Coherent Optical Phenomena in Semiconductor Nanostructures

Alexey Belyanin

Department of Physics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4242

Optics of semiconductors is a field full of challenges and excitement for the theoretical physicist. Fabricated semiconductor nanostructures, such as quantum wells and quantum dots, provide a testing ground for fundamental concepts in quantum mechanics. Band-gap engineering and nanotechnology offer the possibility for precise control over the linear and nonlinear optical responses of the system. Coherent optical phenomena, such as superfluorescence or lasing without inversion, acquire unique features in semiconductors. Completely new opportunities for nonlinear optics arise in the active semiconductor medium, for example in a semiconductor laser, when the laser field serves as an optical drive for a variety of nonlinear processes occurring in the same laser crystal. In this case, all fields participating in a nonlinear interaction can be at resonance with corresponding transitions between quantum-confined electronic states or impurity states. Resonance leads to a peculiar interplay between the effects of quantum coherence and nonlinear optical interactions, giving rise to exciting new physics at the intersection of nonlinear optics, quantum mechanics, and laser dynamics. New concepts and opportunities for optoelectronic devices and integrated photonic circuits will be discussed.