Coherent control in room-temperature quantum dot semiconductor optical amplifiers using shaped pulses

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates control over quantum Rabi-oscillations in a room-temperature quantum dot SOA by shaping light pulses, showing that chirp direction influences the oscillations' excitation.

Contribution

It introduces a method to manipulate quantum coherent effects in quantum dot SOAs using pulse shaping at room temperature, supported by experimental and numerical validation.

Findings

Negative chirp inhibits Rabi-oscillations

Positive chirp enhances Rabi-oscillations

Pulse shaping controls quantum coherence in SOAs

Abstract

We demonstrate the ability to control quantum coherent Rabi-oscillations in a room-temperature quantum dot semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) by shaping the light pulses that trigger them. The experiments described here show that when the excitation is resonant with the short wavelength slope of the SOA gain spectrum, a linear frequency chirp affects its ability to trigger Rabi-oscillations within the SOA: A negative chirp inhibits Rabi-oscillations whereas a positive chirp can enhance them, relative to the interaction of a transform limited pulse. The experiments are confirmed by a numerical calculation that models the propagation of the experimentally shaped pulses through the SOA.