<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>The interaction between quantum light and matter is being intensively studied for systems that are enclosed in high-<jats:italic>Q</jats:italic> cavities which strongly enhance the light–matter coupling. Cavities with low <jats:italic>Q</jats:italic>-factors are generally given less attention due to their high losses that quickly destroy quantum systems. However, bad cavities can be utilized for several applications, where lower <jats:italic>Q</jats:italic>-factors are required, e.g., to increase the spectral width of the cavity mode. In this work, we demonstrate that low-<jats:italic>Q</jats:italic> cavities can be beneficial for preparing specific electronic steady states when certain quantum states of light are applied. We investigate the interaction between quantum light with various statistics and matter represented by a Λ-type three-level system in lossy cavities, assuming that cavity losses are the dominant loss mechanism. We show that cavity losses lead to non-trivial electronic steady states that can be controlled by the loss rate and the initial statistics of the quantum fields. We discuss the mechanism of the formation of such steady states on the basis of the equations of motion and present both analytical expressions and numerical simulations for such steady states.</jats:p>

<jats:p>High harmonic generation (HHG) from solids shows great application prospects in compact short-wavelength light sources and as a tool for imaging the dynamics in crystals with subnanometer spatial and attosecond temporal resolution. However, the underlying collision dynamics behind solid HHG is still intensively debated and no direct mapping relationship between the collision dynamics with band structure has been built. Here, we show that the electron and its associated hole can be elastically scattered by neighboring atoms when their wavelength approaches the atomic size. We reveal that the elastic scattering of electron/hole from neighboring atoms can dramatically influence the electron recombination with its left-behind hole, which turns out to be the fundamental reason for the anisotropic interband HHG observed recently in bulk crystals. Our findings link the electron/hole backward scattering with Van Hove singularities and forward scattering with critical lines in the band structure and thus build a clear mapping between the band structure and the harmonic spectrum. Our work provides a unifying picture for several seemingly unrelated experimental observations and theoretical predictions, including the anisotropic harmonic emission in MgO, the atomic-like recollision mechanism of solid HHG, and the delocalization of HHG in ZnO. This strongly improved understanding will pave the way for controlling the solid-state HHG and visualizing the structure-dependent electron dynamics in solids.</jats:p>

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Methylammonium lead iodide perovskite (MAPbI<jats:sub>3</jats:sub>) is renowned for an impressive power conversion efficiency rise and cost-effective fabrication for photovoltaics. In this work, we demonstrate that polycrystalline MAPbI<jats:sub>3</jats:sub>s undergo drastic changes in optical properties at moderate field strengths with an ultrafast response time, via transient Wannier Stark localization. The distinct band structure of this material - the large lattice periodicity, the narrow electronic energy bandwidths, and the coincidence of these two along the same high-symmetry direction – enables relatively weak fields to bring this material into the Wannier Stark regime. Its polycrystalline nature is not detrimental to the optical switching performance of the material, since the least dispersive direction of the band structure dominates the contribution to the optical response, which favors low-cost fabrication. Together with the outstanding photophysical properties of MAPbI<jats:sub>3</jats:sub>, this finding highlights the great potential of this material in ultrafast light modulation and novel photonic applications.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Uniaxial anisotropy in nonlinear birefringent crystals limits the efficiency of nonlinear optical interactions and breaks the spatial symmetry of light generated in the parametric down-conversion (PDC) process. Therefore, this effect is usually undesirable and must be compensated for. However, high gain may be used to overcome the destructive role of anisotropy in order to generate bright two-mode correlated twin-beams. In this work, we provide a rigorous theoretical description of the spatial properties of bright squeezed light in the presence of strong anisotropy. We investigate a single crystal and a system of two crystals with an air gap (corresponding to a nonlinear SU(1,1) interferometer) and demonstrate the generation of bright correlated twin-beams in such configurations at high gain due to anisotropy. We explore the mode structure of the generated light and show how anisotropy, together with crystal spacing, can be used for radiation shaping.</jats:p>

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Methylammonium lead iodide perovskite (MAPbI<jats:sub>3</jats:sub>) is renowned for an impressive power conversion efficiency rise and cost-effective fabrication for photovoltaics. In this work, we demonstrate that polycrystalline MAPbI<jats:sub>3</jats:sub>s undergo drastic changes in optical properties at moderate field strengths with an ultrafast response time, via transient Wannier Stark localization. The distinct band structure of this material - the large lattice periodicity, the narrow electronic energy bandwidths, and the coincidence of these two along the same high-symmetry direction – enables relatively weak fields to bring this material into the Wannier Stark regime. Its polycrystalline nature is not detrimental to the optical switching performance of the material, since the least dispersive direction of the band structure dominates the contribution to the optical response, which favors low-cost fabrication. Together with the outstanding photophysical properties of MAPbI<jats:sub>3</jats:sub>, this finding highlights the great potential of this material in ultrafast light modulation and novel photonic applications.</jats:p>

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Semiconductor quantum dots are excellent candidates for ultrafast coherent manipulation of qubits by laser pulses on picosecond timescales or even faster. In inhomogeneous ensembles a macroscopic optical polarization decays rapidly due to dephasing, which, however, is reversible in photon echoes carrying complete information about the coherent ensemble dynamics. Control of the echo emission time is mandatory for applications. Here, we propose a concept to reach this goal. In a two-pulse photon echo sequence, we apply an additional resonant control pulse with multiple of 2<jats:italic>π</jats:italic> area. Depending on its arrival time, the control slows down dephasing or rephasing of the exciton ensemble during its action. We demonstrate for self-assembled (In,Ga)As quantum dots that the photon echo emission time can be retarded or advanced by up to 5 ps relative to its nominal appearance time without control. This versatile protocol may be used to obtain significantly longer temporal shifts for suitably tailored control pulses.</jats:p>

<jats:p>An integrated chip with quantum state generation, active polarization manipulation, and precise time control is demonstrated.</jats:p>

Spins in semiconductor quantum dots have been considered as prospective quantum bit excitations. Their coupling to the crystal environment manifests itself in a limitation of the spin coherence times to the microsecond range, both for electron and hole spins. This rather short-lived coherence compared to atomic states asks for manipulations on timescales as short as possible. Due to the huge dipole moment for transitions between the valence and conduction band, pulsed laser systems offer the possibility to perform manipulations within picoseconds or even faster. Here, we report on results that show the potential of optical spin manipulations with currently available pulsed laser systems. Using picosecond laser pulses, we demonstrate optically induced spin rotations of electron and hole spins. We further realize the optical decoupling of the hole spins from the nuclear surrounding at the nanosecond timescales and demonstrate an all-optical spin tomography for interacting electron spin sub-ensembles.

Using a finite-difference time-domain method, we theoretically investigate the optical spectra of crossing perpendicular photonic crystal waveguides with quantum dots embedded in the central rod. The waveguides are designed so that the light mainly propagates along one direction and the cross talk is greatly reduced in the transverse direction. It is shown that when a quantum dot (QD) is resonant with the cavity, strong coupling can be observed via both the transmission and crosstalk spectrum. If the cavity is far off-resonant from the QD, both the cavity mode and the QD signal can be detected in the transverse direction since the laser field is greatly suppressed in this direction. This structure could have strong implications for resonant excitation and in-plane detection of QD optical spectroscopy.

Optical experiments on second-harmonic generation from split-ring-resonator square arrays show a nonmonotonic dependence of the conversion efficiency on the lattice constant. This finding is interpreted in terms of a competition between dilution effects and linewidth or near-field changes due to interactions among the individual elements in the array.

We numerically investigate the interaction dynamics of coupled cavities in planar photonic crystal slabs in different configurations. The single cavity is optimized for a long lifetime of the fundamental mode, reaching a Q-factor of ≈43, 000 using the method of gentle confinement. For pairs of cavities we consider several configurations and present a setup with strongest coupling observable as a line splitting of about 30 nm. Based on this configuration, setups with three cavities are investigated.