Near-field coherent excitation spectroscopy of InGaAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots

Abstract

Using near-field optical microscopy, we have performed coherent excitation spectroscopy of self-assembled quantum dots (SAQDs). A pair of coherent pulses with a time delay between them allows measurement of the temporal coherence of the carrier wave function in single quantum dots. The observed decoherence time is about 15 ps and is well explained by resonant Raman scattering of phonons. Furthermore, quantum beats originating from the superposition of two closely spaced coherent states have been observed. This opens up possibilities of quantum mechanical control of the carrier wave function in SAQDs.