Coherent optical control and manipulation of semiconductor quantum dots

Summary form only given. The three dimensional confinement of excitons leads to an atomic-like optical spectrum. The discrete nature of the spectrum coupled with the highly localized nature of the excitation makes these structures ideal for new device concepts such as quantum logic devices or novel sources of non-classical radiation. While these structures are believed to have properties similar to simple atomic/molecular systems, there is the potential for large-scale integration of these structures with coherent light sources and detectors. Our work has focused on examining the electronic features of GaAs quantum dots using coherent nonlinear optical spectroscopy. The measurements extend the similarities to atomic systems demonstrating not only a nonlinear optical response distinct from that observed in higher dimensional systems, but also fast coherent optical control and features important to potential applications such as inter-dot coupling, biexcitons, and quantum entanglement.