A spectroscopic method, which enables characterization of a single isolated quantum dot and a quantum wave function interferometry, is applied to an exciton discrete excited state in an InGaAs quantum dot. Long coherence of zero-dimensional excitonic states made possible the observation of coherent population flopping in a 0D excitonic two-level system in a time-domain interferometric measurement. Corresponding energy splitting is also manifested in an energy-domain measurement.

InGaN multiple quantum wells were grown on InGaN underlying layers 50 nm thick by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements were performed by selective excitation of the quantum wells under a weak excitation condition. The PL intensity was almost constant at temperatures ranging from 17 to 150 K. Assuming that the internal quantum efficiency (ηint) equals unity at 17 K, we obtained ηint as high as 0.71 even at room temperature. The reason for the high ηint is the reduction of nonradiative recombination centers by the incorporation of indium atoms into the underlying layer.

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We demonstrate optically pumped telecom-band lasing in single InAs/InP nanowires at room temperature.

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We report the observation of spin relaxation of excitons in zero-dimensional semiconductor nanostructures. The spin relaxation is measured in InGaAs quantum disks by using a polarization dependent time-resolved photoluminescence method. The spin relaxation time in a zero-dimensional quantum disk is as long as 0.9 ns at 4 K, which is almost twice as long as the radiative recombination lifetime and is considerably longer than that in quantum wells. The temperature dependence of the spin relaxation time suggests the importance of exciton–acoustic phonon interaction.

We report on photon-spin controlled lasing oscillation in GaAs surface-emitting lasers at room temperature. We demonstrate experimentally that the partial electron-spin alignment, created by optically pumping the GaAs laser active media with circularly polarized pulses, drastically changes the polarization state of the lasing output, causing circularly polarized lasing emission. We discuss the laser polarization characteristics in relation to the measured electron-spin relaxation time.

Carrier-induced dynamic backaction in micromechanical resonators is demonstrated. Thermal vibration of an n-GaAs/i-GaAs bilayer cantilever is amplified by optical band-gap excitation, and for the excitation power above a critical value, self-oscillations are induced. These phenomena are found in the [1[over ¯]10]-oriented cantilever, whereas the damping (deamplification) is observed in the [1[over ¯]10] orientation. This optomechanical coupling does not require any optical cavities but is instead based on the piezoelectric effect that is generated by photoinduced carriers.