Ramsey interference in a multilevel quantum system

Abstract

We report Ramsey interference in the excitonic population of a negatively charged quantum dot measured in resonant fluorescence. Our experiments show that the decay time of the Ramsey interference is limited by the spectral width of the transition. Applying a vertical magnetic field induces Zeeman split transitions that can be addressed by changing the laser detuning to reveal two-, three-, and four-level system behavior. We show that under finite field the phase-sensitive control of two optical pulses from a single laser can be used to prepare both population and spin states simultaneously. We also demonstrate the coherent optical manipulation of a trapped spin in a quantum dot in a Faraday geometry magnetic field.