detailed investigation of the photophysical parameters and photochemical reactivity of meso-methyl BODIPY photoremovable protecting groups was accomplished through systematic variation of the leaving group (LG) and core substituents as well as substitutions at boron. Efficiencies of the LG release were evaluated using both steady-state and transient absorption spectroscopies as well as computational analyses to identify the optimal structural features. We find that the quantum yields for photorelease with this photocage are highly sensitive to substituent effects. In particular, we find that the quantum yields of photorelease are improved with derivatives with higher intersystem crossing quantum yields, which can be promoted by core heavy atoms. Moreover, release quantum yields are dramatically improved by boron alkylation, whereas alkylation in the meso-methyl position has no effect. Better LGs are released considerably more efficiently than poorer LGs. We find that these substituent effects are additive, for example, a 2,6-diiodo-B-dimethyl BODIPY photocage features quantum yields of 28% for the mediocre LG acetate and a 95% quantum yield of release for chloride. The high chemical and quantum yields combined with the outstanding absorption properties of BODIPY dyes lead to photocages with uncaging cross sections over 10 000 M -1 cm -1 , values that surpass cross sections of related photocages absorbing visible light. These new photocages, which absorb strongly near the second harmonic of an Nd:YAG laser (532 nm), hold promise for manipulating and interrogating biological and material systems with the high spatiotemporal control provided by pulsed laser irradiation, while avoiding the phototoxicity problems encountered with many UV-absorbing photocages. More generally, the insights gained from this structure-reactivity relationship may aid in the development of new highly efficient photoreactions.

Enhanced conversion efficiency in Si solar cells employing photoluminescent down-shifting CdSe/CdS core/shell quantum dots.

PubMed

Lopez-Delgado, R; Zhou, Y; Zazueta-Raynaud, A; Zhao, H; Pelayo, J E; Vomiero, A; Álvarez-Ramos, M E; Rosei, F; Ayon, A

2017-10-26

Silicon solar cells have captured a large portion of the total market of photovoltaic devices mostly due to their relatively high efficiency. However, Silicon exhibits limitations in ultraviolet absorption because high-energy photons are absorbed at the surface of the solar cell, in the heavily doped region, and the photo-generated electron-hole pairs need to diffuse into the junction region, resulting in significant carrier recombination. One of the alternatives to improve the absorption range involves the use of down-shifting nano-structures able to interact with the aforementioned high energy photons. Here, as a proof of concept, we use downshifting CdSe/CdS quantum dots to improve the performance of a silicon solar cell. The incorporation of these nanostructures triggered improvements in the short circuit current density (J sc , from 32.5 to 37.0 mA/cm 2 ). This improvement led to a ∼13% increase in the power conversion efficiency (PCE), from 12.0 to 13.5%. Our results demonstrate that the application of down-shifting materials is a viable strategy to improve the efficiency of Silicon solar cells with mass-compatible techniques that could serve to promote their widespread utilization.

Cosensitized Quantum Dot Solar Cells with Conversion Efficiency over 12.

PubMed

Wang, Wei; Feng, Wenliang; Du, Jun; Xue, Weinan; Zhang, Linlin; Zhao, Leilei; Li, Yan; Zhong, Xinhua

2018-03-01

The improvement of sunlight utilization is a fundamental approach for the construction of high-efficiency quantum-dot-based solar cells (QDSCs). To boost light harvesting, cosensitized photoanodes are fabricated in this work by a sequential deposition of presynthesized Zn-Cu-In-Se (ZCISe) and CdSe quantum dots (QDs) on mesoporous TiO 2 films via the control of the interactions between QDs and TiO 2 films using 3-mercaptopropionic acid bifunctional linkers. By the synergistic effect of ZCISe-alloyed QDs with a wide light absorption range and CdSe QDs with a high extinction coefficient, the incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency is significantly improved over single QD-based QDSCs. It is found that the performance of cosensitized photoanodes can be optimized by adjusting the size of CdSe QDs introduced. In combination with titanium mesh supported mesoporous carbon as a counterelectrode and a modified polysulfide solution as an electrolyte, a champion power conversion efficiency up to 12.75% (V oc = 0.752 V, J sc = 27.39 mA cm -2 , FF = 0.619) is achieved, which is, as far as it is known, the highest efficiency for liquid-junction QD-based solar cells reported. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Enhanced photovoltaic performance of a quantum dot-sensitized solar cell using a Nb-doped TiO2 electrode.

PubMed

Jiang, Lei; You, Ting; Deng, Wei-Qiao

2013-10-18

In this work Nb-doped anatase TiO2 nanocrystals are used as the photoanode of quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells. A solar cell with CdS/CdSe quantum dots co-sensitized 2.5 mol% Nb-doped anatase TiO2 nanocrystals can achieve a photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 3.3%, which is almost twice as high as the 1.7% obtained by a cell based on undoped TiO2 nanocrystals. The incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency can reach as high as 91%, which is a record for all quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells. Detailed analysis shows that such an enhancement is due to improved lifetime and diffusion length of electrons in the solar cell.

Carbon quantum dots coated BiVO{sub 4} inverse opals for enhanced photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nan, Feng; Shen, Mingrong; Fang, Liang, E-mail: zhkang@suda.edu.cn, E-mail: lfang@suda.edu.cn

Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) coated BiVO{sub 4} inverse opal (io-BiVO{sub 4}) structure that shows dramatic improvement of photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation has been fabricated using electrodeposition with a template. The io-BiVO{sub 4} maximizes photon trapping through slow light effect, while maintaining adequate surface area for effective redox reactions. CQDs are then incorporated to the io-BiVO{sub 4} to further improve the photoconversion efficiency. Due to the strong visible light absorption property of CQDs and enhanced separation of the photoexcited electrons, the CQDs coated io-BiVO{sub 4} exhibit a maximum photo-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of 0.35%, which is 6 times higher than that of themore » pure BiVO{sub 4} thin films. This work is a good example of designing composite photoelectrode by combining quantum dots and photonic crystal.« less

Minimal evolution time and quantum speed limit of non-Markovian open systems

PubMed Central

Meng, Xiangyi; Wu, Chengjun; Guo, Hong

2015-01-01

We derive a sharp bound as the quantum speed limit (QSL) for the minimal evolution time of quantum open systems in the non-Markovian strong-coupling regime with initial mixed states by considering the effects of both renormalized Hamiltonian and dissipator. For a non-Markovian quantum open system, the possible evolution time between two arbitrary states is not unique, among the set of which we find that the minimal one and its QSL can decrease more steeply by adjusting the coupling strength of the dissipator, which thus provides potential improvements of efficiency in many quantum physics and quantum information areas. PMID:26565062

Development of a Quantum Dot, 0.6 eV InGaAs Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) Converter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Forbes, David; Sinharoy, Samar; Raffalle, Ryne; Weizer, Victor; Homann, Natalie; Valko, Thomas; Bartos,Nichole; Scheiman, David; Bailey, Sheila

2007-01-01

Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) power conversion has to date demonstrated conversion efficiencies exceeding 20% when coupled to a heat source. Current III-V semiconductor TPV technology makes use of planar devices with bandgaps tailored to the heat source. The efficiency can be improved further by increasing the collection efficiency through the incorporation of InAs quantum dots. The use of these dots can provide sub-gap absorption and thus improve the cell short circuit current without the normal increase in dark current associated with lowering the bandgap. We have developed self-assembled InAs quantum dots using the Stranski-Krastanov growth mode on 0.74 eV In0.53GaAs lattice-matched to InP and also on lattice-mismatched 0.6 eV In0.69GaAs grown on InP through the use of a compositionally graded InPAsx buffer structure, by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements showed that the most reproducible dot pattern was obtained with 5 monolayers of InAs grown at 450 C. The lattice mismatch between InAs and In0.69GaAs is only 2.1%, compared to 3.2% between InAs and In0.53GaAs. The smaller mismatch results in lower strain, making dot formation somewhat more complicated, resulting in quantum dashes, rather than well defined quantum dots in the lattice-mismatched case. We have fabricated 0.6 eV InGaAs planer TPV cells with and without the quantum dashes

Passivation Using Molecular Halides Increases Quantum Dot Solar Cell Performance.

PubMed

Lan, Xinzheng; Voznyy, Oleksandr; Kiani, Amirreza; García de Arquer, F Pelayo; Abbas, Abdullah Saud; Kim, Gi-Hwan; Liu, Mengxia; Yang, Zhenyu; Walters, Grant; Xu, Jixian; Yuan, Mingjian; Ning, Zhijun; Fan, Fengjia; Kanjanaboos, Pongsakorn; Kramer, Illan; Zhitomirsky, David; Lee, Philip; Perelgut, Alexander; Hoogland, Sjoerd; Sargent, Edward H

2016-01-13

A solution-based passivation scheme is developed featuring the use of molecular iodine and PbS colloidal quantum dots (CQDs). The improved passivation translates into a longer carrier diffusion length in the solid film. This allows thicker solar-cell devices to be built while preserving efficient charge collection, leading to a certified power conversion efficiency of 9.9%, which is a new record in CQD solar cells. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Graphene quantum dots with nitrogen-doped content dependence for highly efficient dual-modality photodynamic antimicrobial therapy and bioimaging.

PubMed

Kuo, Wen-Shuo; Chen, Hua-Han; Chen, Shih-Yao; Chang, Chia-Yuan; Chen, Pei-Chi; Hou, Yung-I; Shao, Yu-Ting; Kao, Hui-Fang; Lilian Hsu, Chih-Li; Chen, Yi-Chun; Chen, Shean-Jen; Wu, Shang-Rung; Wang, Jiu-Yao

2017-03-01

Reactive oxygen species is the main contributor to photodynamic therapy. The results of this study show that a nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dot, serving as a photosensitizer, was capable of generating a higher amount of reactive oxygen species than a nitrogen-free graphene quantum dot in photodynamic therapy when photoexcited for only 3 min of 670 nm laser exposure (0.1 W cm -2 ), indicating highly improved antimicrobial effects. In addition, we found that higher nitrogen-bonding compositions of graphene quantum dots more efficiently performed photodynamic therapy actions than did the lower compositions that underwent identical treatments. Furthermore, the intrinsically emitted luminescence from nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots and high photostability simultaneously enabled it to act as a promising contrast probe for tracking and localizing bacteria in biomedical imaging. Thus, the dual modality of nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots presents possibilities for future clinical applications, and in particular multidrug resistant bacteria. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Computationally Efficient Nonlinear Bell Inequalities for Quantum Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Ming-Xing

2018-04-01

The correlations in quantum networks have attracted strong interest with new types of violations of the locality. The standard Bell inequalities cannot characterize the multipartite correlations that are generated by multiple sources. The main problem is that no computationally efficient method is available for constructing useful Bell inequalities for general quantum networks. In this work, we show a significant improvement by presenting new, explicit Bell-type inequalities for general networks including cyclic networks. These nonlinear inequalities are related to the matching problem of an equivalent unweighted bipartite graph that allows constructing a polynomial-time algorithm. For the quantum resources consisting of bipartite entangled pure states and generalized Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states, we prove the generic nonmultilocality of quantum networks with multiple independent observers using new Bell inequalities. The violations are maximal with respect to the presented Tsirelson's bound for Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen states and GHZ states. Moreover, these violations hold for Werner states or some general noisy states. Our results suggest that the presented Bell inequalities can be used to characterize experimental quantum networks.

Quantum entanglement beyond Gaussian criteria

PubMed Central

Gomes, R. M.; Salles, A.; Toscano, F.; Souto Ribeiro, P. H.; Walborn, S. P.

2009-01-01

Most of the attention given to continuous variable systems for quantum information processing has traditionally been focused on Gaussian states. However, non-Gaussianity is an essential requirement for universal quantum computation and entanglement distillation, and can improve the efficiency of other quantum information tasks. Here we report the experimental observation of genuine non-Gaussian entanglement using spatially entangled photon pairs. The quantum correlations are invisible to all second-order tests, which identify only Gaussian entanglement, and are revealed only under application of a higher-order entanglement criterion. Thus, the photons exhibit a variety of entanglement that cannot be reproduced by Gaussian states. PMID:19995963

Quantum entanglement beyond Gaussian criteria.

PubMed

Gomes, R M; Salles, A; Toscano, F; Souto Ribeiro, P H; Walborn, S P

2009-12-22

Most of the attention given to continuous variable systems for quantum information processing has traditionally been focused on Gaussian states. However, non-Gaussianity is an essential requirement for universal quantum computation and entanglement distillation, and can improve the efficiency of other quantum information tasks. Here we report the experimental observation of genuine non-Gaussian entanglement using spatially entangled photon pairs. The quantum correlations are invisible to all second-order tests, which identify only Gaussian entanglement, and are revealed only under application of a higher-order entanglement criterion. Thus, the photons exhibit a variety of entanglement that cannot be reproduced by Gaussian states.

Origins of low energy-transfer efficiency between patterned GaN quantum well and CdSe quantum dots

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu, Xingsheng, E-mail: xsxu@semi.ac.cn

For hybrid light emitting devices (LEDs) consisting of GaN quantum wells and colloidal quantum dots, it is necessary to explore the physical mechanisms causing decreases in the quantum efficiencies and the energy transfer efficiency between a GaN quantum well and CdSe quantum dots. This study investigated the electro-luminescence for a hybrid LED consisting of colloidal quantum dots and a GaN quantum well patterned with photonic crystals. It was found that both the quantum efficiency of colloidal quantum dots on a GaN quantum well and the energy transfer efficiency between the patterned GaN quantum well and the colloidal quantum dots decreasedmore » with increases in the driving voltage or the driving time. Under high driving voltages, the decreases in the quantum efficiency of the colloidal quantum dots and the energy transfer efficiency can be attributed to Auger recombination, while those decreases under long driving time are due to photo-bleaching and Auger recombination.« less

Spectral gain measurements of quantum confined emitters, and design and fabrication of intersubband quantum box laser structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsvid, Gene

Semiconductor laser active regions are commonly characterized by photo- and electro-luminescence (PL, EL) and cavity length analysis. However quantitative spectral information is not readily extracted from PL and EL data and comparison of different active region materials can be difficult. More quantifiable spectral information is contained in the optical gain spectra. This work reports on spectral gain studies, using multi-segmented interband devices, of InGaAs quantum well and quantum dot active regions grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Using the fundamental connection between gain and spontaneous emission spectra, the spontaneous radiative current and spontaneous radiative efficiency is evaluated for these active regions. The spectral gain and spontaneous radiative efficiency measurements of 980 nm emitting InGaAs quantum well (QW) material provides a benchmark comparison to previous results obtained on highly-strained, 1200 nm emitting InGaAs QW material. These studies provide insight into carrier recombination and the role of the current injection efficiency in InGaAs QW lasers. The spectral gain of self-assembled MOCVD grown InGaAs quantum dots (QD) active regions are also investigated, allowing for comparison to InGaAs QW material. The second part of my talk will cover intersubband-transition QW and quantum-box (QB) lasers. Quantum cascade (QC) lasers have emerged as compact and technologically important light sources in the mid-infrared (IR) and far-IR wavelength ranges infringing on the near-IR and terahertz spectral regions respectively. However, the overall power conversion efficiency, so-called wallplug efficiency, of the best QC lasers, emitting around 5 microns, is ˜9% in CW operation and very unlikely to exceed 15%. In order to dramatically improve the wallplug efficiency of mid-IR lasers (i.e., to about 50%), intersubband QB (IQB) lasers have been proposed. The basic idea, the optimal design and the progress towards the fabrication of IQB lasers will be presented.

A quantum-implementable neural network model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Jialin; Wang, Lingli; Charbon, Edoardo

2017-10-01

A quantum-implementable neural network, namely quantum probability neural network (QPNN) model, is proposed in this paper. QPNN can use quantum parallelism to trace all possible network states to improve the result. Due to its unique quantum nature, this model is robust to several quantum noises under certain conditions, which can be efficiently implemented by the qubus quantum computer. Another advantage is that QPNN can be used as memory to retrieve the most relevant data and even to generate new data. The MATLAB experimental results of Iris data classification and MNIST handwriting recognition show that much less neuron resources are required in QPNN to obtain a good result than the classical feedforward neural network. The proposed QPNN model indicates that quantum effects are useful for real-life classification tasks.

Improving the performance of AlGaN-based deep-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes using electron blocking layer with a heart-shaped graded Al composition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwon, M. R.; Park, T. H.; Lee, T. H.; Lee, B. R.; Kim, T. G.

2018-04-01

We propose a design for highly efficient AlGaN-based deep-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (DUV LEDs) using a heart-shaped graded Al composition electron-blocking layer (EBL). This novel structure reduced downward band bending at the interface between the last quantum barrier and the EBL and flattened the electrostatic field in the interlayer between the barriers of the multi-quantum barrier EBL. Consequently, electron leakage was significantly suppressed and hole injection efficiency was found to have improved. The parameter values of simulation were extracted from the experimental data of the reference DUV LEDs. Using the SimuLED, we compared the electrical and optical properties of three structures with different Al compositions in the active region and the EBL. The internal quantum efficiency of the proposed structure was shown to exceed those of the reference DUV LEDs by a factor of 1.9. Additionally, the output power at 20 mA was found to increase by a factor of 2.1.

Alternating InGaN barriers with GaN barriers for enhancing optical performance in InGaN light-emitting diodes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, Yujue; Zeng, Yiping, E-mail: ypzeng@semi.ac.cn

2015-01-21

InGaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with some specific designs on the quantum barrier layers by alternating InGaN barriers with GaN barriers are proposed and studied numerically. In the proposed structure, simulation results show that the carriers are widely dispersed in the multi-quantum well active region, and the radiative recombination rate is efficiently improved and the electron leakage is suppressed accordingly, due to the appropriate band engineering. The internal quantum efficiency and light-output power are thus markedly enhanced and the efficiency droop is smaller, compared to the original structures with GaN barriers or InGaN barriers. Moreover, the gradually decrease of indium compositionmore » in the alternating quantum barriers can further promote the LED performance because of the more uniform carrier distribution, which provides us a simple but highly effective approach for high-performance LED applications.« less

Broadly tunable terahertz generation in mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers.

PubMed

Vijayraghavan, Karun; Jiang, Yifan; Jang, Min; Jiang, Aiting; Choutagunta, Karthik; Vizbaras, Augustinas; Demmerle, Frederic; Boehm, Gerhard; Amann, Markus C; Belkin, Mikhail A

2013-01-01

Room temperature, broadly tunable, electrically pumped semiconductor sources in the terahertz spectral range, similar in operation simplicity to diode lasers, are highly desired for applications. An emerging technology in this area are sources based on intracavity difference-frequency generation in dual-wavelength mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers. Here we report terahertz quantum cascade laser sources based on an optimized non-collinear Cherenkov difference-frequency generation scheme that demonstrates dramatic improvements in performance. Devices emitting at 4 THz display a mid-infrared-to-terahertz conversion efficiency in excess of 0.6 mW W(-2) and provide nearly 0.12 mW of peak power output. Devices emitting at 2 and 3 THz fabricated on the same chip display 0.09 and 0.4 mW W(-2) conversion efficiencies at room temperature, respectively. High terahertz-generation efficiency and relaxed phase-matching conditions offered by the Cherenkov scheme allowed us to demonstrate, for the first time, an external-cavity terahertz quantum cascade laser source tunable between 1.70 and 5.25 THz.

Simple Atomic Quantum Memory Suitable for Semiconductor Quantum Dot Single Photons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wolters, Janik; Buser, Gianni; Horsley, Andrew; Béguin, Lucas; Jöckel, Andreas; Jahn, Jan-Philipp; Warburton, Richard J.; Treutlein, Philipp

2017-08-01

Quantum memories matched to single photon sources will form an important cornerstone of future quantum network technology. We demonstrate such a memory in warm Rb vapor with on-demand storage and retrieval, based on electromagnetically induced transparency. With an acceptance bandwidth of δ f =0.66 GHz , the memory is suitable for single photons emitted by semiconductor quantum dots. In this regime, vapor cell memories offer an excellent compromise between storage efficiency, storage time, noise level, and experimental complexity, and atomic collisions have negligible influence on the optical coherences. Operation of the memory is demonstrated using attenuated laser pulses on the single photon level. For a 50 ns storage time, we measure ηe2 e 50 ns=3.4 (3 )% end-to-end efficiency of the fiber-coupled memory, with a total intrinsic efficiency ηint=17 (3 )%. Straightforward technological improvements can boost the end-to-end-efficiency to ηe 2 e≈35 %; beyond that, increasing the optical depth and exploiting the Zeeman substructure of the atoms will allow such a memory to approach near unity efficiency. In the present memory, the unconditional read-out noise level of 9 ×10-3 photons is dominated by atomic fluorescence, and for input pulses containing on average μ1=0.27 (4 ) photons, the signal to noise level would be unity.

Simple Atomic Quantum Memory Suitable for Semiconductor Quantum Dot Single Photons.

PubMed

Wolters, Janik; Buser, Gianni; Horsley, Andrew; Béguin, Lucas; Jöckel, Andreas; Jahn, Jan-Philipp; Warburton, Richard J; Treutlein, Philipp

2017-08-11

Quantum memories matched to single photon sources will form an important cornerstone of future quantum network technology. We demonstrate such a memory in warm Rb vapor with on-demand storage and retrieval, based on electromagnetically induced transparency. With an acceptance bandwidth of δf=0.66  GHz, the memory is suitable for single photons emitted by semiconductor quantum dots. In this regime, vapor cell memories offer an excellent compromise between storage efficiency, storage time, noise level, and experimental complexity, and atomic collisions have negligible influence on the optical coherences. Operation of the memory is demonstrated using attenuated laser pulses on the single photon level. For a 50 ns storage time, we measure η_{e2e}^{50  ns}=3.4(3)% end-to-end efficiency of the fiber-coupled memory, with a total intrinsic efficiency η_{int}=17(3)%. Straightforward technological improvements can boost the end-to-end-efficiency to η_{e2e}≈35%; beyond that, increasing the optical depth and exploiting the Zeeman substructure of the atoms will allow such a memory to approach near unity efficiency. In the present memory, the unconditional read-out noise level of 9×10^{-3} photons is dominated by atomic fluorescence, and for input pulses containing on average μ_{1}=0.27(4) photons, the signal to noise level would be unity.

Storage of multiple single-photon pulses emitted from a quantum dot in a solid-state quantum memory.

PubMed

Tang, Jian-Shun; Zhou, Zong-Quan; Wang, Yi-Tao; Li, Yu-Long; Liu, Xiao; Hua, Yi-Lin; Zou, Yang; Wang, Shuang; He, De-Yong; Chen, Geng; Sun, Yong-Nan; Yu, Ying; Li, Mi-Feng; Zha, Guo-Wei; Ni, Hai-Qiao; Niu, Zhi-Chuan; Li, Chuan-Feng; Guo, Guang-Can

2015-10-15

Quantum repeaters are critical components for distributing entanglement over long distances in presence of unavoidable optical losses during transmission. Stimulated by the Duan-Lukin-Cirac-Zoller protocol, many improved quantum repeater protocols based on quantum memories have been proposed, which commonly focus on the entanglement-distribution rate. Among these protocols, the elimination of multiple photons (or multiple photon-pairs) and the use of multimode quantum memory are demonstrated to have the ability to greatly improve the entanglement-distribution rate. Here, we demonstrate the storage of deterministic single photons emitted from a quantum dot in a polarization-maintaining solid-state quantum memory; in addition, multi-temporal-mode memory with 1, 20 and 100 narrow single-photon pulses is also demonstrated. Multi-photons are eliminated, and only one photon at most is contained in each pulse. Moreover, the solid-state properties of both sub-systems make this configuration more stable and easier to be scalable. Our work will be helpful in the construction of efficient quantum repeaters based on all-solid-state devices.

Storage of multiple single-photon pulses emitted from a quantum dot in a solid-state quantum memory

PubMed Central

Tang, Jian-Shun; Zhou, Zong-Quan; Wang, Yi-Tao; Li, Yu-Long; Liu, Xiao; Hua, Yi-Lin; Zou, Yang; Wang, Shuang; He, De-Yong; Chen, Geng; Sun, Yong-Nan; Yu, Ying; Li, Mi-Feng; Zha, Guo-Wei; Ni, Hai-Qiao; Niu, Zhi-Chuan; Li, Chuan-Feng; Guo, Guang-Can

2015-01-01

Quantum repeaters are critical components for distributing entanglement over long distances in presence of unavoidable optical losses during transmission. Stimulated by the Duan–Lukin–Cirac–Zoller protocol, many improved quantum repeater protocols based on quantum memories have been proposed, which commonly focus on the entanglement-distribution rate. Among these protocols, the elimination of multiple photons (or multiple photon-pairs) and the use of multimode quantum memory are demonstrated to have the ability to greatly improve the entanglement-distribution rate. Here, we demonstrate the storage of deterministic single photons emitted from a quantum dot in a polarization-maintaining solid-state quantum memory; in addition, multi-temporal-mode memory with 1, 20 and 100 narrow single-photon pulses is also demonstrated. Multi-photons are eliminated, and only one photon at most is contained in each pulse. Moreover, the solid-state properties of both sub-systems make this configuration more stable and easier to be scalable. Our work will be helpful in the construction of efficient quantum repeaters based on all-solid-state devices. PMID:26468996

Novel Plasmonic Materials and Nanodevices for Integrated Quantum Photonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shalaginov, Mikhail Y.

Light-matter interaction is the foundation for numerous important quantum optical phenomena, which may be harnessed to build practical devices with higher efficiency and unprecedented functionality. Nanoscale engineering is seen as a fruitful avenue to significantly strengthen light-matter interaction and also make quantum optical systems ultra-compact, scalable, and energy efficient. This research focuses on color centers in diamond that share quantum properties with single atoms. These systems promise a path for the realization of practical quantum devices such as nanoscale sensors, single-photon sources, and quantum memories. In particular, we explored an intriguing methodology of utilizing nanophotonic structures, such as hyperbolic metamaterials, nanoantennae, and plasmonic waveguides, to improve the color centers performance. We observed enhancement in the color center's spontaneous emission rate, emission directionality, and cooperativity over a broad optical frequency range. Additionally, we studied the effect of plasmonic environments on the spin-readout sensitivity of color centers. The use of CMOS-compatible epitaxially grown plasmonic materials in the design of these nanophotonic structures promises a new level of performance for a variety of integrated room-temperature quantum devices based on diamond color centers.

Enhanced monolayer MoS2/InP heterostructure solar cells by graphene quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Peng; Lin, Shisheng; Ding, Guqiao; Li, Xiaoqiang; Wu, Zhiqian; Zhang, Shengjiao; Xu, Zhijuan; Xu, Sen; Lu, Yanghua; Xu, Wenli; Zheng, Zheyang

2016-04-01

We demonstrate significantly improved photovoltaic response of monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2)/indium phosphide (InP) van der Waals heterostructure induced by graphene quantum dots (GQDs). Raman and photoluminescence measurements indicate that effective charge transfer takes place between GQDs and MoS2, which results in n-type doping of MoS2. The doping effect increases the barrier height at the MoS2/InP heterojunction, thus the averaged power conversion efficiency of MoS2/InP solar cells is improved from 2.1% to 4.1%. The light induced doping by GQD provides a feasible way for developing more efficient MoS2 based heterostructure solar cells.

A strategy to improve the energy conversion efficiency and stability of quantum dot-sensitized solar cells using manganese-doped cadmium sulfide quantum dots.

PubMed

Gopi, Chandu V V M; Venkata-Haritha, M; Kim, Soo-Kyoung; Kim, Hee-Je

2015-01-14

This article describes the effect of manganese (Mn) doping in CdS to improve the photovoltaic performance of quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). The performances of the QDSSCs are examined in detail using a polysulfide electrolyte with a copper sulfide (CuS) counter electrode. Under the illumination of one sun (AM 1.5 G, 100 mW cm(-2)), 10 molar% Mn-doped CdS QDSSCs exhibit a power conversion efficiency (η) of 2.85%, which is higher than the value of 2.11% obtained with bare CdS. The improved photovoltaic performance is due to the impurities from Mn(2+) doping of CdS, which have an impact on the structure of the host material and decrease the surface roughness. The surface roughness and morphology of Mn-doped CdS nanoparticles can be characterised from atomic force microscopy images. Furthermore, the cell device based on the Mn-CdS electrode shows superior stability in the sulfide/polysulfide electrolyte in a working state for over 10 h, resulting in a highly reproducible performance, which is a serious challenge for the Mn-doped solar cell. Our finding provides an effective method for the fabrication of Mn-doped CdS QDs, which can pave the way to further improve the efficiency of future QDSSCs.

Mitigating Structural Defects in Droop-Minimizing InGaN/GaN Quantum Well Heterostructures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhao, Zhibo; Chesin, Jordan; Singh, Akshay

2016-12-01

Modern commercial InGaN/GaN blue LEDs continue to suffer from efficiency droop, a reduction in efficiency with increasing drive current. External quantum efficiency (EQE) typically peaks at low drive currents (< 10 A cm 2) and drops monotonically at higher current densities, falling to <85% of the peak EQE at a drive current of 100 A cm 2. Mitigating droop-related losses will yield tremendous gains in both luminous efficacy (lumens/W) and cost (lumens/$). Such improvements are critical for continued large-scale market penetration of LED technologies, particularly in high-power and high flux per unit area applications. However, device structures that reduce droopmore » typically require higher indium content and are accompanied by a corresponding degradation in material quality which negates the droop improvement via enhanced Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombination. In this work, we use advanced characterization techniques to identify and classify structural defects in InGaN/GaN quantum well (QW) heterostructures that share features with low-droop designs. Using aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (C s-STEM), we find the presence of severe well width fluctuations (WWFs) in a number of low droop device architectures. However, the presence of WWFs does not correlate strongly with external quantum efficiency nor defect densities measured via deep level optical spectroscopy (DLOS). Hence, performance losses in the heterostructures of interest are likely dominated by nanoscale point or interfacial defects rather than large-scale extended defects.« less

Improving Broadband Displacement Detection with Quantum Correlations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kampel, N. S.; Peterson, R. W.; Fischer, R.; Yu, P.-L.; Cicak, K.; Simmonds, R. W.; Lehnert, K. W.; Regal, C. A.

2017-04-01

Interferometers enable ultrasensitive measurement in a wide array of applications from gravitational wave searches to force microscopes. The role of quantum mechanics in the metrological limits of interferometers has a rich history, and a large number of techniques to surpass conventional limits have been proposed. In a typical measurement configuration, the trade-off between the probe's shot noise (imprecision) and its quantum backaction results in what is known as the standard quantum limit (SQL). In this work, we investigate how quantum correlations accessed by modifying the readout of the interferometer can access physics beyond the SQL and improve displacement sensitivity. Specifically, we use an optical cavity to probe the motion of a silicon nitride membrane off mechanical resonance, as one would do in a broadband displacement or force measurement, and observe sensitivity better than the SQL dictates for our quantum efficiency. Our measurement illustrates the core idea behind a technique known as variational readout, in which the optical readout quadrature is changed as a function of frequency to improve broadband displacement detection. And, more generally, our result is a salient example of how correlations can aid sensing in the presence of backaction.

Suppressed power saturation due to optimized optical confinement in 9xx nm high-power diode lasers that use extreme double asymmetric vertical designs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaul, T.; Erbert, G.; Maaßdorf, A.; Knigge, S.; Crump, P.

2018-03-01

Broad area lasers with novel extreme double asymmetric structure (EDAS) vertical designs featuring increased optical confinement in the quantum well, Γ, are shown to have improved temperature stability without compromising series resistance, internal efficiency or losses. Specifically, we present here vertical design considerations for the improved continuous wave (CW) performance of devices operating at 940 nm, based on systematically increasing Γ from 0.26% to 1.1%, and discuss the impact on power saturation mechanisms. The results indicate that key power saturation mechanisms at high temperatures originate in high threshold carrier densities, which arise in the quantum well at low Γ. The characteristic temperatures, T 0 and T 1, are determined under short pulse conditions and are used to clarify the thermal contribution to power limiting mechanisms. Although increased Γ reduces thermal power saturation, it is accompanied by increased optical absorption losses in the active region, which has a significant impact on the differential external quantum efficiency, {η }{{diff}}. To quantify the impact of internal optical losses contributed by the quantum well, a resonator length-dependent simulation of {η }{{diff}} is performed and compared to the experiment, which also allows the estimation of experimental values for the light absorption cross sections of electrons and holes inside the quantum well. Overall, the analysis enables vertical designs to be developed, for devices with maximized power conversion efficiency at high CW optical power and high temperatures, in a trade-off between absorption in the well and power saturation. The best balance to date is achieved in devices using EDAS designs with {{Γ }}=0.54 % , which deliver efficiencies of 50% at 14 W optical output power at an elevated junction temperature of 105 °C.

Reducing inhomogeneity in the dynamic properties of quantum dots via self-aligned plasmonic cavities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demory, Brandon; Hill, Tyler A.; Teng, Chu-Hsiang; Deng, Hui; Ku, P. C.

2018-01-01

A plasmonic cavity is shown to greatly reduce the inhomogeneity of dynamic optical properties such as quantum efficiency and radiative lifetime of InGaN quantum dots. By using an open-top plasmonic cavity structure, which exhibits a large Purcell factor and antenna quantum efficiency, the resulting quantum efficiency distribution for the quantum dots narrows and is no longer limited by the quantum dot inhomogeneity. The standard deviation of the quantum efficiency can be reduced to 2% while maintaining the overall quantum efficiency at 70%, making InGaN quantum dots a viable candidate for high-speed quantum cryptography and random number generation applications.

Reducing inhomogeneity in the dynamic properties of quantum dots via self-aligned plasmonic cavities.

PubMed

Demory, Brandon; Hill, Tyler A; Teng, Chu-Hsiang; Deng, Hui; Ku, P C

2018-01-05

A plasmonic cavity is shown to greatly reduce the inhomogeneity of dynamic optical properties such as quantum efficiency and radiative lifetime of InGaN quantum dots. By using an open-top plasmonic cavity structure, which exhibits a large Purcell factor and antenna quantum efficiency, the resulting quantum efficiency distribution for the quantum dots narrows and is no longer limited by the quantum dot inhomogeneity. The standard deviation of the quantum efficiency can be reduced to 2% while maintaining the overall quantum efficiency at 70%, making InGaN quantum dots a viable candidate for high-speed quantum cryptography and random number generation applications.

MoS2 quantum dots@TiO2 nanotube composites with enhanced photoexcited charge separation and high-efficiency visible-light driven photocatalysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Fenfen; Rong, Yuefei; Wan, Junmin; Hu, Zhiwen; Peng, Zhiqin; Wang, Bing

2018-03-01

MoS2 quantum dots (QDs) that are 5 nm in size were deposited on the surface of ultrathin TiO2 nanotubes (TNTs) with 5 nm wall thickness by using an improved hydrothermal method to form a MoS2 QDs@TNT visible-light photocatalyst. The ultrathin TNTs with high percentage of photocatalytic reactive facets were fabricated by the commercially available TiO2 nanoparticles (P25) through an improved hydrothermal method, and the MoS2 QDs were acquired by using a surfactant-assisted technique. The novel MoS2 QDs@TNT photocatalysts showed excellent photocatalytic activity with a decolorization rate of 92% or approximately 3.5 times more than that of pure TNTs for the high initial concentration of methylene blue solution (20 mg l-1) within 40 min under visible-light irradiation. MoS2 as the co-catalysts favored the broadening of TNTs into the visible-light absorption scope. The quantum confinement and edge effects of the MoS2 QDs and the heterojunction formed between the MoS2 QDs and TNTs efficiently extended the lifetime of photoinduced charges, impeded the recombination of photoexcited electron-hole pairs, and improved the visible-light-driven high-efficiency photocatalysis.

Improving Efficiency of III-N Quantum Well Based Optoelectronic Devices through Active Region Design and Growth Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, Nathan Garrett

The III-Nitride materials system provides a fascinating platform for developing optoelectronic devices, such as solar cells and LEDs, which have the power to dramatically improve the efficiency of our power consumption and reduce our environmental footprint. Finding ways to make these devices more efficient is key to driving their widespread adoption. This dissertation focuses on the intersection of challenges in physics and metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) growth at the nanoscale when designing for device efficiency. In order to create the best possible InGaN solar cell, a multiple quantum well (MQW) active region design had to be employed to prevent strain relaxation related degradation. There were two competing challenges for MQW active region design and growth. First, it was observed current collection efficiency improved with thinner quantum barriers, which promoted efficient tunneling transport instead of inefficiency thermally activated escape. Second, GaN barriers could planarize surface defects in the MQW region under the right conditions and when grown thick enough. A two-step growth method for thinner quantum barriers was developed that simultaneously allowed for tunneling transport and planarized V-defects. Barriers as thin as 4 nm were employed in MQW active regions with up to 30 periods without structural or electrical degradation, leading to record performance. Application of dielectric optical coatings greatly reduced surface reflections and allowed a second pass of light through the device. This both demonstrated the feasibility of multijunction solar integration and boosted conversion efficiency to record levels for an InGaN solar cell. III-N LEDs have achieved state-of-the-art performance for decades, but still suffer from the phenomena of efficiency droop, where device efficiency drops dramatically at high power operation. Droop is exacerbated by the polarization-induced electric fields in InGaN quantum wells, which originate from a lack of inversion symmetry in GaN's wurtzite crystal structure. These fields can be screened by using highly doped layers, but the extreme dopant densities predicted by simulation for complete screening may require using Ge as an alternative n-type dopant to Si. GaN:Ge layers with excellent electrical characteristics were grown by MOCVD with doping densities exceeding 1020 cm -3. However, their surface morphologies were very poor and they proved a poor screening dopant in LED structures. Using Si as the n-type screening dopant, LEDs with single QW active regions were grown, packaged, and tested. Biased photoluminescence showed strong evidence of complete polarization screening. The LEDs had low droop, but also low peak efficiencies. Possible explanations for trends in efficiency with varying QW width and field screening will be discussed.

Quantum secret sharing for a general quantum access structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bai, Chen-Ming; Li, Zhi-Hui; Si, Meng-Meng; Li, Yong-Ming

2017-10-01

Quantum secret sharing is a procedure for sharing a secret among a number of participants such that only certain subsets of participants can collaboratively reconstruct it, which are called authorized sets. The quantum access structure of a secret sharing is a family of all authorized sets. Firstly, in this paper, we propose the concept of decomposition of quantum access structure to design a quantum secret sharing scheme. Secondly, based on a maximal quantum access structure (MQAS) [D. Gottesman, Phys. Rev. A 61, 042311 (2000)], we propose an algorithm to improve a MQAS and obtain an improved maximal quantum access structure (IMQAS). Then, we present a sufficient and necessary condition about IMQAS, which shows the relationship between the minimal authorized sets and the players. In accordance with properties, we construct an efficient quantum secret sharing scheme with a decomposition and IMQAS. A major advantage of these techniques is that it allows us to construct a method to realize a general quantum access structure. Finally, we present two kinds of quantum secret sharing schemes via the thought of concatenation or a decomposition of quantum access structure. As a consequence, we find that the application of these techniques allows us to save more quantum shares and reduces more cost than the existing scheme.

Efficiently characterizing the total error in quantum circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carignan-Dugas, Arnaud; Wallman, Joel J.; Emerson, Joseph

A promising technological advancement meant to enlarge our computational means is the quantum computer. Such a device would harvest the quantum complexity of the physical world in order to unfold concrete mathematical problems more efficiently. However, the errors emerging from the implementation of quantum operations are likewise quantum, and hence share a similar level of intricacy. Fortunately, randomized benchmarking protocols provide an efficient way to characterize the operational noise within quantum devices. The resulting figures of merit, like the fidelity and the unitarity, are typically attached to a set of circuit components. While important, this doesn't fulfill the main goal: determining if the error rate of the total circuit is small enough in order to trust its outcome. In this work, we fill the gap by providing an optimal bound on the total fidelity of a circuit in terms of component-wise figures of merit. Our bound smoothly interpolates between the classical regime, in which the error rate grows linearly in the circuit's length, and the quantum regime, which can naturally allow quadratic growth. Conversely, our analysis substantially improves the bounds on single circuit element fidelities obtained through techniques such as interleaved randomized benchmarking. This research was supported by the U.S. Army Research Office through Grant W911NF- 14-1-0103, CIFAR, the Government of Ontario, and the Government of Canada through NSERC and Industry Canada.

InGaN/GaN light-emitting diode having direct hole injection plugs and its high-current operation.

PubMed

Kim, Sungjoon; Cho, Seongjae; Jeong, Jaedeok; Kim, Sungjun; Hwang, Sungmin; Kim, Garam; Yoon, Sukho; Park, Byung-Gook

2017-03-20

The light-emitting diode (LED) with an improved hole injection and straightforward process integration is proposed. p-type GaN direct hole injection plugs (DHIPs) are formed on locally etched multiple-quantum wells (MQWs) by epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) method. We confirm that the optical output power is increased up to 23.2% at an operating current density of 100 A/cm². Furthermore, in order to identify the origin of improvement in optical performance, the transient light decay time and light intensity distribution characteristics were analyzed on the DHIP LED devices. Through the calculation of the electroluminescence (EL) decay time, internal quantum efficiency (IQE) is extracted along with the recombination parameters, which reveals that the DHIPs have a significant effect on enhancement of radiative recombination and reduction of efficiency droop. Furthermore, the mapping PL reveals that the DHIP LED also has a potential to improve the light extraction efficiency by hexagonal pyramid shaped DHIPs.

An Improved Filtering Method for Quantum Color Image in Frequency Domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Panchi; Xiao, Hong

2018-01-01

In this paper we investigate the use of quantum Fourier transform (QFT) in the field of image processing. We consider QFT-based color image filtering operations and their applications in image smoothing, sharpening, and selective filtering using quantum frequency domain filters. The underlying principle used for constructing the proposed quantum filters is to use the principle of the quantum Oracle to implement the filter function. Compared with the existing methods, our method is not only suitable for color images, but also can flexibly design the notch filters. We provide the quantum circuit that implements the filtering task and present the results of several simulation experiments on color images. The major advantages of the quantum frequency filtering lies in the exploitation of the efficient implementation of the quantum Fourier transform.

Experimental magic state distillation for fault-tolerant quantum computing.

PubMed

Souza, Alexandre M; Zhang, Jingfu; Ryan, Colm A; Laflamme, Raymond

2011-01-25

Any physical quantum device for quantum information processing (QIP) is subject to errors in implementation. In order to be reliable and efficient, quantum computers will need error-correcting or error-avoiding methods. Fault-tolerance achieved through quantum error correction will be an integral part of quantum computers. Of the many methods that have been discovered to implement it, a highly successful approach has been to use transversal gates and specific initial states. A critical element for its implementation is the availability of high-fidelity initial states, such as |0〉 and the 'magic state'. Here, we report an experiment, performed in a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) quantum processor, showing sufficient quantum control to improve the fidelity of imperfect initial magic states by distilling five of them into one with higher fidelity.

Complexity of the Quantum Adiabatic Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hen, Itay

2013-03-01

The Quantum Adiabatic Algorithm (QAA) has been proposed as a mechanism for efficiently solving optimization problems on a quantum computer. Since adiabatic computation is analog in nature and does not require the design and use of quantum gates, it can be thought of as a simpler and perhaps more profound method for performing quantum computations that might also be easier to implement experimentally. While these features have generated substantial research in QAA, to date there is still a lack of solid evidence that the algorithm can outperform classical optimization algorihms. Here, we discuss several aspects of the quantum adiabatic algorithm: We analyze the efficiency of the algorithm on several ``hard'' (NP) computational problems. Studying the size dependence of the typical minimum energy gap of the Hamiltonians of these problems using quantum Monte Carlo methods, we find that while for most problems the minimum gap decreases exponentially with the size of the problem, indicating that the QAA is not more efficient than existing classical search algorithms, for other problems there is evidence to suggest that the gap may be polynomial near the phase transition. We also discuss applications of the QAA to ``real life'' problems and how they can be implemented on currently available (albeit prototypical) quantum hardware such as ``D-Wave One'', that impose serious restrictions as to which type of problems may be tested. Finally, we discuss different approaches to find improved implementations of the algorithm such as local adiabatic evolution, adaptive methods, local search in Hamiltonian space and others.

Demonstration of spatial-light-modulation-based four-wave mixing in cold atoms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Juo, Jz-Yuan; Lin, Jia-Kang; Cheng, Chin-Yao; Liu, Zi-Yu; Yu, Ite A.; Chen, Yong-Fan

2018-05-01

Long-distance quantum optical communications usually require efficient wave-mixing processes to convert the wavelengths of single photons. Many quantum applications based on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) have been proposed and demonstrated at the single-photon level, such as quantum memories, all-optical transistors, and cross-phase modulations. However, EIT-based four-wave mixing (FWM) in a resonant double-Λ configuration has a maximum conversion efficiency (CE) of 25% because of absorptive loss due to spontaneous emission. An improved scheme using spatially modulated intensities of two control fields has been theoretically proposed to overcome this conversion limit. In this study, we first demonstrate wavelength conversion from 780 to 795 nm with a 43% CE by using this scheme at an optical density (OD) of 19 in cold 87Rb atoms. According to the theoretical model, the CE in the proposed scheme can further increase to 96% at an OD of 240 under ideal conditions, thereby attaining an identical CE to that of the previous nonresonant double-Λ scheme at half the OD. This spatial-light-modulation-based FWM scheme can achieve a near-unity CE, thus providing an easy method of implementing an efficient quantum wavelength converter for all-optical quantum information processing.

Improving the Performance of PbS Quantum Dot Solar Cells by Optimizing ZnO Window Layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Xiaokun; Hu, Long; Deng, Hui; Qiao, Keke; Hu, Chao; Liu, Zhiyong; Yuan, Shengjie; Khan, Jahangeer; Li, Dengbing; Tang, Jiang; Song, Haisheng; Cheng, Chun

2017-04-01

Comparing with hot researches in absorber layer, window layer has attracted less attention in PbS quantum dot solar cells (QD SCs). Actually, the window layer plays a key role in exciton separation, charge drifting, and so on. Herein, ZnO window layer was systematically investigated for its roles in QD SCs performance. The physical mechanism of improved performance was also explored. It was found that the optimized ZnO films with appropriate thickness and doping concentration can balance the optical and electrical properties, and its energy band align well with the absorber layer for efficient charge extraction. Further characterizations demonstrated that the window layer optimization can help to reduce the surface defects, improve the heterojunction quality, as well as extend the depletion width. Compared with the control devices, the optimized devices have obtained an efficiency of 6.7% with an enhanced V oc of 18%, J sc of 21%, FF of 10%, and power conversion efficiency of 58%. The present work suggests a useful strategy to improve the device performance by optimizing the window layer besides the absorber layer.

Controlling the influence of Auger recombination on the performance of quantum-dot light-emitting diodes

PubMed Central

Bae, Wan Ki; Park, Young-Shin; Lim, Jaehoon; Lee, Donggu; Padilha, Lazaro A.; McDaniel, Hunter; Robel, Istvan; Lee, Changhee; Pietryga, Jeffrey M.; Klimov, Victor I.

2013-01-01

Development of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on colloidal quantum dots is driven by attractive properties of these fluorophores such as spectrally narrow, tunable emission and facile processibility via solution-based methods. A current obstacle towards improved LED performance is an incomplete understanding of the roles of extrinsic factors, such as non-radiative recombination at surface defects, versus intrinsic processes, such as multicarrier Auger recombination or electron-hole separation due to applied electric field. Here we address this problem with studies that correlate the excited state dynamics of structurally engineered quantum dots with their emissive performance within LEDs. We find that because of significant charging of quantum dots with extra electrons, Auger recombination greatly impacts both LED efficiency and the onset of efficiency roll-off at high currents. Further, we demonstrate two specific approaches for mitigating this problem using heterostructured quantum dots, either by suppressing Auger decay through the introduction of an intermediate alloyed layer, or by using an additional shell that impedes electron transfer into the quantum dot to help balance electron and hole injection. PMID:24157692

Carrier transport dynamics in Mn-doped CdSe quantum dot sensitized solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poudyal, Uma; Maloney, Francis S.; Sapkota, Keshab; Wang, Wenyong

2017-10-01

In this work quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) were fabricated with CdSe and Mn-doped CdSe quantum dots (QDs) using the SILAR method. QDSSCs based on Mn-doped CdSe QDs exhibited improved incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency. Carrier transport dynamics in the QDSSCs were studied using the intensity modulated photocurrent/photovoltage spectroscopy technique, from which transport and recombination time constants could be derived. Compared to CdSe QDSSCs, Mn-CdSe QDSSCs exhibited shorter transport time constant, longer recombination time constant, longer diffusion length, and higher charge collection efficiency. These observations suggested that Mn doping in CdSe QDs could benefit the performance of solar cells based on such nanostructures.

Enhanced Photon Extraction from a Nanowire Quantum Dot Using a Bottom-Up Photonic Shell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeannin, Mathieu; Cremel, Thibault; Häyrynen, Teppo; Gregersen, Niels; Bellet-Amalric, Edith; Nogues, Gilles; Kheng, Kuntheak

2017-11-01

Semiconductor nanowires offer the possibility to grow high-quality quantum-dot heterostructures, and, in particular, CdSe quantum dots inserted in ZnSe nanowires have demonstrated the ability to emit single photons up to room temperature. In this paper, we demonstrate a bottom-up approach to fabricate a photonic fiberlike structure around such nanowire quantum dots by depositing an oxide shell using atomic-layer deposition. Simulations suggest that the intensity collected in our NA =0.6 microscope objective can be increased by a factor 7 with respect to the bare nanowire case. Combining microphotoluminescence, decay time measurements, and numerical simulations, we obtain a fourfold increase in the collected photoluminescence from the quantum dot. We show that this improvement is due to an increase of the quantum-dot emission rate and a redirection of the emitted light. Our ex situ fabrication technique allows a precise and reproducible fabrication on a large scale. Its improved extraction efficiency is compared to state-of-the-art top-down devices.

Thermoelectric efficiency enhanced in a quantum dot with polarization leads, spin-flip and external magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Hui; Niu, Peng-Bin; Zhang, Chao; Xu, Wei-Ping; Li, Zhi-Jian; Nie, Yi-Hang

2018-03-01

We theoretically study the thermoelectric transport properties in a quantum dot system with two ferromagnetic leads, the spin-flip scattering and the external magnetic field. The results show that the spin polarization of the leads strongly influences thermoelectric coefficients of the device. For the parallel configuration the peak of figure of merit increases with the increase of polarization strength and non-collinear configuration trends to destroy the improvement of figure of merit induced by lead polarization. While the modulation of the spin-flip scattering on the figure of merit is effective only in the absence of external magnetic field or small magnetic field. In terms of improving the thermoelectric efficiency, the external magnetic field plays a more important role than spin-flip scattering. The thermoelectric efficiency can be significantly enhanced by the magnetic field for a given spin-flip scattering strength.

Duality quantum algorithm efficiently simulates open quantum systems

PubMed Central

Wei, Shi-Jie; Ruan, Dong; Long, Gui-Lu

2016-01-01

Because of inevitable coupling with the environment, nearly all practical quantum systems are open system, where the evolution is not necessarily unitary. In this paper, we propose a duality quantum algorithm for simulating Hamiltonian evolution of an open quantum system. In contrast to unitary evolution in a usual quantum computer, the evolution operator in a duality quantum computer is a linear combination of unitary operators. In this duality quantum algorithm, the time evolution of the open quantum system is realized by using Kraus operators which is naturally implemented in duality quantum computer. This duality quantum algorithm has two distinct advantages compared to existing quantum simulation algorithms with unitary evolution operations. Firstly, the query complexity of the algorithm is O(d3) in contrast to O(d4) in existing unitary simulation algorithm, where d is the dimension of the open quantum system. Secondly, By using a truncated Taylor series of the evolution operators, this duality quantum algorithm provides an exponential improvement in precision compared with previous unitary simulation algorithm. PMID:27464855

On-chip generation of high-dimensional entangled quantum states and their coherent control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kues, Michael; Reimer, Christian; Roztocki, Piotr; Cortés, Luis Romero; Sciara, Stefania; Wetzel, Benjamin; Zhang, Yanbing; Cino, Alfonso; Chu, Sai T.; Little, Brent E.; Moss, David J.; Caspani, Lucia; Azaña, José; Morandotti, Roberto

2017-06-01

Optical quantum states based on entangled photons are essential for solving questions in fundamental physics and are at the heart of quantum information science. Specifically, the realization of high-dimensional states (D-level quantum systems, that is, qudits, with D > 2) and their control are necessary for fundamental investigations of quantum mechanics, for increasing the sensitivity of quantum imaging schemes, for improving the robustness and key rate of quantum communication protocols, for enabling a richer variety of quantum simulations, and for achieving more efficient and error-tolerant quantum computation. Integrated photonics has recently become a leading platform for the compact, cost-efficient, and stable generation and processing of non-classical optical states. However, so far, integrated entangled quantum sources have been limited to qubits (D = 2). Here we demonstrate on-chip generation of entangled qudit states, where the photons are created in a coherent superposition of multiple high-purity frequency modes. In particular, we confirm the realization of a quantum system with at least one hundred dimensions, formed by two entangled qudits with D = 10. Furthermore, using state-of-the-art, yet off-the-shelf telecommunications components, we introduce a coherent manipulation platform with which to control frequency-entangled states, capable of performing deterministic high-dimensional gate operations. We validate this platform by measuring Bell inequality violations and performing quantum state tomography. Our work enables the generation and processing of high-dimensional quantum states in a single spatial mode.

On-chip generation of high-dimensional entangled quantum states and their coherent control.

PubMed

Kues, Michael; Reimer, Christian; Roztocki, Piotr; Cortés, Luis Romero; Sciara, Stefania; Wetzel, Benjamin; Zhang, Yanbing; Cino, Alfonso; Chu, Sai T; Little, Brent E; Moss, David J; Caspani, Lucia; Azaña, José; Morandotti, Roberto

2017-06-28

Optical quantum states based on entangled photons are essential for solving questions in fundamental physics and are at the heart of quantum information science. Specifically, the realization of high-dimensional states (D-level quantum systems, that is, qudits, with D > 2) and their control are necessary for fundamental investigations of quantum mechanics, for increasing the sensitivity of quantum imaging schemes, for improving the robustness and key rate of quantum communication protocols, for enabling a richer variety of quantum simulations, and for achieving more efficient and error-tolerant quantum computation. Integrated photonics has recently become a leading platform for the compact, cost-efficient, and stable generation and processing of non-classical optical states. However, so far, integrated entangled quantum sources have been limited to qubits (D = 2). Here we demonstrate on-chip generation of entangled qudit states, where the photons are created in a coherent superposition of multiple high-purity frequency modes. In particular, we confirm the realization of a quantum system with at least one hundred dimensions, formed by two entangled qudits with D = 10. Furthermore, using state-of-the-art, yet off-the-shelf telecommunications components, we introduce a coherent manipulation platform with which to control frequency-entangled states, capable of performing deterministic high-dimensional gate operations. We validate this platform by measuring Bell inequality violations and performing quantum state tomography. Our work enables the generation and processing of high-dimensional quantum states in a single spatial mode.

3D-printed components for quantum devices.

PubMed

Saint, R; Evans, W; Zhou, Y; Barrett, T; Fromhold, T M; Saleh, E; Maskery, I; Tuck, C; Wildman, R; Oručević, F; Krüger, P

2018-05-30

Recent advances in the preparation, control and measurement of atomic gases have led to new insights into the quantum world and unprecedented metrological sensitivities, e.g. in measuring gravitational forces and magnetic fields. The full potential of applying such capabilities to areas as diverse as biomedical imaging, non-invasive underground mapping, and GPS-free navigation can only be realised with the scalable production of efficient, robust and portable devices. We introduce additive manufacturing as a production technique of quantum device components with unrivalled design freedom and rapid prototyping. This provides a step change in efficiency, compactness and facilitates systems integration. As a demonstrator we present an ultrahigh vacuum compatible ultracold atom source dissipating less than ten milliwatts of electrical power during field generation to produce large samples of cold rubidium gases. This disruptive technology opens the door to drastically improved integrated structures, which will further reduce size and assembly complexity in scalable series manufacture of bespoke portable quantum devices.

Multihop teleportation of two-qubit state via the composite GHZ-Bell channel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, Zhen-Zhen; Yu, Xu-Tao; Gong, Yan-Xiao; Zhang, Zai-Chen

2017-01-01

A multihop teleportation protocol in quantum communication network is introduced to teleport an arbitrary two-qubit state, between two nodes without directly sharing entanglement pairs. Quantum channels are built among neighbor nodes based on a five-qubit entangled system composed of GHZ and Bell pairs. The von Neumann measurements in all intermediate nodes and the source node are implemented, and then the measurement outcomes are sent to the destination node independently. After collecting all the measurement outcomes at the destination node, an efficient method is proposed to calculate the unitary operations for transforming the receiver's states to the state teleported. Therefore, only adopting the proper unitary operations at the destination node, the desired quantum state can be recovered perfectly. The transmission flexibility and efficiency of quantum network with composite GHZ-Bell channel are improved by transmitting measurement outcomes of all nodes in parallelism and reducing hop-by-hop teleportation delay.

Nanoscale Characterization of Carrier Dynamic and Surface Passivation in InGaN/GaN Multiple Quantum Wells on GaN Nanorods.

PubMed

Chen, Weijian; Wen, Xiaoming; Latzel, Michael; Heilmann, Martin; Yang, Jianfeng; Dai, Xi; Huang, Shujuan; Shrestha, Santosh; Patterson, Robert; Christiansen, Silke; Conibeer, Gavin

2016-11-23

Using advanced two-photon excitation confocal microscopy, associated with time-resolved spectroscopy, we characterize InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells on nanorod heterostructures and demonstrate the passivation effect of a KOH treatment. High-quality InGaN/GaN nanorods were fabricated using nanosphere lithography as a candidate material for light-emitting diode devices. The depth- and time-resolved characterization at the nanoscale provides detailed carrier dynamic analysis helpful for understanding the optical properties. The nanoscale spatially resolved images of InGaN quantum well and defects were acquired simultaneously. We demonstrate that nanorod etching improves light extraction efficiency, and a proper KOH treatment has been found to reduce the surface defects efficiently and enhance the luminescence. The optical characterization techniques provide depth-resolved and time-resolved carrier dynamics with nanoscale spatially resolved mapping, which is crucial for a comprehensive and thorough understanding of nanostructured materials and provides novel insight into the improvement of materials fabrication and applications.

A colloidal quantum dot photonic crystal phosphor: nanostructural engineering of the phosphor for enhanced color conversion.

PubMed

Min, Kyungtaek; Jung, Hyunho; Park, Yeonsang; Cho, Kyung-Sang; Roh, Young-Geun; Hwang, Sung Woo; Jeon, Heonsu

2017-06-29

Phosphors, long-known color-converting photonic agents, are gaining increasing attention owing to the interest in white LEDs and related applications. Conventional material-based approaches to phosphors focus on obtaining the desired absorption/emission wavelengths and/or improving quantum efficiency. Here, we report a novel approach for enhancing the performance of phosphors: structural modification of phosphors. We incorporated inorganic colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) into a lateral one-dimensional (1D) photonic crystal (PhC) thin-film structure, with its photonic band-edge (PBE) modes matching the energy of 'excitation photons' (rather than 'emitted photons', as in most other PBE application devices). At resonance, we observed an approximately 4-fold enhancement of fluorescence over the reference bulk phosphor, which reflects an improved absorption of the excitation photons. This nano-structural engineering approach is a paradigm shift in the phosphor research area and may help to develop next-generation higher efficiency phosphors with novel characteristics.

An introduction to quantum machine learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schuld, Maria; Sinayskiy, Ilya; Petruccione, Francesco

2015-04-01

Machine learning algorithms learn a desired input-output relation from examples in order to interpret new inputs. This is important for tasks such as image and speech recognition or strategy optimisation, with growing applications in the IT industry. In the last couple of years, researchers investigated if quantum computing can help to improve classical machine learning algorithms. Ideas range from running computationally costly algorithms or their subroutines efficiently on a quantum computer to the translation of stochastic methods into the language of quantum theory. This contribution gives a systematic overview of the emerging field of quantum machine learning. It presents the approaches as well as technical details in an accessible way, and discusses the potential of a future theory of quantum learning.

The quantum mitochondrion and optimal health

PubMed Central

Nunn, Alistair V.W.; Guy, Geoffrey W.; Bell, Jimmy D.

2016-01-01

A sufficiently complex set of molecules, if subject to perturbation, will self-organize and show emergent behaviour. If such a system can take on information it will become subject to natural selection. This could explain how self-replicating molecules evolved into life and how intelligence arose. A pivotal step in this evolutionary process was of course the emergence of the eukaryote and the advent of the mitochondrion, which both enhanced energy production per cell and increased the ability to process, store and utilize information. Recent research suggest that from its inception life embraced quantum effects such as ‘tunnelling’ and ‘coherence’ while competition and stressful conditions provided a constant driver for natural selection. We believe that the biphasic adaptive response to stress described by hormesis–a process that captures information to enable adaptability, is central to this whole process. Critically, hormesis could improve mitochondrial quantum efficiency, improving the ATP/ROS ratio, whereas inflammation, which is tightly associated with the aging process, might do the opposite. This all suggests that to achieve optimal health and healthy aging, one has to sufficiently stress the system to ensure peak mitochondrial function, which itself could reflect selection of optimum efficiency at the quantum level. PMID:27528758

Improving the Power Conversion Efficiency of Carbon Quantum Dot-Sensitized Solar Cells by Growing the Dots on a TiO₂ Photoanode In Situ.

PubMed

Zhang, Quanxin; Zhang, Geping; Sun, Xiaofeng; Yin, Keyang; Li, Hongguang

2017-05-31

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are highly promising since they can potentially solve global energy issues. The development of new photosensitizers is the key to fully realizing perspectives proposed to DSSCs. Being cheap and nontoxic, carbon quantum dots (CQDs) have emerged as attractive candidates for this purpose. However, current methodologies to build up CQD-sensitized solar cells (CQDSCs) result in an imperfect apparatus with extremely low power conversion efficiencies (PCEs). Herein, we present a simple strategy of growing carbon quantum dots (CQDs) onto TiO₂ surfaces in situ. The CQDs/TiO₂ hybridized photoanode was then used to construct solar cell with an improved PCE of 0.87%, which is higher than all of the reported CQDSCs adopting the simple post-adsorption method. This result indicates that an in situ growing strategy has great advantages in terms of optimizing the performance of CQDSCs. In addition, we have also found that the mechanisms dominating the performance of CQDSCs are different from those behind the solar cells using inorganic semiconductor quantum dots (ISQDs) as the photosensitizers, which re-confirms the conclusion that the characteristics of CQDs differ from those of ISQDs.

Latest improvements on long wave p on n HgCdTe technology at Sofradir

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rubaldo, Laurent; Taalat, Rachid; Berthoz, Jocelyn; Maillard, Magalie; Péré-Laperne, Nicolas; Brunner, Alexandre; Guinedor, Pierre; Dargent, L.; Manissadjian, A.; Reibel, Y.; Kerlain, A.

2017-02-01

SOFRADIR is the worldwide leader on the cooled IR detector market for high-performance space, military and security applications thanks to a well mastered Mercury Cadmium Telluride (MCT) technology, and recently thanks to the acquisition of III-V technology: InSb, InGaAs, and QWIP quantum detectors. As a result, strong and continuous development efforts are deployed to deliver cutting edge products with improved performances in terms of spatial and thermal resolution, dark current, quantum efficiency, low excess noise and high operability. The actual trend in quantum IR detector development is the design of very small pixel, with the higher achievable operating temperature whatever the spectral band. Moreover maintaining the detector operability and image quality at higher temperature moreover for long wavelength is a major issue. This paper presents the recent developments achieved at Sofradir to meet this challenge for LW band MCT extrinsic p on n technology with a cut-off wavelength of 9.3μm at 90K. State of the art performances will be presented in terms of dark current, operability and NETD temperature dependency, quantum efficiency, MTF, and RFPN (Residual Fixed Pattern Noise) stability up to 100K.

Improvement of Charge Transportation in Si Quantum Dot-Sensitized Solar Cells Using Vanadium Doped TiO2.

PubMed

Seo, Hyunwoong; Ichida, Daiki; Hashimoto, Shinji; Itagaki, Naho; Koga, Kazunori; Shiratani, Masaharu; Nam, Sang-Hun; Boo, Jin-Hyo

2016-05-01

The multiple exciton generation characteristics of quantum dots have been expected to enhance the performance of photochemical solar cells. In previous work, we first introduced Si quantum dot for sensitized solar cells. The Si quantum dots were fabricated by multi-hollow discharge plasma chemical vapor deposition, and were characterized optically and morphologically. The Si quantum dot-sensitized solar cells had poor performance due to significant electron loss by charge recombination. Although the large Si particle size resulted in the exposure of a large TiO2 surface area, there was a limit to ho much the particle size could be decreased due to the reduced absorbance of small particles. Therefore, this work focused on decreasing the internal impedance to improve charge transfer. TiO2 was electronically modified by doping with vanadium, which can improve electron transfer in the TiO2 network, and which is stable in the redox electrolyte. Photogenerated electrons can more easily arrive at the conductive electrode due to the decreased internal impedance. The dark photovoltaic properties confirmed the reduction of charge recombination, and the photon-to-current conversion efficiency reflected the improved electron transfer. Impedance analysis confirmed a decrease in internal impedance and an increased electron lifetime. Consequently, these improvements by vanadium doping enhanced the overall performance of Si quantum dot-sensitized solar cells.

Near infrared emission of TbAG:Ce3+,Yb3+ phosphor for solar cell applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meshram, N. D.; Yadav, P. J.; Pathak, A. A.; Joshi, C. P.; Moharil, S. V.

2016-05-01

Luminescent materials doped with rare earth ions are used for many devices such as optical amplifiers in telecommunication, phosphors for white light emitting diodes (LEDs), displays, and so on. Recently, they also have attracted a great interest for photovoltaic applications to improve solar cell efficiency by modifying solar spectrum. Crystal silicon (c-Si) solar cells most effectively convert photons of energy close to the semiconductor band gap. The mis-match between the incident solar spectrum and the spectral response of solar cells is one of the main reasons to limit the cell efficiency. The efficiency limit of the c-Si has been estimated to be 29% by Shockley and Queisser. However, this limit is estimated to be improved up to 38.4% by modifying the solar spectrum by a quantum cutting (down converting) phosphor which converts one photon of high energy into two photons of lower energy. The phenomenon such as the quantum cutting or the down conversion of rare earth ions have been investigated since Dexter reported the possibility of a luminescent quantum yield greater than unity in 1957. In the past, the quantum cutting from a vacuum ultraviolet photon to visible photons for Pr3+, Gd3+,Gd3+-Eu3+, and Er3+-Tb3+ had been studied. Recently, a new quantum cutting phenomenon from visible photon shorter than 500 nm to two infrared photons for Tb3+-Yb3+, Pr3+-Yb3+, and Tm3+-Yb3+ has been reported. The Yb3+ ion is suitable as an acceptor and emitter because luminescent quantum efficiency of Yb3+ is close to 100% and the energy of the only excited level of Yb3+ (1.2 eV) is roughly in accordance with the band gap of Si (1.1 eV). In addition, the Ce3+-doped Tb3Al5O12 (TbAG), used as a phosphor for white LED, has broad absorption bands in the range of 300-500 nm due to strong ligand field and high luminescent quantum efficiency. Therefore, the Ce3+ ions in the TbAG can be suitable as an excellent sensitizing donor for down conversion materials of Si solar cells. In this paper, Ce3+ -Yb3+-codoped TbAG ceramics were prepared and the energy transfer (ET) including down conversion mechanism in Ce3+ - Yb3+ codoped TbAG ceramics have been evaluated by the photoluminescence (PL), the photoluminescence excitation (PLE), the lifetime and the quantum yield (QY), which was measured directly using an integrating sphere.

Efficient Sky-Blue Perovskite Light-Emitting Devices Based on Ethylammonium Bromide Induced Layered Perovskites.

PubMed

Wang, Qi; Ren, Jie; Peng, Xue-Feng; Ji, Xia-Xia; Yang, Xiao-Hui

2017-09-06

Low-dimensional organometallic halide perovskites are actively studied for the light-emitting applications due to their properties such as solution processability, high luminescence quantum yield, large exciton binding energy, and tunable band gap. Introduction of large-group ammonium halides not only serves as a convenient and versatile method to obtain layered perovskites but also allows the exploitation of the energy-funneling process to achieve a high-efficiency light emission. Herein, we investigate the influence of the addition of ethylammonium bromide on the morphology, crystallite structure, and optical properties of the resultant perovskite materials and report that the phase transition from bulk to layered perovskite occurs in the presence of excess ethylammonium bromide. On the basis of this strategy, we report green perovskite light-emitting devices with the maximum external quantum efficiency of ca. 3% and power efficiency of 9.3 lm/W. Notably, blue layered perovskite light-emitting devices with the Commission Internationale de I'Eclairage coordinates of (0.16, 0.23) exhibit the maximum external quantum efficiency of 2.6% and power efficiency of 1 lm/W at 100 cd/m 2 , representing a large improvement over the previously reported analogous devices.

Fuzzy Matching Based on Gray-scale Difference for Quantum Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, GaoFeng; Zhou, Ri-Gui; Liu, XingAo; Hu, WenWen; Luo, Jia

2018-05-01

Quantum image processing has recently emerged as an essential problem in practical tasks, e.g. real-time image matching. Previous studies have shown that the superposition and entanglement of quantum can greatly improve the efficiency of complex image processing. In this paper, a fuzzy quantum image matching scheme based on gray-scale difference is proposed to find out the target region in a reference image, which is very similar to the template image. Firstly, we employ the proposed enhanced quantum representation (NEQR) to store digital images. Then some certain quantum operations are used to evaluate the gray-scale difference between two quantum images by thresholding. If all of the obtained gray-scale differences are not greater than the threshold value, it indicates a successful fuzzy matching of quantum images. Theoretical analysis and experiments show that the proposed scheme performs fuzzy matching at a low cost and also enables exponentially significant speedup via quantum parallel computation.

Harnessing Sun’s Energy with Quantum Dots Based Next Generation Solar Cell

PubMed Central

Halim, Mohammad A.

2012-01-01

Our energy consumption relies heavily on the three components of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas and coal) and nearly 83% of our current energy is consumed from those sources. The use of fossil fuels, however, has been viewed as a major environmental threat because of their substantial contribution to greenhouse gases which are responsible for increasing the global average temperature. Last four decades, scientists have been searching for alternative sources of energy which need to be environmentally clean, efficient, cost-effective, renewable, and sustainable. One of the promising sustainable sources of energy can be achieved by harnessing sun energy through silicon wafer, organic polymer, inorganic dye, and quantum dots based solar cells. Among them, quantum dots have an exceptional property in that they can excite multiple electrons using only one photon. These dots can easily be synthesized, processed in solution, and incorporated into solar cell application. Interestingly, the quantum dots solar cells can exceed the Shockley-Queisser limit; however, it is a great challenge for other solar cell materials to exceed the limit. Theoretically, the quantum dots solar cell can boost the power conversion efficiency up to 66% and even higher to 80%. Moreover, in changing the size of the quantum dots one can utilize the Sun’s broad spectrum of visible and infrared ranges. This review briefly overviews the present performance of different materials-based solar cells including silicon wafer, dye-sensitized, and organic solar cells. In addition, recent advances of the quantum dots based solar cells which utilize cadmium sulfide/selenide, lead sulfide/selenide, and new carbon dots as light harvesting materials has been reviewed. A future outlook is sketched as to how one could improve the efficiency up to 10% from the current highest efficiency of 6.6%. PMID:28348320

Harnessing Sun's Energy with Quantum Dots Based Next Generation Solar Cell.

PubMed

Halim, Mohammad A

2012-12-27

Our energy consumption relies heavily on the three components of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas and coal) and nearly 83% of our current energy is consumed from those sources. The use of fossil fuels, however, has been viewed as a major environmental threat because of their substantial contribution to greenhouse gases which are responsible for increasing the global average temperature. Last four decades, scientists have been searching for alternative sources of energy which need to be environmentally clean, efficient, cost-effective, renewable, and sustainable. One of the promising sustainable sources of energy can be achieved by harnessing sun energy through silicon wafer, organic polymer, inorganic dye, and quantum dots based solar cells. Among them, quantum dots have an exceptional property in that they can excite multiple electrons using only one photon. These dots can easily be synthesized, processed in solution, and incorporated into solar cell application. Interestingly, the quantum dots solar cells can exceed the Shockley - Queisser limit; however, it is a great challenge for other solar cell materials to exceed the limit. Theoretically, the quantum dots solar cell can boost the power conversion efficiency up to 66% and even higher to 80%. Moreover, in changing the size of the quantum dots one can utilize the Sun's broad spectrum of visible and infrared ranges. This review briefly overviews the present performance of different materials-based solar cells including silicon wafer, dye-sensitized, and organic solar cells. In addition, recent advances of the quantum dots based solar cells which utilize cadmium sulfide/selenide, lead sulfide/selenide, and new carbon dots as light harvesting materials has been reviewed. A future outlook is sketched as to how one could improve the efficiency up to 10% from the current highest efficiency of 6.6%.

Ligand removal and photo-activation of CsPbBr3 quantum dots for enhanced optoelectronic devices.

PubMed

Moyen, Eric; Kanwat, Anil; Cho, Sinyoung; Jun, Haeyeon; Aad, Roy; Jang, Jin

2018-05-10

Perovskite quantum dots have recently emerged as a promising light source for optoelectronic applications. However, integrating them into devices while preserving their outstanding optical properties remains challenging. Due to their ionic nature, perovskite quantum dots are extremely sensitive and degrade on applying the simplest processes. To maintain their colloidal stability, they are surrounded by organic ligands; these prevent efficient charge carrier injection in devices and have to be removed. Here we report on a simple method, where a moderate thermal process followed by exposure to UV in air can efficiently remove ligands and increase the photo-luminescence of the room temperature synthesized perovskite quantum dot thin films. Annealing is accompanied by a red shift of the emission wavelength, usually attributed to the coalescence and irreversible degradation of the quantum dots. We show that it is actually related to the relaxation of the quantum dots upon the ligand removal, without the creation of non-radiative recombining defects. The quantum dot surface, as devoid of ligands, is subsequently photo-oxidized and smoothened upon exposure to UV in air, which drastically enhances their photo-luminescence. This adequate combination of treatments improves by more than an order of magnitude the performances of perovskite quantum dot light emitting diodes.

Electrical and Optical Enhancement in Internally Nanopatterned Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fina, Michael Dane

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have made tremendous technological progress in the past two decades and have emerged as a top competitor for next generation light-emitting displays and lighting. State-of-the-art OLEDs have been reported in literature to approach, and even surpass, white fluorescent tube efficiency. However, despite rapid technological progress, efficiency metrics must be improved to compete with traditional inorganic light-emitting diode (LED) technology. Organic materials possess specialized traits that permit manipulations to the light-emitting cavity. Overall, as demonstrated within, these modifications can be used to improve electrical and optical device efficiencies. This work is focused at analyzing the effects that nanopatterned geometric modifications to the organic active layers play on device efficiency. In general, OLED efficiency is complicated by the complex, coupled processes which contribute to spontaneous dipole emission. A composite of three sub-systems (electrical, exciton and optical) ultimately dictate the OLED device efficiency. OLED electrical operation is believed to take place via a low-mobility-modified Schottky injection process. In the injection-limited regime, geometric effects are expected to modify the local electric field leading to device current enhancement. It is shown that the patterning effect can be used to enhance charge carrier parity, thereby enhancing overall recombination. Current density and luminance characteristics are shown to be improved by OLED nanopatterning from both the model developed within and experimental techniques. Next, the optical enhancement effects produced by the nanopatterned array are considered. Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations are used to determine positional, spectral optical enhancement for the nanopatterned device. The results show beneficial effects to the device performance. The optical enhancements are related to the reduction in internal radiative quenching (improved internal quantum efficiency) and improvement in light extraction (improved outcoupling efficiency). Furthermore, the electrical model is used to construct a positional radiative efficiency map that when combined with the optical enhancement reveals the overall external quantum efficiency enhancement.

Synthesis and x-ray characterization of sputtered bi-alkali antimonide photocathodes

DOE PAGES

Gaowei, M.; Ding, Z.; Schubert, S.; ...

2017-11-10

Advanced photoinjectors, which are critical to many next generation accelerators, open the door to new ways of material probing, both as injectors for free electron lasers and for ultra-fast electron diffraction. For these applications, the nonuniformity of the electric field near the cathode caused by surface roughness can be the dominant source of beam emittance. Therefore, improving the photocathode roughness while maintaining quantum efficiency is essential to the improvement of beam brightness. Here in this article, we report the demonstration of a bi-alkali antimonide photocathode with an order of magnitude improved roughness by sputter deposition from a K 2CsSb sputtermore » target, using in situ and operando X-ray characterizations. We found that a surface roughness of 0.5 nm for a sputtered photocathode with a final thickness of 42 nm can be achieved while still yielding a quantum efficiency of 3.3% at 530 nm wavelength.« less

Synthesis and x-ray characterization of sputtered bi-alkali antimonide photocathodes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gaowei, M.; Ding, Z.; Schubert, S.

Advanced photoinjectors, which are critical to many next generation accelerators, open the door to new ways of material probing, both as injectors for free electron lasers and for ultra-fast electron diffraction. For these applications, the nonuniformity of the electric field near the cathode caused by surface roughness can be the dominant source of beam emittance. Therefore, improving the photocathode roughness while maintaining quantum efficiency is essential to the improvement of beam brightness. Here in this article, we report the demonstration of a bi-alkali antimonide photocathode with an order of magnitude improved roughness by sputter deposition from a K 2CsSb sputtermore » target, using in situ and operando X-ray characterizations. We found that a surface roughness of 0.5 nm for a sputtered photocathode with a final thickness of 42 nm can be achieved while still yielding a quantum efficiency of 3.3% at 530 nm wavelength.« less

SNSPD with parallel nanowires (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ejrnaes, Mikkel; Parlato, Loredana; Gaggero, Alessandro; Mattioli, Francesco; Leoni, Roberto; Pepe, Giampiero; Cristiano, Roberto

2017-05-01

Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) have shown to be promising in applications such as quantum communication and computation, quantum optics, imaging, metrology and sensing. They offer the advantages of a low dark count rate, high efficiency, a broadband response, a short time jitter, a high repetition rate, and no need for gated-mode operation. Several SNSPD designs have been proposed in literature. Here, we discuss the so-called parallel nanowires configurations. They were introduced with the aim of improving some SNSPD property like detection efficiency, speed, signal-to-noise ratio, or photon number resolution. Although apparently similar, the various parallel designs are not the same. There is no one design that can improve the mentioned properties all together. In fact, each design presents its own characteristics with specific advantages and drawbacks. In this work, we will discuss the various designs outlining peculiarities and possible improvements.

Improvement of two-way continuous-variable quantum key distribution with virtual photon subtraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Yijia; Zhang, Yichen; Li, Zhengyu; Yu, Song; Guo, Hong

2017-08-01

We propose a method to improve the performance of two-way continuous-variable quantum key distribution protocol by virtual photon subtraction. The virtual photon subtraction implemented via non-Gaussian post-selection not only enhances the entanglement of two-mode squeezed vacuum state but also has advantages in simplifying physical operation and promoting efficiency. In two-way protocol, virtual photon subtraction could be applied on two sources independently. Numerical simulations show that the optimal performance of renovated two-way protocol is obtained with photon subtraction only used by Alice. The transmission distance and tolerable excess noise are improved by using the virtual photon subtraction with appropriate parameters. Moreover, the tolerable excess noise maintains a high value with the increase in distance so that the robustness of two-way continuous-variable quantum key distribution system is significantly improved, especially at long transmission distance.

Homojunction GaAs solar cells grown by close space vapor transport

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Boucher, Jason W.; Ritenour, Andrew J.; Greenaway, Ann L.

2014-06-08

We report on the first pn junction solar cells grown by homoepitaxy of GaAs using close space vapor transport (CSVT). Cells were grown both on commercial wafer substrates and on a CSVT absorber film, and had efficiencies reaching 8.1%, open circuit voltages reaching 909 mV, and internal quantum efficiency of 90%. The performance of these cells is partly limited by the electron diffusion lengths in the wafer substrates, as evidenced by the improved peak internal quantum efficiency in devices fabricated on a CSVT absorber film. Unoptimized highly-doped n-type emitters also limit the photocurrent, indicating that thinner emitters with reduced doping,more » and ultimately wider band gap window or surface passivation layers, are required to increase the efficiency.« less

Improving the efficiency of single and multiple teleportation protocols based on the direct use of partially entangled states

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fortes, Raphael; Rigolin, Gustavo, E-mail: rigolin@ifi.unicamp.br

We push the limits of the direct use of partially pure entangled states to perform quantum teleportation by presenting several protocols in many different scenarios that achieve the optimal efficiency possible. We review and put in a single formalism the three major strategies known to date that allow one to use partially entangled states for direct quantum teleportation (no distillation strategies permitted) and compare their efficiencies in real world implementations. We show how one can improve the efficiency of many direct teleportation protocols by combining these techniques. We then develop new teleportation protocols employing multipartite partially entangled states. The threemore » techniques are also used here in order to achieve the highest efficiency possible. Finally, we prove the upper bound for the optimal success rate for protocols based on partially entangled Bell states and show that some of the protocols here developed achieve such a bound. -- Highlights: •Optimal direct teleportation protocols using directly partially entangled states. •We put in a single formalism all strategies of direct teleportation. •We extend these techniques for multipartite partially entangle states. •We give upper bounds for the optimal efficiency of these protocols.« less

Improved Signal Control: An Analysis of the Effects of Automatic Gain Control for Optical Signal Detection.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-12-01

period f T - switching period a - AGC control parameter q - quantum efficiency of photon to electron conversions "I - binary "one" given in terms of the...of the photons striking the surface of the detector. This rate is defined as: X(t) = (np(t)A) / hf 0 (21) where n - quantum efficiency of the photon...mw to 10 mw [Ref 5, Table 1] for infrared wavelengths. 30 Assuming all of the source’s output power is detected, the rate is calculated to be an order

Hierarchical structures consisting of SiO2 nanorods and p-GaN microdomes for efficiently harvesting solar energy for InGaN quantum well photovoltaic cells.

PubMed

Ho, Cheng-Han; Lien, Der-Hsien; Chang, Hung-Chih; Lin, Chin-An; Kang, Chen-Fang; Hsing, Meng-Kai; Lai, Kun-Yu; He, Jr-Hau

2012-12-07

We experimentally and theoretically demonstrated the hierarchical structure of SiO(2) nanorod arrays/p-GaN microdomes as a light harvesting scheme for InGaN-based multiple quantum well solar cells. The combination of nano- and micro-structures leads to increased internal multiple reflection and provides an intermediate refractive index between air and GaN. Cells with the hierarchical structure exhibit improved short-circuit current densities and fill factors, rendering a 1.47 fold efficiency enhancement as compared to planar cells.

Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence in Polymers: A New Route toward Highly Efficient Solution Processable OLEDs.

PubMed

Nikolaenko, Andrey E; Cass, Michael; Bourcet, Florence; Mohamad, David; Roberts, Matthew

2015-11-25

Efficient intermonomer thermally activated delayed fluorescence is demonstrated for the first time, opening a new route to achieving high-efficiency solution processable polymer light-emitting device materials. External quantum efficiency (EQE) of up to 10% is achieved in a simple fully solution-processed device structure, and routes for further EQE improvement identified. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Bidentate Ligand-Passivated CsPbI3 Perovskite Nanocrystals for Stable Near-Unity Photoluminescence Quantum Yield and Efficient Red Light-Emitting Diodes.

PubMed

Pan, Jun; Shang, Yuequn; Yin, Jun; De Bastiani, Michele; Peng, Wei; Dursun, Ibrahim; Sinatra, Lutfan; El-Zohry, Ahmed M; Hedhili, Mohamed N; Emwas, Abdul-Hamid; Mohammed, Omar F; Ning, Zhijun; Bakr, Osman M

2018-01-17

Although halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) are promising materials for optoelectronic devices, they suffer severely from chemical and phase instabilities. Moreover, the common capping ligands like oleic acid and oleylamine that encapsulate the NCs will form an insulating layer, precluding their utility in optoelectronic devices. To overcome these limitations, we develop a postsynthesis passivation process for CsPbI 3 NCs by using a bidentate ligand, namely 2,2'-iminodibenzoic acid. Our passivated NCs exhibit narrow red photoluminescence with exceptional quantum yield (close to unity) and substantially improved stability. The passivated NCs enabled us to realize red light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with 5.02% external quantum efficiency and 748 cd/m 2 luminance, surpassing by far LEDs made from the nonpassivated NCs.

Enhancing the Performance of Perovskite Solar Cells by Hybridizing SnS Quantum Dots with CH3 NH3 PbI3.

PubMed

Han, Jianhua; Yin, Xuewen; Nan, Hui; Zhou, Yu; Yao, Zhibo; Li, Jianbao; Oron, Dan; Lin, Hong

2017-08-01

The combination of perovskite solar cells and quantum dot solar cells has significant potential due to the complementary nature of the two constituent materials. In this study, solar cells (SCs) with a hybrid CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 /SnS quantum dots (QDs) absorber layer are fabricated by a facile and universal in situ crystallization method, enabling easy embedding of the QDs in perovskite layer. Compared with SCs based on CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 , SCs using CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 /SnS QDs hybrid films as absorber achieves a 25% enhancement in efficiency, giving rise to an efficiency of 16.8%. The performance improvement can be attributed to the improved crystallinity of the absorber, enhanced photo-induced carriers' separation and transport within the absorber layer, and improved incident light utilization. The generality of the methods used in this work paves a universal pathway for preparing other perovskite/QDs hybrid materials and the synthesis of entire nontoxic perovskite/QDs hybrid structure. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Parallelizing quantum circuit synthesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Matteo, Olivia; Mosca, Michele

2016-03-01

Quantum circuit synthesis is the process in which an arbitrary unitary operation is decomposed into a sequence of gates from a universal set, typically one which a quantum computer can implement both efficiently and fault-tolerantly. As physical implementations of quantum computers improve, the need is growing for tools that can effectively synthesize components of the circuits and algorithms they will run. Existing algorithms for exact, multi-qubit circuit synthesis scale exponentially in the number of qubits and circuit depth, leaving synthesis intractable for circuits on more than a handful of qubits. Even modest improvements in circuit synthesis procedures may lead to significant advances, pushing forward the boundaries of not only the size of solvable circuit synthesis problems, but also in what can be realized physically as a result of having more efficient circuits. We present a method for quantum circuit synthesis using deterministic walks. Also termed pseudorandom walks, these are walks in which once a starting point is chosen, its path is completely determined. We apply our method to construct a parallel framework for circuit synthesis, and implement one such version performing optimal T-count synthesis over the Clifford+T gate set. We use our software to present examples where parallelization offers a significant speedup on the runtime, as well as directly confirm that the 4-qubit 1-bit full adder has optimal T-count 7 and T-depth 3.

Towards efficient solar hydrogen production by intercalated carbon nitride photocatalyst.

PubMed

Gao, Honglin; Yan, Shicheng; Wang, Jiajia; Huang, Yu An; Wang, Peng; Li, Zhaosheng; Zou, Zhigang

2013-11-07

The development of efficient photocatalytic material for converting solar energy to hydrogen energy as viable alternatives to fossil-fuel technologies is expected to revolutionize energy shortage and environment issues. However, to date, the low quantum yield for solar hydrogen production over photocatalysts has hindered advances in the practical applications of photocatalysis. Here, we show that a carbon nitride intercalation compound (CNIC) synthesized by a simple molten salt route is an efficient polymer photocatalyst with a high quantum yield. We found that coordinating the alkali metals into the C-N plane of carbon nitride will induce the un-uniform spatial charge distribution. The electrons are confined in the intercalated region while the holes are in the far intercalated region, which promoted efficient separation of photogenerated carriers. The donor-type alkali metal ions coordinating into the nitrogen pots of carbon nitrides increase the free carrier concentration and lead to the formation of novel nonradiative paths. This should favor improved transport of the photogenerated electron and hole and decrease the electron-hole recombination rate. As a result, the CNIC exhibits a quantum yield as high as 21.2% under 420 nm light irradiation for solar hydrogen production. Such high quantum yield opens up new opportunities for using cheap semiconducting polymers as energy transducers.

Deterministic strain-induced arrays of quantum emitters in a two-dimensional semiconductor

PubMed Central

Branny, Artur; Kumar, Santosh; Proux, Raphaël; Gerardot, Brian D

2017-01-01

An outstanding challenge in quantum photonics is scalability, which requires positioning of single quantum emitters in a deterministic fashion. Site positioning progress has been made in established platforms including defects in diamond and self-assembled quantum dots, albeit often with compromised coherence and optical quality. The emergence of single quantum emitters in layered transition metal dichalcogenide semiconductors offers new opportunities to construct a scalable quantum architecture. Here, using nanoscale strain engineering, we deterministically achieve a two-dimensional lattice of quantum emitters in an atomically thin semiconductor. We create point-like strain perturbations in mono- and bi-layer WSe2 which locally modify the band-gap, leading to efficient funnelling of excitons towards isolated strain-tuned quantum emitters that exhibit high-purity single photon emission. We achieve near unity emitter creation probability and a mean positioning accuracy of 120±32 nm, which may be improved with further optimization of the nanopillar dimensions. PMID:28530219

A semi-inverse variational method for generating the bound state energy eigenvalues in a quantum system: the Dirac Coulomb type-equation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Libarir, K.; Zerarka, A.

2018-05-01

Exact eigenspectra and eigenfunctions of the Dirac quantum equation are established using the semi-inverse variational method. This method improves of a considerable manner the efficiency and accuracy of results compared with the other usual methods much argued in the literature. Some applications for different state configurations are proposed to concretize the method.

Room-Temperature Triple-Ligand Surface Engineering Synergistically Boosts Ink Stability, Recombination Dynamics, and Charge Injection toward EQE-11.6% Perovskite QLEDs.

PubMed

Song, Jizhong; Li, Jinhang; Xu, Leimeng; Li, Jianhai; Zhang, Fengjuan; Han, Boning; Shan, Qingsong; Zeng, Haibo

2018-06-10

Developing low-cost and high-quality quantum dots (QDs) or nanocrystals (NCs) and their corresponding efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is crucial for the next-generation ultra-high-definition flexible displays. Here, there is a report on a room-temperature triple-ligand surface engineering strategy to play the synergistic role of short ligands of tetraoctylammonium bromide (TOAB), didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB), and octanoic acid (OTAc) toward "ideal" perovskite QDs with a high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of >90%, unity radiative decay in its intrinsic channel, stable ink characteristics, and effective charge injection and transportation in QD films, resulting in the highly efficient QD-based LEDs (QLEDs). Furthermore, the QD films with less nonradiative recombination centers exhibit improved PL properties with a PLQY of 61% through dopant engineering in A-site. The robustness of such properties is demonstrated by the fabrication of green electroluminescent LEDs based on CsPbBr 3 QDs with the peak external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 11.6%, and the corresponding peak internal quantum efficiency (IQE) and power efficiency are 52.2% and 44.65 lm W -1 , respectively, which are the most-efficient perovskite QLEDs with colloidal CsPbBr 3 QDs as emitters up to now. These results demonstrate that the as-obtained QD inks have a wide range application in future high-definition QD displays and high-quality lightings. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Enhancement of quantum-enhanced LADAR receiver in nonideal phase-sensitive amplification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Shuan; Liu, Hongjun; Huang, Nan; Wang, Zhaolu; Han, Jing

2017-07-01

The phase-sensitive amplification (PSA) with an injected squeezed vacuum field is theoretically investigated in quantum-enhanced laser detection and ranging (LADAR) receiver. The theoretical model of the amplified process is derived to investigate the quantum fluctuations in detail. A new method of mitigating the unflat gain of nonideal PSA is proposed by adjusting the squeezed angle of the squeezed vacuum field. The simulation results indicate that signal-noise ratio (SNR) of system can be efficiently improved and close to the ideal case by this method. This research will provide an important potential in the applications of quantum-enhanced LADAR receiver.

Fidelity-Based Ant Colony Algorithm with Q-learning of Quantum System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liao, Qin; Guo, Ying; Tu, Yifeng; Zhang, Hang

2018-03-01

Quantum ant colony algorithm (ACA) has potential applications in quantum information processing, such as solutions of traveling salesman problem, zero-one knapsack problem, robot route planning problem, and so on. To shorten the search time of the ACA, we suggest the fidelity-based ant colony algorithm (FACA) for the control of quantum system. Motivated by structure of the Q-learning algorithm, we demonstrate the combination of a FACA with the Q-learning algorithm and suggest the design of a fidelity-based ant colony algorithm with the Q-learning to improve the performance of the FACA in a spin-1/2 quantum system. The numeric simulation results show that the FACA with the Q-learning can efficiently avoid trapping into local optimal policies and increase the speed of convergence process of quantum system.

Fidelity-Based Ant Colony Algorithm with Q-learning of Quantum System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liao, Qin; Guo, Ying; Tu, Yifeng; Zhang, Hang

2017-12-01

Quantum ant colony algorithm (ACA) has potential applications in quantum information processing, such as solutions of traveling salesman problem, zero-one knapsack problem, robot route planning problem, and so on. To shorten the search time of the ACA, we suggest the fidelity-based ant colony algorithm (FACA) for the control of quantum system. Motivated by structure of the Q-learning algorithm, we demonstrate the combination of a FACA with the Q-learning algorithm and suggest the design of a fidelity-based ant colony algorithm with the Q-learning to improve the performance of the FACA in a spin-1/2 quantum system. The numeric simulation results show that the FACA with the Q-learning can efficiently avoid trapping into local optimal policies and increase the speed of convergence process of quantum system.

Privacy Preserving Quantum Anonymous Transmission via Entanglement Relay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Wei; Huang, Liusheng; Song, Fang

2016-06-01

Anonymous transmission is an interesting and crucial issue in computer communication area, which plays a supplementary role to data privacy. In this paper, we put forward a privacy preserving quantum anonymous transmission protocol based on entanglement relay, which constructs anonymous entanglement from EPR pairs instead of multi-particle entangled state, e.g. GHZ state. Our protocol achieves both sender anonymity and receiver anonymity against an active adversary and tolerates any number of corrupt participants. Meanwhile, our protocol obtains an improvement in efficiency compared to quantum schemes in previous literature.

Privacy Preserving Quantum Anonymous Transmission via Entanglement Relay.

PubMed

Yang, Wei; Huang, Liusheng; Song, Fang

2016-06-01

Anonymous transmission is an interesting and crucial issue in computer communication area, which plays a supplementary role to data privacy. In this paper, we put forward a privacy preserving quantum anonymous transmission protocol based on entanglement relay, which constructs anonymous entanglement from EPR pairs instead of multi-particle entangled state, e.g. GHZ state. Our protocol achieves both sender anonymity and receiver anonymity against an active adversary and tolerates any number of corrupt participants. Meanwhile, our protocol obtains an improvement in efficiency compared to quantum schemes in previous literature.

Privacy Preserving Quantum Anonymous Transmission via Entanglement Relay

PubMed Central

Yang, Wei; Huang, Liusheng; Song, Fang

2016-01-01

Anonymous transmission is an interesting and crucial issue in computer communication area, which plays a supplementary role to data privacy. In this paper, we put forward a privacy preserving quantum anonymous transmission protocol based on entanglement relay, which constructs anonymous entanglement from EPR pairs instead of multi-particle entangled state, e.g. GHZ state. Our protocol achieves both sender anonymity and receiver anonymity against an active adversary and tolerates any number of corrupt participants. Meanwhile, our protocol obtains an improvement in efficiency compared to quantum schemes in previous literature. PMID:27247078

Deep Blue Phosphorescent Organic Light-Emitting Diodes with CIEy Value of 0.11 and External Quantum Efficiency up to 22.5.

PubMed

Li, Xiaoyue; Zhang, Juanye; Zhao, Zifeng; Wang, Liding; Yang, Hannan; Chang, Qiaowen; Jiang, Nan; Liu, Zhiwei; Bian, Zuqiang; Liu, Weiping; Lu, Zhenghong; Huang, Chunhui

2018-03-01

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) based on red and green phosphorescent iridium complexes are successfully commercialized in displays and solid-state lighting. However, blue ones still remain a challenge on account of their relatively dissatisfactory Commission International de L'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates and low efficiency. After analyzing the reported blue iridium complexes in the literature, a new deep-blue-emitting iridium complex with improved photoluminescence quantum yield is designed and synthesized. By rational screening host materials showing high triplet energy level in neat film as well as the OLED architecture to balance electron and hole recombination, highly efficient deep-blue-emission OLEDs with a CIE at (0.15, 0.11) and maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) up to 22.5% are demonstrated. Based on the transition dipole moment vector measurement with a variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry method, the ultrahigh EQE is assigned to a preferred horizontal dipole orientation of the iridium complex in doped film, which is beneficial for light extraction from the OLEDs. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Performance of Hg1-xCdxTe infrared focal plane array at elevated temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Anand; Pal, Ravinder

2017-04-01

The simulated optical and electrical performance of the infrared HgCdTe focal plane array (FPA) for elevated operation temperature is reported. The depleted absorber layer is explored for equilibrium mode of operation up to 160 K. A resonant cavity is created to improve photon-matter interaction and hence, reduces the required absorption volume. The volume of the active region of HgCdTe detector is reduced by 70% in this manner. Dark current density is decreased without compromising the quantum efficiency. The effect of the reduced band filling effect leading to higher absorption coefficient and more efficient utilization of incident flux is employed. High quantum efficiency is achieved in a thin compositionally graded n+/ν/π/p HgCdTe photo-diode. This architecture helps to minimize the requirement of charge handling capacity in the CMOS read-out integrated circuit (ROIC) as the operation temperature is increased. Quantum efficiency ˜30% or above is shown to be sufficient for Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference (NETD) less than 20 mK with the reported design.

100-period InGaAsP/InGaP superlattice solar cell with sub-bandgap quantum efficiency approaching 80%

DOE PAGES

Sayed, Islam E. H.; Jain, Nikhil; Steiner, Myles A.; ...

2017-08-25

Here, InGaAsP/InGaP quantum well (QW) structures are promising materials for next generation photovoltaic devices because of their tunable bandgap (1.50-1.80 eV) and being aluminum-free. However, the strain-balance limitations have previously limited light absorption in the QW region and constrained the external quantum efficiency (EQE) values beyond the In 0.49Ga 0.51P band-edge to less than 25%. In this work, we show that implementing a hundred period lattice matched InGaAsP/InGaP superlattice solar cell with more than 65% absorbing InGaAsP well resulted in more than 2x improvement in EQE values than previously reported strain balanced approaches. In addition, processing the devices with amore » rear optical reflector resulted in strong Fabry-Perot resonance oscillations and the EQE values were highly improved in the vicinity of these peaks, resulting in a short circuit current improvement of 10% relative to devices with a rear optical filter. These enhancements have resulted in an InGaAsP/InGaP superlattice solar cell with improved peak sub-bandgap EQE values exceeding 75% at 700 nm, an improvement in the short circuit current of 26% relative to standard InGaP devices, and an enhanced bandgap-voltage offset (W oc) of 0.4 V.« less

Quantum Linear System Algorithm for Dense Matrices.

PubMed

Wossnig, Leonard; Zhao, Zhikuan; Prakash, Anupam

2018-02-02

Solving linear systems of equations is a frequently encountered problem in machine learning and optimization. Given a matrix A and a vector b the task is to find the vector x such that Ax=b. We describe a quantum algorithm that achieves a sparsity-independent runtime scaling of O(κ^{2}sqrt[n]polylog(n)/ε) for an n×n dimensional A with bounded spectral norm, where κ denotes the condition number of A, and ε is the desired precision parameter. This amounts to a polynomial improvement over known quantum linear system algorithms when applied to dense matrices, and poses a new state of the art for solving dense linear systems on a quantum computer. Furthermore, an exponential improvement is achievable if the rank of A is polylogarithmic in the matrix dimension. Our algorithm is built upon a singular value estimation subroutine, which makes use of a memory architecture that allows for efficient preparation of quantum states that correspond to the rows of A and the vector of Euclidean norms of the rows of A.

Staircase Quantum Dots Configuration in Nanowires for Optimized Thermoelectric Power

PubMed Central

Li, Lijie; Jiang, Jian-Hua

2016-01-01

The performance of thermoelectric energy harvesters can be improved by nanostructures that exploit inelastic transport processes. One prototype is the three-terminal hopping thermoelectric device where electron hopping between quantum-dots are driven by hot phonons. Such three-terminal hopping thermoelectric devices have potential in achieving high efficiency or power via inelastic transport and without relying on heavy-elements or toxic compounds. We show in this work how output power of the device can be optimized via tuning the number and energy configuration of the quantum-dots embedded in parallel nanowires. We find that the staircase energy configuration with constant energy-step can improve the power factor over a serial connection of a single pair of quantum-dots. Moreover, for a fixed energy-step, there is an optimal length for the nanowire. Similarly for a fixed number of quantum-dots there is an optimal energy-step for the output power. Our results are important for future developments of high-performance nanostructured thermoelectric devices. PMID:27550093

High-speed noise-free optical quantum memory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaczmarek, K. T.; Ledingham, P. M.; Brecht, B.; Thomas, S. E.; Thekkadath, G. S.; Lazo-Arjona, O.; Munns, J. H. D.; Poem, E.; Feizpour, A.; Saunders, D. J.; Nunn, J.; Walmsley, I. A.

2018-04-01

Optical quantum memories are devices that store and recall quantum light and are vital to the realization of future photonic quantum networks. To date, much effort has been put into improving storage times and efficiencies of such devices to enable long-distance communications. However, less attention has been devoted to building quantum memories which add zero noise to the output. Even small additional noise can render the memory classical by destroying the fragile quantum signatures of the stored light. Therefore, noise performance is a critical parameter for all quantum memories. Here we introduce an intrinsically noise-free quantum memory protocol based on two-photon off-resonant cascaded absorption (ORCA). We demonstrate successful storage of GHz-bandwidth heralded single photons in a warm atomic vapor with no added noise, confirmed by the unaltered photon-number statistics upon recall. Our ORCA memory meets the stringent noise requirements for quantum memories while combining high-speed and room-temperature operation with technical simplicity, and therefore is immediately applicable to low-latency quantum networks.

Quantum image encryption based on restricted geometric and color transformations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Xian-Hua; Wang, Shen; Abd El-Latif, Ahmed A.; Niu, Xia-Mu

2014-08-01

A novel encryption scheme for quantum images based on restricted geometric and color transformations is proposed. The new strategy comprises efficient permutation and diffusion properties for quantum image encryption. The core idea of the permutation stage is to scramble the codes of the pixel positions through restricted geometric transformations. Then, a new quantum diffusion operation is implemented on the permutated quantum image based on restricted color transformations. The encryption keys of the two stages are generated by two sensitive chaotic maps, which can ensure the security of the scheme. The final step, measurement, is built by the probabilistic model. Experiments conducted on statistical analysis demonstrate that significant improvements in the results are in favor of the proposed approach.

Modulating emission intensity of GaN-based green light emitting diodes on c-plane sapphire

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Du, Chunhua; Ma, Ziguang; Zhou, Junming

2014-04-14

The asymmetric dual-wavelength (green/blue) coupled InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells were proposed to modulate the green emission intensity. Electroluminescent measurements demonstrate the conspicuous increment of the green light intensity by decreasing the coupled barrier thickness. This was partly attributed to capture of more carriers when holes tunnel across the thinner barrier from the blue quantum wells, as a hole reservoir, to the green quantum wells. While lower effective barrier height of the blue quantum wells benefits improved hole transportation from p-GaN to the active region. Efficiency droop of the green quantum wells was partially alleviated due to the enhanced injection efficiencymore » of holes.« less

On the Hole Injection for III-Nitride Based Deep Ultraviolet Light-Emitting Diodes.

PubMed

Li, Luping; Zhang, Yonghui; Xu, Shu; Bi, Wengang; Zhang, Zi-Hui; Kuo, Hao-Chung

2017-10-24

The hole injection is one of the bottlenecks that strongly hinder the quantum efficiency and the optical power for deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (DUV LEDs) with the emission wavelength smaller than 360 nm. The hole injection efficiency for DUV LEDs is co-affected by the p-type ohmic contact, the p-type hole injection layer, the p-type electron blocking layer and the multiple quantum wells. In this report, we review a large diversity of advances that are currently adopted to increase the hole injection efficiency for DUV LEDs. Moreover, by disclosing the underlying device physics, the design strategies that we can follow have also been suggested to improve the hole injection for DUV LEDs.

On the Hole Injection for III-Nitride Based Deep Ultraviolet Light-Emitting Diodes

PubMed Central

Li, Luping; Zhang, Yonghui; Kuo, Hao-Chung

2017-01-01

The hole injection is one of the bottlenecks that strongly hinder the quantum efficiency and the optical power for deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (DUV LEDs) with the emission wavelength smaller than 360 nm. The hole injection efficiency for DUV LEDs is co-affected by the p-type ohmic contact, the p-type hole injection layer, the p-type electron blocking layer and the multiple quantum wells. In this report, we review a large diversity of advances that are currently adopted to increase the hole injection efficiency for DUV LEDs. Moreover, by disclosing the underlying device physics, the design strategies that we can follow have also been suggested to improve the hole injection for DUV LEDs. PMID:29073738

Optimization of carrier multiplication for more effcient solar cells: the case of Sn quantum dots.

PubMed

Allan, Guy; Delerue, Christophe

2011-09-27

We present calculations of impact ionization rates, carrier multiplication yields, and solar-power conversion efficiencies in solar cells based on quantum dots (QDs) of a semimetal, α-Sn. Using these results and previous ones on PbSe and PbS QDs, we discuss a strategy to select QDs with the highest carrier multiplication rate for more efficient solar cells. We suggest using QDs of materials with a close to zero band gap and a high multiplicity of the bands in order to favor the relaxation of photoexcited carriers by impact ionization. Even in that case, the improvement of the maximum solar-power conversion efficiency appears to be a challenging task. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Efficiency enhancement of blue light emitting diodes by eliminating V-defects from InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well structures through GaN capping layer control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsai, Sheng-Chieh; Li, Ming-Jui; Fang, Hsin-Chiao; Tu, Chia-Hao; Liu, Chuan-Pu

2018-05-01

A facile method for fabricating blue light-emitting diodes (B-LEDs) with small embedded quantum dots (QDs) and enhanced light emission is demonstrated by tuning the temperature of the growing GaN capping layer to eliminate V-defects. As the growth temperature increases from 770 °C to 840 °C, not only does the density of the V-defects reduce from 4.12 ∗ 108 #/cm2 nm to zero on a smooth surface, but the QDs also get smaller. Therefore, the growth mechanism of smaller QDs assisted by elimination of V-defects is discussed. Photoluminescence and electroluminescence results show that smaller embedded QDs can improve recombination efficiency, and thus achieve higher peak intensity with smaller peak broadening. Accordingly, the external quantum efficiency of the B-LEDs with smaller QDs is enhanced, leading to a 6.8% increase in light output power in lamp-form package LEDs.

Raising yield potential in wheat: increasing photosynthesis capacity and efficiency

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Increasing wheat yields to help to ensure food security is a major challenge. Meeting this challenge requires a quantum improvement in the yield potential of wheat. Past increases in yield potential have largely resulted from improvements in harvest index not through increased biomass. Further large...

The influence of annealing temperature on the interface and photovoltaic properties of CdS/CdSe quantum dots sensitized ZnO nanorods solar cells.

PubMed

Qiu, Xiaofeng; Chen, Ling; Gong, Haibo; Zhu, Min; Han, Jun; Zi, Min; Yang, Xiaopeng; Ji, Changjian; Cao, Bingqiang

2014-09-15

Arrays of ZnO/CdS/CdSe core/shell nanocables with different annealing temperatures have been investigated for CdS/CdSe quantum dots sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). CdS/CdSe quantum dots were synthesized on the surface of ZnO nanorods that serve as the scaffold via a simple ion-exchange approach. The uniform microstructure was verified by scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope. UV-Visible absorption spectrum and Raman spectroscopy analysis indicated noticeable influence of annealing temperature on the interface structural and optical properties of the CdS/CdSe layers. Particularly, the relationship between annealing temperatures and photovoltaic performance of the corresponding QDSSCs was investigated employing photovoltaic conversion, quantum efficiency and electrochemical impedance spectra. It is demonstrated that higher cell efficiency can be obtained by optimizing the annealing temperature through extending the photoresponse range and improving QD layer crystal quality. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Simplified Perovskite Solar Cell with 4.1% Efficiency Employing Inorganic CsPbBr3 as Light Absorber.

PubMed

Duan, Jialong; Zhao, Yuanyuan; He, Benlin; Tang, Qunwei

2018-05-01

Perovskite solar cells with cost-effectiveness, high power conversion efficiency, and improved stability are promising solutions to the energy crisis and environmental pollution. However, a wide-bandgap inorganic-semiconductor electron-transporting layer such as TiO 2 can harvest ultraviolet light to photodegrade perovskite halides, and the high cost of a state-of-the-art hole-transporting layer is an economic burden for commercialization. Here, the building of a simplified cesium lead bromide (CsPbBr 3 ) perovskite solar cell with fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO)/CsPbBr 3 /carbon architecture by a multistep solution-processed deposition technology is demonstrated, achieving an efficiency as high as 4.1% and improved stability upon interfacial modification by graphene quantum dots and CsPbBrI 2 quantum dots. This work provides new opportunities of building next-generation solar cells with significantly simplified processes and reduced production costs. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Improved Efficiency and Enhanced Color Quality of Light-Emitting Diodes with Quantum Dot and Organic Hybrid Tandem Structure.

PubMed

Zhang, Heng; Feng, Yuanxiang; Chen, Shuming

2016-10-03

Light-emitting diodes based on organic (OLEDs) and colloidal quantum dot (QLEDs) are widely considered as next-generation display technologies because of their attractive advantages such as self-emitting and flexible form factor. The OLEDs exhibit relatively high efficiency, but their color saturation is quite poor compared with that of QLEDs. In contrast, the QLEDs show very pure color emission, but their efficiency is lower than that of OLEDs currently. To combine the advantages and compensate for the weaknesses of each other, we propose a hybrid tandem structure which integrates both OLED and QLED in a single device architecture. With ZnMgO/Al/HATCN interconnecting layer, hybrid tandem LEDs are successfully fabricated. The demonstrated hybrid tandem devices feature high efficiency and high color saturation simultaneously; for example, the devices exhibit maximum current efficiency and external quantum efficiency of 96.28 cd/A and 25.90%, respectively. Meanwhile, the full width at half-maximum of the emission spectra is remarkably reduced from 68 to 44 nm. With the proposed hybrid tandem structure, the color gamut of the displays can be effectively increased from 81% to 100% NTSC. The results indicate that the advantages of different LED technologies can be combined in a hybrid tandem structure.

The quantum mitochondrion and optimal health.

PubMed

Nunn, Alistair V W; Guy, Geoffrey W; Bell, Jimmy D

2016-08-15

A sufficiently complex set of molecules, if subject to perturbation, will self-organize and show emergent behaviour. If such a system can take on information it will become subject to natural selection. This could explain how self-replicating molecules evolved into life and how intelligence arose. A pivotal step in this evolutionary process was of course the emergence of the eukaryote and the advent of the mitochondrion, which both enhanced energy production per cell and increased the ability to process, store and utilize information. Recent research suggest that from its inception life embraced quantum effects such as 'tunnelling' and 'coherence' while competition and stressful conditions provided a constant driver for natural selection. We believe that the biphasic adaptive response to stress described by hormesis-a process that captures information to enable adaptability, is central to this whole process. Critically, hormesis could improve mitochondrial quantum efficiency, improving the ATP/ROS ratio, whereas inflammation, which is tightly associated with the aging process, might do the opposite. This all suggests that to achieve optimal health and healthy aging, one has to sufficiently stress the system to ensure peak mitochondrial function, which itself could reflect selection of optimum efficiency at the quantum level. © 2016 The Author(s). published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society.

Anonymous voting for multi-dimensional CV quantum system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rong-Hua, Shi; Yi, Xiao; Jin-Jing, Shi; Ying, Guo; Moon-Ho, Lee

2016-06-01

We investigate the design of anonymous voting protocols, CV-based binary-valued ballot and CV-based multi-valued ballot with continuous variables (CV) in a multi-dimensional quantum cryptosystem to ensure the security of voting procedure and data privacy. The quantum entangled states are employed in the continuous variable quantum system to carry the voting information and assist information transmission, which takes the advantage of the GHZ-like states in terms of improving the utilization of quantum states by decreasing the number of required quantum states. It provides a potential approach to achieve the efficient quantum anonymous voting with high transmission security, especially in large-scale votes. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61272495, 61379153, and 61401519), the Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (Grant No. 20130162110012), and the MEST-NRF of Korea (Grant No. 2012-002521).

Fault-tolerant simple quantum-bit commitment unbreakable by individual attacks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shimizu, Kaoru; Imoto, Nobuyuki

2002-03-01

This paper proposes a simple scheme for quantum-bit commitment that is secure against individual particle attacks, where a sender is unable to use quantum logical operations to manipulate multiparticle entanglement for performing quantum collective and coherent attacks. Our scheme employs a cryptographic quantum communication channel defined in a four-dimensional Hilbert space and can be implemented by using single-photon interference. For an ideal case of zero-loss and noiseless quantum channels, our basic scheme relies only on the physical features of quantum states. Moreover, as long as the bit-flip error rates are sufficiently small (less than a few percent), we can improve our scheme and make it fault tolerant by adopting simple error-correcting codes with a short length. Compared with the well-known Brassard-Crepeau-Jozsa-Langlois 1993 (BCJL93) protocol, our scheme is mathematically far simpler, more efficient in terms of transmitted photon number, and better tolerant of bit-flip errors.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Quan, Zhijue, E-mail: quanzhijue@ncu.edu.cn; Liu, Junlin; Fang, Fang

The effect of InGaN/GaN superlattices (SLs) on quantum efficiency and forward voltage of vertical blue InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) light-emitting diodes (LED) grown on Si substrate has been experimentally and theoretically investigated. We have prepared two LED samples, in which the 30 and 45 periods of SLs are inserted between MQW active layers and n-GaN layer, respectively. Electroluminescence measurement shows that the LED with 45 periods of SLs has higher quantum efficiency but lower forward voltage. It is observed that V-shaped pits grow up in size with an increase in SLs period number by means of scan transmission electronmore » microscope and secondary ion mass spectrometry. Further numerical simulations confirm that the performance improvement of LED by SLs is mainly ascribed to enhancing hole injection from the V-shaped pits.« less

Extremely efficient internal exciton dissociation through edge states in layered 2D perovskites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blancon, J.-C.; Tsai, H.; Nie, W.; Stoumpos, C. C.; Pedesseau, L.; Katan, C.; Kepenekian, M.; Soe, C. M. M.; Appavoo, K.; Sfeir, M. Y.; Tretiak, S.; Ajayan, P. M.; Kanatzidis, M. G.; Even, J.; Crochet, J. J.; Mohite, A. D.

2017-03-01

Understanding and controlling charge and energy flow in state-of-the-art semiconductor quantum wells has enabled high-efficiency optoelectronic devices. Two-dimensional (2D) Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites are solution-processed quantum wells wherein the band gap can be tuned by varying the perovskite-layer thickness, which modulates the effective electron-hole confinement. We report that, counterintuitive to classical quantum-confined systems where photogenerated electrons and holes are strongly bound by Coulomb interactions or excitons, the photophysics of thin films made of Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites with a thickness exceeding two perovskite-crystal units (>1.3 nanometers) is dominated by lower-energy states associated with the local intrinsic electronic structure of the edges of the perovskite layers. These states provide a direct pathway for dissociating excitons into longer-lived free carriers that substantially improve the performance of optoelectronic devices.

Internal quantum efficiency enhancement of GaInN/GaN quantum-well structures using Ag nanoparticles

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Iida, Daisuke; Department of Photonics Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Lyngby; Faculty of Science and Technology, Meijo University, 1-501 Shiogamaguchi Tempaku, 468-8502 Nagoya

2015-09-15

We report internal quantum efficiency enhancement of thin p-GaN green quantum-well structure using self-assembled Ag nanoparticles. Temperature dependent photoluminescence measurements are conducted to determine the internal quantum efficiency. The impact of excitation power density on the enhancement factor is investigated. We obtain an internal quantum efficiency enhancement by a factor of 2.3 at 756 W/cm{sup 2}, and a factor of 8.1 at 1 W/cm{sup 2}. A Purcell enhancement up to a factor of 26 is estimated by fitting the experimental results to a theoretical model for the efficiency enhancement factor.

Double-Sided Transparent TiO2 Nanotube/ITO Electrodes for Efficient CdS/CuInS2 Quantum Dot-Sensitized Solar Cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Chong; Ling, Lanyu; Li, Fumin

2017-01-01

In this paper, to improve the power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of quantum dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) based on CdS-sensitized TiO2 nanotube (TNT) electrodes, two methods are employed on the basis of our previous work. First, by replacing the traditional single-sided working electrodes, double-sided transparent TNT/ITO (DTTO) electrodes are prepared to increase the loading amount of quantum dots (QDs) on the working electrodes. Second, to increase the light absorption of the CdS-sensitized DTTO electrodes and improve the efficiency of charge separation in CdS-sensitized QDSSCs, copper indium disulfide (CuInS2) is selected to cosensitize the DTTO electrodes with CdS, which has a complementary property of light absorption with CdS. The PCEs of QDSSCs based on these prepared QD-sensitized DTTO electrodes are measured. Our experimental results show that compared to those based on the CdS/DTTO electrodes without CuInS2, the PCEs of the QDSSCs based on CdS/CuInS2-sensitized DTTO electrode are significantly improved, which is mainly attributed to the increased light absorption and reduced charge recombination. Under simulated one-sun illumination, the best PCE of 1.42% is achieved for the QDSSCs based on CdS(10)/CuInS2/DTTO electrode, which is much higher than that (0.56%) of the QDSSCs based on CdS(10)/DTTO electrode.

Synthesis of quantum dots

DOEpatents

McDaniel, Hunter

2017-10-17

Common approaches to synthesizing alloyed quantum dots employ high-cost, air-sensitive phosphine complexes as the selenium precursor. Disclosed quantum dot synthesis embodiments avoid these hazardous and air-sensitive selenium precursors. Certain embodiments utilize a combination comprising a thiol and an amine that together reduce and complex the elemental selenium to form a highly reactive selenium precursor at room temperature. The same combination of thiol and amine acts as the reaction solvent, stabilizing ligand, and sulfur source in the synthesis of quantum dot cores. A non-injection approach may also be used. The optical properties of the quantum dots synthesized by this new approach can be finely tuned for a variety of applications by controlling size and/or composition of size and composition. Further, using the same approach, a shell can be grown around a quantum dot core that improves stability, luminescence efficiency, and may reduce toxicity.

The thermoelectric efficiency of quantum dots in indium arsenide/indium phosphide nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoffmann, Eric A.

State of the art semiconductor materials engineering provides the possibility to fabricate devices on the lower end of the mesoscopic scale and confine only a handful of electrons to a region of space. When the thermal energy is reduced below the energetic quantum level spacing, the confined electrons assume energy levels akin to the core-shell structure of natural atoms. Such "artificial atoms", also known as quantum dots, can be loaded with electrons, one-by-one, and subsequently unloaded using source and drain electrical contacts. As such, quantum dots are uniquely tunable platforms for performing quantum transport and quantum control experiments. Voltage-biased electron transport through quantum dots has been studied extensively. Far less attention has been given to thermoelectric effects in quantum dots, that is, electron transport induced by a temperature gradient. This dissertation focuses on the efficiency of direct thermal-to-electric energy conversion in InAs/InP quantum dots embedded in nanowires. The efficiency of thermoelectric heat engines is bounded by the same maximum efficiency as cyclic heat engines; namely, by Carnot efficiency. The efficiency of bulk thermoelectric materials suffers from their inability to transport charge carriers selectively based on energy. Owing to their three-dimensional momentum quantization, quantum dots operate as electron energy filters---a property which can be harnessed to minimize entropy production and therefore maximize efficiency. This research was motivated by the possibility to realize experimentally a thermodynamic heat engine operating with near-Carnot efficiency using the unique behavior of quantum dots. To this end, a microscopic heating scheme for the application of a temperature difference across a quantum dot was developed in conjunction with a novel quantum-dot thermometry technique used for quantifying the magnitude of the applied temperature difference. While pursuing high-efficiency thermoelectric performance, many mesoscopic thermoelectric effects were observed and studied, including Coulomb-blockade thermovoltage oscillations, thermoelectric power generation, and strong nonlinear behavior. In the end, a quantum-dot-based thermoelectric heat engine was achieved and demonstrated an electronic efficiency of up to 95% Carnot efficiency.

Quantum cryptography: Theoretical protocols for quantum key distribution and tests of selected commercial QKD systems in commercial fiber networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacak, Monika; Jacak, Janusz; Jóźwiak, Piotr; Jóźwiak, Ireneusz

2016-06-01

The overview of the current status of quantum cryptography is given in regard to quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols, implemented both on nonentangled and entangled flying qubits. Two commercial R&D platforms of QKD systems are described (the Clavis II platform by idQuantique implemented on nonentangled photons and the EPR S405 Quelle platform by AIT based on entangled photons) and tested for feasibility of their usage in commercial TELECOM fiber metropolitan networks. The comparison of systems efficiency, stability and resistivity against noise and hacker attacks is given with some suggestion toward system improvement, along with assessment of two models of QKD.

White organic light-emitting diodes with fluorescent tube efficiency.

PubMed

Reineke, Sebastian; Lindner, Frank; Schwartz, Gregor; Seidler, Nico; Walzer, Karsten; Lüssem, Björn; Leo, Karl

2009-05-14

The development of white organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) holds great promise for the production of highly efficient large-area light sources. High internal quantum efficiencies for the conversion of electrical energy to light have been realized. Nevertheless, the overall device power efficiencies are still considerably below the 60-70 lumens per watt of fluorescent tubes, which is the current benchmark for novel light sources. Although some reports about highly power-efficient white OLEDs exist, details about structure and the measurement conditions of these structures have not been fully disclosed: the highest power efficiency reported in the scientific literature is 44 lm W(-1) (ref. 7). Here we report an improved OLED structure which reaches fluorescent tube efficiency. By combining a carefully chosen emitter layer with high-refractive-index substrates, and using a periodic outcoupling structure, we achieve a device power efficiency of 90 lm W(-1) at 1,000 candelas per square metre. This efficiency has the potential to be raised to 124 lm W(-1) if the light outcoupling can be further improved. Besides approaching internal quantum efficiency values of one, we have also focused on reducing energetic and ohmic losses that occur during electron-photon conversion. We anticipate that our results will be a starting point for further research, leading to white OLEDs having efficiencies beyond 100 lm W(-1). This could make white-light OLEDs, with their soft area light and high colour-rendering qualities, the light sources of choice for the future.

Focused-ion-beam overlay-patterning of three-dimensional diamond structures for advanced single-photon properties

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jiang, Qianqing; Liu, Dongqi; Liu, Gangqin

2014-07-28

Sources of single photons are of fundamental importance in many applications as to provide quantum states for quantum communication and quantum information processing. Color centers in diamond are prominent candidates to generate and manipulate quantum states of light, even at room temperature. However, the efficiency of photon collection of the color centers in bulk diamond is greatly reduced by refraction at the diamond/air interface. To address this issue, diamond structuring has been investigated by various methods. Among them, focused-ion-beam (FIB) direct patterning has been recognized as the most favorable technique. But it has been noted that diamond tends to presentmore » significant challenges in FIB milling, e.g., the susceptibility of forming charging related artifacts and topographical features. In this work, periodically-positioned-rings and overlay patterning with stagger-superimposed-rings were proposed to alleviate some problems encountered in FIB milling of diamond, for improved surface morphology and shape control. Cross-scale network and uniform nanostructure arrays have been achieved in single crystalline diamond substrates. High quality diamond solid immersion lens and nanopillars were sculptured with a nitrogen-vacancy center buried at the desired position. Compared with the film counterpart, an enhancement of about ten folds in single photon collection efficiency was achieved with greatly improved signal to noise ratio. All these results indicate that FIB milling through over-lay patterning could be an effective approach to fabricate diamond structures, potentially for quantum information studies.« less

CdS/CdSe quantum dots and ZnPc dye co-sensitized solar cells with Au nanoparticles/graphene oxide as efficient modified layer.

PubMed

Chen, Cong; Cheng, Yu; Jin, Junjie; Dai, Qilin; Song, Hongwei

2016-10-15

Co-sensitization by using two or more sensitizers with complementary absorption spectra to expand the spectral response range is an effective approach to enhance device performance of quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). To improve the light-harvesting in the visible/near-infrared (NIR) region, organic dye zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) was combined with CdS/CdSe quantum dots (QDs) for co-sensitized solar cells based on ZnO inverse opals (IOs) as photoanode. The resulting co-sensitized device shows an efficient panchromatic spectral response feature to ∼750nm and presents an overall conversion efficiency of 4.01%, which is superior to that of the individual ZnPc-sensitized solar cells and CdS/CdSe-sensitized solar cells. Meanwhile, an Au nanoparticles/graphene oxide (Au NPs/GO) composite layer was successfully prepared to modify Cu2S counter electrode for the co-sensitized solar cells. Reducing the carrier recombination process by GO and catalytic process of Au NPs leads to increased power conversion efficiency(PCE) from 4.01 to 4.60% and sustainable stability remains ∼85% of its original value after 60min light exposure. In this paper, introduction of the organic dyes as co-sensitizer and Au NPs/GO as counter electrode modified layer has been proved to be an effective route to improve the performance of QDSSCs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Quantum error correction assisted by two-way noisy communication

PubMed Central

Wang, Zhuo; Yu, Sixia; Fan, Heng; Oh, C. H.

2014-01-01

Pre-shared non-local entanglement dramatically simplifies and improves the performance of quantum error correction via entanglement-assisted quantum error-correcting codes (EAQECCs). However, even considering the noise in quantum communication only, the non-local sharing of a perfectly entangled pair is technically impossible unless additional resources are consumed, such as entanglement distillation, which actually compromises the efficiency of the codes. Here we propose an error-correcting protocol assisted by two-way noisy communication that is more easily realisable: all quantum communication is subjected to general noise and all entanglement is created locally without additional resources consumed. In our protocol the pre-shared noisy entangled pairs are purified simultaneously by the decoding process. For demonstration, we first present an easier implementation of the well-known EAQECC [[4, 1, 3; 1

Quantum error correction assisted by two-way noisy communication.

PubMed

Wang, Zhuo; Yu, Sixia; Fan, Heng; Oh, C H

2014-11-26

Pre-shared non-local entanglement dramatically simplifies and improves the performance of quantum error correction via entanglement-assisted quantum error-correcting codes (EAQECCs). However, even considering the noise in quantum communication only, the non-local sharing of a perfectly entangled pair is technically impossible unless additional resources are consumed, such as entanglement distillation, which actually compromises the efficiency of the codes. Here we propose an error-correcting protocol assisted by two-way noisy communication that is more easily realisable: all quantum communication is subjected to general noise and all entanglement is created locally without additional resources consumed. In our protocol the pre-shared noisy entangled pairs are purified simultaneously by the decoding process. For demonstration, we first present an easier implementation of the well-known EAQECC [[4, 1, 3; 1

Cavity-Enhanced Optical Readout of a Single Solid-State Spin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Shuo; Kim, Hyochul; Solomon, Glenn S.; Waks, Edo

2018-05-01

We demonstrate optical readout of a single spin using cavity quantum electrodynamics. The spin is based on a single trapped electron in a quantum dot that has a poor branching ratio of 0.43. Selectively coupling one of the optical transitions of the quantum dot to the cavity mode results in a spin-dependent cavity reflectivity that enables spin readout by monitoring the reflected intensity of an incident optical field. Using this approach, we demonstrate spin-readout fidelity of 0.61. Achieving this fidelity using resonance fluorescence from a bare dot would require 43 times improvement in photon collection efficiency.

The Influences of Quantum Coherence on the Positive Work and the Efficiency of Quantum Heat Engine with Working Substance of Two-Qubit Heisenberg XXX Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Hu-Ping; Fang, Mao-Fa; Yu, Min; Zou, Hong-Mei

2018-03-01

We study the influences of quantum coherence on the positive work and the efficiency of quantum heat engine (QHE) based on working substance of two-qubit Heisenberg model under a constant external magnetic field. By using analytical and numerical solution, we give the relation expressions for both the positive work and the efficiency with quantum coherence, and in detail discuss the effects of the quantum coherence on the positive work and the efficiency of QHE in the absence or presence of external magnetic field, respectively.

The Influences of Quantum Coherence on the Positive Work and the Efficiency of Quantum Heat Engine with Working Substance of Two-Qubit Heisenberg XXX Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Hu-Ping; Fang, Mao-Fa; Yu, Min; Zou, Hong-Mei

2018-06-01

We study the influences of quantum coherence on the positive work and the efficiency of quantum heat engine (QHE) based on working substance of two-qubit Heisenberg model under a constant external magnetic field. By using analytical and numerical solution, we give the relation expressions for both the positive work and the efficiency with quantum coherence, and in detail discuss the effects of the quantum coherence on the positive work and the efficiency of QHE in the absence or presence of external magnetic field, respectively.

Electro-Optic Quantum Memory for Light Using Two-Level Atoms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hétet, G.; Longdell, J. J.; Alexander, A. L.; Lam, P. K.; Sellars, M. J.

2008-01-01

We present a simple quantum memory scheme that allows for the storage of a light field in an ensemble of two-level atoms. The technique is analogous to the NMR gradient echo for which the imprinting and recalling of the input field are performed by controlling a linearly varying broadening. Our protocol is perfectly efficient in the limit of high optical depths and the output pulse is emitted in the forward direction. We provide a numerical analysis of the protocol together with an experiment performed in a solid state system. In close agreement with our model, the experiment shows a total efficiency of up to 15%, and a recall efficiency of 26%. We suggest simple realizable improvements for the experiment to surpass the no-cloning limit.

Electro-optic quantum memory for light using two-level atoms.

PubMed

Hétet, G; Longdell, J J; Alexander, A L; Lam, P K; Sellars, M J

2008-01-18

We present a simple quantum memory scheme that allows for the storage of a light field in an ensemble of two-level atoms. The technique is analogous to the NMR gradient echo for which the imprinting and recalling of the input field are performed by controlling a linearly varying broadening. Our protocol is perfectly efficient in the limit of high optical depths and the output pulse is emitted in the forward direction. We provide a numerical analysis of the protocol together with an experiment performed in a solid state system. In close agreement with our model, the experiment shows a total efficiency of up to 15%, and a recall efficiency of 26%. We suggest simple realizable improvements for the experiment to surpass the no-cloning limit.

282-nm AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes with improved performance on nano-patterned sapphire substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Peng; Yan, Jianchang; Wang, Junxi; Zhang, Yun; Geng, Chong; Wei, Tongbo; Cong, Peipei; Zhang, Yiyun; Zeng, Jianping; Tian, Yingdong; Sun, Lili; Yan, Qingfeng; Li, Jinmin; Fan, Shunfei; Qin, Zhixin

2013-06-01

We first report AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs) grown on nano-patterned sapphire substrates (NPSS) prepared through a nanosphere lithography technique. The AlN coalescence thickness on NPSS is only 3 μm due to AlN's nano-scaled lateral growth, which also leads to low dislocation densities in AlN and epi-layers above. On NPSS, the light-output power of a 282-nm UV-LED reaches 3.03 mW at 20 mA with external quantum efficiency of 3.45%, exhibiting 98% better performance than that on flat sapphire. Temperature-dependent photoluminescence reveals this significant enhancement to be a combination of higher internal quantum efficiency and higher light extraction efficiency.

Electroluminescence Studies on Longwavelength Indium Arsenide Quantum Dot Microcavities Grown on Gallium Arsenide

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-12-01

communication links using VCSEL arrays [1, 2], medical imaging using super luminescent diodes [3], and tunable lasers capable of remotely sensing...increase the efficiency of solar cells [6, 7, 8], vastly improve photo detector sensitivity [9], and provide optical memory storage densities predicted...semiconductor lasers” Applied Physics B: Lasers and Optics, Volume 90, Number 2, 2008, Pages 339-343. 6. Nozik, A.J. “Quantum dot solar cells

A multiplexed light-matter interface for fibre-based quantum networks

PubMed Central

Saglamyurek, Erhan; Grimau Puigibert, Marcelli; Zhou, Qiang; Giner, Lambert; Marsili, Francesco; Verma, Varun B.; Woo Nam, Sae; Oesterling, Lee; Nippa, David; Oblak, Daniel; Tittel, Wolfgang

2016-01-01

Processing and distributing quantum information using photons through fibre-optic or free-space links are essential for building future quantum networks. The scalability needed for such networks can be achieved by employing photonic quantum states that are multiplexed into time and/or frequency, and light-matter interfaces that are able to store and process such states with large time-bandwidth product and multimode capacities. Despite important progress in developing such devices, the demonstration of these capabilities using non-classical light remains challenging. Here, employing the atomic frequency comb quantum memory protocol in a cryogenically cooled erbium-doped optical fibre, we report the quantum storage of heralded single photons at a telecom-wavelength (1.53 μm) with a time-bandwidth product approaching 800. Furthermore, we demonstrate frequency-multimode storage and memory-based spectral-temporal photon manipulation. Notably, our demonstrations rely on fully integrated quantum technologies operating at telecommunication wavelengths. With improved storage efficiency, our light-matter interface may become a useful tool in future quantum networks. PMID:27046076

A multiplexed light-matter interface for fibre-based quantum networks.

PubMed

Saglamyurek, Erhan; Grimau Puigibert, Marcelli; Zhou, Qiang; Giner, Lambert; Marsili, Francesco; Verma, Varun B; Woo Nam, Sae; Oesterling, Lee; Nippa, David; Oblak, Daniel; Tittel, Wolfgang

2016-04-05

Processing and distributing quantum information using photons through fibre-optic or free-space links are essential for building future quantum networks. The scalability needed for such networks can be achieved by employing photonic quantum states that are multiplexed into time and/or frequency, and light-matter interfaces that are able to store and process such states with large time-bandwidth product and multimode capacities. Despite important progress in developing such devices, the demonstration of these capabilities using non-classical light remains challenging. Here, employing the atomic frequency comb quantum memory protocol in a cryogenically cooled erbium-doped optical fibre, we report the quantum storage of heralded single photons at a telecom-wavelength (1.53 μm) with a time-bandwidth product approaching 800. Furthermore, we demonstrate frequency-multimode storage and memory-based spectral-temporal photon manipulation. Notably, our demonstrations rely on fully integrated quantum technologies operating at telecommunication wavelengths. With improved storage efficiency, our light-matter interface may become a useful tool in future quantum networks.

Efficient classical simulation of the Deutsch-Jozsa and Simon's algorithms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johansson, Niklas; Larsson, Jan-Åke

2017-09-01

A long-standing aim of quantum information research is to understand what gives quantum computers their advantage. This requires separating problems that need genuinely quantum resources from those for which classical resources are enough. Two examples of quantum speed-up are the Deutsch-Jozsa and Simon's problem, both efficiently solvable on a quantum Turing machine, and both believed to lack efficient classical solutions. Here we present a framework that can simulate both quantum algorithms efficiently, solving the Deutsch-Jozsa problem with probability 1 using only one oracle query, and Simon's problem using linearly many oracle queries, just as expected of an ideal quantum computer. The presented simulation framework is in turn efficiently simulatable in a classical probabilistic Turing machine. This shows that the Deutsch-Jozsa and Simon's problem do not require any genuinely quantum resources, and that the quantum algorithms show no speed-up when compared with their corresponding classical simulation. Finally, this gives insight into what properties are needed in the two algorithms and calls for further study of oracle separation between quantum and classical computation.

Efficiency and formalism of quantum games

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, C.F.; Johnson, Neil F.

We show that quantum games are more efficient than classical games and provide a saturated upper bound for this efficiency. We also demonstrate that the set of finite classical games is a strict subset of the set of finite quantum games. Our analysis is based on a rigorous formulation of quantum games, from which quantum versions of the minimax theorem and the Nash equilibrium theorem can be deduced.

Localised excitation of a single photon source by a nanowaveguide.

PubMed

Geng, Wei; Manceau, Mathieu; Rahbany, Nancy; Sallet, Vincent; De Vittorio, Massimo; Carbone, Luigi; Glorieux, Quentin; Bramati, Alberto; Couteau, Christophe

2016-01-29

Nowadays, integrated photonics is a key technology in quantum information processing (QIP) but achieving all-optical buses for quantum networks with efficient integration of single photon emitters remains a challenge. Photonic crystals and cavities are good candidates but do not tackle how to effectively address a nanoscale emitter. Using a nanowire nanowaveguide, we realise an hybrid nanodevice which locally excites a single photon source (SPS). The nanowire acts as a passive or active sub-wavelength waveguide to excite the quantum emitter. Our results show that localised excitation of a SPS is possible and is compared with free-space excitation. Our proof of principle experiment presents an absolute addressing efficiency ηa ~ 10(-4) only ~50% lower than the one using free-space optics. This important step demonstrates that sufficient guided light in a nanowaveguide made of a semiconductor nanowire is achievable to excite a single photon source. We accomplish a hybrid system offering great potentials for electrically driven SPSs and efficient single photon collection and detection, opening the way for optimum absorption/emission of nanoscale emitters. We also discuss how to improve the addressing efficiency of a dipolar nanoscale emitter with our system.

Localised excitation of a single photon source by a nanowaveguide

PubMed Central

Geng, Wei; Manceau, Mathieu; Rahbany, Nancy; Sallet, Vincent; De Vittorio, Massimo; Carbone, Luigi; Glorieux, Quentin; Bramati, Alberto; Couteau, Christophe

2016-01-01

Nowadays, integrated photonics is a key technology in quantum information processing (QIP) but achieving all-optical buses for quantum networks with efficient integration of single photon emitters remains a challenge. Photonic crystals and cavities are good candidates but do not tackle how to effectively address a nanoscale emitter. Using a nanowire nanowaveguide, we realise an hybrid nanodevice which locally excites a single photon source (SPS). The nanowire acts as a passive or active sub-wavelength waveguide to excite the quantum emitter. Our results show that localised excitation of a SPS is possible and is compared with free-space excitation. Our proof of principle experiment presents an absolute addressing efficiency ηa ~ 10−4 only ~50% lower than the one using free-space optics. This important step demonstrates that sufficient guided light in a nanowaveguide made of a semiconductor nanowire is achievable to excite a single photon source. We accomplish a hybrid system offering great potentials for electrically driven SPSs and efficient single photon collection and detection, opening the way for optimum absorption/emission of nanoscale emitters. We also discuss how to improve the addressing efficiency of a dipolar nanoscale emitter with our system. PMID:26822999

Quantum Machine Learning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Biswas, Rupak

2018-01-01

Quantum computing promises an unprecedented ability to solve intractable problems by harnessing quantum mechanical effects such as tunneling, superposition, and entanglement. The Quantum Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (QuAIL) at NASA Ames Research Center is the space agency's primary facility for conducting research and development in quantum information sciences. QuAIL conducts fundamental research in quantum physics but also explores how best to exploit and apply this disruptive technology to enable NASA missions in aeronautics, Earth and space sciences, and space exploration. At the same time, machine learning has become a major focus in computer science and captured the imagination of the public as a panacea to myriad big data problems. In this talk, we will discuss how classical machine learning can take advantage of quantum computing to significantly improve its effectiveness. Although we illustrate this concept on a quantum annealer, other quantum platforms could be used as well. If explored fully and implemented efficiently, quantum machine learning could greatly accelerate a wide range of tasks leading to new technologies and discoveries that will significantly change the way we solve real-world problems.

Giant photocurrent enhancement by transition metal doping in quantum dot sensitized solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rimal, Gaurab; Pimachev, Artem K.; Yost, Andrew J.; Poudyal, Uma; Maloney, Scott; Wang, Wenyong; Chien, TeYu; Dahnovsky, Yuri; Tang, Jinke

2016-09-01

A huge enhancement in the incident photon-to-current efficiency of PbS quantum dot (QD) sensitized solar cells by manganese doping is observed. In the presence of Mn dopants with relatively small concentration (4 at. %), the photoelectric current increases by an average of 300% (up to 700%). This effect cannot be explained by the light absorption mechanism because both the experimental and theoretical absorption spectra demonstrate several times decreases in the absorption coefficient. To explain such dramatic increase in the photocurrent we propose the electron tunneling mechanism from the LUMO of the QD excited state to the Zn2SnO4 (ZTO) semiconductor photoanode. This change is due to the presence of the Mn instead of Pb atom at the QD/ZTO interface. The ab initio calculations confirm this mechanism. This work proposes an alternative route for a significant improvement of the efficiency for quantum dot sensitized solar cells.

High power cascade diode lasers emitting near 2 μm

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hosoda, Takashi; Feng, Tao; Shterengas, Leon, E-mail: leon.shterengas@stonybrook.edu

2016-03-28

High-power two-stage cascade GaSb-based type-I quantum well diode lasers emitting near 2 μm were designed and fabricated. Coated devices with cavity length of 3 mm generated about 2 W of continuous wave power from 100-μm-wide aperture at the current of 6 A. The power conversion efficiency peaked at 20%. Carrier recycling between quantum well gain stages was realized using band-to-band tunneling in GaSb/AlSb/InAs heterostructure complemented with optimized electron and hole injector regions. Design optimization eliminated parasitic optical absorption and thermionic emission, and included modification of the InAs quantum wells of electron and composition and doping profile of hole injectors. Utilization of the cascade pumpingmore » scheme yielded 2 μm lasers with improved output power and efficiency compared to existing state-of-the-art diodes.« less

Combining ligand-induced quantum-confined stark effect with type II heterojunction bilayer structure in CdTe and CdSe nanocrystal-based solar cells.

PubMed

Yaacobi-Gross, Nir; Garphunkin, Natalia; Solomeshch, Olga; Vaneski, Aleksandar; Susha, Andrei S; Rogach, Andrey L; Tessler, Nir

2012-04-24

We show that it is possible to combine several charge generation strategies in a single device structure, the performance of which benefits from all methods used. Exploiting the inherent type II heterojunction between layered structures of CdSe and CdTe colloidal quantum dots, we systematically study different ways of combining such nanocrystals of different size and surface chemistry and with different linking agents in a bilayer solar cell configuration. We demonstrate the beneficial use of two distinctly different sizes of NCs not only to improve the solar spectrum matching but also to reduce exciton binding energy, allowing their efficient dissociation at the interface. We further make use of the ligand-induced quantum-confined Stark effect in order to enhance charge generation and, hence, overall efficiency of nanocrystal-based solar cells.

Onsets of hierarchy truncation and self–consistent Born approximation with quantum mechanics prescriptions invariance

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Hou-Dao; Yan, YiJing, E-mail: yyan@ust.hk; iChEM and Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026

2015-12-07

The issue of efficient hierarchy truncation is related to many approximate theories. In this paper, we revisit this issue from both the numerical efficiency and quantum mechanics prescription invariance aspects. The latter requires that the truncation approximation made in Schrödinger picture, such as the quantum master equations and their self–consistent–Born–approximation improvements, should be transferable to their Heisenberg–picture correspondences, without further approximations. We address this issue with the dissipaton equation of motion (DEOM), which is a unique theory for the dynamics of not only reduced systems but also hybrid bath environments. We also highlight the DEOM theory is not only aboutmore » how its dynamical variables evolve in time, but also the underlying dissipaton algebra. We demonstrate this unique feature of DEOM with model systems and report some intriguing nonlinear Fano interferences characteristics that are experimentally measurable.« less

Extremely efficient internal exciton dissociation through edge states in layered 2D perovskites

DOE PAGES

Blancon, Jean -Christophe Robert; Tsai, Hsinhan; Nie, Wanyi; ...

2017-03-09

Understanding and controlling charge and energy flow in state-of-the-art semiconductor quantum wells has enabled high-efficiency optoelectronic devices. Two-dimensional (2D) Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites are solution-processed quantum wells wherein the band gap can be tuned by varying the perovskite-layer thickness, which modulates the effective electron-hole confinement. We report that, counterintuitive to classical quantum-confined systems where photogenerated electrons and holes are strongly bound by Coulomb interactions or excitons, the photophysics of thin films made of Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites with a thickness exceeding two perovskite-crystal units (>1.3 nanometers) is dominated by lower-energy states associated with the local intrinsic electronic structure of the edges of the perovskitemore » layers. Furthermore, these states provide a direct pathway for dissociating excitons into longer-lived free carriers that substantially improve the performance of optoelectronic devices.« less

Perspective: Ring-polymer instanton theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richardson, Jeremy O.

2018-05-01

Since the earliest explorations of quantum mechanics, it has been a topic of great interest that quantum tunneling allows particles to penetrate classically insurmountable barriers. Instanton theory provides a simple description of these processes in terms of dominant tunneling pathways. Using a ring-polymer discretization, an efficient computational method is obtained for applying this theory to compute reaction rates and tunneling splittings in molecular systems. Unlike other quantum-dynamics approaches, the method scales well with the number of degrees of freedom, and for many polyatomic systems, the method may provide the most accurate predictions which can be practically computed. Instanton theory thus has the capability to produce useful data for many fields of low-temperature chemistry including spectroscopy, atmospheric and astrochemistry, as well as surface science. There is however still room for improvement in the efficiency of the numerical algorithms, and new theories are under development for describing tunneling in nonadiabatic transitions.

Fuzzy wavelet plus a quantum neural network as a design base for power system stability enhancement.

PubMed

Ganjefar, Soheil; Tofighi, Morteza; Karami, Hamidreza

2015-11-01

In this study, we introduce an indirect adaptive fuzzy wavelet neural controller (IAFWNC) as a power system stabilizer to damp inter-area modes of oscillations in a multi-machine power system. Quantum computing is an efficient method for improving the computational efficiency of neural networks, so we developed an identifier based on a quantum neural network (QNN) to train the IAFWNC in the proposed scheme. All of the controller parameters are tuned online based on the Lyapunov stability theory to guarantee the closed-loop stability. A two-machine, two-area power system equipped with a static synchronous series compensator as a series flexible ac transmission system was used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller. The simulation and experimental results demonstrated that the proposed IAFWNC scheme can achieve favorable control performance. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

One-Pot Large-Scale Synthesis of Carbon Quantum Dots: Efficient Cathode Interlayers for Polymer Solar Cells.

PubMed

Yang, Yuzhao; Lin, Xiaofeng; Li, Wenlang; Ou, Jiemei; Yuan, Zhongke; Xie, Fangyan; Hong, Wei; Yu, Dingshan; Ma, Yuguang; Chi, Zhenguo; Chen, Xudong

2017-05-03

Cathode interlayers (CILs) with low-cost, low-toxicity, and excellent cathode modification ability are necessary for the large-scale industrialization of polymer solar cells (PSCs). In this contribution, we demonstrated one-pot synthesized carbon quantum dots (C-dots) with high production to serve as efficient CIL for inverted PSCs. The C-dots were synthesized by a facile, economical microwave pyrolysis in a household microwave oven within 7 min. Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) studies showed that the C-dots possessed the ability to form a dipole at the interface, resulting in the decrease of the work function (WF) of cathode. External quantum efficiency (EQE) measurements and 2D excitation-emission topographical maps revealed that the C-dots down-shifted the high energy near-ultraviolet light to low energy visible light to generate more photocurrent. Remarkably improvement of power conversion efficiency (PCE) was attained by incorporation of C-dots as CIL. The PCE was boosted up from 4.14% to 8.13% with C-dots as CIL, which is one of the best efficiency for i-PSCs used carbon based materials as interlayers. These results demonstrated that C-dots can be a potential candidate for future low cost and large area PSCs producing.

Ligand-Asymmetric Janus Quantum Dots for Efficient Blue-Quantum Dot Light-Emitting Diodes.

PubMed

Cho, Ikjun; Jung, Heeyoung; Jeong, Byeong Guk; Hahm, Donghyo; Chang, Jun Hyuk; Lee, Taesoo; Char, Kookheon; Lee, Doh C; Lim, Jaehoon; Lee, Changhee; Cho, Jinhan; Bae, Wan Ki

2018-06-19

We present ligand-asymmetric Janus quantum dots (QDs) to improve the device performance of quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs). Specifically, we devise blue QLEDs incorporating blue QDs with asymmetrically modified ligands, in which the bottom ligand of QDs in contact with ZnO electron-transport layer serves as a robust adhesive layer and an effective electron-blocking layer and the top ligand ensures uniform deposition of organic hole transport layers with enhanced hole injection properties. Suppressed electron overflow by the bottom ligand and stimulated hole injection enabled by the top ligand contribute synergistically to boost the balance of charge injection in blue QDs and therefore the device performance of blue QLEDs. As an ultimate achievement, the blue QLED adopting ligand-asymmetric QDs displays 2-fold enhancement in peak external quantum efficiency (EQE = 3.23%) compared to the case of QDs with native ligands (oleic acid) (peak EQE = 1.49%). The present study demonstrates an integrated strategy to control over the charge injection properties into QDs via ligand engineering that enables enhancement of the device performance of blue QLEDs and thus promises successful realization of white light-emitting devices using QDs.

Systematic Dimensionality Reduction for Quantum Walks: Optimal Spatial Search and Transport on Non-Regular Graphs

PubMed Central

Novo, Leonardo; Chakraborty, Shantanav; Mohseni, Masoud; Neven, Hartmut; Omar, Yasser

2015-01-01

Continuous time quantum walks provide an important framework for designing new algorithms and modelling quantum transport and state transfer problems. Often, the graph representing the structure of a problem contains certain symmetries that confine the dynamics to a smaller subspace of the full Hilbert space. In this work, we use invariant subspace methods, that can be computed systematically using the Lanczos algorithm, to obtain the reduced set of states that encompass the dynamics of the problem at hand without the specific knowledge of underlying symmetries. First, we apply this method to obtain new instances of graphs where the spatial quantum search algorithm is optimal: complete graphs with broken links and complete bipartite graphs, in particular, the star graph. These examples show that regularity and high-connectivity are not needed to achieve optimal spatial search. We also show that this method considerably simplifies the calculation of quantum transport efficiencies. Furthermore, we observe improved efficiencies by removing a few links from highly symmetric graphs. Finally, we show that this reduction method also allows us to obtain an upper bound for the fidelity of a single qubit transfer on an XY spin network. PMID:26330082

Refined hyperentanglement purification of two-photon systems for high-capacity quantum communication with cavity-assisted interaction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Du, Fang-Fang; Li, Tao; Long, Gui-Lu, E-mail: gllong@tsinghua.edu.cn

Hyperentanglement, defined as the entanglement in multiple degrees of freedom (DOFs) of a photonic quantum system, has attracted much attention recently as it can improve the channel capacity of quantum communication largely. Here we present a refined hyperentanglement purification protocol (hyper-EPP) for two-photon systems in mixed hyperentangled states in both the spatial-mode and polarization DOFs, assisted by cavity quantum electrodynamics. By means of the spatial (polarization) quantum state transfer process, the quantum states that are discarded in the previous hyper-EPPs can be preserved. That is, the spatial (polarization) state of a four-photon system with high fidelity can be transformed intomore » another four-photon system with low fidelity, not disturbing its polarization (spatial) state, which makes this hyper-EPP take the advantage of possessing a higher efficiency.« less

Influence of surface states of CuInS2 quantum dots in quantum dots sensitized photo-electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Zhuoyin; Liu, Yueli; Wu, Lei; Zhao, Yinghan; Chen, Keqiang; Chen, Wen

2016-12-01

Surface states are significant factor for the enhancement of electrochemical performance in CuInS2 quantum dot sensitized photo-electrodes. DDT, OLA, MPA, and S2- ligand capped CuInS2 quantum dot sensitized photo-electrodes are prepared by thermolysis, solvethermal and ligand-exchange processes, respectively, and their optical properties and photoelectrochemical properties are investigated. The S2- ligand enhances the UV-vis absorption and electron-hole separation property as well as the excellent charge transfer performance of the photo-electrodes, which is attributed to the fact that the atomic S2- ligand for the interfacial region of quantum dots may improve the electron transfer rate. These S2--capped CuInS2 quantum dot sensitized photo-electrodes exhibit the excellent photoelectrochemical efficiency and IPCE peak value, which is higher than that of the samples with DDT, OLA and MPA ligands.

Overview of CMOS process and design options for image sensor dedicated to space applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin-Gonthier, P.; Magnan, P.; Corbiere, F.

2005-10-01

With the growth of huge volume markets (mobile phones, digital cameras...) CMOS technologies for image sensor improve significantly. New process flows appear in order to optimize some parameters such as quantum efficiency, dark current, and conversion gain. Space applications can of course benefit from these improvements. To illustrate this evolution, this paper reports results from three technologies that have been evaluated with test vehicles composed of several sub arrays designed with some space applications as target. These three technologies are CMOS standard, improved and sensor optimized process in 0.35μm generation. Measurements are focussed on quantum efficiency, dark current, conversion gain and noise. Other measurements such as Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) and crosstalk are depicted in [1]. A comparison between results has been done and three categories of CMOS process for image sensors have been listed. Radiation tolerance has been also studied for the CMOS improved process in the way of hardening the imager by design. Results at 4, 15, 25 and 50 krad prove a good ionizing dose radiation tolerance applying specific techniques.

Quantum Linear System Algorithm for Dense Matrices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wossnig, Leonard; Zhao, Zhikuan; Prakash, Anupam

2018-02-01

Solving linear systems of equations is a frequently encountered problem in machine learning and optimization. Given a matrix A and a vector b the task is to find the vector x such that A x =b . We describe a quantum algorithm that achieves a sparsity-independent runtime scaling of O (κ2√{n }polylog(n )/ɛ ) for an n ×n dimensional A with bounded spectral norm, where κ denotes the condition number of A , and ɛ is the desired precision parameter. This amounts to a polynomial improvement over known quantum linear system algorithms when applied to dense matrices, and poses a new state of the art for solving dense linear systems on a quantum computer. Furthermore, an exponential improvement is achievable if the rank of A is polylogarithmic in the matrix dimension. Our algorithm is built upon a singular value estimation subroutine, which makes use of a memory architecture that allows for efficient preparation of quantum states that correspond to the rows of A and the vector of Euclidean norms of the rows of A .

Suppression of electron overflow in 370-nm InGaN/AlGaN ultraviolet light emitting diodes with different insertion layer thicknesses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, C. K.; Wang, Y. W.; Chiou, Y. Z.; Chang, S. H.; Jheng, J. S.; Chang, S. P.; Chang, S. J.

2017-06-01

In this study, the properties of 370-nm InGaN/AlGaN ultraviolet light emitting diodes (UV LEDs) with different thicknesses of un-doped Al0.3Ga0.7N insertion layer (IL) between the last quantum barrier and electron blocking layer (EBL) have been numerically simulated by Advance Physical Model of Semiconductor Devices (APSYS). The results show that the LEDs using the high Al composition IL can effectively improve the efficiency droop, light output power, and internal quantum efficiency (IQE) compared to the original structure. The improvements of the optical properties are mainly attributed to the energy band discontinuity and offset created by IL, which increase the potential barrier height of conduction band to suppress the electron overflow from the active region to the p-side layer.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schaefer, Tim; Institut für Physikalische Chemie, Universität zu Köln, 50939 Köln; Schwab, Tobias

A random scattering approach to enhance light extraction in white top-emitting organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) is reported. Through solution processing from fluorinated solvents, a nano-particle scattering layer (NPSL) can be deposited directly on top of small molecule OLEDs without affecting their electrical performance. The scattering length for light inside the NPSL is determined from transmission measurements and found to be in agreement with Mie scattering theory. Furthermore, the dependence of the light outcoupling enhancement on electron transport layer thickness is studied. Depending on the electron transport layer thickness, the NPSL enhances the external quantum efficiency of the investigated white OLEDsmore » by between 1.5 and 2.3-fold. For a device structure that has been optimized prior to application of the NPSL, the maximum external quantum efficiency is improved from 4.7% to 7.4% (1.6-fold improvement). In addition, the scattering layer strongly reduces the undesired shift in emission color with viewing angle.« less

High-Efficiency and High-Power Mid-Wave Infrared Cascade Lasers

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-10-01

internal quantum efficiency () and factor (2) is usually called the optical extraction efficiency (). The optical extraction efficiency ... quantum efficiency involves more fundamental parameters corresponding to the microscopic processes of the device operation, nevertheless, it can be...deriving parameters such as the internal quantum efficiency of a QC laser, the entire injector miniband can be treated as a single virtual state

Highly efficient organic solar cells with improved vertical donor-acceptor compositional gradient via an inverted off-center spinning method

DOE PAGES

Huang, Jiang; Carpenter, Joshua H.; Li, Chang -Zhi; ...

2015-12-02

A novel, yet simple solution fabrication technique to address the trade-off between photocurrent and fill factor in thick bulk heterojunction organic solar cells is described. Lastly, the inverted off-center spinning technique promotes a vertical gradient of the donor–acceptor phase-separated morphology, enabling devices with near 100% internal quantum efficiency and a high power conversion efficiency of 10.95%.

Highly Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation Efficiency Based on Triadic Quantum Dot/Layered Double Hydroxide/BiVO 4 Photoanodes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tang, Yanqun; Wang, Ruirui; Yang, Ye

2016-08-03

The water oxidation half-reaction is considered to be a bottleneck for achieving highly efficient solar-driven water splitting due to its multiproton-coupled four-electron process and sluggish kinetics. Herein, a triadic photoanode consisting of dual-sized CdTe quantum dots (QDs), Co-based layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets, and BiVO4 particles, that is, QD@LDH@BiVO4, was designed. Two sets of consecutive Type-II band alignments were constructed to improve photogenerated electron-hole separation in the triadic structure. The efficient charge separation resulted in a 2-fold enhancement of the photocurrent of the QD@LDH@BiVO4 photoanode. A significantly enhanced oxidation efficiency reaching above 90% in the low bias region (i.e., Emore » < 0.8 V vs RHE) could be critical in determining the overall performance of a complete photoelectrochemical cell. The faradaic efficiency for water oxidation was almost 90%. The conduction band energy of QDs is -1.0 V more negative than that of LDH, favorable for the electron injection to LDH and enabling a more efficient hole separation. The enhanced photon-to-current conversion efficiency and improved water oxidation efficiency of the triadic structure may result from the non-negligible contribution of hot electrons or holes generated in QDs. Such a band-matching and multidimensional triadic architecture could be a promising strategy for achieving high-efficiency photoanodes by sufficiently utilizing and maximizing the functionalities of QDs.« less

Single-mode light source fabrication based on colloidal quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Jianfeng; Chen, Bing; Baig, Sarfaraz; Wang, Michael R.

2009-02-01

There are huge market demands for innovative, cheap and efficient light sources, including light emitting devices, such as LEDs and lasers. However, the light source development in the visible spectral range encounters significant difficulties these years. The available visible wavelength LEDs or lasers are few, large and expensive. The main challenge lies at the lack of efficient light media. Semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs) have recently commanded considerable attention. As a result of quantum confinement effect, the emission color of these QDs covers the whole visible spectral range and can be modified dramatically by simply changing their size. Such spectral tunability, together with large photoluminescence quantum yield and photostability, make QDs attractive for potential applications in a variety of light emitting technologies. However, there are still several technical problems that hinder their application as light sources. One main issue is how to fabricate these QDs into a solid state device while still retaining their original optical emission properties. A vacuum assisted micro-fluidic fabrication of guided wave devices has demonstrated low waveguide propagation loss, lower crosstalk, and improved waveguide structures. We report herein the combination of the excellent emission properties of QDs and novel vacuum assisted micro-fluidic photonic structure fabrication technique to realize single-mode efficient light sources.

Zn-Cu-In-Se Quantum Dot Solar Cells with a Certified Power Conversion Efficiency of 11.6%.

PubMed

Du, Jun; Du, Zhonglin; Hu, Jin-Song; Pan, Zhenxiao; Shen, Qing; Sun, Jiankun; Long, Donghui; Dong, Hui; Sun, Litao; Zhong, Xinhua; Wan, Li-Jun

2016-03-30

The enhancement of power conversion efficiency (PCE) and the development of toxic Cd-, Pb-free quantum dots (QDs) are critical for the prosperity of QD-based solar cells. It is known that the properties (such as light harvesting range, band gap alignment, density of trap state defects, etc.) of QD light harvesters play a crucial effect on the photovoltaic performance of QD based solar cells. Herein, high quality ∼4 nm Cd-, Pb-free Zn-Cu-In-Se alloyed QDs with an absorption onset extending to ∼1000 nm were developed as effective light harvesters to construct quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSCs). Due to the small particle size, the developed QD sensitizer can be efficiently immobilized on TiO2 film electrode in less than 0.5 h. An average PCE of 11.66% and a certified PCE of 11.61% have been demonstrated in the QDSCs based on these Zn-Cu-In-Se QDs. The remarkably improved photovoltaic performance for Zn-Cu-In-Se QDSCs vs Cu-In-Se QDSCs (11.66% vs 9.54% in PCE) is mainly derived from the higher conduction band edge, which favors the photogenerated electron extraction and results in higher photocurrent, and the alloyed structure of Zn-Cu-In-Se QD light harvester, which benefits the suppression of charge recombination at photoanode/electrolyte interfaces and thus improves the photovoltage.

Highly Efficient Flexible Quantum Dot Solar Cells with Improved Electron Extraction Using MgZnO Nanocrystals.

PubMed

Zhang, Xiaoliang; Santra, Pralay Kanti; Tian, Lei; Johansson, Malin B; Rensmo, Håkan; Johansson, Erik M J

2017-08-22

Colloidal quantum dot (CQD) solar cells have high potential for realizing an efficient and lightweight energy supply for flexible or wearable electronic devices. To achieve highly efficient and flexible CQD solar cells, the electron transport layer (ETL), extracting electrons from the CQD solid layer, needs to be processed at a low-temperature and should also suppress interfacial recombination. Herein, a highly stable MgZnO nanocrystal (MZO-NC) layer is reported for efficient flexible PbS CQD solar cells. Solar cells fabricated with MZO-NC ETL give a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10.4% and 9.4%, on glass and flexible plastic substrates, respectively. The reported flexible CQD solar cell has the record efficiency to date of flexible CQD solar cells. Detailed theoretical simulations and extensive characterizations reveal that the MZO-NCs significantly enhance charge extraction from CQD solids and diminish the charge accumulation at the ETL/CQD interface, suppressing charge interfacial recombination. These important results suggest that the low-temperature processed MZO-NCs are very promising for use in efficient flexible solar cells or other flexible optoelectronic devices.

Efficient and bright organic light-emitting diodes on single-layer graphene electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ning; Oida, Satoshi; Tulevski, George S.; Han, Shu-Jen; Hannon, James B.; Sadana, Devendra K.; Chen, Tze-Chiang

2013-08-01

Organic light-emitting diodes are emerging as leading technologies for both high quality display and lighting. However, the transparent conductive electrode used in the current organic light-emitting diode technologies increases the overall cost and has limited bendability for future flexible applications. Here we use single-layer graphene as an alternative flexible transparent conductor, yielding white organic light-emitting diodes with brightness and efficiency sufficient for general lighting. The performance improvement is attributed to the device structure, which allows direct hole injection from the single-layer graphene anode into the light-emitting layers, reducing carrier trapping induced efficiency roll-off. By employing a light out-coupling structure, phosphorescent green organic light-emitting diodes exhibit external quantum efficiency >60%, while phosphorescent white organic light-emitting diodes exhibit external quantum efficiency >45% at 10,000 cd m-2 with colour rendering index of 85. The power efficiency of white organic light-emitting diodes reaches 80 lm W-1 at 3,000 cd m-2, comparable to the most efficient lighting technologies.

Iterated Gate Teleportation and Blind Quantum Computation.

PubMed

Pérez-Delgado, Carlos A; Fitzsimons, Joseph F

2015-06-05

Blind quantum computation allows a user to delegate a computation to an untrusted server while keeping the computation hidden. A number of recent works have sought to establish bounds on the communication requirements necessary to implement blind computation, and a bound based on the no-programming theorem of Nielsen and Chuang has emerged as a natural limiting factor. Here we show that this constraint only holds in limited scenarios, and show how to overcome it using a novel method of iterated gate teleportations. This technique enables drastic reductions in the communication required for distributed quantum protocols, extending beyond the blind computation setting. Applied to blind quantum computation, this technique offers significant efficiency improvements, and in some scenarios offers an exponential reduction in communication requirements.

2 GHz clock quantum key distribution over 260 km of standard telecom fiber.

PubMed

Wang, Shuang; Chen, Wei; Guo, Jun-Fu; Yin, Zhen-Qiang; Li, Hong-Wei; Zhou, Zheng; Guo, Guang-Can; Han, Zheng-Fu

2012-03-15

We report a demonstration of quantum key distribution (QKD) over a standard telecom fiber exceeding 50 dB in loss and 250 km in length. The differential phase shift QKD protocol was chosen and implemented with a 2 GHz system clock rate. By careful optimization of the 1 bit delayed Faraday-Michelson interferometer and the use of the superconducting single photon detector (SSPD), we achieved a quantum bit error rate below 2% when the fiber length was no more than 205 km, and of 3.45% for a 260 km fiber with 52.9 dB loss. We also improved the quantum efficiency of SSPD to obtain a high key rate for 50 km length.

Delayed Slater determinant update algorithms for high efficiency quantum Monte Carlo

DOE PAGES

McDaniel, Tyler; D’Azevedo, Ed F.; Li, Ying Wai; ...

2017-11-07

Within ab initio Quantum Monte Carlo simulations, the leading numerical cost for large systems is the computation of the values of the Slater determinants in the trial wavefunction. Each Monte Carlo step requires finding the determinant of a dense matrix. This is most commonly iteratively evaluated using a rank-1 Sherman-Morrison updating scheme to avoid repeated explicit calculation of the inverse. The overall computational cost is therefore formally cubic in the number of electrons or matrix size. To improve the numerical efficiency of this procedure, we propose a novel multiple rank delayed update scheme. This strategy enables probability evaluation with applicationmore » of accepted moves to the matrices delayed until after a predetermined number of moves, K. The accepted events are then applied to the matrices en bloc with enhanced arithmetic intensity and computational efficiency via matrix-matrix operations instead of matrix-vector operations. Here this procedure does not change the underlying Monte Carlo sampling or its statistical efficiency. For calculations on large systems and algorithms such as diffusion Monte Carlo where the acceptance ratio is high, order of magnitude improvements in the update time can be obtained on both multi- core CPUs and GPUs.« less

Delayed Slater determinant update algorithms for high efficiency quantum Monte Carlo

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McDaniel, Tyler; D’Azevedo, Ed F.; Li, Ying Wai

Within ab initio Quantum Monte Carlo simulations, the leading numerical cost for large systems is the computation of the values of the Slater determinants in the trial wavefunction. Each Monte Carlo step requires finding the determinant of a dense matrix. This is most commonly iteratively evaluated using a rank-1 Sherman-Morrison updating scheme to avoid repeated explicit calculation of the inverse. The overall computational cost is therefore formally cubic in the number of electrons or matrix size. To improve the numerical efficiency of this procedure, we propose a novel multiple rank delayed update scheme. This strategy enables probability evaluation with applicationmore » of accepted moves to the matrices delayed until after a predetermined number of moves, K. The accepted events are then applied to the matrices en bloc with enhanced arithmetic intensity and computational efficiency via matrix-matrix operations instead of matrix-vector operations. Here this procedure does not change the underlying Monte Carlo sampling or its statistical efficiency. For calculations on large systems and algorithms such as diffusion Monte Carlo where the acceptance ratio is high, order of magnitude improvements in the update time can be obtained on both multi- core CPUs and GPUs.« less

Delayed Slater determinant update algorithms for high efficiency quantum Monte Carlo.

PubMed

McDaniel, T; D'Azevedo, E F; Li, Y W; Wong, K; Kent, P R C

2017-11-07

Within ab initio Quantum Monte Carlo simulations, the leading numerical cost for large systems is the computation of the values of the Slater determinants in the trial wavefunction. Each Monte Carlo step requires finding the determinant of a dense matrix. This is most commonly iteratively evaluated using a rank-1 Sherman-Morrison updating scheme to avoid repeated explicit calculation of the inverse. The overall computational cost is, therefore, formally cubic in the number of electrons or matrix size. To improve the numerical efficiency of this procedure, we propose a novel multiple rank delayed update scheme. This strategy enables probability evaluation with an application of accepted moves to the matrices delayed until after a predetermined number of moves, K. The accepted events are then applied to the matrices en bloc with enhanced arithmetic intensity and computational efficiency via matrix-matrix operations instead of matrix-vector operations. This procedure does not change the underlying Monte Carlo sampling or its statistical efficiency. For calculations on large systems and algorithms such as diffusion Monte Carlo, where the acceptance ratio is high, order of magnitude improvements in the update time can be obtained on both multi-core central processing units and graphical processing units.

Delayed Slater determinant update algorithms for high efficiency quantum Monte Carlo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McDaniel, T.; D'Azevedo, E. F.; Li, Y. W.; Wong, K.; Kent, P. R. C.

2017-11-01

Within ab initio Quantum Monte Carlo simulations, the leading numerical cost for large systems is the computation of the values of the Slater determinants in the trial wavefunction. Each Monte Carlo step requires finding the determinant of a dense matrix. This is most commonly iteratively evaluated using a rank-1 Sherman-Morrison updating scheme to avoid repeated explicit calculation of the inverse. The overall computational cost is, therefore, formally cubic in the number of electrons or matrix size. To improve the numerical efficiency of this procedure, we propose a novel multiple rank delayed update scheme. This strategy enables probability evaluation with an application of accepted moves to the matrices delayed until after a predetermined number of moves, K. The accepted events are then applied to the matrices en bloc with enhanced arithmetic intensity and computational efficiency via matrix-matrix operations instead of matrix-vector operations. This procedure does not change the underlying Monte Carlo sampling or its statistical efficiency. For calculations on large systems and algorithms such as diffusion Monte Carlo, where the acceptance ratio is high, order of magnitude improvements in the update time can be obtained on both multi-core central processing units and graphical processing units.

Highly Efficient and Fully Solution-Processed Inverted Light-Emitting Diodes with Charge Control Interlayers.

PubMed

Fu, Yan; Jiang, Wei; Kim, Daekyoung; Lee, Woosuk; Chae, Heeyeop

2018-05-23

In this work, we developed a charge control sandwich structure around QD layers for the inverted QLEDs, the performance of which is shown to exceed that of the conventional QLEDs in terms of the external quantum efficiency (EQE) and the current efficiency (CE). The QD light-emitting layer (EML) is sandwiched with two ultrathin interfacial layers: one is a poly(9-vinlycarbazole) (PVK) layer to prevent excess electrons, and the other is a polyethylenimine ethoxylated (PEIE) layer to reduce the hole injection barrier. The sandwich structure resolves the imbalance between injected holes and electrons and brings the level of balanced charge carriers to a maximum. We demonstrated the highly improved performance of 89.8 cd/A of current efficiency, 22.4% of external quantum efficiency, and 72 814 cd m -2 of maximum brightness with the solution-processed inverted QLED. This sandwich structure (PVK/QD/PEIE), as a framework, can be applied to various QLED devices for enhancing performance.

Tailoring Quantum Dot Assemblies to Extend Exciton Coherence Times and Improve Exciton Transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seward, Kenton; Lin, Zhibin; Lusk, Mark

2012-02-01

The motion of excitons through nanostructured assemblies plays a central role in a wide range of physical phenomena including quantum computing, molecular electronics, photosynthetic processes, excitonic transistors and light emitting diodes. All of these technologies are severely handicapped, though, by quasi-particle lifetimes on the order of a nanosecond. The movement of excitons must therefore be as efficient as possible in order to move excitons meaningful distances. This is problematic for assemblies of small Si quantum dots (QDs), where excitons quickly localize and entangle with dot phonon modes. Ensuing exciton transport is then characterized by a classical random walk reduced to very short distances because of efficient recombination. We use a combination of master equation (Haken-Strobl) formalism and density functional theory to estimate the rate of decoherence in Si QD assemblies and its impact on exciton mobility. Exciton-phonon coupling and Coulomb interactions are calculated as a function of dot size, spacing and termination to minimize the rate of intra-dot phonon entanglement. This extends the time over which more efficient exciton transport, characterized by partial coherence, can be maintained.

High Throughput, High Yield Fabrication of High Quantum Efficiency Back-Illuminated Photon Counting, Far UV, UV, and Visible Detector Arrays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nikzad, Shouleh; Hoenk, M. E.; Carver, A. G.; Jones, T. J.; Greer, F.; Hamden, E.; Goodsall, T.

2013-01-01

In this paper we discuss the high throughput end-to-end post fabrication processing of high performance delta-doped and superlattice-doped silicon imagers for UV, visible, and NIR applications. As an example, we present our results on far ultraviolet and ultraviolet quantum efficiency (QE) in a photon counting, detector array. We have improved the QE by nearly an order of magnitude over microchannel plates (MCPs) that are the state-of-the-art UV detectors for many NASA space missions as well as defense applications. These achievements are made possible by precision interface band engineering of Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) and Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD).

On the minimum quantum requirement of photosynthesis.

PubMed

Zeinalov, Yuzeir

2009-01-01

An analysis of the shape of photosynthetic light curves is presented and the existence of the initial non-linear part is shown as a consequence of the operation of the non-cooperative (Kok's) mechanism of oxygen evolution or the effect of dark respiration. The effect of nonlinearity on the quantum efficiency (yield) and quantum requirement is reconsidered. The essential conclusions are: 1) The non-linearity of the light curves cannot be compensated using suspensions of algae or chloroplasts with high (>1.0) optical density or absorbance. 2) The values of the maxima of the quantum efficiency curves or the values of the minima of the quantum requirement curves cannot be used for estimation of the exact value of the maximum quantum efficiency and the minimum quantum requirement. The estimation of the maximum quantum efficiency or the minimum quantum requirement should be performed only after extrapolation of the linear part at higher light intensities of the quantum requirement curves to "0" light intensity.

Towards scalable quantum communication and computation: Novel approaches and realizations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Liang

Quantum information science involves exploration of fundamental laws of quantum mechanics for information processing tasks. This thesis presents several new approaches towards scalable quantum information processing. First, we consider a hybrid approach to scalable quantum computation, based on an optically connected network of few-qubit quantum registers. Specifically, we develop a novel scheme for scalable quantum computation that is robust against various imperfections. To justify that nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers in diamond can be a promising realization of the few-qubit quantum register, we show how to isolate a few proximal nuclear spins from the rest of the environment and use them for the quantum register. We also demonstrate experimentally that the nuclear spin coherence is only weakly perturbed under optical illumination, which allows us to implement quantum logical operations that use the nuclear spins to assist the repetitive-readout of the electronic spin. Using this technique, we demonstrate more than two-fold improvement in signal-to-noise ratio. Apart from direct application to enhance the sensitivity of the NV-based nano-magnetometer, this experiment represents an important step towards the realization of robust quantum information processors using electronic and nuclear spin qubits. We then study realizations of quantum repeaters for long distance quantum communication. Specifically, we develop an efficient scheme for quantum repeaters based on atomic ensembles. We use dynamic programming to optimize various quantum repeater protocols. In addition, we propose a new protocol of quantum repeater with encoding, which efficiently uses local resources (about 100 qubits) to identify and correct errors, to achieve fast one-way quantum communication over long distances. Finally, we explore quantum systems with topological order. Such systems can exhibit remarkable phenomena such as quasiparticles with anyonic statistics and have been proposed as candidates for naturally error-free quantum computation. We propose a scheme to unambiguously detect the anyonic statistics in spin lattice realizations using ultra-cold atoms in an optical lattice. We show how to reliably read and write topologically protected quantum memory using an atomic or photonic qubit.

Positive temperature coefficient of photovoltaic efficiency in solar cells based on InGaN/GaN MQWs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Zhaoying; Zheng, Xiantong; Li, Zhilong

2016-08-08

We report a 23.4% improvement of conversion efficiency in solar cells based on InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells by using a patterned sapphire substrate in the fabrication process. The efficiency enhancement is due to the improvement of the crystalline quality, as proven by the reduction of the threading dislocation density. More importantly, the better crystalline quality leads to a positive photovoltaic efficiency temperature coefficient up to 423 K, which shows the property and advantage of wide gap semiconductors like InGaN, signifying the potential of III-nitride based solar cells for high temperature and concentrating solar power applications.

A Multidimensional B-Spline Correction for Accurate Modeling Sugar Puckering in QM/MM Simulations.

PubMed

Huang, Ming; Dissanayake, Thakshila; Kuechler, Erich; Radak, Brian K; Lee, Tai-Sung; Giese, Timothy J; York, Darrin M

2017-09-12

The computational efficiency of approximate quantum mechanical methods allows their use for the construction of multidimensional reaction free energy profiles. It has recently been demonstrated that quantum models based on the neglect of diatomic differential overlap (NNDO) approximation have difficulty modeling deoxyribose and ribose sugar ring puckers and thus limit their predictive value in the study of RNA and DNA systems. A method has been introduced in our previous work to improve the description of the sugar puckering conformational landscape that uses a multidimensional B-spline correction map (BMAP correction) for systems involving intrinsically coupled torsion angles. This method greatly improved the adiabatic potential energy surface profiles of DNA and RNA sugar rings relative to high-level ab initio methods even for highly problematic NDDO-based models. In the present work, a BMAP correction is developed, implemented, and tested in molecular dynamics simulations using the AM1/d-PhoT semiempirical Hamiltonian for biological phosphoryl transfer reactions. Results are presented for gas-phase adiabatic potential energy surfaces of RNA transesterification model reactions and condensed-phase QM/MM free energy surfaces for nonenzymatic and RNase A-catalyzed transesterification reactions. The results show that the BMAP correction is stable, efficient, and leads to improvement in both the potential energy and free energy profiles for the reactions studied, as compared with ab initio and experimental reference data. Exploration of the effect of the size of the quantum mechanical region indicates the best agreement with experimental reaction barriers occurs when the full CpA dinucleotide substrate is treated quantum mechanically with the sugar pucker correction.

Improving quantum state transfer efficiency and entanglement distribution in binary tree spin network through incomplete collapsing measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Behzadi, Naghi; Ahansaz, Bahram

2018-04-01

We propose a mechanism for quantum state transfer (QST) over a binary tree spin network on the basis of incomplete collapsing measurements. To this aim, we perform initially a weak measurement (WM) on the central qubit of the binary tree network where the state of our concern has been prepared on that qubit. After the time evolution of the whole system, a quantum measurement reversal (QMR) is performed on a chosen target qubit. By taking optimal value for the strength of QMR, it is shown that the QST quality from the sending qubit to any typical target qubit on the binary tree is considerably improved in terms of the WM strength. Also, we show that how high-quality entanglement distribution over the binary tree network is achievable by using this approach.

Design of Improved Arithmetic Logic Unit in Quantum-Dot Cellular Automata

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heikalabad, Saeed Rasouli; Gadim, Mahya Rahimpour

2018-06-01

The quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA) can be replaced to overcome the limitation of CMOS technology. An arithmetic logic unit (ALU) is a basic structure of any computer devices. In this paper, design of improved single-bit arithmetic logic unit in quantum dot cellular automata is presented. The proposed structure for ALU has AND, OR, XOR and ADD operations. A unique 2:1 multiplexer, an ultra-efficient two-input XOR and a low complexity full adder are used in the proposed structure. Also, an extended design of this structure is provided for two-bit ALU in this paper. The proposed structure of ALU is simulated by QCADesigner and simulation result is evaluated. Evaluation results show that the proposed design has best performance in terms of area, complexity and delay compared to the previous designs.

Target Detection of Quantum Illumination Receiver Based on Photon-subtracted Entanglement State

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chi, Jiao; Liu, HongJun; Huang, Nan; Wang, ZhaoLu

2017-12-01

We theoretically propose a quantum illumination receiver based on the ideal photon-subtracted two-mode squeezed state (PSTMSS) to efficiently detect the noise-hidden target. This receiver is generated by applying an optical parametric amplifier (OPA) to the cross correlation detection. With analyzing the output performance, it is found that OPA as a preposition technology of the receiver can contribute to the PSTMSS by significantly reducing the error probability than that of the general two-mode squeezed state (TMSS). Comparing with TMSS, the signal-to-noise ratio of quantum illumination based on ideal PSTMSS and OPA is improved more than 4 dB under an optimal gain of OPA. This work may provide a potential improvement in the application of accurate target detection when two kinds of resource have the identical real squeezing parameter.

Design of Improved Arithmetic Logic Unit in Quantum-Dot Cellular Automata

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heikalabad, Saeed Rasouli; Gadim, Mahya Rahimpour

2018-03-01

The quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA) can be replaced to overcome the limitation of CMOS technology. An arithmetic logic unit (ALU) is a basic structure of any computer devices. In this paper, design of improved single-bit arithmetic logic unit in quantum dot cellular automata is presented. The proposed structure for ALU has AND, OR, XOR and ADD operations. A unique 2:1 multiplexer, an ultra-efficient two-input XOR and a low complexity full adder are used in the proposed structure. Also, an extended design of this structure is provided for two-bit ALU in this paper. The proposed structure of ALU is simulated by QCADesigner and simulation result is evaluated. Evaluation results show that the proposed design has best performance in terms of area, complexity and delay compared to the previous designs.

Ti Porous Film-Supported NiCo₂S₄ Nanotubes Counter Electrode for Quantum-Dot-Sensitized Solar Cells.

PubMed

Deng, Jianping; Wang, Minqiang; Song, Xiaohui; Yang, Zhi; Yuan, Zhaolin

2018-04-17

In this paper, a novel Ti porous film-supported NiCo₂S₄ nanotube was fabricated by the acid etching and two-step hydrothermal method and then used as a counter electrode in a CdS/CdSe quantum-dot-sensitized solar cell. Measurements of the cyclic voltammetry, Tafel polarization curves, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy of the symmetric cells revealed that compared with the conventional FTO (fluorine doped tin oxide)/Pt counter electrode, Ti porous film-supported NiCo₂S₄ nanotubes counter electrode exhibited greater electrocatalytic activity toward polysulfide electrolyte and lower charge-transfer resistance at the interface between electrolyte and counter electrode, which remarkably improved the fill factor, short-circuit current density, and power conversion efficiency of the quantum-dot-sensitized solar cell. Under illumination of one sun (100 mW/cm²), the quantum-dot-sensitized solar cell based on Ti porous film-supported NiCo₂S₄ nanotubes counter electrode achieved a power conversion efficiency of 3.14%, which is superior to the cell based on FTO/Pt counter electrode (1.3%).

Enhancing light absorption within the carrier transport length in quantum junction solar cells.

PubMed

Fu, Yulan; Hara, Yukihiro; Miller, Christopher W; Lopez, Rene

2015-09-10

Colloidal quantum dot (CQD) solar cells have attracted tremendous attention because of their tunable absorption spectrum window and potentially low processing cost. Recently reported quantum junction solar cells represent a promising approach to building a rectifying photovoltaic device that employs CQD layers on each side of the p-n junction. However, the ultimate efficiency of CQD solar cells is still highly limited by their high trap state density in both p- and n-type CQDs. By modeling photonic structures to enhance the light absorption within the carrier transport length and by ensuring that the carrier generation and collection efficiencies were both augmented, our work shows that overall device current density could be improved. We utilized a two-dimensional numerical model to calculate the characteristics of patterned CQD solar cells based on a simple grating structure. Our calculation predicts a short circuit current density as high as 31  mA/cm², a value nearly 1.5 times larger than that of the conventional flat design, showing the great potential value of patterned quantum junction solar cells.

Experimental generation of an eight-photon Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state.

PubMed

Huang, Yun-Feng; Liu, Bi-Heng; Peng, Liang; Li, Yu-Hu; Li, Li; Li, Chuan-Feng; Guo, Guang-Can

2011-11-22

Multi-partite entangled states are important for developing studies of quantum networking and quantum computation. To date, the largest number of particles that have been successfully manipulated is 14 trapped ions. Yet in quantum information science, photons have particular advantages over other systems. In particular, they are more easily transportable qubits and are more robust against decoherence. Thus far, the largest number of photons to have been successfully manipulated in an experiment is six. Here we demonstrate, for the first time, an eight-photon Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state with a measured fidelity of 0.59±0.02, which proved the presence of genuine eight-partite entanglement. This is achieved by improving the photon detection efficiency to 25% with a 300-mW pump laser. With this state, we also demonstrate an eight-party quantum communication complexity scenario. This eight-photon entangled-state source may be useful in one-way quantum computation, quantum networks and other quantum information processing tasks.

Ultrawide Spectral Response of CIGS Solar Cells Integrated with Luminescent Down-Shifting Quantum Dots.

PubMed

Jeong, Ho-Jung; Kim, Ye-Chan; Lee, Soo Kyung; Jeong, Yonkil; Song, Jin-Won; Yun, Ju-Hyung; Jang, Jae-Hyung

2017-08-02

Conventional Cu(In 1-x ,Ga x )Se 2 (CIGS) solar cells exhibit poor spectral response due to parasitic light absorption in the window and buffer layers at the short wavelength range between 300 and 520 nm. In this study, the CdSe/CdZnS core/shell quantum dots (QDs) acting as a luminescent down-shifting (LDS) layer were inserted between the MgF 2 antireflection coating and the window layer of the CIGS solar cell to improve light harvesting in the short wavelength range. The LDS layer absorbs photons in the short wavelength range and re-emits photons in the 609 nm range, which are transmitted through the window and buffer layer and absorbed in the CIGS layer. The average external quantum efficiency in the parasitic light absorption region (300-520 nm) was enhanced by 51%. The resulting short circuit current density of 34.04 mA/cm 2 and power conversion efficiency of 14.29% of the CIGS solar cell with the CdSe/CdZnS QDs were improved by 4.35 and 3.85%, respectively, compared with those of the conventional solar cells without QDs.

Carrier Multiplication in Quantum Dots within the Framework of Two Competing Energy Relaxation Mechanisms.

PubMed

Stewart, John T; Padilha, Lazaro A; Bae, Wan Ki; Koh, Weon-Kyu; Pietryga, Jeffrey M; Klimov, Victor I

2013-06-20

The realization of high-yield, low-threshold carrier multiplication (CM) in semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) is a promising step toward third-generation photovoltaics (PV). Recent studies of QD solar cells have shown that CM can indeed produce greater-than-unity quantum efficiencies in photon-to-charge-carrier conversion, establishing the relevance of this process to practical PV technologies. While being appreciable, the reported CM yields are still not high enough for a significant increase in the power conversion efficiency over traditional bulk materials. At present, the design of nanomaterials with improved CM is hindered by a poor understanding of the mechanism underlying this process. Here, we present a possible solution to this problem by introducing a model that treats CM as a competition between impact-ionization-like scattering and non-CM energy losses. Importantly, it allows for evaluation of expected CM yields from fairly straightforward measurements of Auger recombination (inverse of CM) and near-band-edge carrier cooling. The validation of this model via a comparative CM study of PbTe, PbSe, and PbS QDs suggests that it indeed represents a predictive capability, which might help in the development of nanomaterials with improved CM performance.

Entanglement routers via a wireless quantum network based on arbitrary two qubit systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Metwally, N.

2014-12-01

A wireless quantum network is generated between multi-hops, where each hop consists of two entangled nodes. These nodes share a finite number of entangled two-qubit systems randomly. Different types of wireless quantum bridges (WQBS) are generated between the non-connected nodes. The efficiency of these WQBS to be used as quantum channels between its terminals to perform quantum teleportation is investigated. We suggest a theoretical wireless quantum communication protocol to teleport unknown quantum signals from one node to another, where the more powerful WQBS are used as quantum channels. It is shown that, by increasing the efficiency of the sources that emit the initial partial entangled states, one can increase the efficiency of the wireless quantum communication protocol.

Emission rate and internal quantum efficiency enhancement in different geometrical shapes of GaN LED

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rashid, S.; Wahid, M. H. A.; Hambali, N. A. M. Ahmad; Halim, N. S. A. Abdul; Ramli, M. M.; Shahimin, M. M.

2017-09-01

This work is based on the development of light emitting diode (LED) using different geometry of top surface on GaN p-n junction structure. Three types of LED chips are designed with different top surface to differ whether p-type layer or p contact plays an important role in improving its efficiency. The voltage applied ranges from 0V to 4V. Current-voltage characteristic for all three samples are obtained and analyzed. The results show that dome shaped of p-type layer operating at 4V increases the emission rate and internal quantum efficiency up to 70%, which is two times higher than basic cylindrically LED chip. Moreover, this new design effectively solved the higher forward voltage problem of the usual curve surface of p-contact GaN LED.

Efficient exciton generation in atomic passivated CdSe/ZnS quantum dots light-emitting devices

PubMed Central

Kang, Byoung-Ho; Lee, Jae-Sung; Lee, Sang-Won; Kim, Sae-Wan; Lee, Jun-Woo; Gopalan, Sai-Anand; Park, Ji-Sub; Kwon, Dae-Hyuk; Bae, Jin-Hyuk; Kim, Hak-Rin; Kang, Shin-Won

2016-01-01

We demonstrate the first-ever surface modification of green CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) using bromide anions (Br-) in cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The Br- ions reduced the interparticle spacing between the QDs and induced an effective charge balance in QD light-emitting devices (QLEDs). The fabricated QLEDs exhibited efficient charge injection because of the reduced emission quenching effect and their enhanced thin film morphology. As a result, they exhibited a maximum luminance of 71,000 cd/m2 and an external current efficiency of 6.4 cd/A, both significantly better than those of their counterparts with oleic acid surface ligands. In addition, the lifetime of the Br- treated QD based QLEDs is significantly improved due to ionic passivation at the QDs surface. PMID:27686147

Near infrared emission of TbAG:Ce{sup 3+},Yb{sup 3+} phosphor for solar cell applications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Meshram, N. D., E-mail: meshramnileshsd@gmail.com; Yadav, P. J., E-mail: yadav.pooja75@yahoo.in; Pathak, A. A., E-mail: aapathak@yahoo.com

2016-05-06

Luminescent materials doped with rare earth ions are used for many devices such as optical amplifiers in telecommunication, phosphors for white light emitting diodes (LEDs), displays, and so on. Recently, they also have attracted a great interest for photovoltaic applications to improve solar cell efficiency by modifying solar spectrum. Crystal silicon (c-Si) solar cells most effectively convert photons of energy close to the semiconductor band gap. The mis-match between the incident solar spectrum and the spectral response of solar cells is one of the main reasons to limit the cell efficiency. The efficiency limit of the c-Si has been estimatedmore » to be 29% by Shockley and Queisser. However, this limit is estimated to be improved up to 38.4% by modifying the solar spectrum by a quantum cutting (down converting) phosphor which converts one photon of high energy into two photons of lower energy. The phenomenon such as the quantum cutting or the down conversion of rare earth ions have been investigated since Dexter reported the possibility of a luminescent quantum yield greater than unity in 1957. In the past, the quantum cutting from a vacuum ultraviolet photon to visible photons for Pr{sup 3+}, Gd{sup 3+},Gd{sup 3+}–Eu{sup 3+}, and Er{sup 3+}–Tb{sup 3+} had been studied. Recently, a new quantum cutting phenomenon from visible photon shorter than 500 nm to two infrared photons for Tb{sup 3+}–Yb{sup 3+}, Pr{sup 3+}–Yb{sup 3+}, and Tm{sup 3+}–Yb{sup 3+} has been reported. The Yb{sup 3+} ion is suitable as an acceptor and emitter because luminescent quantum efficiency of Yb{sup 3+} is close to 100% and the energy of the only excited level of Yb{sup 3+} (1.2 eV) is roughly in accordance with the band gap of Si (1.1 eV). In addition, the Ce{sup 3+}-doped Tb{sub 3}Al{sub 5}O{sub 12} (TbAG), used as a phosphor for white LED, has broad absorption bands in the range of 300–500 nm due to strong ligand field and high luminescent quantum efficiency. Therefore, the Ce{sup 3+} ions in the TbAG can be suitable as an excellent sensitizing donor for down conversion materials of Si solar cells. In this paper, Ce{sup 3+} –Yb{sup 3+}-codoped TbAG ceramics were prepared and the energy transfer (ET) including down conversion mechanism in Ce{sup 3+} – Yb{sup 3+} codoped TbAG ceramics have been evaluated by the photoluminescence (PL), the photoluminescence excitation (PLE), the lifetime and the quantum yield (QY), which was measured directly using an integrating sphere.« less

Long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) quantum-dot infrared photodetector (QDIP) focal plane array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gunapala, S. D.; Bandara, S. V.; Hill, C. J.; Ting, D. Z.; Liu, J. K.; Rafol, S. B.; Blazejewski, E. R.; Mumolo, J. M.; Keo, S. A.; Krishna, S.; Chang, Y. C.; Shott, C. A.

2006-05-01

We have exploited the artificial atomlike properties of epitaxially self-assembled quantum dots for the development of high operating temperature long wavelength infrared (LWIR) focal plane arrays. Quantum dots are nanometer-scale islands that form spontaneously on a semiconductor substrate due to lattice mismatch. QDIPs are expected to outperform quantum well infrared detectors (QWIPs) and are expected to offer significant advantages over II-VI material based focal plane arrays. QDIPs are fabricated using robust wide bandgap III-V materials which are well suited to the production of highly uniform LWIR arrays. We have used molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) technology to grow multi-layer LWIR quantum dot structures based on the InAs/InGaAs/GaAs material system. JPL is building on its significant QWIP experience and is basically building a Dot-in-the-Well (DWELL) device design by embedding InAs quantum dots in a QWIP structure. This hybrid quantum dot/quantum well device offers additional control in wavelength tuning via control of dot-size and/or quantum well sizes. In addition the quantum wells can trap electrons and aide in ground state refilling. Recent measurements have shown a 10 times higher photoconductive gain than the typical QWIP device, which indirectly confirms the lower relaxation rate of excited electrons (photon bottleneck) in QDIPs. Subsequent material and device improvements have demonstrated an absorption quantum efficiency (QE) of ~ 3%. Dot-in-the-well (DWELL) QDIPs were also experimentally shown to absorb both 45o and normally incident light. Thus we have employed a reflection grating structure to further enhance the quantum efficiency. JPL has demonstrated wavelength control by progressively growing material and fabricating devices structures that have continuously increased in LWIR response. The most recent devices exhibit peak responsivity out to 8.1 microns. Peak detectivity of the 8.1μm devices has reached ~ 1 x 1010 Jones at 77 K. Furthermore, we have fabricated the first long-wavelength 640x512 pixels QDIP focal plane array. This QDIP focal plane array has produced excellent infrared imagery with noise equivalent temperature difference of 40 mK at 60K operating temperature. In addition, we have managed to increase the quantum efficiency of these devices from 0.1% (according to the data published in literature) to 20% in discrete devices. This is a factor of 200 increase in quantum efficiency. With these excellent results, for the first time QDIP performance has surpassed the QWIP performance. Our goal is to operate these long-wavelength detectors at much higher operating temperature than 77K, which can be passively achieved in space. This will be a huge leap in high performance infrared detectors specifically applicable to space science instruments.

Long-Wavelength Infrared (LWIR) Quantum Dot Infrared Photodetector (QDIP) Focal Plane Array

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gunapala, Sarath D.; Bandara, S. V.; Liu, J. K.; Hill, C. J.; Rafol, S. B.; Mumolo, J. M.; Shott, C. A.

2006-01-01

We have exploited the artificial atomlike properties of epitaxially self-assembled quantum dots for the development of high operating temperature long wavelength infrared (LWIR) focal plane arrays. Quantum dots are nanometer-scale islands that form spontaneously on a semiconductor substrate due to lattice mismatch. QDIPs are expected to outperform quantum well infrared detectors (QWIPs) and are expected to offer significant advantages over II-VI material based focal plane arrays. QDIPs are fabricated using robust wide bandgap III-V materials which are well suited to the production of highly uniform LWIR arrays. We have used molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) technology to grow multi-layer LWIR quantum dot structures based on the InAs/InGaAs/GaAs material system. JPL is building on its significant QWIP experience and is basically building a Dot-in-the-Well (DWELL) device design by embedding InAs quantum dots in a QWIP structure. This hybrid quantum dot/quantum well device offers additional control in wavelength tuning via control of dot-size and/or quantum well sizes. In addition the quantum wells can trap electrons and aide in ground state refilling. Recent measurements have shown a 10 times higher photoconductive gain than the typical QWIP device, which indirectly confirms the lower relaxation rate of excited electrons (photon bottleneck) in QDPs. Subsequent material and device improvements have demonstrated an absorption quantum efficiency (QE) of approx. 3%. Dot-in-the-well (DWELL) QDIPs were also experimentally shown to absorb both 45 deg. and normally incident light. Thus we have employed a reflection grating structure to further enhance the quantum efficiency. JPL has demonstrated wavelength control by progressively growing material and fabricating devices structures that have continuously increased in LWIR response. The most recent devices exhibit peak responsivity out to 8.1 microns. Peak detectivity of the 8.1 micrometer devices has reached approx. 1 x 10(exp 10) Jones at 77 K. Furthermore, we have fabricated the first long-wavelength 640x512 pixels QDP focal plane array. This QDIP focal plane may has produced excellent infrared imagery with noise equivalent temperature difference of 40 mK at 60K operating temperature. In addition, we have managed to increase the quantum efficiency of these devices from 0.1% (according to the data published in literature) to 20% in discrete devices. This is a factor of 200 increase in quantum efficiency. With these excellent results, for the first time QDIP performance has surpassed the QWIP performance. Our goal is to operate these long-wavelength detectors at much higher operating temperature than 77K which can be passively achieved in space. This will be a huge leap in high performance infrared detectors specifically applicable to space science instruments.

An adiabatic linearized path integral approach for quantum time-correlation functions II: a cumulant expansion method for improving convergence.

PubMed

Causo, Maria Serena; Ciccotti, Giovanni; Bonella, Sara; Vuilleumier, Rodolphe

2006-08-17

Linearized mixed quantum-classical simulations are a promising approach for calculating time-correlation functions. At the moment, however, they suffer from some numerical problems that may compromise their efficiency and reliability in applications to realistic condensed-phase systems. In this paper, we present a method that improves upon the convergence properties of the standard algorithm for linearized calculations by implementing a cumulant expansion of the relevant averages. The effectiveness of the new approach is tested by applying it to the challenging computation of the diffusion of an excess electron in a metal-molten salt solution.

Surface plasmon-enhanced light-emitting diodes using silver nanoparticles embedded in p-GaN.

PubMed

Cho, Chu-Young; Kwon, Min-Ki; Lee, Sang-Jun; Han, Sang-Heon; Kang, Jang-Won; Kang, Se-Eun; Lee, Dong-Yul; Park, Seong-Ju

2010-05-21

We demonstrate the surface plasmon-enhanced blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) using Ag nanoparticles embedded in p-GaN. A large increase in optical output power of 38% is achieved at an injection current of 20 mA due to an improved internal quantum efficiency of the LEDs. The enhancement of optical output power is dependent on the density of the Ag nanoparticles. This improvement can be attributed to an increase in the spontaneous emission rate through resonance coupling between the excitons in multiple quantum wells and localized surface plasmons in Ag nanoparticles embedded in p-GaN.

Efficient quantum walk on a quantum processor

PubMed Central

Qiang, Xiaogang; Loke, Thomas; Montanaro, Ashley; Aungskunsiri, Kanin; Zhou, Xiaoqi; O'Brien, Jeremy L.; Wang, Jingbo B.; Matthews, Jonathan C. F.

2016-01-01

The random walk formalism is used across a wide range of applications, from modelling share prices to predicting population genetics. Likewise, quantum walks have shown much potential as a framework for developing new quantum algorithms. Here we present explicit efficient quantum circuits for implementing continuous-time quantum walks on the circulant class of graphs. These circuits allow us to sample from the output probability distributions of quantum walks on circulant graphs efficiently. We also show that solving the same sampling problem for arbitrary circulant quantum circuits is intractable for a classical computer, assuming conjectures from computational complexity theory. This is a new link between continuous-time quantum walks and computational complexity theory and it indicates a family of tasks that could ultimately demonstrate quantum supremacy over classical computers. As a proof of principle, we experimentally implement the proposed quantum circuit on an example circulant graph using a two-qubit photonics quantum processor. PMID:27146471

Quantum-limited heat conduction over macroscopic distances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Partanen, Matti; Tan, Kuan Yen; Govenius, Joonas; Lake, Russell E.; Mäkelä, Miika K.; Tanttu, Tuomo; Möttönen, Mikko

2016-05-01

The emerging quantum technological apparatuses, such as the quantum computer, call for extreme performance in thermal engineering. Cold distant heat sinks are needed for the quantized electric degrees of freedom owing to the increasing packaging density and heat dissipation. Importantly, quantum mechanics sets a fundamental upper limit for the flow of information and heat, which is quantified by the quantum of thermal conductance. However, the short distance between the heat-exchanging bodies in the previous experiments hinders their applicability in quantum technology. Here, we present experimental observations of quantum-limited heat conduction over macroscopic distances extending to a metre. We achieved this improvement of four orders of magnitude in the distance by utilizing microwave photons travelling in superconducting transmission lines. Thus, it seems that quantum-limited heat conduction has no fundamental distance cutoff. This work establishes the integration of normal-metal components into the framework of circuit quantum electrodynamics, which provides a basis for the superconducting quantum computer. Especially, our results facilitate remote cooling of nanoelectronic devices using faraway in situ-tunable heat sinks. Furthermore, quantum-limited heat conduction is important in contemporary thermodynamics. Here, the long distance may lead to ultimately efficient mesoscopic heat engines with promising practical applications.

Generalized Geometric Quantum Speed Limits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pires, Diego Paiva; Cianciaruso, Marco; Céleri, Lucas C.; Adesso, Gerardo; Soares-Pinto, Diogo O.

2016-04-01

The attempt to gain a theoretical understanding of the concept of time in quantum mechanics has triggered significant progress towards the search for faster and more efficient quantum technologies. One of such advances consists in the interpretation of the time-energy uncertainty relations as lower bounds for the minimal evolution time between two distinguishable states of a quantum system, also known as quantum speed limits. We investigate how the nonuniqueness of a bona fide measure of distinguishability defined on the quantum-state space affects the quantum speed limits and can be exploited in order to derive improved bounds. Specifically, we establish an infinite family of quantum speed limits valid for unitary and nonunitary evolutions, based on an elegant information geometric formalism. Our work unifies and generalizes existing results on quantum speed limits and provides instances of novel bounds that are tighter than any established one based on the conventional quantum Fisher information. We illustrate our findings with relevant examples, demonstrating the importance of choosing different information metrics for open system dynamics, as well as clarifying the roles of classical populations versus quantum coherences, in the determination and saturation of the speed limits. Our results can find applications in the optimization and control of quantum technologies such as quantum computation and metrology, and might provide new insights in fundamental investigations of quantum thermodynamics.

Improving DoD Energy Efficiency: Combining MMOWGLI Social-Media Brainstorming with Lexical Link Analysis (LLA) to Strengthen the Defense Acquisition Process

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-04-01

from MIT and co-founded Quantum Intelligence, Inc. She has been a principal investigator (PI) for six DoD Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR... consciously and consistently.  Following a series of deliberate experiments, long-term procedural improvements to the formal milestone acquisition process

Ultrafast endothermic transfer of non-radiative exciplex state to radiative excitons in polyfluorene random copolymer for blue electroluminescence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moghe, Dhanashree A.; Dey, Amrita; Johnson, Kerr; Lu, L.-P.; Friend, Richard H.; Kabra, Dinesh

2018-04-01

We report a blue-emitting random copolymer (termed modified Aryl-F8) consisting of three repeat units of polydioctylfluorene (F8), Aryl-polydioctylfluorene (Aryl-F8), and an aromatic amine comonomer unit, poly(bis-N,Ν'-(4-butylphenyl)-bis-N,N'-phenyl-1,4 phenylenediamine) chemically linked to get an improved charge carrier balance without compromising on the photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield with respect to the Aryl-F8 homo-polymer. The measured photoluminescence quantum efficiency (˜70%) of the blue-emitting polymer is comparable to or greater than the individual monomer units. The time resolved PL spectra from the modified Aryl-F8 are similar to those of Arylated-poly(9,9'-dioctylfluorene-co-bis-N,N'-(4-butylphenyl)-bis-N,N'-phenyl-1,4 phenylenediamine) (PFB) even at a time scale of 100-250 ps, indicating an ultrafast energy transfer from the (Aryl-F8 or F8):Arylated-PFB interface to Arylated-PFB, i.e., endothermic transfer of non-radiative exciplex to a radiative molecular exciton. Furthermore, the presence of non-radiative exciplex is confirmed by the photoluminescence decay profile and temperature dependent PL spectra. The luminance efficiency achieved for the modified Aryl-F8 polymer light-emitting diodes is ˜11 cd A-1 with an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of ˜4.5%, whereas it is 0.05 cd/A with an EQE of ˜0.025% for Aryl-F8. Almost two orders of higher efficiency is achieved due to the improved charge carrier balance from the random copolymer without compromising on the photoluminescence yield.

A universal quantum information processor for scalable quantum communication and networks

PubMed Central

Yang, Xihua; Xue, Bolin; Zhang, Junxiang; Zhu, Shiyao

2014-01-01

Entanglement provides an essential resource for quantum computation, quantum communication, and quantum networks. How to conveniently and efficiently realize the generation, distribution, storage, retrieval, and control of multipartite entanglement is the basic requirement for realistic quantum information processing. Here, we present a theoretical proposal to efficiently and conveniently achieve a universal quantum information processor (QIP) via atomic coherence in an atomic ensemble. The atomic coherence, produced through electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in the Λ-type configuration, acts as the QIP and has full functions of quantum beam splitter, quantum frequency converter, quantum entangler, and quantum repeater. By employing EIT-based nondegenerate four-wave mixing processes, the generation, exchange, distribution, and manipulation of light-light, atom-light, and atom-atom multipartite entanglement can be efficiently and flexibly achieved in a deterministic way with only coherent light fields. This method greatly facilitates the operations in quantum information processing, and holds promising applications in realistic scalable quantum communication and quantum networks. PMID:25316514

High efficiency coherent optical memory with warm rubidium vapour

PubMed Central

Hosseini, M.; Sparkes, B.M.; Campbell, G.; Lam, P.K.; Buchler, B.C.

2011-01-01

By harnessing aspects of quantum mechanics, communication and information processing could be radically transformed. Promising forms of quantum information technology include optical quantum cryptographic systems and computing using photons for quantum logic operations. As with current information processing systems, some form of memory will be required. Quantum repeaters, which are required for long distance quantum key distribution, require quantum optical memory as do deterministic logic gates for optical quantum computing. Here, we present results from a coherent optical memory based on warm rubidium vapour and show 87% efficient recall of light pulses, the highest efficiency measured to date for any coherent optical memory suitable for quantum information applications. We also show storage and recall of up to 20 pulses from our system. These results show that simple warm atomic vapour systems have clear potential as a platform for quantum memory. PMID:21285952

High efficiency coherent optical memory with warm rubidium vapour.

PubMed

Hosseini, M; Sparkes, B M; Campbell, G; Lam, P K; Buchler, B C

2011-02-01

By harnessing aspects of quantum mechanics, communication and information processing could be radically transformed. Promising forms of quantum information technology include optical quantum cryptographic systems and computing using photons for quantum logic operations. As with current information processing systems, some form of memory will be required. Quantum repeaters, which are required for long distance quantum key distribution, require quantum optical memory as do deterministic logic gates for optical quantum computing. Here, we present results from a coherent optical memory based on warm rubidium vapour and show 87% efficient recall of light pulses, the highest efficiency measured to date for any coherent optical memory suitable for quantum information applications. We also show storage and recall of up to 20 pulses from our system. These results show that simple warm atomic vapour systems have clear potential as a platform for quantum memory.

Improvement of density resolution in short-pulse hard x-ray radiographic imaging using detector stacks

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Borm, B.; Gärtner, F.; Khaghani, D.

2016-09-15

We demonstrate that stacking several imaging plates (IPs) constitutes an easy method to increase hard x-ray detection efficiency. Used to record x-ray radiographic images produced by an intense-laser driven hard x-ray backlighter source, the IP stacks resulted in a significant improvement of the radiograph density resolution. We attribute this to the higher quantum efficiency of the combined detectors, leading to a reduced photon noise. Electron-photon transport simulations of the interaction processes in the detector reproduce the observed contrast improvement. Increasing the detection efficiency to enhance radiographic imaging capabilities is equally effective as increasing the x-ray source yield, e.g., by amore » larger drive laser energy.« less

Efficient tools for quantum metrology with uncorrelated noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kołodyński, Jan; Demkowicz-Dobrzański, Rafał

2013-07-01

Quantum metrology offers enhanced performance in experiments on topics such as gravitational wave-detection, magnetometry or atomic clock frequency calibration. The enhancement, however, requires a delicate tuning of relevant quantum features, such as entanglement or squeezing. For any practical application, the inevitable impact of decoherence needs to be taken into account in order to correctly quantify the ultimate attainable gain in precision. We compare the applicability and the effectiveness of various methods of calculating the ultimate precision bounds resulting from the presence of decoherence. This allows us to place a number of seemingly unrelated concepts into a common framework and arrive at an explicit hierarchy of quantum metrological methods in terms of the tightness of the bounds they provide. In particular, we show a way to extend the techniques originally proposed in Demkowicz-Dobrzański et al (2012 Nature Commun. 3 1063), so that they can be efficiently applied not only in the asymptotic but also in the finite number of particles regime. As a result, we obtain a simple and direct method, yielding bounds that interpolate between the quantum enhanced scaling characteristic for a small number of particles and the asymptotic regime, where quantum enhancement amounts to a constant factor improvement. Methods are applied to numerous models, including noisy phase and frequency estimation, as well as the estimation of the decoherence strength itself.

Experimental purification of two-atom entanglement.

PubMed

Reichle, R; Leibfried, D; Knill, E; Britton, J; Blakestad, R B; Jost, J D; Langer, C; Ozeri, R; Seidelin, S; Wineland, D J

2006-10-19

Entanglement is a necessary resource for quantum applications--entanglement established between quantum systems at different locations enables private communication and quantum teleportation, and facilitates quantum information processing. Distributed entanglement is established by preparing an entangled pair of quantum particles in one location, and transporting one member of the pair to another location. However, decoherence during transport reduces the quality (fidelity) of the entanglement. A protocol to achieve entanglement 'purification' has been proposed to improve the fidelity after transport. This protocol uses separate quantum operations at each location and classical communication to distil high-fidelity entangled pairs from lower-fidelity pairs. Proof-of-principle experiments distilling entangled photon pairs have been carried out. However, these experiments obtained distilled pairs with a low probability of success and required destruction of the entangled pairs, rendering them unavailable for further processing. Here we report efficient and non-destructive entanglement purification with atomic quantum bits. Two noisy entangled pairs were created and distilled into one higher-fidelity pair available for further use. Success probabilities were above 35 per cent. The many applications of entanglement purification make it one of the most important techniques in quantum information processing.

[Definition of quantum efficiency of X-ray detectors].

PubMed

Zelikman, M I

2001-01-01

Different definitions available in the literature on the quantum efficiency of X-ray detectors are presented and compared. The relationship of this parameter to spatial frequencies for quantum accounting receivers and energy accumulating ones is analyzed. A procedure is proposed for evaluating the quantum efficiency of the detectors in the area of zero spatial frequencies, which is rather simple and requires no special testing equipment.

High efficiency silicon solar cell based on asymmetric nanowire.

PubMed

Ko, Myung-Dong; Rim, Taiuk; Kim, Kihyun; Meyyappan, M; Baek, Chang-Ki

2015-07-08

Improving the efficiency of solar cells through novel materials and devices is critical to realize the full potential of solar energy to meet the growing worldwide energy demands. We present here a highly efficient radial p-n junction silicon solar cell using an asymmetric nanowire structure with a shorter bottom core diameter than at the top. A maximum short circuit current density of 27.5 mA/cm(2) and an efficiency of 7.53% were realized without anti-reflection coating. Changing the silicon nanowire (SiNW) structure from conventional symmetric to asymmetric nature improves the efficiency due to increased short circuit current density. From numerical simulation and measurement of the optical characteristics, the total reflection on the sidewalls is seen to increase the light trapping path and charge carrier generation in the radial junction of the asymmetric SiNW, yielding high external quantum efficiency and short circuit current density. The proposed asymmetric structure has great potential to effectively improve the efficiency of the SiNW solar cells.

Modeling techniques for quantum cascade lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jirauschek, Christian; Kubis, Tillmann

2014-03-01

Quantum cascade lasers are unipolar semiconductor lasers covering a wide range of the infrared and terahertz spectrum. Lasing action is achieved by using optical intersubband transitions between quantized states in specifically designed multiple-quantum-well heterostructures. A systematic improvement of quantum cascade lasers with respect to operating temperature, efficiency, and spectral range requires detailed modeling of the underlying physical processes in these structures. Moreover, the quantum cascade laser constitutes a versatile model device for the development and improvement of simulation techniques in nano- and optoelectronics. This review provides a comprehensive survey and discussion of the modeling techniques used for the simulation of quantum cascade lasers. The main focus is on the modeling of carrier transport in the nanostructured gain medium, while the simulation of the optical cavity is covered at a more basic level. Specifically, the transfer matrix and finite difference methods for solving the one-dimensional Schrödinger equation and Schrödinger-Poisson system are discussed, providing the quantized states in the multiple-quantum-well active region. The modeling of the optical cavity is covered with a focus on basic waveguide resonator structures. Furthermore, various carrier transport simulation methods are discussed, ranging from basic empirical approaches to advanced self-consistent techniques. The methods include empirical rate equation and related Maxwell-Bloch equation approaches, self-consistent rate equation and ensemble Monte Carlo methods, as well as quantum transport approaches, in particular the density matrix and non-equilibrium Green's function formalism. The derived scattering rates and self-energies are generally valid for n-type devices based on one-dimensional quantum confinement, such as quantum well structures.

Modeling techniques for quantum cascade lasers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jirauschek, Christian; Kubis, Tillmann

2014-03-15

Quantum cascade lasers are unipolar semiconductor lasers covering a wide range of the infrared and terahertz spectrum. Lasing action is achieved by using optical intersubband transitions between quantized states in specifically designed multiple-quantum-well heterostructures. A systematic improvement of quantum cascade lasers with respect to operating temperature, efficiency, and spectral range requires detailed modeling of the underlying physical processes in these structures. Moreover, the quantum cascade laser constitutes a versatile model device for the development and improvement of simulation techniques in nano- and optoelectronics. This review provides a comprehensive survey and discussion of the modeling techniques used for the simulation ofmore » quantum cascade lasers. The main focus is on the modeling of carrier transport in the nanostructured gain medium, while the simulation of the optical cavity is covered at a more basic level. Specifically, the transfer matrix and finite difference methods for solving the one-dimensional Schrödinger equation and Schrödinger-Poisson system are discussed, providing the quantized states in the multiple-quantum-well active region. The modeling of the optical cavity is covered with a focus on basic waveguide resonator structures. Furthermore, various carrier transport simulation methods are discussed, ranging from basic empirical approaches to advanced self-consistent techniques. The methods include empirical rate equation and related Maxwell-Bloch equation approaches, self-consistent rate equation and ensemble Monte Carlo methods, as well as quantum transport approaches, in particular the density matrix and non-equilibrium Green's function formalism. The derived scattering rates and self-energies are generally valid for n-type devices based on one-dimensional quantum confinement, such as quantum well structures.« less

MCTDH on-the-fly: Efficient grid-based quantum dynamics without pre-computed potential energy surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richings, Gareth W.; Habershon, Scott

2018-04-01

We present significant algorithmic improvements to a recently proposed direct quantum dynamics method, based upon combining well established grid-based quantum dynamics approaches and expansions of the potential energy operator in terms of a weighted sum of Gaussian functions. Specifically, using a sum of low-dimensional Gaussian functions to represent the potential energy surface (PES), combined with a secondary fitting of the PES using singular value decomposition, we show how standard grid-based quantum dynamics methods can be dramatically accelerated without loss of accuracy. This is demonstrated by on-the-fly simulations (using both standard grid-based methods and multi-configuration time-dependent Hartree) of both proton transfer on the electronic ground state of salicylaldimine and the non-adiabatic dynamics of pyrazine.

Synthesis of Arbitrary Quantum Circuits to Topological Assembly: Systematic, Online and Compact.

PubMed

Paler, Alexandru; Fowler, Austin G; Wille, Robert

2017-09-05

It is challenging to transform an arbitrary quantum circuit into a form protected by surface code quantum error correcting codes (a variant of topological quantum error correction), especially if the goal is to minimise overhead. One of the issues is the efficient placement of magic state distillation sub circuits, so-called distillation boxes, in the space-time volume that abstracts the computation's required resources. This work presents a general, systematic, online method for the synthesis of such circuits. Distillation box placement is controlled by so-called schedulers. The work introduces a greedy scheduler generating compact box placements. The implemented software, whose source code is available at www.github.com/alexandrupaler/tqec, is used to illustrate and discuss synthesis examples. Synthesis and optimisation improvements are proposed.

Optoelectronic Performance Variations in InGaN/GaN Multiple-Quantum-Well Light-Emitting Diodes: Effects of Potential Fluctuation.

PubMed

Islam, Abu Bashar Mohammad Hamidul; Shim, Jong-In; Shin, Dong-Soo

2018-05-07

We investigate the cause of the optoelectronic performance variations in InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well blue light-emitting diodes, using three different samples from an identical wafer grown on a c -plane sapphire substrate. Various macroscopic measurements have been conducted, revealing that with increasing strain in the quantum wells (QWs), the crystal quality improves with an increasing peak internal quantum efficiency while the droop becomes more severe. We propose to explain these variations using a model where the in-plane local potential fluctuation in QWs is considered. Our work is contrasted with prior works in that macroscopic measurements are utilized to find clues on the microscopic changes and their impacts on the device performances, which has been rarely attempted.

[Infrared spectroscopy based on quantum cascade lasers].

PubMed

Wen, Zhong-Quan; Chen, Gang; Peng, Chen; Yuan, Wei-Qing

2013-04-01

Quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) are promising infrared coherent sources. Thanks to the quantum theory and band-gap engineering, QCL can access the wavelength in the range from 3 to 100 microm. Since the fingerprint spectrum of most gases are located in the mid-infrared range, mid-infrared quantum cascade laser based gas sensing technique has become the research focus world wide because of its high power, narrow linewidth and fast scanning. Recent progress in the QCL technology leads to a great improvement in laser output power and efficiency, which stimulates a fast development in the infrared laser spectroscopy. The present paper gives a broad review on the QCL based spectroscopy techniques according to their working principles. A discussion on their applications in gas sensing and explosive detecting is also given at the end of the paper.

Replicating the benefits of Deutschian closed timelike curves without breaking causality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Xiao; Assad, Syed M.; Thompson, Jayne; Haw, Jing Yan; Vedral, Vlatko; Ralph, Timothy C.; Lam, Ping Koy; Weedbrook, Christian; Gu, Mile

2015-11-01

In general relativity, closed timelike curves can break causality with remarkable and unsettling consequences. At the classical level, they induce causal paradoxes disturbing enough to motivate conjectures that explicitly prevent their existence. At the quantum level such problems can be resolved through the Deutschian formalism, however this induces radical benefits—from cloning unknown quantum states to solving problems intractable to quantum computers. Instinctively, one expects these benefits to vanish if causality is respected. Here we show that in harnessing entanglement, we can efficiently solve NP-complete problems and clone arbitrary quantum states—even when all time-travelling systems are completely isolated from the past. Thus, the many defining benefits of Deutschian closed timelike curves can still be harnessed, even when causality is preserved. Our results unveil a subtle interplay between entanglement and general relativity, and significantly improve the potential of probing the radical effects that may exist at the interface between relativity and quantum theory.

The elusive Heisenberg limit in quantum-enhanced metrology

PubMed Central

Demkowicz-Dobrzański, Rafał; Kołodyński, Jan; Guţă, Mădălin

2012-01-01

Quantum precision enhancement is of fundamental importance for the development of advanced metrological optical experiments, such as gravitational wave detection and frequency calibration with atomic clocks. Precision in these experiments is strongly limited by the 1/√N shot noise factor with N being the number of probes (photons, atoms) employed in the experiment. Quantum theory provides tools to overcome the bound by using entangled probes. In an idealized scenario this gives rise to the Heisenberg scaling of precision 1/N. Here we show that when decoherence is taken into account, the maximal possible quantum enhancement in the asymptotic limit of infinite N amounts generically to a constant factor rather than quadratic improvement. We provide efficient and intuitive tools for deriving the bounds based on the geometry of quantum channels and semi-definite programming. We apply these tools to derive bounds for models of decoherence relevant for metrological applications including: depolarization, dephasing, spontaneous emission and photon loss. PMID:22990859

An efficient quantum algorithm for spectral estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steffens, Adrian; Rebentrost, Patrick; Marvian, Iman; Eisert, Jens; Lloyd, Seth

2017-03-01

We develop an efficient quantum implementation of an important signal processing algorithm for line spectral estimation: the matrix pencil method, which determines the frequencies and damping factors of signals consisting of finite sums of exponentially damped sinusoids. Our algorithm provides a quantum speedup in a natural regime where the sampling rate is much higher than the number of sinusoid components. Along the way, we develop techniques that are expected to be useful for other quantum algorithms as well—consecutive phase estimations to efficiently make products of asymmetric low rank matrices classically accessible and an alternative method to efficiently exponentiate non-Hermitian matrices. Our algorithm features an efficient quantum-classical division of labor: the time-critical steps are implemented in quantum superposition, while an interjacent step, requiring much fewer parameters, can operate classically. We show that frequencies and damping factors can be obtained in time logarithmic in the number of sampling points, exponentially faster than known classical algorithms.

Numerical simulation of quantum efficiency and surface recombination in HgCdTe IR photon-trapping structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schuster, Jonathan; Bellotti, Enrico

2013-06-01

We have investigated the quantum effiency in HgCdTe photovoltaic pixel arrays employing a photon-trapping structure realized with a periodic array of pillars intended to provide broadband operation. We have found that the quantum efficiency depends heavily on the passivation of the pillar surface. Pillars passivated with anodicoxide have a large fixed positive charge on the pillar surface. We use our three-dimensional numerical simulation model to study the effect of surface charge and surface recombination velocity on the exterior of the pillars. We then evaluate the quantum efficiency of this structure subject to different surface conditions. We have found that by themselves, the surface charge and surface recombination are detrimental to the quantum efficiency but the quantum efficiency is recovered when both phenomena are present. We will discuss the effects of these phenomena and the trade offs that exist between the two.

Type II GaSb quantum ring solar cells under concentrated sunlight.

PubMed

Tsai, Che-Pin; Hsu, Shun-Chieh; Lin, Shih-Yen; Chang, Ching-Wen; Tu, Li-Wei; Chen, Kun-Cheng; Lay, Tsong-Sheng; Lin, Chien-chung

2014-03-10

A type II GaSb quantum ring solar cell is fabricated and measured under the concentrated sunlight. The external quantum efficiency confirms the extended absorption from the quantum rings at long wavelength coinciding with the photoluminescence results. The short-circuit current of the quantum ring devices is 5.1% to 9.9% more than the GaAs reference's under various concentrations. While the quantum ring solar cell does not exceed its GaAs counterpart in efficiency under one-sun, the recovery of the open-circuit voltages at higher concentration helps to reverse the situation. A slightly higher efficiency (10.31% vs. 10.29%) is reported for the quantum ring device against the GaAs one.

Quantum Dot Surface Engineering: Toward Inert Fluorophores with Compact Size and Bright, Stable Emission

PubMed Central

Lim, Sung Jun; Ma, Liang; Schleife, André; Smith, Andrew M.

2016-01-01

The surfaces of colloidal nanocrystals are complex interfaces between solid crystals, coordinating ligands, and liquid solutions. For fluorescent quantum dots, the properties of the surface vastly influence the efficiency of light emission, stability, and physical interactions, and thus determine their sensitivity and specificity when they are used to detect and image biological molecules. But after more than 30 years of study, the surfaces of quantum dots remain poorly understood and continue to be an important subject of both experimental and theoretical research. In this article, we review the physics and chemistry of quantum dot surfaces and describe approaches to engineer optimal fluorescent probes for applications in biomolecular imaging and sensing. We describe the structure and electronic properties of crystalline facets, the chemistry of ligand coordination, and the impact of ligands on optical properties. We further describe recent advances in compact coatings that have significantly improved their properties by providing small hydrodynamic size, high stability and fluorescence efficiency, and minimal nonspecific interactions with cells and biological molecules. While major progress has been made in both basic and applied research, many questions remain in the chemistry and physics of quantum dot surfaces that have hindered key breakthroughs to fully optimize their properties. PMID:28344357

Efficient quantum computing using coherent photon conversion.

PubMed

Langford, N K; Ramelow, S; Prevedel, R; Munro, W J; Milburn, G J; Zeilinger, A

2011-10-12

Single photons are excellent quantum information carriers: they were used in the earliest demonstrations of entanglement and in the production of the highest-quality entanglement reported so far. However, current schemes for preparing, processing and measuring them are inefficient. For example, down-conversion provides heralded, but randomly timed, single photons, and linear optics gates are inherently probabilistic. Here we introduce a deterministic process--coherent photon conversion (CPC)--that provides a new way to generate and process complex, multiquanta states for photonic quantum information applications. The technique uses classically pumped nonlinearities to induce coherent oscillations between orthogonal states of multiple quantum excitations. One example of CPC, based on a pumped four-wave-mixing interaction, is shown to yield a single, versatile process that provides a full set of photonic quantum processing tools. This set satisfies the DiVincenzo criteria for a scalable quantum computing architecture, including deterministic multiqubit entanglement gates (based on a novel form of photon-photon interaction), high-quality heralded single- and multiphoton states free from higher-order imperfections, and robust, high-efficiency detection. It can also be used to produce heralded multiphoton entanglement, create optically switchable quantum circuits and implement an improved form of down-conversion with reduced higher-order effects. Such tools are valuable building blocks for many quantum-enabled technologies. Finally, using photonic crystal fibres we experimentally demonstrate quantum correlations arising from a four-colour nonlinear process suitable for CPC and use these measurements to study the feasibility of reaching the deterministic regime with current technology. Our scheme, which is based on interacting bosonic fields, is not restricted to optical systems but could also be implemented in optomechanical, electromechanical and superconducting systems with extremely strong intrinsic nonlinearities. Furthermore, exploiting higher-order nonlinearities with multiple pump fields yields a mechanism for multiparty mediation of the complex, coherent dynamics.

Machine learning action parameters in lattice quantum chromodynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shanahan, Phiala E.; Trewartha, Daniel; Detmold, William

2018-05-01

Numerical lattice quantum chromodynamics studies of the strong interaction are important in many aspects of particle and nuclear physics. Such studies require significant computing resources to undertake. A number of proposed methods promise improved efficiency of lattice calculations, and access to regions of parameter space that are currently computationally intractable, via multi-scale action-matching approaches that necessitate parametric regression of generated lattice datasets. The applicability of machine learning to this regression task is investigated, with deep neural networks found to provide an efficient solution even in cases where approaches such as principal component analysis fail. The high information content and complex symmetries inherent in lattice QCD datasets require custom neural network layers to be introduced and present opportunities for further development.

Engineering of lead chalcogenide nanostructures for carrier multiplication: Core/shell, 1D, and 2D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Qianglu

Near infrared emitting semiconductors have been used widely in industry especially in solar-cell fabrications. The efficiency of single junction solar-cell can reach the Shockley-Queisser limit by using optimum band gap material such as silicon and cadmium telluride. The theoretical efficiency can be further enhanced through carrier multiplication, in which a high energy photon is absorbed and more than one electron-hole pair can be generated, reaching more than 100% quantum efficiency in the high energy region of sunlight. The realization of more than unity external quantum efficiency in lead selenide quantum dots solar cell has motivated vast investigation on lowering the carrier multiplication threshold and further improving the efficiency. This dissertation focuses on synthesis of lead chalcogenide nanostructures for their optical spectroscopy studies. PbSe/CdSe core/shell quantum dots were synthesized by cation exchange to obtain thick shells (up to 14 monolayers) for studies of visible and near infrared dual band emissions and carrier multiplication efficiency. By examining the reaction mechanism, a thermodynamic and a kinetic model are introduced to explain the vacancy driven cation exchange. As indicated by the effective mass model, PbSe/CdSe core/shell quantum dots has quasi-type-II band alignment, possessing electron delocalized through the entire quantum dot and hole localized in the core, which breaks down the symmetry of energy levels in the conduction and valence band, leading to hot-hole-assisted efficient multi-exciton generation and a lower carrier multiplication threshold to the theoretical value. For further investigation of carrier multiplication study, PbTe, possessing the highest efficiency among lead chalcogenides due to slow intraband cooling, is synthesized in one-dimensional and two-dimensional nanostructures. By using dodecanethiol as the surfactant, PbTe NRs can be prepared with high uniformity in width and resulted in fine quantum confinement features. The reaction can be explained by a soft-template assisted process, in which the lamellar lead-thiolate precursor transforms into rod-shape micelle in the existence of telluride anions by electrostatic attraction. Fine tuning the reaction condition by changing the solvent to oleylamine, lead telluride nanowires with length up to 200 nm can be prepared, which bundled together because of the strong dipole-dipole attraction between nanowires. Decreasing the amount of surfactant dodecanethiol in the synthesis produces lead telluride nanorings, which formed by attaching four small particles together, leaving the center void. To prepare two-dimensional nanoplatelets, mixture ligands containing two amines with different carbon chain length were used, which initiate oriented attachment of the nanoparticles to form square-shape nanoplatelets. By further adopting stronger binding ligands such as phosphonic acid, PbTe nanoplatelets with micrometer lateral dimension were prepared with extremely sharp near infrared photoluminescence (less than 40 meV), which has never be achieved in quantum dots and other nanostructures.

Experimental demonstration of selective quantum process tomography on an NMR quantum information processor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaikwad, Akshay; Rehal, Diksha; Singh, Amandeep; Arvind, Dorai, Kavita

2018-02-01

We present the NMR implementation of a scheme for selective and efficient quantum process tomography without ancilla. We generalize this scheme such that it can be implemented efficiently using only a set of measurements involving product operators. The method allows us to estimate any element of the quantum process matrix to a desired precision, provided a set of quantum states can be prepared efficiently. Our modified technique requires fewer experimental resources as compared to the standard implementation of selective and efficient quantum process tomography, as it exploits the special nature of NMR measurements to allow us to compute specific elements of the process matrix by a restrictive set of subsystem measurements. To demonstrate the efficacy of our scheme, we experimentally tomograph the processes corresponding to "no operation," a controlled-NOT (CNOT), and a controlled-Hadamard gate on a two-qubit NMR quantum information processor, with high fidelities.

Carbon-doped SnS2 nanostructure as a high-efficiency solar fuel catalyst under visible light.

PubMed

Shown, Indrajit; Samireddi, Satyanarayana; Chang, Yu-Chung; Putikam, Raghunath; Chang, Po-Han; Sabbah, Amr; Fu, Fang-Yu; Chen, Wei-Fu; Wu, Chih-I; Yu, Tsyr-Yan; Chung, Po-Wen; Lin, M C; Chen, Li-Chyong; Chen, Kuei-Hsien

2018-01-12

Photocatalytic formation of hydrocarbons using solar energy via artificial photosynthesis is a highly desirable renewable-energy source for replacing conventional fossil fuels. Using an L-cysteine-based hydrothermal process, here we synthesize a carbon-doped SnS 2 (SnS 2 -C) metal dichalcogenide nanostructure, which exhibits a highly active and selective photocatalytic conversion of CO 2 to hydrocarbons under visible-light. The interstitial carbon doping induced microstrain in the SnS 2 lattice, resulting in different photophysical properties as compared with undoped SnS 2 . This SnS 2 -C photocatalyst significantly enhances the CO 2 reduction activity under visible light, attaining a photochemical quantum efficiency of above 0.7%. The SnS 2 -C photocatalyst represents an important contribution towards high quantum efficiency artificial photosynthesis based on gas phase photocatalytic CO 2 reduction under visible light, where the in situ carbon-doped SnS 2 nanostructure improves the stability and the light harvesting and charge separation efficiency, and significantly enhances the photocatalytic activity.

Surface Stabilized InP/GaP/ZnS Quantum Dots with Mg Ions for WLED Application.

PubMed

Park, Joong Pill; Kim, Sang-Wook

2016-05-01

One of the most highlighted cadmium-free quantum dots (QDs), InP-based QDs, have improved their optical properties. However, InP-based QDs have some practical drawbacks, for example, stability, compared with CdSe-based QDs. Poor stability of InP-based QDs yields critical problems, such as agglomeration and photoluminescence quenching in light emitting diode (LED). It has to be solved for applications and most research has focused on thick outer shells as an effective solution. We introduced magnesium cations for improving stability of InP-based QDs. We applied very small amounts of Mg cations as surface stabilizers, as a result, stability of QDs is clearly improved. Then, QD based LED chips also yield improved values including RA of 84.4, CCT of 3799 K, and luminous efficiency of 129.57 Im/W, which are highly improved data compared with our previous results.

A hole accelerator for InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zi-Hui; Liu, Wei; Tan, Swee Tiam; Ji, Yun; Wang, Liancheng; Zhu, Binbin; Zhang, Yiping; Lu, Shunpeng; Zhang, Xueliang; Hasanov, Namig; Sun, Xiao Wei; Demir, Hilmi Volkan

2014-10-01

The quantum efficiency of InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) has been significantly limited by the insufficient hole injection, and this is caused by the inefficient p-type doping and the low hole mobility. The low hole mobility makes the holes less energetic, which hinders the hole injection into the multiple quantum wells (MQWs) especially when a p-type AlGaN electron blocking layer (EBL) is adopted. In this work, we report a hole accelerator to accelerate the holes so that the holes can obtain adequate kinetic energy, travel across the p-type EBL, and then enter the MQWs more efficiently and smoothly. In addition to the numerical study, the effectiveness of the hole accelerator is experimentally shown through achieving improved optical output power and reduced efficiency droop for the proposed InGaN/GaN LED.

Low-threshold voltage ultraviolet light-emitting diodes based on (Al,Ga)N metal-insulator-semiconductor structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Yu-Han; Towe, Elias

2017-12-01

Al-rich III-nitride-based deep-ultraviolet (UV) (275-320 nm) light-emitting diodes are plagued with a low emission efficiency and high turn-on voltages. We report Al-rich (Al,Ga)N metal-insulator-semiconductor UV light-emitting Schottky diodes with low turn-on voltages of <3 V, which are about half those of typical (Al,Ga)N p-i-n diodes. Our devices use a thin AlN film as the insulator and an n-type Al0.58Ga0.42N film as the semiconductor. To improve the efficiency, we inserted a GaN quantum-well structure between the AlN insulator and the n-type Al x Ga1- x N semiconductor. The benefits of the quantum-well structure include the potential to tune the emission wavelength and the capability to confine carriers for more efficient radiative recombination.

Narrow Band Gap Lead Sulfide Hole Transport Layers for Quantum Dot Photovoltaics.

PubMed

Zhang, Nanlin; Neo, Darren C J; Tazawa, Yujiro; Li, Xiuting; Assender, Hazel E; Compton, Richard G; Watt, Andrew A R

2016-08-24

The band structure of colloidal quantum dot (CQD) bilayer heterojunction solar cells is optimized using a combination of ligand modification and QD band gap control. Solar cells with power conversion efficiencies of up to 9.33 ± 0.50% are demonstrated by aligning the absorber and hole transport layers (HTL). Key to achieving high efficiencies is optimizing the relative position of both the valence band and Fermi energy at the CQD bilayer interface. By comparing different band gap CQDs with different ligands, we find that a smaller band gap CQD HTL in combination with a more p-type-inducing CQD ligand is found to enhance hole extraction and hence device performance. We postulate that the efficiency improvements observed are largely due to the synergistic effects of narrower band gap QDs, causing an upshift of valence band position due to 1,2-ethanedithiol (EDT) ligands and a lowering of the Fermi level due to oxidation.

Highly Efficient Coherent Optical Memory Based on Electromagnetically Induced Transparency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsiao, Ya-Fen; Tsai, Pin-Ju; Chen, Hung-Shiue; Lin, Sheng-Xiang; Hung, Chih-Chiao; Lee, Chih-Hsi; Chen, Yi-Hsin; Chen, Yong-Fan; Yu, Ite A.; Chen, Ying-Cheng

2018-05-01

Quantum memory is an important component in the long-distance quantum communication based on the quantum repeater protocol. To outperform the direct transmission of photons with quantum repeaters, it is crucial to develop quantum memories with high fidelity, high efficiency and a long storage time. Here, we achieve a storage efficiency of 92.0 (1.5)% for a coherent optical memory based on the electromagnetically induced transparency scheme in optically dense cold atomic media. We also obtain a useful time-bandwidth product of 1200, considering only storage where the retrieval efficiency remains above 50%. Both are the best record to date in all kinds of schemes for the realization of optical memory. Our work significantly advances the pursuit of a high-performance optical memory and should have important applications in quantum information science.

Highly Efficient Coherent Optical Memory Based on Electromagnetically Induced Transparency.

PubMed

Hsiao, Ya-Fen; Tsai, Pin-Ju; Chen, Hung-Shiue; Lin, Sheng-Xiang; Hung, Chih-Chiao; Lee, Chih-Hsi; Chen, Yi-Hsin; Chen, Yong-Fan; Yu, Ite A; Chen, Ying-Cheng

2018-05-04

Quantum memory is an important component in the long-distance quantum communication based on the quantum repeater protocol. To outperform the direct transmission of photons with quantum repeaters, it is crucial to develop quantum memories with high fidelity, high efficiency and a long storage time. Here, we achieve a storage efficiency of 92.0 (1.5)% for a coherent optical memory based on the electromagnetically induced transparency scheme in optically dense cold atomic media. We also obtain a useful time-bandwidth product of 1200, considering only storage where the retrieval efficiency remains above 50%. Both are the best record to date in all kinds of schemes for the realization of optical memory. Our work significantly advances the pursuit of a high-performance optical memory and should have important applications in quantum information science.

Efficient Online Optimized Quantum Control for Adiabatic Quantum Computation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quiroz, Gregory

Adiabatic quantum computation (AQC) relies on controlled adiabatic evolution to implement a quantum algorithm. While control evolution can take many forms, properly designed time-optimal control has been shown to be particularly advantageous for AQC. Grover's search algorithm is one such example where analytically-derived time-optimal control leads to improved scaling of the minimum energy gap between the ground state and first excited state and thus, the well-known quadratic quantum speedup. Analytical extensions beyond Grover's search algorithm present a daunting task that requires potentially intractable calculations of energy gaps and a significant degree of model certainty. Here, an in situ quantum control protocol is developed for AQC. The approach is shown to yield controls that approach the analytically-derived time-optimal controls for Grover's search algorithm. In addition, the protocol's convergence rate as a function of iteration number is shown to be essentially independent of system size. Thus, the approach is potentially scalable to many-qubit systems.

Progress toward scalable tomography of quantum maps using twirling-based methods and information hierarchies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lopez, Cecilia C.; Theoretische Physik, Universitaet des Saarlandes, D-66041 Saarbruecken; Departament de Fisica, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, E-08193 Bellaterra

2010-06-15

We present in a unified manner the existing methods for scalable partial quantum process tomography. We focus on two main approaches: the one presented in Bendersky et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 190403 (2008)] and the ones described, respectively, in Emerson et al. [Science 317, 1893 (2007)] and Lopez et al. [Phys. Rev. A 79, 042328 (2009)], which can be combined together. The methods share an essential feature: They are based on the idea that the tomography of a quantum map can be efficiently performed by studying certain properties of a twirling of such a map. From this perspective, inmore » this paper we present extensions, improvements, and comparative analyses of the scalable methods for partial quantum process tomography. We also clarify the significance of the extracted information, and we introduce interesting and useful properties of the {chi}-matrix representation of quantum maps that can be used to establish a clearer path toward achieving full tomography of quantum processes in a scalable way.« less

Active learning machine learns to create new quantum experiments.

PubMed

Melnikov, Alexey A; Poulsen Nautrup, Hendrik; Krenn, Mario; Dunjko, Vedran; Tiersch, Markus; Zeilinger, Anton; Briegel, Hans J

2018-02-06

How useful can machine learning be in a quantum laboratory? Here we raise the question of the potential of intelligent machines in the context of scientific research. A major motivation for the present work is the unknown reachability of various entanglement classes in quantum experiments. We investigate this question by using the projective simulation model, a physics-oriented approach to artificial intelligence. In our approach, the projective simulation system is challenged to design complex photonic quantum experiments that produce high-dimensional entangled multiphoton states, which are of high interest in modern quantum experiments. The artificial intelligence system learns to create a variety of entangled states and improves the efficiency of their realization. In the process, the system autonomously (re)discovers experimental techniques which are only now becoming standard in modern quantum optical experiments-a trait which was not explicitly demanded from the system but emerged through the process of learning. Such features highlight the possibility that machines could have a significantly more creative role in future research.

Free-Space Quantum Signatures Using Heterodyne Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Croal, Callum; Peuntinger, Christian; Heim, Bettina; Khan, Imran; Marquardt, Christoph; Leuchs, Gerd; Wallden, Petros; Andersson, Erika; Korolkova, Natalia

2016-09-01

Digital signatures guarantee the authorship of electronic communications. Currently used "classical" signature schemes rely on unproven computational assumptions for security, while quantum signatures rely only on the laws of quantum mechanics to sign a classical message. Previous quantum signature schemes have used unambiguous quantum measurements. Such measurements, however, sometimes give no result, reducing the efficiency of the protocol. Here, we instead use heterodyne detection, which always gives a result, although there is always some uncertainty. We experimentally demonstrate feasibility in a real environment by distributing signature states through a noisy 1.6 km free-space channel. Our results show that continuous-variable heterodyne detection improves the signature rate for this type of scheme and therefore represents an interesting direction in the search for practical quantum signature schemes. For transmission values ranging from 100% to 10%, but otherwise assuming an ideal implementation with no other imperfections, the signature length is shorter by a factor of 2 to 10. As compared with previous relevant experimental realizations, the signature length in this implementation is several orders of magnitude shorter.

Electron transport, pep carboxylase activity, and maximal net co2 assimilation exhibit coordinated and proportional decline with loss of hydraulic conductance during water stress in Zea mays

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Efforts to improve the photosynthetic performance of species are presently focused on leaf-level traits (e.g., quantum efficiency, mesophyll osmoregulation, stress protein regulation). Here, we emphasize that efforts to improve plant performance in arid environments would benefit from also consider...

Effect of photoanode surface coverage by a sensitizer on the photovoltaic performance of titania based CdS quantum dot sensitized solar cells.

PubMed

Prasad, Rajendra M B; Pathan, Habib M

2016-04-08

In spite of the promising design and architecture, quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) have a long way to go before they attain the actual projected photoconversion efficiencies. Such an inferior performance displayed by QDSSCs is primarily because of many unwanted recombination losses of charge carriers at various interfaces of the cell. Electron recombination due to back electron transfer at the photoanode/electrolyte interface is an important one that needs to be addressed, to improve the efficiency of these third generation nanostructured solar cells. The present work highlights the importance of conformal coverage of CdS quantum dots (QDs) on the surface of the nanocrystalline titania photoanode in arresting such recombinations, leading to improvement in the performance of the cells. Using the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) process, photoanodes are subjected to different amounts of CdS QD sensitization by varying the number of cycles of deposition. The sensitized electrodes are characterized using UV-visible spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and transmission electron microscopy to evaluate the extent of surface coverage of titania electrodes by QDs. Sandwich solar cells are then fabricated using these electrodes and characterized employing electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and J-V characteristics. It is observed that maximum solar cell efficiency is obtained for photoanodes with conformal coating of QDs and any further deposition of sensitizer leads to QD aggregation and so reduces the performance of the solar cells.

6.5% efficient perovskite quantum-dot-sensitized solar cell.

PubMed

Im, Jeong-Hyeok; Lee, Chang-Ryul; Lee, Jin-Wook; Park, Sang-Won; Park, Nam-Gyu

2011-10-05

Highly efficient quantum-dot-sensitized solar cell is fabricated using ca. 2-3 nm sized perovskite (CH(3)NH(3))PbI(3) nanocrystal. Spin-coating of the equimolar mixture of CH(3)NH(3)I and PbI(2) in γ-butyrolactone solution (perovskite precursor solution) leads to (CH(3)NH(3))PbI(3) quantum dots (QDs) on nanocrystalline TiO(2) surface. By electrochemical junction with iodide/iodine based redox electrolyte, perovskite QD-sensitized 3.6 μm-thick TiO(2) film shows maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 78.6% at 530 nm and solar-to-electrical conversion efficiency of 6.54% at AM 1.5G 1 sun intensity (100 mW cm(-2)), which is by far the highest efficiency among the reported inorganic quantum dot sensitizers.

GaN Light-Emitting Triodes (LETs) for High-Efficiency Hole Injection and for Assessment of the Physical Origin of the Efficiency Droop

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-07-06

quantum efficiency . In AlGaN-based UV LEDs, an electron-blocking layer (EBL) is frequently inserted between the p-type cladding layer and the active...me). This limits the hole injection efficiency into the active region, and hence internal quantum efficiency . Figure 1: (a) Schematic band...less efficient than along the lateral direction because most of the holes ionized from the acceptors are localized inside the quantum wells which are

AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes grown on nano-patterned sapphire substrates with significant improvement in internal quantum efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Peng; Yan, Jianchang; Zhang, Yun; Wang, Junxi; Zeng, Jianping; Geng, Chong; Cong, Peipei; Sun, Lili; Wei, Tongbo; Zhao, Lixia; Yan, Qingfeng; He, Chenguang; Qin, Zhixin; Li, Jinmin

2014-06-01

We report high-performance AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes grown on nano-patterned sapphire substrates (NPSS) using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. By nanoscale epitaxial lateral overgrowth on NPSS, 4-μm AlN buffer layer has shown strain relaxation and a coalescence thickness of only 2.5 μm. The full widths at half-maximum of X-ray diffraction (002) and (102) ω-scan rocking curves of AlN on NPSS are only 69.4 and 319.1 arcsec. The threading dislocation density in AlGaN-based multi-quantum wells, which are grown on this AlN/NPSS template with a light-emitting wavelength at 283 nm at room temperature, is reduced by 33% compared with that on flat sapphire substrate indicated by atomic force microscopy measurements, and the internal quantum efficiency increases from 30% to 43% revealed by temperature-dependent photoluminescent measurement.

Structural and optical studies of nitrogen incorporation into GaSb-based GaInSb quantum wells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nair, Hari P.; Crook, Adam M.; Yu, Kin M.; Bank, Seth R.

2012-01-01

We investigate the incorporation of nitrogen into (Ga,In)Sb grown on GaSb and report room temperature photoluminescence from GaInSb(N) quantum wells. X-ray diffraction and channeling nuclear reaction analysis, together with Rutherford backscattering, were employed to identify the optimal molecular beam epitaxial growth conditions that minimized the incorporation of non-substitutional nitrogen into GaNSb. Consistent with this hypothesis, GaInSb(N) quantum wells grown under the conditions that minimized non-substitutional nitrogen exhibited room temperature photoluminescence, indicative of significantly improved radiative efficiency. Further development of this material system could enable type-I laser diodes emitting throughout the (3-5 μm) wavelength range.

Compact continuous-variable entanglement distillation.

PubMed

Datta, Animesh; Zhang, Lijian; Nunn, Joshua; Langford, Nathan K; Feito, Alvaro; Plenio, Martin B; Walmsley, Ian A

2012-02-10

We introduce a new scheme for continuous-variable entanglement distillation that requires only linear temporal and constant physical or spatial resources. Distillation is the process by which high-quality entanglement may be distributed between distant nodes of a network in the unavoidable presence of decoherence. The known versions of this protocol scale exponentially in space and doubly exponentially in time. Our optimal scheme therefore provides exponential improvements over existing protocols. It uses a fixed-resource module-an entanglement distillery-comprising only four quantum memories of at most 50% storage efficiency and allowing a feasible experimental implementation. Tangible quantum advantages are obtainable by using existing off-resonant Raman quantum memories outside their conventional role of storage.

High-visibility two-photon interference at a telecom wavelength using picosecond-regime separated sources

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aboussouan, Pierre; Alibart, Olivier; Ostrowsky, Daniel B.

We report on a two-photon interference experiment in a quantum relay configuration using two picosecond regime periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) waveguide based sources emitting paired photons at 1550 nm. The results show that the picosecond regime associated with a guided-wave scheme should have important repercussions for quantum relay implementations in real conditions, essential for improving both the working distance and the efficiency of quantum cryptography and networking systems. In contrast to already reported regimes, namely, femtosecond and CW, it allows achieving a 99% net visibility two-photon interference while maintaining a high effective photon pair rate using only standard telecommore » components and detectors.« less

Ideal square quantum wells achieved in AlGaN/GaN superlattices using ultrathin blocking-compensation pair

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Xiaohong; Xu, Hongmei; Xu, Fuchun

A technique for achieving square-shape quantum wells (QWs) against the intrinsic polar discontinuity and interfacial diffusion through self-compensated pair interlayers is reported. Ultrathin low-and-high % pair interlayers that have diffusion-blocking and self-compensation capacities is proposed to resist the elemental diffusion at nanointerfaces and to grow the theoretically described abrupt rectangular AlGaN/GaN superlattices by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. Light emission efficiency in such nanostructures is effectively enhanced and the quantum-confined Stark effect could be partially suppressed. This concept could effectively improve the quality of ultrathin QWs in functional nanostructures with other semiconductors or through other growth methods.

Effect of quantum noise on deterministic remote state preparation of an arbitrary two-particle state via various quantum entangled channels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qu, Zhiguo; Wu, Shengyao; Wang, Mingming; Sun, Le; Wang, Xiaojun

2017-12-01

As one of important research branches of quantum communication, deterministic remote state preparation (DRSP) plays a significant role in quantum network. Quantum noises are prevalent in quantum communication, and it can seriously affect the safety and reliability of quantum communication system. In this paper, we study the effect of quantum noise on deterministic remote state preparation of an arbitrary two-particle state via different quantum channels including the χ state, Brown state and GHZ state. Firstly, the output states and fidelities of three DRSP algorithms via different quantum entangled channels in four noisy environments, including amplitude-damping, phase-damping, bit-flip and depolarizing noise, are presented, respectively. And then, the effects of noises on three kinds of preparation algorithms in the same noisy environment are discussed. In final, the theoretical analysis proves that the effect of noise in the process of quantum state preparation is only related to the noise type and the size of noise factor and independent of the different entangled quantum channels. Furthermore, another important conclusion is given that the effect of noise is also independent of how to distribute intermediate particles for implementing DRSP through quantum measurement during the concrete preparation process. These conclusions will be very helpful for improving the efficiency and safety of quantum communication in a noisy environment.

Efficient Generation of an Array of Single Silicon-Vacancy Defects in Silicon Carbide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Junfeng; Zhou, Yu; Zhang, Xiaoming; Liu, Fucai; Li, Yan; Li, Ke; Liu, Zheng; Wang, Guanzhong; Gao, Weibo

2017-06-01

Color centers in silicon carbide have increasingly attracted attention in recent years owing to their excellent properties such as single-photon emission, good photostability, and long spin-coherence time even at room temperature. As compared to diamond, which is widely used for hosting nitrogen-vacancy centers, silicon carbide has an advantage in terms of large-scale, high-quality, and low-cost growth, as well as an advanced fabrication technique in optoelectronics, leading to prospects for large-scale quantum engineering. In this paper, we report an experimental demonstration of the generation of a single-photon-emitter array through ion implantation. VSi defects are generated in predetermined locations with high generation efficiency (approximately 19 % ±4 % ). The single emitter probability reaches approximately 34 % ±4 % when the ion-implantation dose is properly set. This method serves as a critical step in integrating single VSi defect emitters with photonic structures, which, in turn, can improve the emission and collection efficiency of VSi defects when they are used in a spin photonic quantum network. On the other hand, the defects are shallow, and they are generated about 40 nm below the surface which can serve as a critical resource in quantum-sensing applications.

Nanostructured organosilicon luminophores and their application in highly efficient plastic scintillators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ponomarenko, Sergei A.; Surin, Nikolay M.; Borshchev, Oleg V.; Luponosov, Yuriy N.; Akimov, Dmitry Y.; Alexandrov, Ivan S.; Burenkov, Alexander A.; Kovalenko, Alexey G.; Stekhanov, Viktor N.; Kleymyuk, Elena A.; Gritsenko, Oleg T.; Cherkaev, Georgiy V.; Kechek'yan, Alexander S.; Serenko, Olga A.; Muzafarov, Aziz M.

2014-10-01

Organic luminophores are widely used in various optoelectronic devices, which serve for photonics, nuclear and particle physics, quantum electronics, medical diagnostics and many other fields of science and technology. Improving their spectral-luminescent characteristics for particular technical requirements of the devices is a challenging task. Here we show a new concept to universal solution of this problem by creation of nanostructured organosilicon luminophores (NOLs), which are a particular type of dendritic molecular antennas. They combine the best properties of organic luminophores and inorganic quantum dots: high absorption cross-section, excellent photoluminescence quantum yield, fast luminescence decay time and good processability. A NOL consists of two types of covalently bonded via silicon atoms organic luminophores with efficient Förster energy transfer between them. Using NOLs in plastic scintillators, widely utilized for radiation detection and in elementary particles discoveries, led to a breakthrough in their efficiency, which combines both high light output and fast decay time. Moreover, for the first time plastic scintillators, which emit light in the desired wavelength region ranging from 370 to 700 nm, have been created. We anticipate further applications of NOLs as working elements of pulsed dye lasers in photonics, optoelectronics and as fluorescent labels in biology and medical diagnostics.

Improving hole injection efficiency by manipulating the hole transport mechanism through p-type electron blocking layer engineering.

PubMed

Zhang, Zi-Hui; Ju, Zhengang; Liu, Wei; Tan, Swee Tiam; Ji, Yun; Kyaw, Zabu; Zhang, Xueliang; Hasanov, Namig; Sun, Xiao Wei; Demir, Hilmi Volkan

2014-04-15

The p-type AlGaN electron blocking layer (EBL) is widely used in InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for electron overflow suppression. However, a typical EBL also reduces the hole injection efficiency, because holes have to climb over the energy barrier generated at the p-AlGaN/p-GaN interface before entering the quantum wells. In this work, to address this problem, we report the enhancement of hole injection efficiency by manipulating the hole transport mechanism through insertion of a thin GaN layer of 1 nm into the p-AlGaN EBL and propose an AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN-type EBL outperforming conventional AlGaN EBLs. Here, the position of the inserted thin GaN layer relative to the p-GaN region is found to be the key to enhancing the hole injection efficiency. InGaN/GaN LEDs with the proposed p-type AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN EBL have demonstrated substantially higher optical output power and external quantum efficiency.

Photo-acoustic spectroscopy and quantum efficiency of Yb{sup 3+} doped alumino silicate glasses

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kuhn, Stefan, E-mail: stefan.kuhn84@googlemail.com; Tiegel, Mirko; Herrmann, Andreas

2015-09-14

In this contribution, we analyze the effect of several preparation methods of Yb{sup 3+} doped alumino silicate glasses on their quantum efficiency by using photo-acoustic measurements in comparison to standard measurement methods including the determination via the fluorescence lifetime and an integrating sphere setup. The preparation methods focused on decreasing the OH concentration by means of fluorine-substitution and/or applying dry melting atmospheres, which led to an increase in the measured fluorescence lifetime. However, it was found that the influence of these methods on radiative properties such as the measured fluorescence lifetime alone does not per se give exact information aboutmore » the actual quantum efficiency of the sample. The determination of the quantum efficiency by means of fluorescence lifetime shows inaccuracies when refractive index changing elements such as fluorine are incorporated into the glass. Since fluorine not only eliminates OH from the glass but also increases the “intrinsic” radiative fluorescence lifetime, which is needed to calculate the quantum efficiency, it is difficult to separate lifetime quenching from purely radiative effects. The approach used in this contribution offers a possibility to disentangle radiative from non-radiative properties which is not possible by using fluorescence lifetime measurements alone and allows an accurate determination of the quantum efficiency of a given sample. The comparative determination by an integrating sphere setup leads to the well-known problem of reabsorption which embodies itself in the measurement of too low quantum efficiencies, especially for samples with small quantum efficiencies.« less

Highly-efficient quantum memory for polarization qubits in a spatially-multiplexed cold atomic ensemble.

PubMed

Vernaz-Gris, Pierre; Huang, Kun; Cao, Mingtao; Sheremet, Alexandra S; Laurat, Julien

2018-01-25

Quantum memory for flying optical qubits is a key enabler for a wide range of applications in quantum information. A critical figure of merit is the overall storage and retrieval efficiency. So far, despite the recent achievements of efficient memories for light pulses, the storage of qubits has suffered from limited efficiency. Here we report on a quantum memory for polarization qubits that combines an average conditional fidelity above 99% and efficiency around 68%, thereby demonstrating a reversible qubit mapping where more information is retrieved than lost. The qubits are encoded with weak coherent states at the single-photon level and the memory is based on electromagnetically-induced transparency in an elongated laser-cooled ensemble of cesium atoms, spatially multiplexed for dual-rail storage. This implementation preserves high optical depth on both rails, without compromise between multiplexing and storage efficiency. Our work provides an efficient node for future tests of quantum network functionalities and advanced photonic circuits.

Ion implantation enhanced metal-Si-metal photodetectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, A. K.; Scott, K. A. M.; Brueck, S. R. J.; Zolper, J. C.; Myers, D. R.

1994-05-01

The quantum efficiency and frequency response of simple Ni-Si-Ni metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodetectors at long wavelengths are significantly enhanced with a simple, ion-implantation step to create a highly absorbing region approx. 1 micron below the Si surface. The internal quantum efficiency is improved by a factor of approx. 3 at 860 nm (to 64%) and a full factor of ten at 1.06 microns (to 23%) as compared with otherwise identical unimplanted devices. Dark currents are only slightly affected by the implantation process and are as low as 630 pA for a 4.5-micron gap device at 10-V bias. Dramatic improvement in the impulse response is observed, 100 ps vs. 600 ps, also at 10-V bias and 4.5-micron gap, due to the elimination of carrier diffusion tails in the implanted devices. Due to its planar structure, this device is fully VLSI compatible. Potential applications include optical interconnections for local area networks and multi-chip modules.

Nitride based quantum well light-emitting devices having improved current injection efficiency

DOEpatents

Tansu, Nelson; Zhao, Hongping; Liu, Guangyu; Arif, Ronald

2014-12-09

A III-nitride based device provides improved current injection efficiency by reducing thermionic carrier escape at high current density. The device includes a quantum well active layer and a pair of multi-layer barrier layers arranged symmetrically about the active layer. Each multi-layer barrier layer includes an inner layer abutting the active layer; and an outer layer abutting the inner layer. The inner barrier layer has a bandgap greater than that of the outer barrier layer. Both the inner and the outer barrier layer have bandgaps greater than that of the active layer. InGaN may be employed in the active layer, AlInN, AlInGaN or AlGaN may be employed in the inner barrier layer, and GaN may be employed in the outer barrier layer. Preferably, the inner layer is thin relative to the other layers. In one embodiment the inner barrier and active layers are 15 .ANG. and 24 .ANG. thick, respectively.

Metal Complexes for Organic Optoelectronic Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Liang

Organic optoelectronic devices have drawn extensive attention by over the past two decades. Two major applications for Organic optoelectronic devices are efficient organic photovoltaic devices(OPV) and organic light emitting diodes (OLED). Organic Solar cell has been proven to be compatible with the low cost, large area bulk processing technology and processed high absorption efficiencies compared to inorganic solar cells. Organic light emitting diodes are a promising approach for display and solid state lighting applications. To improve the efficiency, stability, and materials variety for organic optoelectronic devices, several emissive materials, absorber-type materials, and charge transporting materials were developed and employed in various device settings. Optical, electrical, and photophysical studies of the organic materials and their corresponding devices were thoroughly carried out. In this thesis, Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the background knowledge of OPV and OLED research fields presented. Chapter 2 discusses new porphyrin derivatives- azatetrabenzylporphyrins for OPV and near infrared OLED applications. A modified synthetic method is utilized to increase the reaction yield of the azatetrabenzylporphyrin materials and their photophysical properties, electrochemical properties are studied. OPV devices are also fabricated using Zinc azatetrabenzylporphyrin as donor materials. Pt(II) azatetrabenzylporphyrin were also synthesized and used in near infra-red OLED to achieve an emission over 800 nm with reasonable external quantum efficiencies. Chapter 3, discusses the synthesis, characterization, and device evaluation of a series of tetradentate platinum and palladium complexesfor single doped white OLED applications and RGB white OLED applications. Devices employing some of the developed emitters demonstrated impressively high external quantum efficiencies within the range of 22%-27% for various emitter concentrations. And the palladium complex, i.e. Pd3O3, enables the fabrication of stable devices achieving nearly 1000h. at 1000cd/m2 without any outcoupling enhancement while simultaneously achieving peak external quantum efficiencies of 19.9%. Chapter 4 discusses tetradentate platinum and palladium complexes as deep blue emissive materials for display and lighting applications. The platinum complex PtNON, achieved a peak external quantum efficiency of 24.4 % and CIE coordinates of (0.18, 0.31) in a device structure designed for charge confinement and the palladium complexes Pd2O2 exhibited peak external quantum efficiency of up to 19.2%.

On the increased efficiency in InGaN-based multiple quantum wells emitting at 530-590 nm with AlGaN interlayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koleske, D. D.; Fischer, A. J.; Bryant, B. N.; Kotula, P. G.; Wierer, J. J.

2015-04-01

InGaN/AlGaN/GaN-based multiple quantum wells (MQWs) with AlGaN interlayers (ILs) are investigated, specifically to examine the fundamental mechanisms behind their increased radiative efficiency at wavelengths of 530-590 nm. The AlzGa1-zN (z 0.38) IL is 1-2 nm thick, and is grown after and at the same growth temperature as the 3 nm thick InGaN quantum well (QW). This is followed by an increase in temperature for the growth of a 10 nm thick GaN barrier layer. The insertion of the AlGaN IL within the MQW provides various benefits. First, the AlGaN IL allows for growth of the InxGa1-xN QW well below typical growth temperatures to achieve higher x (up to 0.25). Second, annealing the IL capped QW prior to the GaN barrier growth improves the AlGaN IL smoothness as determined by atomic force microscopy, improves the InGaN/AlGaN/GaN interface quality as determined from scanning transmission electron microscope images and x-ray diffraction, and increases the radiative efficiency by reducing non-radiative defects as determined by time-resolved photoluminescence measurements. Finally, the AlGaN IL increases the spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization induced electric fields acting on the InGaN QW, providing an additional red-shift to the emission wavelength as determined by Schrodinger-Poisson modeling and fitting to the experimental data. The relative impact of increased indium concentration and polarization fields on the radiative efficiency of MQWs with AlGaN ILs is explored along with implications to conventional longer wavelength emitters.

Photovoltaic properties of multilayered quantum dot/quantum rod-sensitized TiO₂ solar cells fabricated by SILAR and electrophoresis.

PubMed

Cerdán-Pasarán, Andrea; López-Luke, Tzarara; Esparza, Diego; Zarazúa, Isaac; De la Rosa, Elder; Fuentes-Ramírez, Rosalba; Alatorre-Ordaz, Alejandro; Sánchez-Solís, Ana; Torres-Castro, Alejandro; Zhang, Jin Z

2015-07-28

A multilayered semiconductor sensitizer structure composed of three differently sized CdSe quantum rods (QRs), labeled as Q530, Q575, Q590, were prepared and deposited on the surface of mesoporous TiO2 nanoparticles by electrophoretic deposition (EPD) for photovoltaic applications. By varying the arrangement of layers as well as the time of EPD, the photoconversion efficiency was improved from 2.0% with the single layer of CdSe QRs (TiO2/Q590/ZnS) to 2.9% for multilayers (TiO2/Q590Q575/ZnS). The optimal EPD time was shorter for the multilayered structures. The effect of CdS quantum dots (QDs) deposited by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) was also investigated. The addition of CdS QDs resulted in the enhancement of efficiency to 4.1% for the configuration (TiO2/CdS/Q590Q575/ZnS), due to increased photocurrent and photovoltage. Based on detailed structural, optical, and photoelectrical studies, the increased photocurrent is attributed to broadened light absorption while the increased voltage is due to a shift in the relevant energy levels.

Improved photovoltaic performance and stability of quantum dot sensitized solar cells using Mn-ZnSe shell structure with enhanced light absorption and recombination control.

PubMed

Gopi, Chandu V V M; Venkata-Haritha, M; Kim, Soo-Kyoung; Kim, Hee-Je

2015-08-07

To make quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) competitive, photovoltaic parameters comparable to those of other emerging solar cell technologies are necessary. In the present study, ZnSe was used as an alternative to ZnS, one of the most widely used passivation materials in QDSSCs. ZnSe was deposited on a TiO2-CdS-CdSe photoanode to form a core-shell structure, which was more efficient in terms of reducing the electron recombination in QDSSCs. The development of an efficient passivation layer is a requirement for preventing recombination processes in order to attain high-performance and stable QDSSCs. A layer of inorganic Mn-ZnSe was applied to a QD-sensitized photoanode to enhance the adsorption and strongly inhibit interfacial recombination processes in QDSSCs, which greatly improved the power conversion efficiency. Impedance spectroscopy revealed that the combined Mn doping with ZnSe treatment reduces interfacial recombination and increases charge collection efficiency compared with Mn-ZnS, ZnS, and ZnSe. A solar cell based on the CdS-CdSe-Mn-ZnSe photoanode yielded excellent performance with a solar power conversion efficiency of 5.67%, Voc of 0.584 V, and Jsc of 17.59 mA cm(-2). Enhanced electron transport and reduced electron recombination are responsible for the improved Jsc and Voc of the QDSSCs. The effective electron lifetime of the device with Mn-ZnSe was higher than those with Mn-ZnS, ZnSe, and ZnS, leading to more efficient electron-hole separation and slower electron recombination.

Efficient quantum transmission in multiple-source networks.

PubMed

Luo, Ming-Xing; Xu, Gang; Chen, Xiu-Bo; Yang, Yi-Xian; Wang, Xiaojun

2014-04-02

A difficult problem in quantum network communications is how to efficiently transmit quantum information over large-scale networks with common channels. We propose a solution by developing a quantum encoding approach. Different quantum states are encoded into a coherent superposition state using quantum linear optics. The transmission congestion in the common channel may be avoided by transmitting the superposition state. For further decoding and continued transmission, special phase transformations are applied to incoming quantum states using phase shifters such that decoders can distinguish outgoing quantum states. These phase shifters may be precisely controlled using classical chaos synchronization via additional classical channels. Based on this design and the reduction of multiple-source network under the assumption of restricted maximum-flow, the optimal scheme is proposed for specially quantized multiple-source network. In comparison with previous schemes, our scheme can greatly increase the transmission efficiency.

Engineering Graphene Quantum Dots for Enhanced Ultraviolet and Visible Light p-Si Nanowire-Based Photodetector.

PubMed

Mihalache, Iuliana; Radoi, Antonio; Pascu, Razvan; Romanitan, Cosmin; Vasile, Eugenia; Kusko, Mihaela

2017-08-30

In this work, a significant improvement of the classical silicon nanowire (SiNW)-based photodetector was achieved through the realization of core-shell structures using newly designed GQD PEI s via simple solution processing. The poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI)-assisted synthesis successfully tuned both optical and electrical properties of graphene quantum dots (GQDs) to fulfill the requirements for strong yellow photoluminescence emission along with large band gap formation and the introduction of electronic states inside the band gap. The fabrication of a GQD PEI -based device was followed by systematic structural and photoelectronic investigation. Thus, the GQD PEI /SiNW photodetector exhibited a large photocurrent to dark current ratio (I ph /I dark up to ∼0.9 × 10 2 under 4 V bias) and a remarkable improvement of the external quantum efficiency values that far exceed 100%. In this frame, GQD PEI s demonstrate the ability to arbitrate both charge-carrier photogeneration and transport inside a heterojunction, leading to simultaneous attendance of various mechanisms: (i) efficient suppression of the dark current governed by the type I alignment in energy levels, (ii) charge photomultiplication determined by the presence of the PEI-induced electron trap levels, and (iii) broadband ultraviolet-to-visible downconversion effects.

Improved performance of organic light-emitting diodes with MoO3 interlayer by oblique angle deposition.

PubMed

Liu, S W; Divayana, Y; Sun, X W; Wang, Y; Leck, K S; Demir, H V

2011-02-28

We fabricated and demonstrated improved organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) in a thin film architecture of indium tin oxide (ITO)/ molybdenum trioxide (MoO3) (20 nm)/N,N'-Di(naphth-2-yl)-N,N'-diphenyl-benzidine (NPB) (50 nm)/ tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline) (Alq3) (70 nm)/Mg:Ag (200 nm) using an oblique angle deposition technique by which MoO3 was deposited at oblique angles (θ) with respect to the surface normal. It was found that, without sacrificing the power efficiency of the device, the device current efficiency and external quantum efficiency were significantly enhanced at an oblique deposition angle of θ=60° for MoO3.

Intrinsic retrieval efficiency for quantum memories: A three-dimensional theory of light interaction with an atomic ensemble

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gujarati, Tanvi P.; Wu, Yukai; Duan, Luming

2018-03-01

Duan-Lukin-Cirac-Zoller quantum repeater protocol, which was proposed to realize long distance quantum communication, requires usage of quantum memories. Atomic ensembles interacting with optical beams based on off-resonant Raman scattering serve as convenient on-demand quantum memories. Here, a complete free space, three-dimensional theory of the associated read and write process for this quantum memory is worked out with the aim of understanding intrinsic retrieval efficiency. We develop a formalism to calculate the transverse mode structure for the signal and the idler photons and use the formalism to study the intrinsic retrieval efficiency under various configurations. The effects of atomic density fluctuations and atomic motion are incorporated by numerically simulating this system for a range of realistic experimental parameters. We obtain results that describe the variation in the intrinsic retrieval efficiency as a function of the memory storage time for skewed beam configuration at a finite temperature, which provides valuable information for optimization of the retrieval efficiency in experiments.

Terahertz Quantum Cascade Structures Using Step Wells And Longitudinal Optical-Phonon Scattering

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-06-01

emit many photons, which allows for differential quantum efficiencies greater than unity and hence higher power output. QCLs have been successfully...maintained. The step in the well allows for high injection efficiency due to the spatial separation of the wavefunctions. A step quantum well, in which at...III.D.34), the photon density is determined to be ( )thiphotonphoton IILeAn − Γ = ητ (III.D.35) where the internal quantum efficiency

Quantum-Well Thermophotovoltaic Cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Freudlich, Alex; Ignatiev, Alex

2009-01-01

Thermophotovoltaic cells containing multiple quantum wells have been invented as improved means of conversion of thermal to electrical energy. The semiconductor bandgaps of the quantum wells can be tailored to be narrower than those of prior thermophotovoltaic cells, thereby enabling the cells to convert energy from longer-wavelength photons that dominate the infrared-rich spectra of typical thermal sources with which these cells would be used. Moreover, in comparison with a conventional single-junction thermophotovoltaic cell, a cell containing multiple narrow-bandgap quantum wells according to the invention can convert energy from a wider range of wavelengths. Hence, the invention increases the achievable thermal-to-electrical energy-conversion efficiency. These thermophotovoltaic cells are expected to be especially useful for extracting electrical energy from combustion, waste-heat, and nuclear sources having temperatures in the approximate range from 1,000 to 1,500 C.

Apparent bandgap shift in the internal quantum efficiency for solar cells with back reflectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steiner, M. A.; Perl, E. E.; Geisz, J. F.; Friedman, D. J.; Jain, N.; Levi, D.; Horner, G.

2017-04-01

We demonstrate that in solar cells with highly reflective back mirrors, the measured internal quantum efficiency exhibits a shift in bandgap relative to the measured external quantum efficiency. The shift arises from the fact that the measured reflectance at the front surface includes a superposition of waves reflecting from the front and back surfaces. We quantify the magnitude of the apparent shift and discuss the errors that can result in determination of quantities such as the photocurrent. Because of this apparent shift, it is important the bandgap be determined from the external quantum efficiency.

Apparent bandgap shift in the internal quantum efficiency for solar cells with back reflectors

DOE PAGES

Steiner, Myles A.; Perl, E. E.; Geisz, J. F.; ...

2017-04-28

Here, we demonstrate that in solar cells with highly reflective back mirrors, the measured internal quantum efficiency exhibits a shift in bandgap relative to the measured external quantum efficiency. The shift arises from the fact that the measured reflectance at the front surface includes a superposition of waves reflecting from the front and back surfaces. We quantify the magnitude of the apparent shift and discuss the errors that can result in determination of quantities such as the photocurrent. Because of this apparent shift, it is important that the bandgap be determined from the external quantum efficiency.

Communication: An efficient and accurate perturbative correction to initiator full configuration interaction quantum Monte Carlo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blunt, Nick S.

2018-06-01

We present a perturbative correction within initiator full configuration interaction quantum Monte Carlo (i-FCIQMC). In the existing i-FCIQMC algorithm, a significant number of spawned walkers are discarded due to the initiator criteria. Here we show that these discarded walkers have a form that allows the calculation of a second-order Epstein-Nesbet correction, which may be accumulated in a trivial and inexpensive manner, yet substantially improves i-FCIQMC results. The correction is applied to the Hubbard model and the uniform electron gas and molecular systems.

Ultrafast single photon emitting quantum photonic structures based on a nano-obelisk.

PubMed

Kim, Je-Hyung; Ko, Young-Ho; Gong, Su-Hyun; Ko, Suk-Min; Cho, Yong-Hoon

2013-01-01

A key issue in a single photon source is fast and efficient generation of a single photon flux with high light extraction efficiency. Significant progress toward high-efficiency single photon sources has been demonstrated by semiconductor quantum dots, especially using narrow bandgap materials. Meanwhile, there are many obstacles, which restrict the use of wide bandgap semiconductor quantum dots as practical single photon sources in ultraviolet-visible region, despite offering free space communication and miniaturized quantum information circuits. Here we demonstrate a single InGaN quantum dot embedded in an obelisk-shaped GaN nanostructure. The nano-obelisk plays an important role in eliminating dislocations, increasing light extraction, and minimizing a built-in electric field. Based on the nano-obelisks, we observed nonconventional narrow quantum dot emission and positive biexciton binding energy, which are signatures of negligible built-in field in single InGaN quantum dots. This results in efficient and ultrafast single photon generation in the violet color region.

Wide-Band, High-Quantum-Efficiency Photodetector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jackson, Deborah; Wilson, Daniel; Stern, Jeffrey

2007-01-01

A design has been proposed for a photodetector that would exhibit a high quantum efficiency (as much as 90 percent) over a wide wavelength band, which would typically be centered at a wavelength of 1.55 m. This and similar photodetectors would afford a capability for detecting single photons - a capability that is needed for research in quantum optics as well as for the practical development of secure optical communication systems for distribution of quantum cryptographic keys. The proposed photodetector would be of the hot-electron, phonon-cooled, thin-film superconductor type. The superconducting film in this device would be a meandering strip of niobium nitride. In the proposed photodetector, the quantum efficiency would be increased through incorporation of optiA design has been proposed for a photodetector that would exhibit a high quantum efficiency (as much as 90 percent) over a wide wavelength band, which would typically be centered at a wavelength of 1.55 m. This and similar photodetectors would afford a capability for detecting single photons - a capability that is needed for research in quantum optics as well as for the practical development of secure optical communication systems for distribution of quantum cryptographic keys. The proposed photodetector would be of the hot-electron, phonon-cooled, thin-film superconductor type. The superconducting film in this device would be a meandering strip of niobium nitride. In the proposed photodetector, the quantum efficiency would be increased through incorporation of opti-

Investigation of Strain-Relaxation Characteristics of Nitrides Grown on Si(110) by Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition Using X-ray Diffraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Quanzhong; Lewins, Christopher J.; Allsopp, Duncan W. E.; Bowen, Chris R.; Wang, Wang N.

2013-08-01

This paper describes the effect of an interfacial biaxial stress field on the dislocation formation dynamics during epitaxial growth of nitrides on Si(110). The anisotropic mismatch stress between a 2-fold symmetry Si(110) atomic plane and the AlN basal plane of 6-fold symmetry may be relaxed through the creation of additional characteristic dislocations, as proposed by Ruiz-Zepeda et al. with Burgers vectors: b= 1/2[bar 2110] and b= [1bar 210], +/-60° from [11bar 20]. The dislocations generated under such a biaxial stress field appear annihilating more efficiently with increasing thickness, leading to high-quality nitride epilayers on Si(110) for improved quantum efficiency of InGaN/GaN quantum wells.

Machine learning action parameters in lattice quantum chromodynamics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shanahan, Phiala; Trewartha, Daneil; Detmold, William

Numerical lattice quantum chromodynamics studies of the strong interaction underpin theoretical understanding of many aspects of particle and nuclear physics. Such studies require significant computing resources to undertake. A number of proposed methods promise improved efficiency of lattice calculations, and access to regions of parameter space that are currently computationally intractable, via multi-scale action-matching approaches that necessitate parametric regression of generated lattice datasets. The applicability of machine learning to this regression task is investigated, with deep neural networks found to provide an efficient solution even in cases where approaches such as principal component analysis fail. Finally, the high information contentmore » and complex symmetries inherent in lattice QCD datasets require custom neural network layers to be introduced and present opportunities for further development.« less

Design of efficient molecular organic light-emitting diodes by a high-throughput virtual screening and experimental approach.

PubMed

Gómez-Bombarelli, Rafael; Aguilera-Iparraguirre, Jorge; Hirzel, Timothy D; Duvenaud, David; Maclaurin, Dougal; Blood-Forsythe, Martin A; Chae, Hyun Sik; Einzinger, Markus; Ha, Dong-Gwang; Wu, Tony; Markopoulos, Georgios; Jeon, Soonok; Kang, Hosuk; Miyazaki, Hiroshi; Numata, Masaki; Kim, Sunghan; Huang, Wenliang; Hong, Seong Ik; Baldo, Marc; Adams, Ryan P; Aspuru-Guzik, Alán

2016-10-01

Virtual screening is becoming a ground-breaking tool for molecular discovery due to the exponential growth of available computer time and constant improvement of simulation and machine learning techniques. We report an integrated organic functional material design process that incorporates theoretical insight, quantum chemistry, cheminformatics, machine learning, industrial expertise, organic synthesis, molecular characterization, device fabrication and optoelectronic testing. After exploring a search space of 1.6 million molecules and screening over 400,000 of them using time-dependent density functional theory, we identified thousands of promising novel organic light-emitting diode molecules across the visible spectrum. Our team collaboratively selected the best candidates from this set. The experimentally determined external quantum efficiencies for these synthesized candidates were as large as 22%.

Machine learning action parameters in lattice quantum chromodynamics

DOE PAGES

Shanahan, Phiala; Trewartha, Daneil; Detmold, William

2018-05-16

Numerical lattice quantum chromodynamics studies of the strong interaction underpin theoretical understanding of many aspects of particle and nuclear physics. Such studies require significant computing resources to undertake. A number of proposed methods promise improved efficiency of lattice calculations, and access to regions of parameter space that are currently computationally intractable, via multi-scale action-matching approaches that necessitate parametric regression of generated lattice datasets. The applicability of machine learning to this regression task is investigated, with deep neural networks found to provide an efficient solution even in cases where approaches such as principal component analysis fail. Finally, the high information contentmore » and complex symmetries inherent in lattice QCD datasets require custom neural network layers to be introduced and present opportunities for further development.« less

Symmetry-conserving purification of quantum states within the density matrix renormalization group

DOE PAGES

Nocera, Alberto; Alvarez, Gonzalo

2016-01-28

The density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) algorithm was originally designed to efficiently compute the zero-temperature or ground-state properties of one-dimensional strongly correlated quantum systems. The development of the algorithm at finite temperature has been a topic of much interest, because of the usefulness of thermodynamics quantities in understanding the physics of condensed matter systems, and because of the increased complexity associated with efficiently computing temperature-dependent properties. The ancilla method is a DMRG technique that enables the computation of these thermodynamic quantities. In this paper, we review the ancilla method, and improve its performance by working on reduced Hilbert spaces andmore » using canonical approaches. Furthermore we explore its applicability beyond spins systems to t-J and Hubbard models.« less

Design of efficient molecular organic light-emitting diodes by a high-throughput virtual screening and experimental approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gómez-Bombarelli, Rafael; Aguilera-Iparraguirre, Jorge; Hirzel, Timothy D.; Duvenaud, David; MacLaurin, Dougal; Blood-Forsythe, Martin A.; Chae, Hyun Sik; Einzinger, Markus; Ha, Dong-Gwang; Wu, Tony; Markopoulos, Georgios; Jeon, Soonok; Kang, Hosuk; Miyazaki, Hiroshi; Numata, Masaki; Kim, Sunghan; Huang, Wenliang; Hong, Seong Ik; Baldo, Marc; Adams, Ryan P.; Aspuru-Guzik, Alán

2016-10-01

Virtual screening is becoming a ground-breaking tool for molecular discovery due to the exponential growth of available computer time and constant improvement of simulation and machine learning techniques. We report an integrated organic functional material design process that incorporates theoretical insight, quantum chemistry, cheminformatics, machine learning, industrial expertise, organic synthesis, molecular characterization, device fabrication and optoelectronic testing. After exploring a search space of 1.6 million molecules and screening over 400,000 of them using time-dependent density functional theory, we identified thousands of promising novel organic light-emitting diode molecules across the visible spectrum. Our team collaboratively selected the best candidates from this set. The experimentally determined external quantum efficiencies for these synthesized candidates were as large as 22%.

Quantum transport in the FMO photosynthetic light-harvesting complex.

PubMed

Karafyllidis, Ioannis G

2017-06-01

The very high light-harvesting efficiency of natural photosynthetic systems in conjunction with recent experiments, which showed quantum-coherent energy transfer in photosynthetic complexes, raised questions regarding the presence of non-trivial quantum effects in photosynthesis. Grover quantum search, quantum walks, and entanglement have been investigated as possible effects that lead to this efficiency. Here we explain the near-unit photosynthetic efficiency without invoking non-trivial quantum effects. Instead, we use non-equilibrium Green's functions, a mesoscopic method used to study transport in nano-conductors to compute the transmission function of the Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) complex using an experimentally derived exciton Hamiltonian. The chlorosome antenna and the reaction center play the role of input and output contacts, connected to the FMO complex. We show that there are two channels for which the transmission is almost unity. Our analysis also revealed a dephasing-driven regulation mechanism that maintains the efficiency in the presence of varying dephasing potentials.

A Biomimetic-Computational Approach to Optimizing the Quantum Efficiency of Photovoltaics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perez, Lisa M.; Holzenburg, Andreas

The most advanced low-cost organic photovoltaic cells have a quantum efficiency of 10%. This is in stark contrast to plant/bacterial light-harvesting systems which offer quantum efficiencies close to unity. Of particular interest is the highly effective quantum coherence-enabled energy transfer (Fig. 1). Noting that quantum coherence is promoted by charged residues and local dielectrics, classical atomistic simulations and time-dependent density functional theory (DFT) are used to identify charge/dielectric patterns and electronic coupling at exactly defined energy transfer interfaces. The calculations make use of structural information obtained on photosynthetic protein-pigment complexes while still in the native membrane making it possible to establish a link between supramolecular organization and quantum coherence in terms of what length scales enable fast energy transport and prevent quenching. Calculating energy transfer efficiencies between components based on different proximities will permit the search for patterns that enable defining material properties suitable for advanced photovoltaics.

Highly efficient frequency conversion with bandwidth compression of quantum light

PubMed Central

Allgaier, Markus; Ansari, Vahid; Sansoni, Linda; Eigner, Christof; Quiring, Viktor; Ricken, Raimund; Harder, Georg; Brecht, Benjamin; Silberhorn, Christine

2017-01-01

Hybrid quantum networks rely on efficient interfacing of dissimilar quantum nodes, as elements based on parametric downconversion sources, quantum dots, colour centres or atoms are fundamentally different in their frequencies and bandwidths. Although pulse manipulation has been demonstrated in very different systems, to date no interface exists that provides both an efficient bandwidth compression and a substantial frequency translation at the same time. Here we demonstrate an engineered sum-frequency-conversion process in lithium niobate that achieves both goals. We convert pure photons at telecom wavelengths to the visible range while compressing the bandwidth by a factor of 7.47 under preservation of non-classical photon-number statistics. We achieve internal conversion efficiencies of 61.5%, significantly outperforming spectral filtering for bandwidth compression. Our system thus makes the connection between previously incompatible quantum systems as a step towards usable quantum networks. PMID:28134242

On the effect of ballistic overflow on the temperature dependence of the quantum efficiency of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well light-emitting diodes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Prudaev, I. A., E-mail: funcelab@gmail.com; Kopyev, V. V.; Romanov, I. S.

The dependences of the quantum efficiency of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well light-emitting diodes on the temperature and excitation level are studied. The experiment is performed for two luminescence excitation modes. A comparison of the results obtained during photo- and electroluminescence shows an additional (to the loss associated with Auger recombination) low-temperature loss in the high-density current region. This causes inversion of the temperature dependence of the quantum efficiency at temperatures lower than 220–300 K. Analysis shows that the loss is associated with electron leakage from the light-emitting-diode active region. The experimental data are explained using the ballistic-overflow model. The simulationmore » results are in qualitative agreement with the experimental dependences of the quantum efficiency on temperature and current density.« less

Maximal violation of a bipartite three-setting, two-outcome Bell inequality using infinite-dimensional quantum systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pal, Karoly F.; Vertesi, Tamas

2010-08-15

The I{sub 3322} inequality is the simplest bipartite two-outcome Bell inequality beyond the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) inequality, consisting of three two-outcome measurements per party. In the case of the CHSH inequality the maximal quantum violation can already be attained with local two-dimensional quantum systems; however, there is no such evidence for the I{sub 3322} inequality. In this paper a family of measurement operators and states is given which enables us to attain the maximum quantum value in an infinite-dimensional Hilbert space. Further, it is conjectured that our construction is optimal in the sense that measuring finite-dimensional quantum systems is not enoughmore » to achieve the true quantum maximum. We also describe an efficient iterative algorithm for computing quantum maximum of an arbitrary two-outcome Bell inequality in any given Hilbert space dimension. This algorithm played a key role in obtaining our results for the I{sub 3322} inequality, and we also applied it to improve on our previous results concerning the maximum quantum violation of several bipartite two-outcome Bell inequalities with up to five settings per party.« less

Emulsion Synthesis of Size-Tunable CH3NH3PbBr3 Quantum Dots: An Alternative Route toward Efficient Light-Emitting Diodes.

PubMed

Huang, Hailong; Zhao, Fangchao; Liu, Lige; Zhang, Feng; Wu, Xian-gang; Shi, Lijie; Zou, Bingsuo; Pei, Qibing; Zhong, Haizheng

2015-12-30

We report a facile nonaqueous emulsion synthesis of colloidal halide perovskite quantum dots by controlled addition of a demulsifier into an emulsion of precursors. The size of resulting CH3NH3PbBr3 quantum dots can be tuned from 2 to 8 nm by varying the amount of demulsifier. Moreover, this emulsion synthesis also allows the purification of these quantum dots by precipitation from the colloidal solution and obtains solid-state powder which can be redissolved for thin film coating and device fabrication. The photoluminescence quantum yields of the quantum dots is generally in the range of 80-92%, and can be well-preserved after purification (∼80%). Green light-emitting diodes fabricated comprising a spin-cast layer of the colloidal CH3NH3PbBr3 quantum dots exhibited maximum current efficiency of 4.5 cd/A, power efficiency of 3.5 lm/W, and external quantum efficiency of 1.1%. This provides an alternative route toward high efficient solution-processed perovskite-based light-emitting diodes. In addition, the emulsion synthesis is versatile and can be extended for the fabrication of inorganic halide perovskite colloidal CsPbBr3 nanocrystals.

Enhanced out-coupling efficiency of organic light-emitting diodes using an nanostructure imprinted by an alumina nanohole array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Endo, Kuniaki; Adachi, Chihaya

2014-03-01

We demonstrate organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with enhanced out-coupling efficiency containing nanostructures imprinted by an alumina nanohole array template that can be applied to large-emitting-area and flexible devices using a roll-to-roll process. The nanostructures are imprinted on a glass substrate by an ultraviolet nanoimprint process using an alumina nanohole array mold and then an OLED is fabricated on the nanostructures. The enhancement of out-coupling efficiency is proportional to the root-mean-square roughness of the nanostructures, and a maximum improvement of external electroluminescence quantum efficiency of 17% is achieved. The electroluminescence spectra of the OLEDs indicate that this improvement is caused by enhancement of the out-coupling of surface plasmon polaritons.

Quantum autoencoders for efficient compression of quantum data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romero, Jonathan; Olson, Jonathan P.; Aspuru-Guzik, Alan

2017-12-01

Classical autoencoders are neural networks that can learn efficient low-dimensional representations of data in higher-dimensional space. The task of an autoencoder is, given an input x, to map x to a lower dimensional point y such that x can likely be recovered from y. The structure of the underlying autoencoder network can be chosen to represent the data on a smaller dimension, effectively compressing the input. Inspired by this idea, we introduce the model of a quantum autoencoder to perform similar tasks on quantum data. The quantum autoencoder is trained to compress a particular data set of quantum states, where a classical compression algorithm cannot be employed. The parameters of the quantum autoencoder are trained using classical optimization algorithms. We show an example of a simple programmable circuit that can be trained as an efficient autoencoder. We apply our model in the context of quantum simulation to compress ground states of the Hubbard model and molecular Hamiltonians.

Efficient Quantum Transmission in Multiple-Source Networks

PubMed Central

Luo, Ming-Xing; Xu, Gang; Chen, Xiu-Bo; Yang, Yi-Xian; Wang, Xiaojun

2014-01-01

A difficult problem in quantum network communications is how to efficiently transmit quantum information over large-scale networks with common channels. We propose a solution by developing a quantum encoding approach. Different quantum states are encoded into a coherent superposition state using quantum linear optics. The transmission congestion in the common channel may be avoided by transmitting the superposition state. For further decoding and continued transmission, special phase transformations are applied to incoming quantum states using phase shifters such that decoders can distinguish outgoing quantum states. These phase shifters may be precisely controlled using classical chaos synchronization via additional classical channels. Based on this design and the reduction of multiple-source network under the assumption of restricted maximum-flow, the optimal scheme is proposed for specially quantized multiple-source network. In comparison with previous schemes, our scheme can greatly increase the transmission efficiency. PMID:24691590

High Efficiency Flexible Battery Based on Graphene-carbon Nanotube Hybrid Structure

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-02-26

Publications: 1. Multi Layered Si-CuO Quantum Dots Wrapped by Graphene for High-Performance Anode Material in Lithium - Ion Battery , B. Rangasamy, J. Hwang, W...at different C-rates. Task III. High capacity and excellent stability of lithium ion battery anode using interface- controlled binder-free MWCNT...Material in Lithium - Ion Battery Various approaches to improve the efficiency of Lithium ion batteries (LiB) by using Si have been suggested

Effects of quantum well growth temperature on the recombination efficiency of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells that emit in the green and blue spectral regions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hammersley, S.; Dawson, P.; Kappers, M. J.

2015-09-28

InGaN-based light emitting diodes and multiple quantum wells designed to emit in the green spectral region exhibit, in general, lower internal quantum efficiencies than their blue-emitting counter parts, a phenomenon referred to as the “green gap.” One of the main differences between green-emitting and blue-emitting samples is that the quantum well growth temperature is lower for structures designed to emit at longer wavelengths, in order to reduce the effects of In desorption. In this paper, we report on the impact of the quantum well growth temperature on the optical properties of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells designed to emit at 460 nmmore » and 530 nm. It was found that for both sets of samples increasing the temperature at which the InGaN quantum well was grown, while maintaining the same indium composition, led to an increase in the internal quantum efficiency measured at 300 K. These increases in internal quantum efficiency are shown to be due reductions in the non-radiative recombination rate which we attribute to reductions in point defect incorporation.« less

Nanohole Structuring for Improved Performance of Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Photovoltaics.

PubMed

Johlin, Eric; Al-Obeidi, Ahmed; Nogay, Gizem; Stuckelberger, Michael; Buonassisi, Tonio; Grossman, Jeffrey C

2016-06-22

While low hole mobilities limit the current collection and efficiency of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) photovoltaic devices, attempts to improve mobility of the material directly have stagnated. Herein, we explore a method of utilizing nanostructuring of a-Si:H devices to allow for improved hole collection in thick absorber layers. This is achieved by etching an array of 150 nm diameter holes into intrinsic a-Si:H and then coating the structured material with p-type a-Si:H and a conformal zinc oxide transparent conducting layer. The inclusion of these nanoholes yields relative power conversion efficiency (PCE) increases of ∼45%, from 7.2 to 10.4% PCE for small area devices. Comparisons of optical properties, time-of-flight mobility measurements, and internal quantum efficiency spectra indicate this efficiency is indeed likely occurring from an improved collection pathway provided by the nanostructuring of the devices. Finally, we estimate that through modest optimizations of the design and fabrication, PCEs of beyond 13% should be obtainable for similar devices.

Impact of an AlAs window layer upon the optical properties of Al x Ga1-x As photodiodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, T.; Chen, X. J.; Johnson, E. B.; Christian, J. F.; Lee, K.; Hammig, M. D.

2016-05-01

Recently developed advanced scintillators, which have the ability to distinguish gamma-ray interaction events from those that accompany neutron impact, require improved quantum efficiency in the blue to near UV region of the spectrum. We utilize GaAs/Al0.8Ga0.2As photodiode elements as components in a wide band-gap solid-state photomultiplier as a lower-cost, lower logistical burden, and higher quantum efficiency replacement for the photomultiplier tube. An AlAs window layer is employed as a means to increase the diode’s optical performance. Relative to structures absent the window layer, simulations and measurements demonstrate that the AlAs layer produces a spatial coincidence between regions of large drift fields with regions of high photon absorption. In addition to the AlAs layer, secondary ion mass spectrometry measurements show that an unexpected high degree of inter-diffusion of GaAs and AlAs quenches the photon-detection efficiency, a decrease that can be avoided by its post-growth removal. With the AlAs layer, the peak external quantum efficiency of 49% is achieved at 450 nm with 10 V reverse bias, which does not fully deplete the device. Simulations show that full depletion can result in efficiencies exceeding 90%. In order to enhance the optical response, a simple anti-reflective coating layer is designed using the existing passivation layer components that successfully minimizes the reflection at the wavelength range of interest (300 nm-500 nm).

Enhancing quantum annealing performance for the molecular similarity problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hernandez, Maritza; Aramon, Maliheh

2017-05-01

Quantum annealing is a promising technique which leverages quantum mechanics to solve hard optimization problems. Considerable progress has been made in the development of a physical quantum annealer, motivating the study of methods to enhance the efficiency of such a solver. In this work, we present a quantum annealing approach to measure similarity among molecular structures. Implementing real-world problems on a quantum annealer is challenging due to hardware limitations such as sparse connectivity, intrinsic control error, and limited precision. In order to overcome the limited connectivity, a problem must be reformulated using minor-embedding techniques. Using a real data set, we investigate the performance of a quantum annealer in solving the molecular similarity problem. We provide experimental evidence that common practices for embedding can be replaced by new alternatives which mitigate some of the hardware limitations and enhance its performance. Common practices for embedding include minimizing either the number of qubits or the chain length and determining the strength of ferromagnetic couplers empirically. We show that current criteria for selecting an embedding do not improve the hardware's performance for the molecular similarity problem. Furthermore, we use a theoretical approach to determine the strength of ferromagnetic couplers. Such an approach removes the computational burden of the current empirical approaches and also results in hardware solutions that can benefit from simple local classical improvement. Although our results are limited to the problems considered here, they can be generalized to guide future benchmarking studies.

Optimization of a solid-state electron spin qubit using Gate Set Tomography

DOE PAGES

Dehollain, Juan P.; Muhonen, Juha T.; Blume-Kohout, Robin J.; ...

2016-10-13

Here, state of the art qubit systems are reaching the gate fidelities required for scalable quantum computation architectures. Further improvements in the fidelity of quantum gates demands characterization and benchmarking protocols that are efficient, reliable and extremely accurate. Ideally, a benchmarking protocol should also provide information on how to rectify residual errors. Gate Set Tomography (GST) is one such protocol designed to give detailed characterization of as-built qubits. We implemented GST on a high-fidelity electron-spin qubit confined by a single 31P atom in 28Si. The results reveal systematic errors that a randomized benchmarking analysis could measure but not identify, whereasmore » GST indicated the need for improved calibration of the length of the control pulses. After introducing this modification, we measured a new benchmark average gate fidelity of 99.942(8)%, an improvement on the previous value of 99.90(2)%. Furthermore, GST revealed high levels of non-Markovian noise in the system, which will need to be understood and addressed when the qubit is used within a fault-tolerant quantum computation scheme.« less

Quantum annealing correction with minor embedding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vinci, Walter; Albash, Tameem; Paz-Silva, Gerardo; Hen, Itay; Lidar, Daniel A.

2015-10-01

Quantum annealing provides a promising route for the development of quantum optimization devices, but the usefulness of such devices will be limited in part by the range of implementable problems as dictated by hardware constraints. To overcome constraints imposed by restricted connectivity between qubits, a larger set of interactions can be approximated using minor embedding techniques whereby several physical qubits are used to represent a single logical qubit. However, minor embedding introduces new types of errors due to its approximate nature. We introduce and study quantum annealing correction schemes designed to improve the performance of quantum annealers in conjunction with minor embedding, thus leading to a hybrid scheme defined over an encoded graph. We argue that this scheme can be efficiently decoded using an energy minimization technique provided the density of errors does not exceed the per-site percolation threshold of the encoded graph. We test the hybrid scheme using a D-Wave Two processor on problems for which the encoded graph is a two-level grid and the Ising model is known to be NP-hard. The problems we consider are frustrated Ising model problem instances with "planted" (a priori known) solutions. Applied in conjunction with optimized energy penalties and decoding techniques, we find that this approach enables the quantum annealer to solve minor embedded instances with significantly higher success probability than it would without error correction. Our work demonstrates that quantum annealing correction can and should be used to improve the robustness of quantum annealing not only for natively embeddable problems but also when minor embedding is used to extend the connectivity of physical devices.

Highly efficient entanglement swapping and teleportation at telecom wavelength

PubMed Central

Jin, Rui-Bo; Takeoka, Masahiro; Takagi, Utako; Shimizu, Ryosuke; Sasaki, Masahide

2015-01-01

Entanglement swapping at telecom wavelengths is at the heart of quantum networking in optical fiber infrastructures. Although entanglement swapping has been demonstrated experimentally so far using various types of entangled photon sources both in near-infrared and telecom wavelength regions, the rate of swapping operation has been too low to be applied to practical quantum protocols, due to limited efficiency of entangled photon sources and photon detectors. Here we demonstrate drastic improvement of the efficiency at telecom wavelength by using two ultra-bright entangled photon sources and four highly efficient superconducting nanowire single photon detectors. We have attained a four-fold coincidence count rate of 108 counts per second, which is three orders higher than the previous experiments at telecom wavelengths. A raw (net) visibility in a Hong-Ou-Mandel interference between the two independent entangled sources was 73.3 ± 1.0% (85.1 ± 0.8%). We performed the teleportation and entanglement swapping, and obtained a fidelity of 76.3% in the swapping test. Our results on the coincidence count rates are comparable with the ones ever recorded in teleportation/swapping and multi-photon entanglement generation experiments at around 800 nm wavelengths. Our setup opens the way to practical implementation of device-independent quantum key distribution and its distance extension by the entanglement swapping as well as multi-photon entangled state generation in telecom band infrastructures with both space and fiber links. PMID:25791212

Highly efficient entanglement swapping and teleportation at telecom wavelength.

PubMed

Jin, Rui-Bo; Takeoka, Masahiro; Takagi, Utako; Shimizu, Ryosuke; Sasaki, Masahide

2015-03-20

Entanglement swapping at telecom wavelengths is at the heart of quantum networking in optical fiber infrastructures. Although entanglement swapping has been demonstrated experimentally so far using various types of entangled photon sources both in near-infrared and telecom wavelength regions, the rate of swapping operation has been too low to be applied to practical quantum protocols, due to limited efficiency of entangled photon sources and photon detectors. Here we demonstrate drastic improvement of the efficiency at telecom wavelength by using two ultra-bright entangled photon sources and four highly efficient superconducting nanowire single photon detectors. We have attained a four-fold coincidence count rate of 108 counts per second, which is three orders higher than the previous experiments at telecom wavelengths. A raw (net) visibility in a Hong-Ou-Mandel interference between the two independent entangled sources was 73.3 ± 1.0% (85.1 ± 0.8%). We performed the teleportation and entanglement swapping, and obtained a fidelity of 76.3% in the swapping test. Our results on the coincidence count rates are comparable with the ones ever recorded in teleportation/swapping and multi-photon entanglement generation experiments at around 800 nm wavelengths. Our setup opens the way to practical implementation of device-independent quantum key distribution and its distance extension by the entanglement swapping as well as multi-photon entangled state generation in telecom band infrastructures with both space and fiber links.

Efficient multiuser quantum cryptography network based on entanglement.

PubMed

Xue, Peng; Wang, Kunkun; Wang, Xiaoping

2017-04-04

We present an efficient quantum key distribution protocol with a certain entangled state to solve a special cryptographic task. Also, we provide a proof of security of this protocol by generalizing the proof of modified of Lo-Chau scheme. Based on this two-user scheme, a quantum cryptography network protocol is proposed without any quantum memory.

Efficient multiuser quantum cryptography network based on entanglement

PubMed Central

Xue, Peng; Wang, Kunkun; Wang, Xiaoping

2017-01-01

We present an efficient quantum key distribution protocol with a certain entangled state to solve a special cryptographic task. Also, we provide a proof of security of this protocol by generalizing the proof of modified of Lo-Chau scheme. Based on this two-user scheme, a quantum cryptography network protocol is proposed without any quantum memory. PMID:28374854

Efficient multiuser quantum cryptography network based on entanglement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xue, Peng; Wang, Kunkun; Wang, Xiaoping

2017-04-01

We present an efficient quantum key distribution protocol with a certain entangled state to solve a special cryptographic task. Also, we provide a proof of security of this protocol by generalizing the proof of modified of Lo-Chau scheme. Based on this two-user scheme, a quantum cryptography network protocol is proposed without any quantum memory.

Lightweight, Light-Trapped, Thin GaAs Solar Cells for Spacecraft Applications.

DTIC Science & Technology

1995-10-05

improve the efficiency of this type of cell. 2 The high efficiency and light weight of the cover glass supported GaAs solar cell can have a significant...is a 3-mil cover glass and 1-mil silicone adhesive on the front surface of the GaAs solar cell. Power Output 3000 400 -{ 2400 { N 300 S18200 W/m2...the ultra-thin, light-trapped GaAs solar ceill 3. Incorporate light trapping. 0 external quantum efficiency at 850 nm increased by 5.2% 4. Develop

Single-hidden-layer feed-forward quantum neural network based on Grover learning.

PubMed

Liu, Cheng-Yi; Chen, Chein; Chang, Ching-Ter; Shih, Lun-Min

2013-09-01

In this paper, a novel single-hidden-layer feed-forward quantum neural network model is proposed based on some concepts and principles in the quantum theory. By combining the quantum mechanism with the feed-forward neural network, we defined quantum hidden neurons and connected quantum weights, and used them as the fundamental information processing unit in a single-hidden-layer feed-forward neural network. The quantum neurons make a wide range of nonlinear functions serve as the activation functions in the hidden layer of the network, and the Grover searching algorithm outstands the optimal parameter setting iteratively and thus makes very efficient neural network learning possible. The quantum neuron and weights, along with a Grover searching algorithm based learning, result in a novel and efficient neural network characteristic of reduced network, high efficient training and prospect application in future. Some simulations are taken to investigate the performance of the proposed quantum network and the result show that it can achieve accurate learning. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hybrid quantum computing with ancillas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Proctor, Timothy J.; Kendon, Viv

2016-10-01

In the quest to build a practical quantum computer, it is important to use efficient schemes for enacting the elementary quantum operations from which quantum computer programs are constructed. The opposing requirements of well-protected quantum data and fast quantum operations must be balanced to maintain the integrity of the quantum information throughout the computation. One important approach to quantum operations is to use an extra quantum system - an ancilla - to interact with the quantum data register. Ancillas can mediate interactions between separated quantum registers, and by using fresh ancillas for each quantum operation, data integrity can be preserved for longer. This review provides an overview of the basic concepts of the gate model quantum computer architecture, including the different possible forms of information encodings - from base two up to continuous variables - and a more detailed description of how the main types of ancilla-mediated quantum operations provide efficient quantum gates.

Efficiency and its bounds for a quantum Einstein engine at maximum power.

PubMed

Yan, H; Guo, Hao

2012-11-01

We study a quantum thermal engine model for which the heat transfer law is determined by Einstein's theory of radiation. The working substance of the quantum engine is assumed to be a two-level quantum system of which the constituent particles obey Maxwell-Boltzmann (MB), Fermi-Dirac (FD), or Bose-Einstein (BE) distributions, respectively, at equilibrium. The thermal efficiency and its bounds at maximum power of these models are derived and discussed in the long and short thermal contact time limits. The similarity and difference between these models are discussed. We also compare the efficiency bounds of this quantum thermal engine to those of its classical counterpart.

Light storage in a cold atomic ensemble with a high optical depth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Kwang-Kyoon; Chough, Young-Tak; Kim, Yoon-Ho

2017-06-01

A quantum memory with a high storage efficiency and a long coherence time is an essential element in quantum information applications. Here, we report our recent development of an optical quantum memory with a rubidium-87 cold atom ensemble. By increasing the optical depth of the medium, we have achieved a storage efficiency of 65% and a coherence time of 51 μs for a weak laser pulse. The result of a numerical analysis based on the Maxwell-Bloch equations agrees well with the experimental results. Our result paves the way toward an efficient optical quantum memory and may find applications in photonic quantum information processing.

The quantum efficiency of HgCdTe photodiodes in relation to the direction of illumination and to their geometry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosenfeld, D.; Bahir, G.

1993-01-01

A theoretical study of the effect of the direction of the incident light on the quantum efficiency of homogeneous HgCdTe photodiodes suitable for sensing infrared radiation in the 8-12 microns atmospheric window is presented. The probability of an excess minority carrier to reach the junction is derived as a function of its distance from the edge of the depletion region. Accordingly, the quantum efficiency of photodiodes is presented for two geometries. In the first, the light is introduced directly to the area in which it is absorbed (opaque region), while in the second, the light passes through a transparent region before it reaches the opaque region. Finally, the performance of the two types of diodes is analyzed with the objective of finding the optimal width of the absorption area. The quantum efficiency depends strongly on the way in which the light is introduced. The structure in which the radiation is absorbed following its crossing the transparent region is associated with both higher quantum efficiency and homogeneity. In addition, for absorption region widths higher than a certain minimum, the quantum efficiency in this case is insensitive to the width of the absorption region.

Steering Quantum Dynamics of a Two-Qubit System via Optimal Bang-Bang Control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Juju; Ke, Qiang; Ji, Yinghua

2018-02-01

The optimization of control time for quantum systems has been an important field of control science attracting decades of focus, which is beneficial for efficiency improvement and decoherence suppression caused by the environment. Based on analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of the existing Lyapunov control, using a bang-bang optimal control technique, we investigate the fast state control in a closed two-qubit quantum system, and give three optimized control field design methods. Numerical simulation experiments indicate the effectiveness of the methods. Compared to the standard Lyapunov control or standard bang-bang control method, the optimized control field design methods effectively shorten the state control time and avoid high-frequency oscillation that occurs in bang-bang control.

Improved performance of near UV light-emitting diodes with a composition-graded p-AlGaN irregular sawtooth electron-blocking layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Ping; Song, Wei-Dong; Hu, Wen-Xiao; Zhang, Yuan-Wen; Zhang, Chong-Zhen; Wang, Ru-Peng; Zhao, Liang-Liang; Xia, Chao; Yuan, Song-Yang; Yin, Yi-an; Li, Shu-Ti; Su, Shi-Chen

2016-08-01

We investigate the performances of the near-ultraviolet (about 350 nm-360 nm) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) each with specifically designed irregular sawtooth electron blocking layer (EBL) by using the APSYS simulation program. The internal quantum efficiencies (IQEs), light output powers, carrier concentrations in the quantum wells, energy-band diagrams, and electrostatic fields are analyzed carefully. The results indicate that the LEDs with composition-graded p-Al x Ga1-x N irregular sawtooth EBLs have better performances than their counterparts with stationary component p-AlGaN EBLs. The improvements can be attributed to the improved polarization field in EBL and active region as well as the alleviation of band bending in the EBL/p-AlGaN interface, which results in less electron leakage and better hole injection efficiency, thus reducing efficiency droop and enhancing the radiative recombination rate. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11474105 and 51172079), the Science and Technology Program of Guangdong Province, China (Grant Nos. 2015B090903078 and 2015B010105011), the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University, China (Grant No. IRT13064), the Science and Technology Project of Guangzhou City, China (Grant No. 201607010246), and the Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province, China (Grant No. 2015A010105025).

Improved photocatalytic degradation of Orange G using hybrid nanofibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ledwaba, Mpho; Masilela, Nkosiphile; Nyokong, Tebello; Antunes, Edith

2017-05-01

Functionalised electrospun polyamide-6 (PA-6) nanofibres incorporating gadolinium oxide nanoparticles conjugated to zinc tetracarboxyphenoxy phthalocyanine (ZnTCPPc) as the sensitizer were prepared for the photocatalytic degradation of Orange G. Fibres incorporating the phthalocyanine alone or a mixture of the nanoparticles and phthalocyanine were also generated. The singlet oxygen-generating ability of the sensitizer was shown to be maintained within the fibre mat, with the singlet oxygen quantum yields increasing upon incorporation of the magnetic nanoparticles. Consequently, the rate of the photodegradation of Orange G was observed to increase with an increase in singlet oxygen quantum yield. A reduction in the half-lives for the functionalised nanofibres was recorded in the presence of the magnetic nanoparticles, indicating an improvement in the efficiency of the degradation process.

Preparation of reflective CsI photocathodes with reproducible high quantum efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maier-Komor, P.; Bauer, B. B.; Friese, J.; Gernhäuser, R.; Kienle, P.; Körner, H. J.; Montermann, G.; Zeitelhack, K.

1995-02-01

CsI as a solid UV-photocathode material has many promising applications in fast gaseous photon detectors. They are proposed in large area Ring Imaging CHerenkov (RICH) devices in forthcoming experiments at various high-energy particle accelerators. A high photon-to-electron conversion efficiency is a basic requirement for the successful operation of these devices. High reproducible quantum efficiencies could be achieved with CsI layers prepared by electron beam evaporation from a water-cooled copper crucible. CsI films were deposited in the thickness range of 30 to 500 μg/cm 2. Absorption coefficients and quantum efficiencies were measured in the wavelength region of 150 nm to 250 nm. The influence of various evaporation parameters on the quantum efficiency were investigated.

Multiple-state quantum Otto engine, 1D box system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Latifah, E., E-mail: enylatifah@um.ac.id; Purwanto, A.

2014-03-24

Quantum heat engines produce work using quantum matter as their working substance. We studied adiabatic and isochoric processes and defined the general force according to quantum system. The processes and general force are used to evaluate a quantum Otto engine based on multiple-state of one dimensional box system and calculate the efficiency. As a result, the efficiency depends on the ratio of initial and final width of system under adiabatic processes.

Analysis of the external and internal quantum efficiency of multi-emitter, white organic light emitting diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furno, Mauro; Rosenow, Thomas C.; Gather, Malte C.; Lüssem, Björn; Leo, Karl

2012-10-01

We report on a theoretical framework for the efficiency analysis of complex, multi-emitter organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). The calculation approach makes use of electromagnetic modeling to quantify the overall OLED photon outcoupling efficiency and a phenomenological description for electrical and excitonic processes. From the comparison of optical modeling results and measurements of the total external quantum efficiency, we obtain reliable estimates of internal quantum yield. As application of the model, we analyze high-efficiency stacked white OLEDs and comment on the various efficiency loss channels present in the devices.

Fundamental limits to single-photon detection determined by quantum coherence and backaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, Steve M.; Sarovar, Mohan; Léonard, François

2018-03-01

Single-photon detectors have achieved impressive performance and have led to a number of new scientific discoveries and technological applications. Existing models of photodetectors are semiclassical in that the field-matter interaction is treated perturbatively and time-separated from physical processes in the absorbing matter. An open question is whether a fully quantum detector, whereby the optical field, the optical absorption, and the amplification are considered as one quantum system, could have improved performance. Here we develop a theoretical model of such photodetectors and employ simulations to reveal the critical role played by quantum coherence and amplification backaction in dictating the performance. We show that coherence and backaction lead to trade-offs between detector metrics and also determine optimal system designs through control of the quantum-classical interface. Importantly, we establish the design parameters that result in a ideal photodetector with 100% efficiency, no dark counts, and minimal jitter, thus paving the route for next-generation detectors.

Quantum wavepacket ab initio molecular dynamics: an approach for computing dynamically averaged vibrational spectra including critical nuclear quantum effects.

PubMed

Sumner, Isaiah; Iyengar, Srinivasan S

2007-10-18

We have introduced a computational methodology to study vibrational spectroscopy in clusters inclusive of critical nuclear quantum effects. This approach is based on the recently developed quantum wavepacket ab initio molecular dynamics method that combines quantum wavepacket dynamics with ab initio molecular dynamics. The computational efficiency of the dynamical procedure is drastically improved (by several orders of magnitude) through the utilization of wavelet-based techniques combined with the previously introduced time-dependent deterministic sampling procedure measure to achieve stable, picosecond length, quantum-classical dynamics of electrons and nuclei in clusters. The dynamical information is employed to construct a novel cumulative flux/velocity correlation function, where the wavepacket flux from the quantized particle is combined with classical nuclear velocities to obtain the vibrational density of states. The approach is demonstrated by computing the vibrational density of states of [Cl-H-Cl]-, inclusive of critical quantum nuclear effects, and our results are in good agreement with experiment. A general hierarchical procedure is also provided, based on electronic structure harmonic frequencies, classical ab initio molecular dynamics, computation of nuclear quantum-mechanical eigenstates, and employing quantum wavepacket ab initio dynamics to understand vibrational spectroscopy in hydrogen-bonded clusters that display large degrees of anharmonicities.

Fundamental rate-loss trade-off for the quantum internet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azuma, Koji; Mizutani, Akihiro; Lo, Hoi-Kwong

2016-11-01

The quantum internet holds promise for achieving quantum communication--such as quantum teleportation and quantum key distribution (QKD)--freely between any clients all over the globe, as well as for the simulation of the evolution of quantum many-body systems. The most primitive function of the quantum internet is to provide quantum entanglement or a secret key to two points efficiently, by using intermediate nodes connected by optical channels with each other. Here we derive a fundamental rate-loss trade-off for a quantum internet protocol, by generalizing the Takeoka-Guha-Wilde bound to be applicable to any network topology. This trade-off has essentially no scaling gap with the quantum communication efficiencies of protocols known to be indispensable to long-distance quantum communication, such as intercity QKD and quantum repeaters. Our result--putting a practical but general limitation on the quantum internet--enables us to grasp the potential of the future quantum internet.

Fundamental rate-loss trade-off for the quantum internet

PubMed Central

Azuma, Koji; Mizutani, Akihiro; Lo, Hoi-Kwong

2016-01-01

The quantum internet holds promise for achieving quantum communication—such as quantum teleportation and quantum key distribution (QKD)—freely between any clients all over the globe, as well as for the simulation of the evolution of quantum many-body systems. The most primitive function of the quantum internet is to provide quantum entanglement or a secret key to two points efficiently, by using intermediate nodes connected by optical channels with each other. Here we derive a fundamental rate-loss trade-off for a quantum internet protocol, by generalizing the Takeoka–Guha–Wilde bound to be applicable to any network topology. This trade-off has essentially no scaling gap with the quantum communication efficiencies of protocols known to be indispensable to long-distance quantum communication, such as intercity QKD and quantum repeaters. Our result—putting a practical but general limitation on the quantum internet—enables us to grasp the potential of the future quantum internet. PMID:27886172

Fundamental rate-loss trade-off for the quantum internet.

PubMed

Azuma, Koji; Mizutani, Akihiro; Lo, Hoi-Kwong

2016-11-25

The quantum internet holds promise for achieving quantum communication-such as quantum teleportation and quantum key distribution (QKD)-freely between any clients all over the globe, as well as for the simulation of the evolution of quantum many-body systems. The most primitive function of the quantum internet is to provide quantum entanglement or a secret key to two points efficiently, by using intermediate nodes connected by optical channels with each other. Here we derive a fundamental rate-loss trade-off for a quantum internet protocol, by generalizing the Takeoka-Guha-Wilde bound to be applicable to any network topology. This trade-off has essentially no scaling gap with the quantum communication efficiencies of protocols known to be indispensable to long-distance quantum communication, such as intercity QKD and quantum repeaters. Our result-putting a practical but general limitation on the quantum internet-enables us to grasp the potential of the future quantum internet.

Quantum-limited heat conduction over macroscopic distances

PubMed Central

Partanen, Matti; Tan, Kuan Yen; Govenius, Joonas; Lake, Russell E.; Mäkelä, Miika K.; Tanttu, Tuomo; Möttönen, Mikko

2016-01-01

The emerging quantum technological apparatuses1, 2, such as the quantum computer3–6, call for extreme performance in thermal engineering7. Cold distant heat sinks are needed for the quantized electric degrees of freedom due to the increasing packaging density and heat dissipation. Importantly, quantum mechanics sets a fundamental upper limit for the flow of information and heat, which is quantified by the quantum of thermal conductance8–10. However, the short distance between the heat-exchanging bodies in the previous experiments11–14 hinders their applicability in quantum technology. Here, we present experimental observations of quantum-limited heat conduction over macroscopic distances extending to a metre. We achieved this improvement of four orders of magnitude in the distance by utilizing microwave photons travelling in superconducting transmission lines. Thus, it seems that quantum-limited heat conduction has no fundamental distance cutoff. This work establishes the integration of normal-metal components into the framework of circuit quantum electrodynamics15–17 which provides a basis for the superconducting quantum computer18–21. Especially, our results facilitate remote cooling of nanoelectronic devices using far-away in-situ-tunable heat sinks22, 23. Furthermore, quantum-limited heat conduction is important in contemporary thermodynamics24, 25. Here, the long distance may lead to ultimately efficient mesoscopic heat engines with promising practical applications26. PMID:27239219

Improved treatment of exact exchange in Quantum ESPRESSO

DOE PAGES

Barnes, Taylor A.; Kurth, Thorsten; Carrier, Pierre; ...

2017-01-18

Here, we present an algorithm and implementation for the parallel computation of exact exchange in Quantum ESPRESSO (QE) that exhibits greatly improved strong scaling. QE is an open-source software package for electronic structure calculations using plane wave density functional theory, and supports the use of local, semi-local, and hybrid DFT functionals. Wider application of hybrid functionals is desirable for the improved simulation of electronic band energy alignments and thermodynamic properties, but the computational complexity of evaluating the exact exchange potential limits the practical application of hybrid functionals to large systems and requires efficient implementations. We demonstrate that existing implementations ofmore » hybrid DFT that utilize a single data structure for both the local and exact exchange regions of the code are significantly limited in the degree of parallelization achievable. We present a band-pair parallelization approach, in which the calculation of exact exchange is parallelized and evaluated independently from the parallelization of the remainder of the calculation, with the wavefunction data being efficiently transformed on-the-fly into a form that is optimal for each part of the calculation. For a 64 water molecule supercell, our new algorithm reduces the overall time to solution by nearly an order of magnitude.« less

Effect of quantum noise on deterministic joint remote state preparation of a qubit state via a GHZ channel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ming-Ming; Qu, Zhi-Guo

2016-11-01

Quantum secure communication brings a new direction for information security. As an important component of quantum secure communication, deterministic joint remote state preparation (DJRSP) could securely transmit a quantum state with 100 % success probability. In this paper, we study how the efficiency of DJRSP is affected when qubits involved in the protocol are subjected to noise or decoherence. Taking a GHZ-based DJRSP scheme as an example, we study all types of noise usually encountered in real-world implementations of quantum communication protocols, i.e., the bit-flip, phase-flip (phase-damping), depolarizing and amplitude-damping noise. Our study shows that the fidelity of the output state depends on the phase factor, the amplitude factor and the noise parameter in the bit-flip noise, while the fidelity only depends on the amplitude factor and the noise parameter in the other three types of noise. And the receiver will get different output states depending on the first preparer's measurement result in the amplitude-damping noise. Our results will be helpful for improving quantum secure communication in real implementation.

Free-Space Quantum Signatures Using Heterodyne Measurements.

PubMed

Croal, Callum; Peuntinger, Christian; Heim, Bettina; Khan, Imran; Marquardt, Christoph; Leuchs, Gerd; Wallden, Petros; Andersson, Erika; Korolkova, Natalia

2016-09-02

Digital signatures guarantee the authorship of electronic communications. Currently used "classical" signature schemes rely on unproven computational assumptions for security, while quantum signatures rely only on the laws of quantum mechanics to sign a classical message. Previous quantum signature schemes have used unambiguous quantum measurements. Such measurements, however, sometimes give no result, reducing the efficiency of the protocol. Here, we instead use heterodyne detection, which always gives a result, although there is always some uncertainty. We experimentally demonstrate feasibility in a real environment by distributing signature states through a noisy 1.6 km free-space channel. Our results show that continuous-variable heterodyne detection improves the signature rate for this type of scheme and therefore represents an interesting direction in the search for practical quantum signature schemes. For transmission values ranging from 100% to 10%, but otherwise assuming an ideal implementation with no other imperfections, the signature length is shorter by a factor of 2 to 10. As compared with previous relevant experimental realizations, the signature length in this implementation is several orders of magnitude shorter.

Impact of threading dislocation density on the lifetime of InAs quantum dot lasers on Si

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, Daehwan; Herrick, Robert; Norman, Justin; Turnlund, Katherine; Jan, Catherine; Feng, Kaiyin; Gossard, Arthur C.; Bowers, John E.

2018-04-01

We investigate the impact of threading dislocation density on the reliability of 1.3 μm InAs quantum dot lasers epitaxially grown on Si. A reduction in the threading dislocation density from 2.8 × 108 cm-2 to 7.3 × 106 cm-2 has improved the laser lifetime by about five orders of magnitude when aged continuous-wave near room temperature (35 °C). We have achieved extrapolated lifetimes (time to double initial threshold) more than 10 × 106 h. An accelerated laser aging test at an elevated temperature (60 °C) reveals that p-modulation doped quantum dot lasers on Si retain superior reliability over unintentionally doped ones. These results suggest that epitaxially grown quantum dot lasers could be a viable approach to realize a reliable, scalable, and efficient light source on Si.

Improving Qubit Phase Estimation in Amplitude-damping Channel by Partial-collapse Measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liao, Xiang-Ping; Zhou, Xin; Fang, Mao-Fa

2018-03-01

An efficient method is proposed to improve qubit phase estimation in amplitude-damping channel by partial-collapse measurement in this paper. It is shown that the quantum Fisher information (QFI) can be distinctly enhanced under amplitude-damping decoherence with partial-collapse measurement. Moreover, the optimal QFI is approximately close to the maximum value 1 regardless of the decoherence parameter by choosing the appropriate measurement strengths.

Photoluminescence Spectra From The Direct Energy Gap of a-SiQDs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdul-Ameer, Nidhal M.; Abdulrida, Moafak C.; Abdul-Hakeem, Shatha M.

2018-05-01

A theoretical model for radiative recombination in amorphous silicon quantum dots (a-SiQDs) was developed. In this model, for the first time, the coexistence of both spatial and quantum confinements were considered. Also, it is found that the photoluminescence exhibits significant size dependence in the range (1-4) nm of the quantum dots. a-SiQDs show visible light emission peak energies and high radiative quantum efficiency at room temperature,in contrast to bulk a-Si structures. The quantum efficiency is sensitive to any change in defect density (the volume nonradiative centers density and/or the surface nonradiative centers density) but, with small dots sizes, the quantum efficiency is insensitive to such defects. Our analysis shows that the photoluminescence intensity increases or decreases by the effect of radiative quantum efficiency. By controlling the size of a-SiQDs, we note that the energy of emission can be tuned. The blue shift is attributed to quantum confinement effect. Meanwhile, the spatial confinement effect is clearly observed in red shift in emission spectra. we found a good agreement with the experimental published data. Therefore, we assert that a-SiQDs material is a promising candidate for visible, tunable, and high performance devices of light emitting.

Efficiency at Maximum Power Output of a Quantum-Mechanical Brayton Cycle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Yuan; He, Ji-Zhou; Gao, Yong; Wang, Jian-Hui

2014-03-01

The performance in finite time of a quantum-mechanical Brayton engine cycle is discussed, without introduction of temperature. The engine model consists of two quantum isoenergetic and two quantum isobaric processes, and works with a single particle in a harmonic trap. Directly employing the finite-time thermodynamics, the efficiency at maximum power output is determined. Extending the harmonic trap to a power-law trap, we find that the efficiency at maximum power is independent of any parameter involved in the model, but depends on the confinement of the trapping potential.

Reliable quantum communication over a quantum relay channel

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gyongyosi, Laszlo, E-mail: gyongyosi@hit.bme.hu; Imre, Sandor

2014-12-04

We show that reliable quantum communication over an unreliable quantum relay channels is possible. The coding scheme combines the results on the superadditivity of quantum channels and the efficient quantum coding approaches.

Quantum Dot Sensitized Solar Cells Based on TiO2/AgInS2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pawar, Sachin A.; Jeong, Jae Pil; Patil, Dipali S.; More, Vivek M.; Lee, Rochelle S.; Shin, Jae Cheol; Choi, Won Jun

2018-05-01

Quantum dot heterojunctions with type-II band alignment can efficiently separate photogenerated electron-hole pairs and, hence, are useful for solar cell studies. In this study, a quantum dot sensitized solar cell (QDSSC) made of TiO2/AgInS2 is achieved to boost the photoconversion efficiency for the TiO2-based system by varying the AgInS2 layer's thickness. The TiO2 nanorods array film is prepared by using a simple hydrothermal technique. The formation of a AgInS2 QD-sensitized TiO2-nanorod photoelectrode is carried out by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique. The effect of the QD layer on the performance of the solar cell is studied by varying the SILAR cycles of the QD coating. The synthesized electrode materials are characterized by using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy and solar cell performances. The results indicate that the nanocrystals have effectively covered the outer surfaces of the TiO2 nanorods. The interfacial structure of quantum dots (QDs)/TiO2 is also investigated, and the growth interface is verified. A careful comparison between TiO2/AgInS2 sensitized cells reveals that the trasfer of electrons and hole proceeds efficiently, the recombination is suppressed for the optimum thickness of the QD layer and light from the entire visible spectrum is utilised. Under AM 1.5G illumination, a high photocurrent of 1.36 mAcm-2 with an improved power conversion efficiency of 0.48% is obtained. The solar cell properties of our photoanodes suggest that the TiO2 nanorod array films co-sensitized by AgInS2 nanoclusters have potential applications in solar cells.

Hardware-efficient bosonic quantum error-correcting codes based on symmetry operators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niu, Murphy Yuezhen; Chuang, Isaac L.; Shapiro, Jeffrey H.

2018-03-01

We establish a symmetry-operator framework for designing quantum error-correcting (QEC) codes based on fundamental properties of the underlying system dynamics. Based on this framework, we propose three hardware-efficient bosonic QEC codes that are suitable for χ(2 )-interaction based quantum computation in multimode Fock bases: the χ(2 ) parity-check code, the χ(2 ) embedded error-correcting code, and the χ(2 ) binomial code. All of these QEC codes detect photon-loss or photon-gain errors by means of photon-number parity measurements, and then correct them via χ(2 ) Hamiltonian evolutions and linear-optics transformations. Our symmetry-operator framework provides a systematic procedure for finding QEC codes that are not stabilizer codes, and it enables convenient extension of a given encoding to higher-dimensional qudit bases. The χ(2 ) binomial code is of special interest because, with m ≤N identified from channel monitoring, it can correct m -photon-loss errors, or m -photon-gain errors, or (m -1 )th -order dephasing errors using logical qudits that are encoded in O (N ) photons. In comparison, other bosonic QEC codes require O (N2) photons to correct the same degree of bosonic errors. Such improved photon efficiency underscores the additional error-correction power that can be provided by channel monitoring. We develop quantum Hamming bounds for photon-loss errors in the code subspaces associated with the χ(2 ) parity-check code and the χ(2 ) embedded error-correcting code, and we prove that these codes saturate their respective bounds. Our χ(2 ) QEC codes exhibit hardware efficiency in that they address the principal error mechanisms and exploit the available physical interactions of the underlying hardware, thus reducing the physical resources required for implementing their encoding, decoding, and error-correction operations, and their universal encoded-basis gate sets.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Guo, Yao; Huang, Yang; Wang, Junxi

In this work, a novel carrier concentration adjusting insertion layer for InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells light-emitting diodes was proposed to mitigate the efficiency droop and improve optical output properties at high current density. The band diagrams and carrier distributions were investigated numerically and experimentally. The results indicate that due to the newly formed electron barrier and the adjusted built-in field near the active region, the hole injection has been improved and a better radiative recombination can be achieved. Compared to the conventional LED, the light output power of our new structure with the carrier concentration adjusting layers is enhanced bymore » 127% at 350 mA , while the efficiency only droops to be 88.2% of its peak efficiency.« less

The simulation of CZTS solar cell for performance improvement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Atul; Thakur, Ajay D.

2018-05-01

A Copper-Zinc-Tin-Sulphide (CZTS) based solar cell of Mo/CZTS/CdS/ZnO is simulated using SCAPS. Quantum efficiency and IV curve of the simulated output of CZTS solar cell is mapped with highest efficiency reported in literature for CZTS solar cell. A modification in back contact thus shottky barrier, spike type band alignment at the CZTS-n type layer junction and higher electron mobility (owing to alkali doping in CZT)S are implement in simulation of CZTS solar cell. An improvement in the solar cell efficiency compared to the standard cell configuration of Mo/CZTS/CdS/ZnO is found. CZTS is plagued with low Voc and low FF which can be increased by optimization as suggested in paper.

Photonic sources and detectors for quantum information protocols: A trilogy in eight parts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rangarajan, Radhika

Quantum information processing (QIP) promises to revolutionize existing methods of manipulating data, via truly unique paradigms based on fundamental nonclassical physical phenomenon. However, the eventual success of optical QIP depends critically on the available technologies. Currently, creating multiple-photon states is extremely inefficient because almost no source thus far has been well optimized. Additionally, high-efficiency single-photon detectors can drastically improve multi-photon QIP (typical efficiencies are ˜70%). In fact, it has been shown that scalable linear optical quantum computing is possible only if the product of the source and detector efficiencies exceeds ˜67%. The research presented here focuses on developing optimized source and detector technologies for enabling scalable QIP. The goal of our source research is to develop an ideal " indistinguishable" source of ultrabright polarization-entangled but spatially- and spectrally-unentangled photon pairs. We engineer such an ideal source by first designing spatio-spectrally unentangled photons using optimized and group-velocity matched spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC). Next, we generate polarization-entangled photons using the engineered SPDC. Here we present solutions to the various challenges encountered during the indistinguishable source development. We demonstrate high-fidelity ultrafast pulsed and cw-diode laser-pumped sources of polarization-entangled photons, as well as the first production of polarization-entanglement directly from the highly nonlinear biaxial crystal BiB3O6 (BiBO). We also discuss the first experimental confirmation of the emission-angle dependence of the downconversion polarization (the Migdall effect), and a novel scheme for polarization-dependent focusing. The goal of our single-photon detector research is to develop a very high-efficiency detection system that can also resolve incident photon number, a feature absent from the typical detectors employed for QIP. We discuss the various cryogenic, optical and electronic challenges encountered en route to detector development and present details on detector characterization, ultra-short electronics design and photon-number-resolution studies. The source and detector technologies developed here share a common goal: to enhance the efficiency of existing quantum protocols and pave the way for new ones. Here we discuss some of the possible benefits via a popular quantum protocol---teleportation---as well as a novel quantum communication technique---hyper-fingerprinting. Taken as a whole, this dissertation explores viable technological options for enhancing optical quantum information protocols, offers a perspective on the current status and limitations of existing technologies, and highlights the possibilities enabled by optimized photonic sources and detectors.

Highly efficient blue- and white-organic light emitting diodes base on triple-emitting layer.

PubMed

Shin, Hyun Su; Lee, Seok Jae; Lee, Ho Won; Lee, Dong Hyung; Kim, Woo Young; Yoon, Seung Soo; Kim, Young Kwan

2013-12-01

We have demonstrated highly efficient blue phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes (PHOLEDs) using iridium (III) bis[(4,6-di-fluoropheny)-pyridinato-N,C2] picolinate (Flrpic) doped in three kinds of host materials, such as 9-(4-(triphenylsilyl)phenyl)-9H-carbazole (SPC), N,N'-dicarbazolyl-3,5-benzene (mCP), and 2,2',2"-(1,3,5-benzenetriyl)tris-[1-phenyl-1H-benzimidazole] (TPBi) as triple-emitting layer (T-EML). The properties of device with T-EML using the stepwise structure was found to be superior to the other blue PHOLEDs and exhibited a maximum luminous efficiency of 23.02 cd/A, a maximum external quantum efficiency of 11.09%, and a maximum power efficiency of 14.89 lm/W, respectively. An optimal blue device has improving charge balance and triplet excitons confinement within emitting layers (EMLs) each. Additionally, we also fabricated white PHOLED using a phosphorescent red dopant, bis(2-phenylquinolinato)-acetylacetonate iridium III (Ir(pq)2acac) doped in mCP and TPBi between blue EMLs. The properties of white PHOLED showed a maximum luminous efficiency and a maximum external quantum efficiency of 33.03 cd/A and 16.95%, respectively. It also showed the white emission with CIEx,y coordinates of (x = 0.36, y = 0.39) at 10 V.

Highly Efficient Deep Blue Organic Light-Emitting Diodes Based on Imidazole: Significantly Enhanced Performance by Effective Energy Transfer with Negligible Efficiency Roll-off.

PubMed

Shan, Tong; Liu, Yulong; Tang, Xiangyang; Bai, Qing; Gao, Yu; Gao, Zhao; Li, Jinyu; Deng, Jian; Yang, Bing; Lu, Ping; Ma, Yuguang

2016-10-26

Great efforts have been devoted to develop efficient deep blue organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) materials meeting the standards of European Broadcasting Union (EBU) standard with Commission International de L'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.15, 0.06) for flat-panel displays and solid-state lightings. However, high-performance deep blue OLEDs are still rare for applications. Herein, two efficient deep blue emitters, PIMNA and PyINA, are designed and synthesized by coupling naphthalene with phenanthreneimidazole and pyreneimidazole, respectively. The balanced ambipolar transporting natures of them are demonstrated by single-carrier devices. Their nondoped OLEDs show deep blue emissions with extremely small CIE y of 0.034 for PIMNA and 0.084 for PyINA, with negligible efficiency roll-off. To take advantage of high photoluminescence quantum efficiency of PIMNA and large fraction of singlet exciton formation of PyINA, doped devices are fabricated by dispersing PyINA into PIMNA. A significantly improved maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 5.05% is obtained through very effective energy transfer with CIE coordinates of (0.156, 0.060), and the EQE remains 4.67% at 1000 cd m -2 , which is among the best of deep blue OLEDs reported matching stringent EBU standard well.

Direct determination of quantum efficiency of semiconducting films

DOEpatents

Faughnan, Brian W.; Hanak, Joseph J.

1986-01-01

Photovoltaic quantum efficiency of semiconductor samples is determined directly, without requiring that a built-in photovoltage be generated by the sample. Electrodes are attached to the sample so as to form at least one Schottky barrier therewith. When illuminated, the generated photocurrent carriers are collected by an external bias voltage impressed across the electrodes. The generated photocurrent is measured, and photovoltaic quantum efficiency is calculated therefrom.

Direct determination of quantum efficiency of semiconducting films

DOEpatents

Faughnan, B.W.; Hanak, J.J.

Photovoltaic quantum efficiency of semiconductor samples is determined directly, without requiring that a built-in photovoltage be generated by the sample. Electrodes are attached to the sample so as to form at least one Schottky barrier therewith. When illuminated, the generated photocurrent carriers are collected by an external bias voltage impressed across the electrodes. The generated photocurrent is measured, and photovoltaic quantum efficiency is calculated therefrom.

Communications: quantum teleportation across the Danube.

PubMed

Ursin, Rupert; Jennewein, Thomas; Aspelmeyer, Markus; Kaltenbaek, Rainer; Lindenthal, Michael; Walther, Philip; Zeilinger, Anton

2004-08-19

Efficient long-distance quantum teleportation is crucial for quantum communication and quantum networking schemes. Here we describe the high-fidelity teleportation of photons over a distance of 600 metres across the River Danube in Vienna, with the optimal efficiency that can be achieved using linear optics. Our result is a step towards the implementation of a quantum repeater, which will enable pure entanglement to be shared between distant parties in a public environment and eventually on a worldwide scale.

High-Efficiency Photovoltaic Devices using Trap-Controlled Quantum-Dot Ink prepared via Phase-Transfer Exchange.

PubMed

Aqoma, Havid; Al Mubarok, Muhibullah; Hadmojo, Wisnu Tantyo; Lee, Eun-Hye; Kim, Tae-Wook; Ahn, Tae Kyu; Oh, Seung-Hwan; Jang, Sung-Yeon

2017-05-01

Colloidal-quantum-dot (CQD) photovoltaic devices are promising candidates for low-cost power sources owing to their low-temperature solution processability and bandgap tunability. A power conversion efficiency (PCE) of >10% is achieved for these devices; however, there are several remaining obstacles to their commercialization, including their high energy loss due to surface trap states and the complexity of the multiple-step CQD-layer-deposition process. Herein, high-efficiency photovoltaic devices prepared with CQD-ink using a phase-transfer-exchange (PTE) method are reported. Using CQD-ink, the fabrication of active layers by single-step coating and the suppression of surface trap states are achieved simultaneously. The CQD-ink photovoltaic devices achieve much higher PCEs (10.15% with a certified PCE of 9.61%) than the control devices (7.85%) owing to improved charge drift and diffusion. Notably, the CQD-ink devices show much lower energy loss than other reported high-efficiency CQD devices. This result reveals that the PTE method is an effective strategy for controlling trap states in CQDs. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Path integrals with higher order actions: Application to realistic chemical systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindoy, Lachlan P.; Huang, Gavin S.; Jordan, Meredith J. T.

2018-02-01

Quantum thermodynamic parameters can be determined using path integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) simulations. These simulations, however, become computationally demanding as the quantum nature of the system increases, although their efficiency can be improved by using higher order approximations to the thermal density matrix, specifically the action. Here we compare the standard, primitive approximation to the action (PA) and three higher order approximations, the Takahashi-Imada action (TIA), the Suzuki-Chin action (SCA) and the Chin action (CA). The resulting PIMC methods are applied to two realistic potential energy surfaces, for H2O and HCN-HNC, both of which are spectroscopically accurate and contain three-body interactions. We further numerically optimise, for each potential, the SCA parameter and the two free parameters in the CA, obtaining more significant improvements in efficiency than seen previously in the literature. For both H2O and HCN-HNC, accounting for all required potential and force evaluations, the optimised CA formalism is approximately twice as efficient as the TIA formalism and approximately an order of magnitude more efficient than the PA. The optimised SCA formalism shows similar efficiency gains to the CA for HCN-HNC but has similar efficiency to the TIA for H2O at low temperature. In H2O and HCN-HNC systems, the optimal value of the a1 CA parameter is approximately 1/3 , corresponding to an equal weighting of all force terms in the thermal density matrix, and similar to previous studies, the optimal α parameter in the SCA was ˜0.31. Importantly, poor choice of parameter significantly degrades the performance of the SCA and CA methods. In particular, for the CA, setting a1 = 0 is not efficient: the reduction in convergence efficiency is not offset by the lower number of force evaluations. We also find that the harmonic approximation to the CA parameters, whilst providing a fourth order approximation to the action, is not optimal for these realistic potentials: numerical optimisation leads to better approximate cancellation of the fifth order terms, with deviation between the harmonic and numerically optimised parameters more marked in the more quantum H2O system. This suggests that numerically optimising the CA or SCA parameters, which can be done at high temperature, will be important in fully realising the efficiency gains of these formalisms for realistic potentials.

An Improved Quantum-Behaved Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm with Elitist Breeding for Unconstrained Optimization.

PubMed

Yang, Zhen-Lun; Wu, Angus; Min, Hua-Qing

2015-01-01

An improved quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization with elitist breeding (EB-QPSO) for unconstrained optimization is presented and empirically studied in this paper. In EB-QPSO, the novel elitist breeding strategy acts on the elitists of the swarm to escape from the likely local optima and guide the swarm to perform more efficient search. During the iterative optimization process of EB-QPSO, when criteria met, the personal best of each particle and the global best of the swarm are used to generate new diverse individuals through the transposon operators. The new generated individuals with better fitness are selected to be the new personal best particles and global best particle to guide the swarm for further solution exploration. A comprehensive simulation study is conducted on a set of twelve benchmark functions. Compared with five state-of-the-art quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization algorithms, the proposed EB-QPSO performs more competitively in all of the benchmark functions in terms of better global search capability and faster convergence rate.

Semi-stochastic full configuration interaction quantum Monte Carlo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holmes, Adam; Petruzielo, Frank; Khadilkar, Mihir; Changlani, Hitesh; Nightingale, M. P.; Umrigar, C. J.

2012-02-01

In the recently proposed full configuration interaction quantum Monte Carlo (FCIQMC) [1,2], the ground state is projected out stochastically, using a population of walkers each of which represents a basis state in the Hilbert space spanned by Slater determinants. The infamous fermion sign problem manifests itself in the fact that walkers of either sign can be spawned on a given determinant. We propose an improvement on this method in the form of a hybrid stochastic/deterministic technique, which we expect will improve the efficiency of the algorithm by ameliorating the sign problem. We test the method on atoms and molecules, e.g., carbon, carbon dimer, N2 molecule, and stretched N2. [4pt] [1] Fermion Monte Carlo without fixed nodes: a Game of Life, death and annihilation in Slater Determinant space. George Booth, Alex Thom, Ali Alavi. J Chem Phys 131, 050106, (2009).[0pt] [2] Survival of the fittest: Accelerating convergence in full configuration-interaction quantum Monte Carlo. Deidre Cleland, George Booth, and Ali Alavi. J Chem Phys 132, 041103 (2010).

Analysis and improvement of the quantum image matching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dang, Yijie; Jiang, Nan; Hu, Hao; Zhang, Wenyin

2017-11-01

We investigate the quantum image matching algorithm proposed by Jiang et al. (Quantum Inf Process 15(9):3543-3572, 2016). Although the complexity of this algorithm is much better than the classical exhaustive algorithm, there may be an error in it: After matching the area between two images, only the pixel at the upper left corner of the matched area played part in following steps. That is to say, the paper only matched one pixel, instead of an area. If more than one pixels in the big image are the same as the one at the upper left corner of the small image, the algorithm will randomly measure one of them, which causes the error. In this paper, an improved version is presented which takes full advantage of the whole matched area to locate a small image in a big image. The theoretical analysis indicates that the network complexity is higher than the previous algorithm, but it is still far lower than the classical algorithm. Hence, this algorithm is still efficient.

Graphene quantum dots to enhance the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution efficiency of anatase TiO2 with exposed {001} facet.

PubMed

Yu, Shan; Zhong, Yun-Qian; Yu, Bao-Quan; Cai, Shi-Yi; Wu, Li-Zhu; Zhou, Ying

2016-07-27

Hydrogen evolution through photocatalysis is promising with respect to the environmental problems and challenges of energy shortage that we encounter today. In this paper, we have combined graphene quantum dots (GQDs) and {001} faceted anatase TiO2 (with an exposed percentage of 65-75%) together for effective photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. A series of characterizations including X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and UV-visible absorption spectroscopy have been carried out to study the structure of the as-prepared GQDs/{001}TiO2 composite. It turns out that GQDs could be effectively decorated on {001}TiO2 sheet without changing its intrinsic structure. With an optimum loading amount of GQDs (0.5 wt% to {001}TiO2), GQDs/{001}TiO2 exhibits a hydrogen evolution efficiency 8 times higher than that of bare {001}TiO2, which is a significantly more obvious improvement than many other photocatalytic systems relevant to GQDs and TiO2 hybrids. In addition, GQDs/{001}TiO2 could stand long-term photocatalytic experiments. Photocurrent tests show that such an improvement of the photocatalytic efficiency over GQDs/{001}TiO2 may originate from a higher charge separation efficiency. The present study could offer reference for the construction of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution systems with low cost and long term stability.

Efficient entanglement distillation without quantum memory.

PubMed

Abdelkhalek, Daniela; Syllwasschy, Mareike; Cerf, Nicolas J; Fiurášek, Jaromír; Schnabel, Roman

2016-05-31

Entanglement distribution between distant parties is an essential component to most quantum communication protocols. Unfortunately, decoherence effects such as phase noise in optical fibres are known to demolish entanglement. Iterative (multistep) entanglement distillation protocols have long been proposed to overcome decoherence, but their probabilistic nature makes them inefficient since the success probability decays exponentially with the number of steps. Quantum memories have been contemplated to make entanglement distillation practical, but suitable quantum memories are not realised to date. Here, we present the theory for an efficient iterative entanglement distillation protocol without quantum memories and provide a proof-of-principle experimental demonstration. The scheme is applied to phase-diffused two-mode-squeezed states and proven to distil entanglement for up to three iteration steps. The data are indistinguishable from those that an efficient scheme using quantum memories would produce. Since our protocol includes the final measurement it is particularly promising for enhancing continuous-variable quantum key distribution.

Efficient entanglement distillation without quantum memory

PubMed Central

Abdelkhalek, Daniela; Syllwasschy, Mareike; Cerf, Nicolas J.; Fiurášek, Jaromír; Schnabel, Roman

2016-01-01

Entanglement distribution between distant parties is an essential component to most quantum communication protocols. Unfortunately, decoherence effects such as phase noise in optical fibres are known to demolish entanglement. Iterative (multistep) entanglement distillation protocols have long been proposed to overcome decoherence, but their probabilistic nature makes them inefficient since the success probability decays exponentially with the number of steps. Quantum memories have been contemplated to make entanglement distillation practical, but suitable quantum memories are not realised to date. Here, we present the theory for an efficient iterative entanglement distillation protocol without quantum memories and provide a proof-of-principle experimental demonstration. The scheme is applied to phase-diffused two-mode-squeezed states and proven to distil entanglement for up to three iteration steps. The data are indistinguishable from those that an efficient scheme using quantum memories would produce. Since our protocol includes the final measurement it is particularly promising for enhancing continuous-variable quantum key distribution. PMID:27241946

Efficient hydrogen isotopologues separation through a tunable potential barrier: The case of a C2N membrane.

PubMed

Qu, Yuanyuan; Li, Feng; Zhao, Mingwen

2017-05-03

Isotopes separation through quantum sieving effect of membranes is quite promising for industrial applications. For the light hydrogen isotopologues (eg. H 2 , D 2 ), the confinement of potential wells in porous membranes to isotopologues was commonly regarded to be crucial for highly efficient separation ability. Here, we demonstrate from first-principles that a potential barrier is also favorable for efficient hydrogen isotopologues separation. Taking an already-synthesized two-dimensional carbon nitride (C 2 N-h2D) as an example, we predict that the competition between quantum tunneling and zero-point-energy (ZPE) effects regulated by the tensile strain leads to high selectivity and permeance. Both kinetic quantum sieving and equilibrium quantum sieving effects are considered. The quantum effects revealed in this work offer a prospective strategy for highly efficient hydrogen isotopologues separation.

Nanostructured organosilicon luminophores and their application in highly efficient plastic scintillators

PubMed Central

Ponomarenko, Sergei A.; Surin, Nikolay M.; Borshchev, Oleg V.; Luponosov, Yuriy N.; Akimov, Dmitry Y.; Alexandrov, Ivan S.; Burenkov, Alexander A.; Kovalenko, Alexey G.; Stekhanov, Viktor N.; Kleymyuk, Elena A.; Gritsenko, Oleg T.; Cherkaev, Georgiy V.; Kechek'yan, Alexander S.; Serenko, Olga A.; Muzafarov, Aziz M.

2014-01-01

Organic luminophores are widely used in various optoelectronic devices, which serve for photonics, nuclear and particle physics, quantum electronics, medical diagnostics and many other fields of science and technology. Improving their spectral-luminescent characteristics for particular technical requirements of the devices is a challenging task. Here we show a new concept to universal solution of this problem by creation of nanostructured organosilicon luminophores (NOLs), which are a particular type of dendritic molecular antennas. They combine the best properties of organic luminophores and inorganic quantum dots: high absorption cross-section, excellent photoluminescence quantum yield, fast luminescence decay time and good processability. A NOL consists of two types of covalently bonded via silicon atoms organic luminophores with efficient Förster energy transfer between them. Using NOLs in plastic scintillators, widely utilized for radiation detection and in elementary particles discoveries, led to a breakthrough in their efficiency, which combines both high light output and fast decay time. Moreover, for the first time plastic scintillators, which emit light in the desired wavelength region ranging from 370 to 700 nm, have been created. We anticipate further applications of NOLs as working elements of pulsed dye lasers in photonics, optoelectronics and as fluorescent labels in biology and medical diagnostics. PMID:25293808

Efficient tree tensor network states (TTNS) for quantum chemistry: Generalizations of the density matrix renormalization group algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakatani, Naoki; Chan, Garnet Kin-Lic

2013-04-01

We investigate tree tensor network states for quantum chemistry. Tree tensor network states represent one of the simplest generalizations of matrix product states and the density matrix renormalization group. While matrix product states encode a one-dimensional entanglement structure, tree tensor network states encode a tree entanglement structure, allowing for a more flexible description of general molecules. We describe an optimal tree tensor network state algorithm for quantum chemistry. We introduce the concept of half-renormalization which greatly improves the efficiency of the calculations. Using our efficient formulation we demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of tree tensor network states versus matrix product states. We carry out benchmark calculations both on tree systems (hydrogen trees and π-conjugated dendrimers) as well as non-tree molecules (hydrogen chains, nitrogen dimer, and chromium dimer). In general, tree tensor network states require much fewer renormalized states to achieve the same accuracy as matrix product states. In non-tree molecules, whether this translates into a computational savings is system dependent, due to the higher prefactor and computational scaling associated with tree algorithms. In tree like molecules, tree network states are easily superior to matrix product states. As an illustration, our largest dendrimer calculation with tree tensor network states correlates 110 electrons in 110 active orbitals.

Ultrafast carrier dynamics in GaN/InGaN multiple quantum wells nanorods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Weijian; Wen, Xiaoming; Latzel, Michael; Yang, Jianfeng; Huang, Shujuan; Shrestha, Santosh; Patterson, Robert; Christiansen, Silke; Conibeer, Gavin

2018-01-01

GaN/InGaN multiple quantum wells (MQW) is a promising material for high-efficiency solid-state lighting. Ultrafast optical pump-probe spectroscopy is an important characterization technique for examining fundamental phenomena in semiconductor nanostructure with sub-picosecond resolution. In this study, ultrafast exciton and charge carrier dynamics in GaN/InGaN MQW planar layer and nanorod are investigated using femtosecond transient absorption (TA) techniques at room temperature. Here nanorods are fabricated by etching the GaN/InGaN MQW planar layers using nanosphere lithography and reactive ion etching. Photoluminescence efficiency of the nanorods have been proved to be much higher than that of the planar layers, but the mechanism of the nanorod structure improvement of PL efficiency is not adequately studied. By comparing the TA profile of the GaN/InGaN MQW planar layers and nanorods, the impact of surface states and nanorods lateral confinement in the ultrafast carrier dynamics of GaN/InGaN MQW is revealed. The nanorod sidewall surface states have a strong influence on the InGaN quantum well carrier dynamics. The ultrafast relaxation processes studied in this GaN/InGaN MQW nanostructure is essential for further optimization of device application.

Optimization of Light-Harvesting Pigment Improves Photosynthetic Efficiency.

PubMed

Jin, Honglei; Li, Mengshu; Duan, Sujuan; Fu, Mei; Dong, Xiaoxiao; Liu, Bing; Feng, Dongru; Wang, Jinfa; Wang, Hong-Bin

2016-11-01

Maximizing light capture by light-harvesting pigment optimization represents an attractive but challenging strategy to improve photosynthetic efficiency. Here, we report that loss of a previously uncharacterized gene, HIGH PHOTOSYNTHETIC EFFICIENCY1 (HPE1), optimizes light-harvesting pigments, leading to improved photosynthetic efficiency and biomass production. Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) hpe1 mutants show faster electron transport and increased contents of carbohydrates. HPE1 encodes a chloroplast protein containing an RNA recognition motif that directly associates with and regulates the splicing of target RNAs of plastid genes. HPE1 also interacts with other plastid RNA-splicing factors, including CAF1 and OTP51, which share common targets with HPE1. Deficiency of HPE1 alters the expression of nucleus-encoded chlorophyll-related genes, probably through plastid-to-nucleus signaling, causing decreased total content of chlorophyll (a+b) in a limited range but increased chlorophyll a/b ratio. Interestingly, this adjustment of light-harvesting pigment reduces antenna size, improves light capture, decreases energy loss, mitigates photodamage, and enhances photosynthetic quantum yield during photosynthesis. Our findings suggest a novel strategy to optimize light-harvesting pigments that improves photosynthetic efficiency and biomass production in higher plants. © 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

Optimization of Light-Harvesting Pigment Improves Photosynthetic Efficiency1[OPEN

PubMed Central

Jin, Honglei; Li, Mengshu; Duan, Sujuan; Fu, Mei; Dong, Xiaoxiao; Feng, Dongru; Wang, Jinfa

2016-01-01

Maximizing light capture by light-harvesting pigment optimization represents an attractive but challenging strategy to improve photosynthetic efficiency. Here, we report that loss of a previously uncharacterized gene, HIGH PHOTOSYNTHETIC EFFICIENCY1 (HPE1), optimizes light-harvesting pigments, leading to improved photosynthetic efficiency and biomass production. Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) hpe1 mutants show faster electron transport and increased contents of carbohydrates. HPE1 encodes a chloroplast protein containing an RNA recognition motif that directly associates with and regulates the splicing of target RNAs of plastid genes. HPE1 also interacts with other plastid RNA-splicing factors, including CAF1 and OTP51, which share common targets with HPE1. Deficiency of HPE1 alters the expression of nucleus-encoded chlorophyll-related genes, probably through plastid-to-nucleus signaling, causing decreased total content of chlorophyll (a+b) in a limited range but increased chlorophyll a/b ratio. Interestingly, this adjustment of light-harvesting pigment reduces antenna size, improves light capture, decreases energy loss, mitigates photodamage, and enhances photosynthetic quantum yield during photosynthesis. Our findings suggest a novel strategy to optimize light-harvesting pigments that improves photosynthetic efficiency and biomass production in higher plants. PMID:27609860

Enhanced Luminescence Performance of Quantum Wells by Coupling Piezo-Phototronic with Plasmonic Effects.

PubMed

Huang, Xin; Jiang, Chunyan; Du, Chunhua; Jing, Liang; Liu, Mengmeng; Hu, Weiguo; Wang, Zhong Lin

2016-12-27

With a promising prospect of light-emitting diodes as an attractive alternative to conventional light sources, remaining challenges still cannot be addressed owing to their limited efficiency. Among the continued scientific efforts, significant improvement on the emission efficiency has been achieved via either piezo-phototronic effect-based strain modulation or resonant excitation of plasmons in metallic nanostructures. Here, we present the investigation on the coupling process between piezo-phototronic effect and localized surface plasmonic resonance for enhancing the photoluminescence of InGaN/GaN quantum wells coated with Ag nanoparticles. The underlying physical mechanism of experimental results originates from tuning plasmonic resonance controlled by the shift of emission wavelength via piezo-phototronic effect, and it is further confirmed with the support of theoretical calculations. As a result, our research provides an approach to the integration of plasmonics with piezo-phototronic effect and brings widespread applications to high-efficiency artificial lighting, on-chip integrated plasmonic circuits, subwavelength optical communication, and micro-optoelectronic mechanical systems.

Waveguide based compact silicon Schottky photodetector with enhanced responsivity in the telecom spectral band.

PubMed

Goykhman, Ilya; Desiatov, Boris; Khurgin, Jacob; Shappir, Joseph; Levy, Uriel

2012-12-17

We experimentally demonstrate an on-chip compact and simple to fabricate silicon Schottky photodetector for telecom wavelengths operating on the basis of internal photoemission process. The device is realized using CMOS compatible approach of local-oxidation of silicon, which enables the realization of the photodetector and low-loss bus photonic waveguide at the same fabrication step. The photodetector demonstrates enhanced internal responsivity of 12.5mA/W for operation wavelength of 1.55µm corresponding to an internal quantum efficiency of 1%, about two orders of magnitude higher than our previously demonstrated results [22]. We attribute this improved detection efficiency to the presence of surface roughness at the boundary between the materials forming the Schottky contact. The combination of enhanced quantum efficiency together with a simple fabrication process provides a promising platform for the realization of all silicon photodetectors and their integration with other nanophotonic and nanoplasmonic structures towards the construction of monolithic silicon opto-electronic circuitry on-chip.

Energy Level Tuning of Poly(phenylene-alt-dithienobenzothiadiazole)s for Low Photon Energy Loss Solar Cells.

PubMed

Heuvel, Ruurd; van Franeker, Jacobus J; Janssen, René A J

2017-03-01

Six poly(phenylene- alt -dithienobenzothiadiazole)-based polymers have been synthesized for application in polymer-fullerene solar cells. Hydrogen, fluorine, or nitrile substitution on benzo-thiadiazole and alkoxy or ester substitution on the phenylene moiety are investigated to reduce the energy loss per converted photon. Power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) up to 6.6% have been obtained. The best performance is found for the polymer-fullerene combination with distinct phase separation and crystalline domains. This improves the maximum external quantum efficiency for charge formation and collection to 66%. The resulting higher photocurrent compensates for the relatively large energy loss per photon ( E loss = 0.97 eV) in achieving a high PCE. By contrast, the poly-mer that provides a reduced energy loss ( E loss = 0.49 eV) gives a lower photocurrent and a reduced PCE of 1.8% because the external quantum efficiency of 17% is limited by a suboptimal morphology and a reduced driving force for charge transfer.

Engineering a Robust Photovoltaic Device with Quantum Dots and Bacteriorhodopsin

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

We present a route toward a radical improvement in solar cell efficiency using resonant energy transfer and sensitization of semiconductor metal oxides with a light-harvesting quantum dot (QD)/bacteriorhodopsin (bR) layer designed by protein engineering. The specific aims of our approach are (1) controlled engineering of highly ordered bR/QD complexes; (2) replacement of the liquid electrolyte by a thin layer of gold; (3) highly oriented deposition of bR/QD complexes on a gold layer; and (4) use of the Forster resonance energy transfer coupling between bR and QDs to achieve an efficient absorbing layer for dye-sensitized solar cells. This proposed approach is based on the unique optical characteristics of QDs, on the photovoltaic properties of bR, and on state-of-the-art nanobioengineering technologies. It permits spatial and optical coupling together with control of hybrid material components on the bionanoscale. This method paves the way to the development of the solid-state photovoltaic device with the efficiency increased to practical levels. PMID:25383133

Hybrid Integration of Solid-State Quantum Emitters on a Silicon Photonic Chip.

PubMed

Kim, Je-Hyung; Aghaeimeibodi, Shahriar; Richardson, Christopher J K; Leavitt, Richard P; Englund, Dirk; Waks, Edo

2017-12-13

Scalable quantum photonic systems require efficient single photon sources coupled to integrated photonic devices. Solid-state quantum emitters can generate single photons with high efficiency, while silicon photonic circuits can manipulate them in an integrated device structure. Combining these two material platforms could, therefore, significantly increase the complexity of integrated quantum photonic devices. Here, we demonstrate hybrid integration of solid-state quantum emitters to a silicon photonic device. We develop a pick-and-place technique that can position epitaxially grown InAs/InP quantum dots emitting at telecom wavelengths on a silicon photonic chip deterministically with nanoscale precision. We employ an adiabatic tapering approach to transfer the emission from the quantum dots to the waveguide with high efficiency. We also incorporate an on-chip silicon-photonic beamsplitter to perform a Hanbury-Brown and Twiss measurement. Our approach could enable integration of precharacterized III-V quantum photonic devices into large-scale photonic structures to enable complex devices composed of many emitters and photons.

Internal quantum efficiency in yellow-amber light emitting AlGaN-InGaN-GaN heterostructures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ngo, Thi Huong; Gil, Bernard; Valvin, Pierre

2015-09-21

We determine the internal quantum efficiency of strain-balanced AlGaN-InGaN-GaN hetero-structures designed for yellow-amber light emission, by using a recent model based on the kinetics of the photoluminescence decay initiated by Iwata et al. [J. Appl. Phys. 117, 075701 (2015)]. Our results indicate that low temperature internal quantum efficiencies sit in the 50% range and we measure that adding an AlGaN layer increases the internal quantum efficiency from 50% up to 57% with respect to the GaN-InGaN case. More dramatic, it almost doubles from 2.5% up to 4.3% at room temperature.

(11-22) semipolar InGaN emitters from green to amber on overgrown GaN on micro-rod templates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bai, J., E-mail: j.bai@sheffield.ac.uk; Xu, B.; Guzman, F. G.

2015-12-28

We demonstrate semipolar InGaN single-quantum-well light emitting diodes (LEDs) in the green, yellow-green, yellow and amber spectral region. The LEDs are grown on our overgrown semipolar (11-22) GaN on micro-rod array templates, which are fabricated on (11-22) GaN grown on m-plane sapphire. Electroluminescence measurements on the (11-22) green LED show a reduced blue-shift in the emission wavelength with increasing driving current, compared to a reference commercial c-plane LED. The blue-shifts for the yellow-green and yellow LEDs are also significantly reduced. All these suggest an effective suppression in quantum confined Stark effect in our (11-22) LEDs. On-wafer measurements yield a linearmore » increase in the light output with the current, and external quantum efficiency demonstrates a significant improvement in the efficiency-droop compared to a commercial c-plane LED. Electro-luminescence polarization measurements show a polarization ratio of about 25% in our semipolar LEDs.« less

Hacking the Bell test using classical light in energy-time entanglement-based quantum key distribution.

PubMed

Jogenfors, Jonathan; Elhassan, Ashraf Mohamed; Ahrens, Johan; Bourennane, Mohamed; Larsson, Jan-Åke

2015-12-01

Photonic systems based on energy-time entanglement have been proposed to test local realism using the Bell inequality. A violation of this inequality normally also certifies security of device-independent quantum key distribution (QKD) so that an attacker cannot eavesdrop or control the system. We show how this security test can be circumvented in energy-time entangled systems when using standard avalanche photodetectors, allowing an attacker to compromise the system without leaving a trace. We reach Bell values up to 3.63 at 97.6% faked detector efficiency using tailored pulses of classical light, which exceeds even the quantum prediction. This is the first demonstration of a violation-faking source that gives both tunable violation and high faked detector efficiency. The implications are severe: the standard Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt inequality cannot be used to show device-independent security for energy-time entanglement setups based on Franson's configuration. However, device-independent security can be reestablished, and we conclude by listing a number of improved tests and experimental setups that would protect against all current and future attacks of this type.

Efficient two-step photocarrier generation in bias-controlled InAs/GaAs quantum dot superlattice intermediate-band solar cells.

PubMed

Kada, T; Asahi, S; Kaizu, T; Harada, Y; Tamaki, R; Okada, Y; Kita, T

2017-07-19

We studied the effects of the internal electric field on two-step photocarrier generation in InAs/GaAs quantum dot superlattice (QDSL) intermediate-band solar cells (IBSCs). The external quantum efficiency of QDSL-IBSCs was measured as a function of the internal electric field intensity, and compared with theoretical calculations accounting for interband and intersubband photoexcitations. The extra photocurrent caused by the two-step photoexcitation was maximal for a reversely biased electric field, while the current generated by the interband photoexcitation increased monotonically with increasing electric field intensity. The internal electric field in solar cells separated photogenerated electrons and holes in the superlattice (SL) miniband that played the role of an intermediate band, and the electron lifetime was extended to the microsecond scale, which improved the intersubband transition strength, therefore increasing the two-step photocurrent. There was a trade-off relation between the carrier separation enhancing the two-step photoexcitation and the electric-field-induced carrier escape from QDSLs. These results validate that long-lifetime electrons are key to maximising the two-step photocarrier generation in QDSL-IBSCs.

The Influence of Geometrical Structure of AlInGaN Double Quantum Well (DQWs) UV Diode Laser on Its Performance and Operating Parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghazai, A. J.; Thahab, S. M.; Hassan, H. Abu; Hassan, Z.

2010-07-01

The development of efficient MQWs active regions of quaternary InAlGaN in the ultraviolet (UV) region is an engaging challenge by itself. Demonstrating lasers at such low wavelength will require resolving a number of materials, growth and device design issues. However, the quaternary AlInGaN represents a more versatile material since the bandgap and lattice constant can be independently varied. We report a quaternary AlInGaN double-quantum wells (DQWs) UV laser diode (LDs) study by using the simulation program of Integrated System Engineering-Technical Computer Aided Design (ISE TCAD). Advanced physical models of semiconductor properties were used. In this paper, the enhancement in the performance of AlInGaN laser diode can be achieved by optimizing the laser structure geometry design. The AlInGaN laser diodes operating parameters such as internal quantum efficiency ηi, internal loss αi and transparency threshold current density show effective improvements that contribute to a better performance.

In Situ Generation and Consumption of H2O2 by Bienzyme-Quantum Dots Bioconjugates for Improved Chemiluminescence Resonance Energy Transfer.

PubMed

Xu, Shuxia; Li, Xianming; Li, Chaobi; Li, Jialin; Zhang, Xinfeng; Wu, Peng; Hou, Xiandeng

2016-06-21

Exploration of quantum dots (QDs) as energy acceptors revolutionizes the current chemiluminescence resonance energy transfer (CRET), since QDs possess large Stokes shifts and high luminescence efficiency. However, the strong and high concentration of oxidant (typically H2O2) needed for luminol chemiluminescence (CL) reaction could cause oxidative quenching to QDs, thereby decreasing the CRET performance. Here we proposed the use of bienzyme-QDs bioconjugate as the energy acceptor for improved CRET sensing. Two enzymes, one for H2O2 generation (oxidase) and another for H2O2 consumption (horseradish peroxidase, HRP), were bioconjugated onto the surface of QDs. The bienzyme allowed fast in situ cascaded H2O2 generation and consumption, thus alleviating fluorescence quenching of QDs. The nanosized QDs accommodate the two enzymes in a nanometric range, and the CL reaction was confined on the surface of QDs accordingly, thereby amplifying the CL reaction rate and improving CRET efficiency. As a result, CRET efficiency of 30-38% was obtained; the highest CRET efficiency by far was obtained using QDs as the energy acceptor. The proposed CRET system could be explored for ultrasensitive sensing of various oxidase substrates (here exemplified with cholesterol, glucose, and benzylamine), allowing for quantitative measurement of a spectrum of metabolites with high sensitivity and specificity. Limits of detection (LOD, 3σ) for cholesterol, glucose, and benzylamine were found to be 0.8, 3.4, and 10 nM, respectively. Furthermore, multiparametric blood analysis (glucose and cholesterol) is demonstrated.

Enhanced Internal Quantum Efficiency in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: Effect of Long-Lived Charge-Separated State of Sensitizers.

PubMed

Sun, Haiya; Liu, Dongzhi; Wang, Tianyang; Lu, Ting; Li, Wei; Ren, Siyao; Hu, Wenping; Wang, Lichang; Zhou, Xueqin

2017-03-22

Effective charge separation is one of the key determinants for the photovoltaic performance of the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Herein, two charge-separated (CS) sensitizers, MTPA-Pyc and YD-Pyc, have been synthesized and applied in DSSCs to investigate the effect of the CS states of the sensitizers on the device's efficiency. The CS states with lifetimes of 64 and 177 ns for MTPA-Pyc and YD-Pyc, respectively, are formed via the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) from the 4-styryltriphenylamine (MTPA) or 4-styrylindoline (YD) donor to the pyrimidine cyanoacrylic acid (Pyc) acceptor. DSSCs based on MTPA-Pyc and YD-Pyc exhibit high internal quantum efficiency (IQE) values of over 80% from 400 to 600 nm. In comparison, the IQEs of the charge transfer (CT) sensitizer cells are 10-30% lower in the same wavelength range. The enhanced IQE values in the devices based on the CS sensitizers are ascribed to the higher electron injection efficiencies and slower charge recombination. The results demonstrate that taking advantage of the CS states in the sensitizers can be a promising strategy to improve the IQEs and further enhance the overall efficiencies of the DSSCs.

Optimization of single photon detection model based on GM-APD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yu; Yang, Yi; Hao, Peiyu

2017-11-01

One hundred kilometers high precision laser ranging hopes the detector has very strong detection ability for very weak light. At present, Geiger-Mode of Avalanche Photodiode has more use. It has high sensitivity and high photoelectric conversion efficiency. Selecting and designing the detector parameters according to the system index is of great importance to the improvement of photon detection efficiency. Design optimization requires a good model. In this paper, we research the existing Poisson distribution model, and consider the important detector parameters of dark count rate, dead time, quantum efficiency and so on. We improve the optimization of detection model, select the appropriate parameters to achieve optimal photon detection efficiency. The simulation is carried out by using Matlab and compared with the actual test results. The rationality of the model is verified. It has certain reference value in engineering applications.

Large enhancement in photocurrent by Mn doping in CdSe/ZTO quantum dot sensitized solar cells.

PubMed

Pimachev, Artem; Poudyal, Uma; Proshchenko, Vitaly; Wang, Wenyong; Dahnovsky, Yuri

2016-09-29

We find a large enhancement in the efficiency of CdSe quantum dot sensitized solar cells by doping with manganese. In the presence of Mn impurities in relatively small concentrations (2.3%) the photoelectric current increases by up to 190%. The average photocurrent enhancement is about 160%. This effect cannot be explained by a light absorption mechanism because the experimental and theoretical absorption spectra demonstrate that there is no change in the absorption coefficient in the presence of the Mn impurities. To explain such a large increase in the injection current we propose a tunneling mechanism of electron injection from the quantum dot LUMO state to the Zn 2 SnO 4 (ZTO) semiconductor photoanode. The calculated enhancement is approximately equal to 150% which is very close to the experimental average value of 160%. The relative discrepancy between the calculated and experimentally measured ratios of the IPCE currents is only 6.25%. For other mechanisms (such as electron trapping, etc.) the remaining 6.25% cannot explain the large change in the experimental IPCE. Thus we have indirectly proved that electron tunneling is the major mechanism of photocurrent enhancement. This work proposes a new approach for a significant improvement in the efficiency of quantum dot sensitized solar cells.

Fabrication of green dye-sensitized solar cell based on ZnO nanoparticles as a photoanode and graphene quantum dots as a photo-sensitizer.

PubMed

Zamiri, Golnoush; Bagheri, Samira

2018-02-01

Zero-dimensional graphene quantum dots (GQDs) consist of single- or few-layer graphene with a size less than 20 nm and stand for a new type of QDs with unique properties combining the graphene nature and size-resulted quantum effects. GQDs possess unique optical and electronic properties, and in particular possess a band-gap less than 2.0 eV because of quantum confinement and edge effects. In this study, we investigated the performance of DSSCs using different thicknesses of ZnO nanoparticles as a photo-anode and GQDs as a green photosensitizer. The current voltage (I-V) test results indicate that the performance of DSSCs is improved by increasing the thickness of the photo-anode and the thickness of 40 μm shows the highest efficiency for DSSC device based on ZnO nanoparticles photo-anodes. The DSSC using ZnO nanoparticles as a photo-anode with thickness of 40 μm shows almost same efficiency when we replaced N-719 with GQDs which is confirmed that using GQDs as an alternative to ruthenium based dyes is a new approach for DSSCs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Synthesis and effect of Sr substitution on fluorescence of new Ba 2-xSr xZnS 3: Eu 2+ red phosphor: Considerable enhancement of emission intensity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Chi-Woo; Petrykin, Valery; Kakihana, Masato

2009-01-01

A series of 0.5 mol% Eu 2+-activated Ba 2-xSr xZnS 3 phosphor materials were synthesized using precursors prepared by the polymerizable complex method and their fluorescent properties were studied for the first time. It was found that Sr substitution for Ba leads to the considerable improvement of internal quantum efficiency and emission intensity in these materials compared to Ba 2ZnS 3, while emission peak wavelength exhibits a blue shift from 680 to 660 nm. Rietveld refinement of crystal structure of sample with x=0.7 suggests that Sr ions preferentially occupy one of two Ba sites in this compound. Such a structural re-arrangement might be responsible for the observed quantum efficiency dependence on Sr concentration.

Low-voltage polariton electroluminescence from an ultrastrongly coupled organic light-emitting diode

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gubbin, Christopher R.; Maier, Stefan A.; Kéna-Cohen, Stéphane, E-mail: s.kena-cohen@polymtl.ca

2014-06-09

We demonstrate electroluminescence from Frenkel molecular excitons ultrastrongly coupled to photons of a metal-clad microcavity containing a 2,7-bis[9,9-di(4-methylphenyl)-fluoren-2-yl]-9,9-di(4-methylphenyl)fluorene emissive layer. Thin layers of molybdenum oxide and 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline are used as hole and electron injection layers, respectively. The fabricated devices exhibit an electroluminescence threshold of 3.1 V, a value that is below the bare exciton energy. This result is found to be independent of detuning and consistent with a two-step process for polariton formation. Moreover, we investigate the quantum efficiency of carrier to polariton to photon conversion and obtain an external quantum efficiency of 0.1% for the fabricated structures, an improvement ofmore » 5 orders of magnitude over previous reports.« less

Influence of intra-pigment vibrations on dynamics of photosynthetic exciton.

PubMed

Sato, Yoshihiro; Doolittle, Brian

2014-11-14

We have numerically investigated the effect of an underdamped intra-pigment vibrational mode on an exciton's quantum coherence and energy transfer efficiency. Our model describes a bacteriochlorophyll a pigment-protein dimer under the conditions at which photosynthetic energy transfer occurs. The dimer is modeled using a theoretical treatment of a vibronic exciton, and its dynamics are numerically analyzed using a non-Markovian and non-perturbative method. We examined the system's response to various values of the Huang-Rhys factor, site energy difference, reorganization energy, and reorganization energy difference. We found that the inclusion of the intra-pigment vibronic mode allows for long-lived oscillatory quantum coherences to occur. This excitonic coherence is robust against static site-energy disorder. The vibrational mode also promotes exciton transfer along the site-energy landscape thus improving the overall energy transfer efficiency.

Sub-microWatt threshold nanoisland lasers

PubMed Central

Jang, Hoon; Karnadi, Indra; Pramudita, Putu; Song, Jung-Hwan; Soo Kim, Ki; Lee, Yong-Hee

2015-01-01

Ultralow threshold nanolasers have been sought after as power efficient light sources in photonic integrated circuits. Here a single-cell nanobeam laser with a nanoisland quantum well is proposed and demonstrated. Continuous operation at 1.5 μm is achieved at room temperature with an ultralow lasing threshold of 210 nW in absorbed power. The size of the active medium is reduced to 0.7 × 0.25 × 0.02 μm3 by removing the absorptive quantum well region surrounding the central cavity. Relatively thick (420 nm) InP slabs are employed to improve the thermal and mechanical characteristics. The nanoisland-based structures will provide a new platform to engineer fundamental light–matter interactions by controlling the size and the location of the nanoemitters, allowing the realization of highly efficient nanophotonic devices. PMID:26391800

Quantum leadership: the implication for Iranian nursing leaders.

PubMed

Dargahi, Hossein

2013-07-13

Quantum organizations are referred where stakeholders know how to access the infinite potential of the quantum field. Viewing healthcare organizations from perspective of quantum theory suggest new approaches into management techniques for effective and efficient delivery of healthcare services. This research is aimed to determine the quantum skills, quantum leadership characteristics and functions of Tehran University of Medical Sciences hospitals' nursing administrators. A cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study was conducted among 25 nursing administrators of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) hospitals, Tehran, Iran. The research tool for data collection was a self-constructed questionnaire that measured the quantum skills, quantum leadership characteristics and functions of TUMS hospitals' nursing administrators. The validity of questionnaire was confirmed by 5 management science experts and its reliability was performed by using test-retest method yielded a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.90. Data were collected and analyzed by SPSS software and t-test statistical methods. The results of this research showed that all respondents had desired quantum skills (75.71±5.98), quantum leadership characteristics (82.01±6.77), and quantum leadership functions (78.57±6.28) and total quantum leadership (78.76±4.50). Also, passing management training courses of the respondents was significantly correlated with their quantum leadership. Iranian healthcare organizations require quantum leadership that provides an important resource to advance Iranian nursing leadership to the organizational excellence. We hope Iranian hospitals' nursing leaders who have quantum skills potentially, present a highly developed sense of self and the ability to improve nursing care outcomes in these hospitals.

Colossal photo-conductive gain in low temperature processed TiO2 films and their application in quantum dot solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mandal, Debranjan; Goswami, Prasenjit N.; Rath, Arup K.

2017-03-01

Colloidal quantum dot (QD) solar cells have seen remarkable progress in recent past to reach the certified efficiency of 10.6%. Anatase titanium oxide (TiO2) is a widely studied n-type widow layer for the collection of photogenerated electrons in QD solar cells. Requirement of high temperature (˜500 °C) processing steps proved to be disadvantageous for its applications in flexible solar cells and roll to roll processing, and it also has adverse commercial implications. Here, we report that solar light exposure to low temperature processed (80 °C-150 °C) TiO2 and niobium doped TiO2 films leads to unprecedented enhancement in their electron densities and electron mobilities, which enables them to be used as efficient n-type layers in quantum dot solar cells. Such photoinduced high conducting states in these films show gradual decay over hours after the light bias is taken off and can be retrieved under solar illumination. On the contrary, TiO2 films processed at 500 °C show marginal photo induced enhancements in their characteristics. In bilayer configuration with PbS QDs, photovoltaic devices based on low temperature processed TiO2 films show improved performance over high temperature processed TiO2 films. The stability of photovoltaic devices also improved in low temperature processed TiO2 films under ambient working conditions.

Application of fermionic marginal constraints to hybrid quantum algorithms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rubin, Nicholas C.; Babbush, Ryan; McClean, Jarrod

2018-05-01

Many quantum algorithms, including recently proposed hybrid classical/quantum algorithms, make use of restricted tomography of the quantum state that measures the reduced density matrices, or marginals, of the full state. The most straightforward approach to this algorithmic step estimates each component of the marginal independently without making use of the algebraic and geometric structure of the marginals. Within the field of quantum chemistry, this structure is termed the fermionic n-representability conditions, and is supported by a vast amount of literature on both theoretical and practical results related to their approximations. In this work, we introduce these conditions in the language of quantum computation, and utilize them to develop several techniques to accelerate and improve practical applications for quantum chemistry on quantum computers. As a general result, we demonstrate how these marginals concentrate to diagonal quantities when measured on random quantum states. We also show that one can use fermionic n-representability conditions to reduce the total number of measurements required by more than an order of magnitude for medium sized systems in chemistry. As a practical demonstration, we simulate an efficient restoration of the physicality of energy curves for the dilation of a four qubit diatomic hydrogen system in the presence of three distinct one qubit error channels, providing evidence these techniques are useful for pre-fault tolerant quantum chemistry experiments.

Fused Silica Ion Trap Chip with Efficient Optical Collection System for Timekeeping, Sensing, and Emulation

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-22

applications in fast single photon sources, quantum repeater circuitry, and high fidelity remote entanglement of atoms for quantum information protocols. We...fluorescence for motion/force sensors through Doppler velocimetry; and for the efficient collection of single photons from trapped ions for...Doppler velocimetry; and for the efficient collection of single photons from trapped ions for applications in fast single photon sources, quantum

All-photonic quantum repeaters

PubMed Central

Azuma, Koji; Tamaki, Kiyoshi; Lo, Hoi-Kwong

2015-01-01

Quantum communication holds promise for unconditionally secure transmission of secret messages and faithful transfer of unknown quantum states. Photons appear to be the medium of choice for quantum communication. Owing to photon losses, robust quantum communication over long lossy channels requires quantum repeaters. It is widely believed that a necessary and highly demanding requirement for quantum repeaters is the existence of matter quantum memories. Here we show that such a requirement is, in fact, unnecessary by introducing the concept of all-photonic quantum repeaters based on flying qubits. In particular, we present a protocol based on photonic cluster-state machine guns and a loss-tolerant measurement equipped with local high-speed active feedforwards. We show that, with such all-photonic quantum repeaters, the communication efficiency scales polynomially with the channel distance. Our result paves a new route towards quantum repeaters with efficient single-photon sources rather than matter quantum memories. PMID:25873153

Integration of a terahertz quantum cascade laser with a hollow waveguide

DOEpatents

Wanke, Michael C [Albuquerque, NM; Nordquist, Christopher D [Albuquerque, NM

2012-07-03

The present invention is directed to the integration of a quantum cascade laser with a hollow waveguide on a chip to improve both the beam pattern and manufacturability. By coupling the QCL output into a single-mode rectangular waveguide the radiation mode structure can be known and the propagation, manipulation, and broadcast of the QCL radiation can then be entirely controlled by well-established rectangular waveguide techniques. By controlling the impedance of the interface, enhanced functions, such as creating amplifiers, efficient coupling to external cavities, and increasing power output from metal-metal THz QCLs, are also enabled.

Less severe processing improves carbon nanotube photovoltaic performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shea, Matthew J.; Wang, Jialiang; Flach, Jessica T.; Zanni, Martin T.; Arnold, Michael S.

2018-05-01

Thin film semiconducting single walled carbon nanotube (s-SWCNT) photovoltaics suffer losses due to trapping and quenching of excitons by defects induced when dispersing s-SWCNTs into solution. We study these aspects by preparing photovoltaic devices from (6,5) carbon nanotubes isolated by different processes: extended ultrasonication, brief ultrasonication, and shear force mixing. Peak quantum efficiency increases from 28% to 38% to 49% as the processing harshness decreases and is attributed to both increasing s-SWCNT length and reducing sidewall defects. Fill-factor and open-circuit voltage also improve with shear force mixing, highlighting the importance of obtaining long, defect-free s-SWCNTs for efficient photoconversion devices.

High performance terahertz metasurface quantum-cascade VECSEL with an intra-cryostat cavity

DOE PAGES

Xu, Luyao; Curwen, Christopher A.; Reno, John L.; ...

2017-09-04

A terahertz quantum-cascade (QC) vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting-laser (VECSEL) is demonstrated with over 5 mW power in continuous-wave and single-mode operation above 77 K, in combination with a near-Gaussian beam pattern with full-width half-max divergence as narrow as ~5° × 5°, with no evidence of thermal lensing. This is realized by creating an intra-cryostat VECSEL cavity to reduce the cavity loss and designing an active focusing metasurface reflector with low power dissipation for efficient heat removal. Compared with a conventional quantumcascade laser based on a metal-metal waveguide, the intra-cryostat QC-VECSEL exhibits significant improvements in both output power level and beam pattern. Also,more » the intra-cryostat configuration newly allows evaluation of QC-VECSEL operation vs. temperature, showing a maximum pulsed mode operating temperature of 129 K. While the threshold current density in the QC-VECSEL is worse in comparison to a conventional edge-emitting metal-metal waveguide QClaser, the beam quality, slope efficiency, maximum power, and thermal resistance are all significantly improved.« less

Coherent Optical Memory with High Storage Efficiency and Large Fractional Delay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yi-Hsin; Lee, Meng-Jung; Wang, I.-Chung; Du, Shengwang; Chen, Yong-Fan; Chen, Ying-Cheng; Yu, Ite A.

2013-02-01

A high-storage efficiency and long-lived quantum memory for photons is an essential component in long-distance quantum communication and optical quantum computation. Here, we report a 78% storage efficiency of light pulses in a cold atomic medium based on the effect of electromagnetically induced transparency. At 50% storage efficiency, we obtain a fractional delay of 74, which is the best up-to-date record. The classical fidelity of the recalled pulse is better than 90% and nearly independent of the storage time, as confirmed by the direct measurement of phase evolution of the output light pulse with a beat-note interferometer. Such excellent phase coherence between the stored and recalled light pulses suggests that the current result may be readily applied to single photon wave packets. Our work significantly advances the technology of electromagnetically induced transparency-based optical memory and may find practical applications in long-distance quantum communication and optical quantum computation.

Coherent optical memory with high storage efficiency and large fractional delay.

PubMed

Chen, Yi-Hsin; Lee, Meng-Jung; Wang, I-Chung; Du, Shengwang; Chen, Yong-Fan; Chen, Ying-Cheng; Yu, Ite A

2013-02-22

A high-storage efficiency and long-lived quantum memory for photons is an essential component in long-distance quantum communication and optical quantum computation. Here, we report a 78% storage efficiency of light pulses in a cold atomic medium based on the effect of electromagnetically induced transparency. At 50% storage efficiency, we obtain a fractional delay of 74, which is the best up-to-date record. The classical fidelity of the recalled pulse is better than 90% and nearly independent of the storage time, as confirmed by the direct measurement of phase evolution of the output light pulse with a beat-note interferometer. Such excellent phase coherence between the stored and recalled light pulses suggests that the current result may be readily applied to single photon wave packets. Our work significantly advances the technology of electromagnetically induced transparency-based optical memory and may find practical applications in long-distance quantum communication and optical quantum computation.

Co-sensitization of ZnO by CdS quantum dots in natural dye-sensitized solar cells with polymeric electrolytes to improve the cell stability

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Junhom, W.; Magaraphan, R.

2015-05-22

The CdS quantum dots (QDs) were deposited on ZnO layer by chemical bath deposition method to absorb light in the shorter wavelength region and used as photoanode in the dye sensitized solar cell (DSSCs) with natural dye extracted from Noni leaves. Microstructures of CdS-ZnO from various dipping time were characterized by XRD, FE-SEM and EDX. The results showed that the CdS is hexagonal structure and the amount of CdS increases when the dipping time increases. The maximal conversion efficiency of 0.292% was achieved by the DSSCs based on CdS QDs-sensitized ZnO film obtained from 9 min-dipping time. Furthermore, the stability ofmore » DSSCs was improved by using polymeric electrolyte. Poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) and Polyacrylamide (PAM) were introduced to CdS QDs-sensitized ZnO film from 9 min-dipping time. Each polymeric electrolyte was prepared by swelling from 0.1-2.0 %w in H2O. The maximal conversion efficiency of 0.207% was achieved for DSSCs based on CdS QDs-sensitized ZnO film with PAM 1.0% and the conversion efficiency was decreased 25% when it was left for1 hr.« less

Co-sensitization of ZnO by CdS quantum dots in natural dye-sensitized solar cells with polymeric electrolytes to improve the cell stability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Junhom, W.; Magaraphan, R.

2015-05-01

The CdS quantum dots (QDs) were deposited on ZnO layer by chemical bath deposition method to absorb light in the shorter wavelength region and used as photoanode in the dye sensitized solar cell (DSSCs) with natural dye extracted from Noni leaves. Microstructures of CdS-ZnO from various dipping time were characterized by XRD, FE-SEM and EDX. The results showed that the CdS is hexagonal structure and the amount of CdS increases when the dipping time increases. The maximal conversion efficiency of 0.292% was achieved by the DSSCs based on CdS QDs-sensitized ZnO film obtained from 9 min-dipping time. Furthermore, the stability of DSSCs was improved by using polymeric electrolyte. Poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) and Polyacrylamide (PAM) were introduced to CdS QDs-sensitized ZnO film from 9 min-dipping time. Each polymeric electrolyte was prepared by swelling from 0.1-2.0 %w in H2O. The maximal conversion efficiency of 0.207% was achieved for DSSCs based on CdS QDs-sensitized ZnO film with PAM 1.0% and the conversion efficiency was decreased 25% when it was left for1 hr.

Improved light extraction efficiency of InGaN-based multi-quantum well light emitting diodes by using a single die growth.

PubMed

Park, Min Joo; Kwon, K W; Kim, Y H; Park, S H; Kwak, Joon Seop

2011-05-01

We have demonstrated that the light extraction efficiency of the InGaN based multi-quantum well light-emitting diodes (LEDs) can be improved by using a single die growth (SDG) method. The SDG was performed by patterning the n-GaN and sapphire substrate with a size of single chip (600 x 250 microm2) by using a laser scriber, followed by the regrowth of the n-GaN and LED structures on the laser patterned n-GaN. We fabricated lateral LED chips having the SDG structures (SDG-LEDs), in which the thickness of the regrown n-GaN was varied from 2 to 6 microm. For comparison, we also fabricated conventional LED chips without the SDG structures. The SDG-LEDs showed lower operating voltage when compared to the conventional LEDs. In addition, the output power of the SDG-LEDs was significantly higher than that of the conventional LEDs. From optical ray tracing simulations, the increase in the thickness and sidewall angle of the regrown n-GaN and LED structures may enhance photon escapes from the tilted facets of the regrown n-GaN, followed by the increase in light output power and extraction efficiency of the SDG-LEDs.

Understanding/Modelling of Thermal and Radiation Benefits of Quantum Dot Solar Cells

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-07-11

GaAs solar cells have been investigated. Strain compensation is a key step in realizing high- efficiency quantum dots solar cells (QDSC). InAs...factor. A strong correlation between the temperature dependent quantum dot electroluminescence peak emission wavelength and the sub-GaAs bandgap...increased efficiency and radiation resistance devices. The incorporation of quantum dots (QDs) into traditional single or multi-junction crystalline solar

Ag-Decorated Localized Surface Plasmon-Enhanced Ultraviolet Electroluminescence from ZnO Quantum Dot-Based/GaN Heterojunction Diodes by Optimizing MgO Interlayer Thickness.

PubMed

Chen, Cheng; Chen, Jingwen; Zhang, Jun; Wang, Shuai; Zhang, Wei; Liang, Renli; Dai, Jiangnan; Chen, Changqing

2016-12-01

We demonstrate the fabrication and characterization of localized surface plasmon (LSP)-enhanced n-ZnO quantum dot (QD)/MgO/p-GaN heterojunction light-emitting diodes (LEDs) by embedding Ag nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) into the ZnO/MgO interface. The maximum enhancement ration of the Ag-NP-decorated LEDs in electroluminescence (EL) is 4.3-fold by optimizing MgO electron-blocking layer thickness. The EL origination was investigated qualitatively in terms of photoluminescence (PL) results. Through analysis of the energy band structure of device and carrier transport mechanisms, it suggests that the EL enhancement is attributed to the increased rate of spontaneous emission and improved internal quantum efficiency induced by exciton-LSP coupling.

Ag-Decorated Localized Surface Plasmon-Enhanced Ultraviolet Electroluminescence from ZnO Quantum Dot-Based/GaN Heterojunction Diodes by Optimizing MgO Interlayer Thickness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Cheng; Chen, Jingwen; Zhang, Jun; Wang, Shuai; Zhang, Wei; Liang, Renli; Dai, Jiangnan; Chen, Changqing

2016-10-01

We demonstrate the fabrication and characterization of localized surface plasmon (LSP)-enhanced n-ZnO quantum dot (QD)/MgO/p-GaN heterojunction light-emitting diodes (LEDs) by embedding Ag nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) into the ZnO/MgO interface. The maximum enhancement ration of the Ag-NP-decorated LEDs in electroluminescence (EL) is 4.3-fold by optimizing MgO electron-blocking layer thickness. The EL origination was investigated qualitatively in terms of photoluminescence (PL) results. Through analysis of the energy band structure of device and carrier transport mechanisms, it suggests that the EL enhancement is attributed to the increased rate of spontaneous emission and improved internal quantum efficiency induced by exciton-LSP coupling.

Inorganic-ligand exchanging time effect in PbS quantum dot solar cell

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, Byung-Sung; Hong, John; Hou, Bo

2016-08-08

We investigate time-dependent inorganic ligand exchanging effect and photovoltaic performance of lead sulfide (PbS) nanocrystal films. With optimal processing time, volume shrinkage induced by residual oleic acid of the PbS colloidal quantum dot (CQD) was minimized and a crack-free film was obtained with improved flatness. Furthermore, sufficient surface passivation significantly increased the packing density by replacing from long oleic acid to a short iodide molecule. It thus facilities exciton dissociation via enhanced charge carrier transport in PbS CQD films, resulting in the improved power conversion efficiency from 3.39% to 6.62%. We also found that excess iodine ions on the PbSmore » surface rather hinder high photovoltaic performance of the CQD solar cell.« less

Efficiency of quantum vs. classical annealing in nonconvex learning problems

PubMed Central

Zecchina, Riccardo

2018-01-01

Quantum annealers aim at solving nonconvex optimization problems by exploiting cooperative tunneling effects to escape local minima. The underlying idea consists of designing a classical energy function whose ground states are the sought optimal solutions of the original optimization problem and add a controllable quantum transverse field to generate tunneling processes. A key challenge is to identify classes of nonconvex optimization problems for which quantum annealing remains efficient while thermal annealing fails. We show that this happens for a wide class of problems which are central to machine learning. Their energy landscapes are dominated by local minima that cause exponential slowdown of classical thermal annealers while simulated quantum annealing converges efficiently to rare dense regions of optimal solutions. PMID:29382764

Strained-layer InGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs single quantum well lasers with high internal quantum efficiency

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Larsson, Anders; Cody, Jeffrey; Lang, Robert J.

1989-01-01

Low threshold current density strained-layer In(0.2)Ga(0.8)As/GaAs/AlGaAs single quantum well lasers, emitting at 980 nm, have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Contrary to what has been reported for broad-area lasers with pseudomorphic InGaAs active layers grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition, these layers exhibit a high internal quantum efficiency (about 90 percent). The maximum external differential quantum efficiency is 70 percent, limited by an anomalously high internal loss possibly caused by a large lateral spreading of the optical mode. In addition, experimental results supporting the theoretically predicted strain-induced reduction of the valence-band nonparabolicity and density of states are presented.

Highly retrievable spin-wave-photon entanglement source.

PubMed

Yang, Sheng-Jun; Wang, Xu-Jie; Li, Jun; Rui, Jun; Bao, Xiao-Hui; Pan, Jian-Wei

2015-05-29

Entanglement between a single photon and a quantum memory forms the building blocks for a quantum repeater and quantum network. Previous entanglement sources are typically with low retrieval efficiency, which limits future larger-scale applications. Here, we report a source of highly retrievable spin-wave-photon entanglement. Polarization entanglement is created through interaction of a single photon with an ensemble of atoms inside a low-finesse ring cavity. The cavity is engineered to be resonant for dual spin-wave modes, which thus enables efficient retrieval of the spin-wave qubit. An intrinsic retrieval efficiency up to 76(4)% has been observed. Such a highly retrievable atom-photon entanglement source will be very useful in future larger-scale quantum repeater and quantum network applications.

Fundamental Challenges for Modeling Electrochemical Energy Storage Systems at the Atomic Scale.

PubMed

Groß, Axel

2018-04-23

There is a strong need to improve the efficiency of electrochemical energy storage, but progress is hampered by significant technological and scientific challenges. This review describes the potential contribution of atomic-scale modeling to the development of more efficient batteries, with a particular focus on first-principles electronic structure calculations. Numerical and theoretical obstacles are discussed, along with ways to overcome them, and some recent examples are presented illustrating the insights into electrochemical energy storage that can be gained from quantum chemical studies.

High-performance Raman memory with spatio-temporal reversal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vernaz-Gris, Pierre; Tranter, Aaron D.; Everett, Jesse L.; Leung, Anthony C.; Paul, Karun V.; Campbell, Geoff T.; Lam, Ping Koy; Buchler, Ben C.

2018-05-01

A number of techniques exist to use an ensemble of atoms as a quantum memory for light. Many of these propose to use backward retrieval as a way to improve the storage and recall efficiency. We report on a demonstration of an off-resonant Raman memory that uses backward retrieval to achieve an efficiency of $65\\pm6\\%$ at a storage time of one pulse duration. The memory has a characteristic decay time of 60 $\\mu$s, corresponding to a delay-bandwidth product of $160$.

On-Demand Single Photons with High Extraction Efficiency and Near-Unity Indistinguishability from a Resonantly Driven Quantum Dot in a Micropillar.

PubMed

Ding, Xing; He, Yu; Duan, Z-C; Gregersen, Niels; Chen, M-C; Unsleber, S; Maier, S; Schneider, Christian; Kamp, Martin; Höfling, Sven; Lu, Chao-Yang; Pan, Jian-Wei

2016-01-15

Scalable photonic quantum technologies require on-demand single-photon sources with simultaneously high levels of purity, indistinguishability, and efficiency. These key features, however, have only been demonstrated separately in previous experiments. Here, by s-shell pulsed resonant excitation of a Purcell-enhanced quantum dot-micropillar system, we deterministically generate resonance fluorescence single photons which, at π pulse excitation, have an extraction efficiency of 66%, single-photon purity of 99.1%, and photon indistinguishability of 98.5%. Such a single-photon source for the first time combines the features of high efficiency and near-perfect levels of purity and indistinguishabilty, and thus opens the way to multiphoton experiments with semiconductor quantum dots.

High external quantum efficiency and fill-factor InGaN/GaN heterojunction solar cells grown by NH3-based molecular beam epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lang, J. R.; Neufeld, C. J.; Hurni, C. A.; Cruz, S. C.; Matioli, E.; Mishra, U. K.; Speck, J. S.

2011-03-01

High external quantum efficiency (EQE) p-i-n heterojunction solar cells grown by NH3-based molecular beam epitaxy are presented. EQE values including optical losses are greater than 50% with fill-factors over 72% when illuminated with a 1 sun AM0 spectrum. Optical absorption measurements in conjunction with EQE measurements indicate an internal quantum efficiency greater than 90% for the InGaN absorbing layer. By adjusting the thickness of the top p-type GaN window contact layer, it is shown that the short-wavelength (<365 nm) quantum efficiency is limited by the minority carrier diffusion length in highly Mg-doped p-GaN.

Plasmonic enhancement of electroluminescence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guzatov, D. V.; Gaponenko, S. V.; Demir, H. V.

2018-01-01

Here plasmonic effect specifically on electroluminescence (EL) is studied in terms of radiative and nonradiative decay rates for a dipole near a metal spherical nanoparticle (NP). Contribution from scattering is taken into account and is shown to play a decisive role in EL enhancement owing to pronounced size-dependent radiative decay enhancement and weak size effect on non-radiative counterpart. Unlike photoluminescence where local incident field factor mainly determines the enhancement possibility and level, EL enhancement is only possible by means of quantum yield rise, EL enhancement being feasible only for an intrinsic quantum yield Q0 < 1. The resulting plasmonic effect is independent of intrinsic emitter lifetime but is exclusively defined by the value of Q0, emission spectrum, NP diameter and emitter-metal spacing. For 0.1< Q0 < 0.25, Ag nanoparticles are shown to enhance LED/OLED intensity by several times over the whole visible whereas Au particles feature lower effect within the red-orange range only. Independently of positive effect on quantum yield, metal nanoparticles embedded in an electroluminescent device will improve its efficiency at high currents owing to enhanced overall recombination rate which will diminish manifestation of Auger processes. The latter are believed to be responsible for the known undesirable efficiency droop in semiconductor commercial quantum well based LEDs at higher current. For the same reason plasmonics can diminish quantum dot photodegradation from Auger process induced non-radiative recombination and photoionization thus opening a way to avoid negative Auger effects in emerging colloidal semiconductor LEDs.

Design framework for entanglement-distribution switching networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drost, Robert J.; Brodsky, Michael

2016-09-01

The distribution of quantum entanglement appears to be an important component of applications of quantum communications and networks. The ability to centralize the sourcing of entanglement in a quantum network can provide for improved efficiency and enable a variety of network structures. A necessary feature of an entanglement-sourcing network node comprising several sources of entangled photons is the ability to reconfigurably route the generated pairs of photons to network neighbors depending on the desired entanglement sharing of the network users at a given time. One approach to such routing is the use of a photonic switching network. The requirements for an entanglement distribution switching network are less restrictive than for typical conventional applications, leading to design freedom that can be leveraged to optimize additional criteria. In this paper, we present a mathematical framework defining the requirements of an entanglement-distribution switching network. We then consider the design of such a switching network using a number of 2 × 2 crossbar switches, addressing the interconnection of these switches and efficient routing algorithms. In particular, we define a worst-case loss metric and consider 6 × 6, 8 × 8, and 10 × 10 network designs that optimize both this metric and the number of crossbar switches composing the network. We pay particular attention to the 10 × 10 network, detailing novel results proving the optimality of the proposed design. These optimized network designs have great potential for use in practical quantum networks, thus advancing the concept of quantum networks toward reality.

Direct state tomography using continuous variable measuring device

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhu, Xuanmin, E-mail: zhuxuanmin@xidian.edu.cn; Wei, Qun

Compared with the conventional quantum state tomography (QST), the efficiency of the direct state tomography (DST) using weak value is very low. However, DST is easily manipulated in experiments. We modify the direct state tomography by using coupling-deformed observables. The modified direct state measurement is valid for arbitrarily large measurement strength. The optimal measurement strengths are obtained to attain the highest efficiency. The efficiency of DST is significantly improved in the modified strategy, and the reconstructed state has no inherent bias. The state reconstruction strategy investigated in this paper might be useful in actual experiments.

Efficiency improvement of green light-emitting diodes by employing all-quaternary active region and electron-blocking layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Usman, Muhammad; Saba, Kiran; Han, Dong-Pyo; Muhammad, Nazeer

2018-01-01

High efficiency of green GaAlInN-based light-emitting diode (LED) has been proposed with peak emission wavelength of ∼510 nm. By introducing quaternary quantum well (QW) along with the quaternary barrier (QB) and quaternary electron blocking layer (EBL) in a single structure, an efficiency droop reduction of up to 29% has been achieved in comparison to the conventional GaN-based LED. The proposed structure has significantly reduced electrostatic field in the active region. As a result, carrier leakage has been minimized and spontaneous emission rate has been doubled.