The role of phonons for exciton and biexciton generation in an optically driven quantum dot

TL;DR

This paper reviews how phonons influence various optical excitation methods used for preparing specific quantum states in semiconductor quantum dots, highlighting experimental and theoretical insights into their effects on state control.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive comparison of phonon effects across three excitation schemes for quantum dot state preparation, integrating experimental and theoretical perspectives.

Findings

Phonons significantly affect Rabi rotations and adiabatic rapid passage.

Phonon-assisted off-resonant excitation enables alternative state preparation.

Performance varies depending on the excitation scheme and phonon interactions.

Abstract

For many applications of semiconductor quantum dots in quantum technology a well controlled state preparation of the quantum dot states is mandatory. Since quantum dots are embedded in the semiconductor matrix, the interaction with phonons plays often a major role in the preparation process. In this review, we discuss the influence of phonons on three basically different optical excitation schemes which can be used for the preparation of exciton, biexciton, and superposition states: a resonant excitation leading to Rabi rotations in the excitonic system, an excitation with chirped pulses exploiting the effect of adiabatic rapid passage, and an off-resonant excitation giving rise to a phonon-assisted state preparation. We give an overview over experimental and theoretical results showing the role of the phonons and compare the performance of the schemes for state preparation.