Asymmetric Fraunhofer diffraction in a quantum dot molecule via tunneling-induced transparency

We manipulate the coupling effect between interdot tunneling and the external control field to study the optical diffractive property in a quantum dot molecule (QDM) system. Based on the density matrix approach, an analytical relation is obtained for the optical susceptibility, which shows tunneling-induced transparency (TIT) in the absorption spectra. We propose an innovative optoelectronic device called tunneling-induced grating, which operates based on the diffraction of the forward-transmitted probe laser light. The diffraction integrals for the far-field regime (i.e., Fraunhofer diffraction) are numerically solved, and the effect of interdot tunneling coupling strength on the diffraction patterns is studied. It is shown that the transmission is increased under tunneling-induced quantum coherence. The weak probe light can be diffracted into higher-order directions upon applying a standing-wave control field. The optimal parametric condition for maximum first- and second-order diffractions is obtained. The results find the potential applications in quantum information processing devices, such as all-optical grating and switches at low light levels.