Hole spins confined in semiconductor quantum dot systems have gained considerable interest for their strong spin-orbit interactions (SOIs) and relatively weak hyperfine interactions. Here we experimentally demonstrate a tunable SOI double Germanium (Ge) hut wire (HW), which could help enable fast all-electric spin manipulations while suppressing unwanted decoherence. Specifically, measure the t...

It is shown that the conductance of a weakly disordered Luttinger-liquid quantum wire connected to non-interacting leads is affected by electron-electron interactions in the wire. This is in contrast to the case of a perfect wire the conductance of which is given by e2/h regardless of interactions in the wire. The disorder-induced correction to the conductance scales with temperature and/or the...

This thesis involves an extensive experimental and theoretical study of the thermoelectric-related transport properties of Bii_2Sb. nanowires, and presents a theoretical framework for predicting the electrical properties of superlattice nanowires. A template-assisted fabrication scheme is employed to synthesize Bi-based nanowires by pressure injecting liquid metal alloys into the hexagonally pa...

The gain-lever effect enhances the modulation efficiency of a semiconductor laser when compared to modulating the entire laser. This technique is investigated in a long-cavity multi-section quantum-dot laser where the length of the modulation section is varied to achieve 14:2, 15:1 and 0:16 gain-to-modulation section ratios. In this work, the gain-levered modulation configuration resulted in an...

The effects of fabricational variations on the gain spectra of quantum wires are calculated within the limits of first order perturbation theory. Gain spectra and density of states for 50 A radius and 150 A radius cylindrical quantum wires are calculated and plotted for several different fabrication tolerances. The wave functions for a finite, cylindrical potential are calculated and a quasi-cr...

One of the most attractive and challenging features of materials research on the nanometer scale is the possibility to rationally design and fabricate novel functionalities, largely away from the ever demanding trial-and-error approach. Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Japan, launched in the year 2001 the Sy...

Semiconductor quantum dots have attracted extensive interest in the biosensing area because of their properties, such as narrow and symmetric emission with tunable colors, high quantum yield, high stability and controllable morphology. The introduction of various reactive functional groups on the surface of semiconductor quantum dots allows one to conjugate a spectrum of ligands, antibodies, pe...