Optically driving the radiative Auger transition.

Area of Science:

• Quantum Optics
• Solid-State Physics
• Atomic Physics

Background:

• Radiative Auger processes involve optical decay, leaving carriers in excited states and creating red-shifted satellite peaks.
• Inverting the radiative Auger process (simultaneous photon absorption and electronic demotion) has remained experimentally unproven in atoms and solid-state emitters.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the optical excitation of the radiative Auger transition.
• To explore the connection between few-body Coulomb interactions and quantum optics.
• To investigate potential applications in controlling quantum emitter fluorescence and THz spectroscopy.

Main Methods:

• Experiments were conducted on a trion within a semiconductor quantum dot.
• The radiative Auger transition and the fundamental transition were configured as a Λ-system.
• Simultaneous optical driving of both transitions was performed.

Main Results:

• The optical driving of the radiative Auger transition was successfully demonstrated.
• A significant reduction in the fluorescence signal, up to 70%, was observed when both transitions were simultaneously driven.
• This establishes a method for controlling resonance fluorescence.

Conclusions:

• The study successfully demonstrated the optical excitation of the radiative Auger transition in a semiconductor quantum dot.
• The findings link fundamental interactions with quantum optical control.
• This opens possibilities for optical switching of fluorescence and novel THz spectroscopy techniques.