The optical Stark shift to control the dark exciton occupation of a quantum dot in a tilted magnetic field

When a detuned and strong laser pulse acts on an optical transition, a Stark shift of the corresponding energies occurs. We analyze how this optical Stark effect can be used to prepare and control the dark exciton occupation in a semiconductor quantum dot. The coupling between the bright and dark exciton states is facilitated by an external magnetic field. Using sequences of laser pulses, we show how the dark exciton and different superposition states can be prepared. We give simple analytic formulas, which yield a good estimate for optimal preparation parameters. The preparation scheme is quite robust against the influence of acoustic phonons. We further discuss the experimental feasibility of the used Stark pulses. Giving a clear physical picture our results will stimulate the usage of dark excitons in schemes to generate photons from quantum dots.