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arXiv:1507.05900 · Physical Review Letters

Exploring Dephasing of a Solid-State Quantum Emitter via Time- and Temperature-Dependent Hong-Ou-Mandel Experiments

Alexander Thoma, Peter Schnauber, Manuel Gschrey, M. Seifried, Janik Wolters, J.-H. Schulze, A. Strittmatter, Sven Rodt, Alexander Carmele, A. Knorr, Tobias Heindel, Stephan Reitzenstein

Published Jan 19, 2016• 187 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We probe the indistinguishability of photons emitted by a semiconductor quantum dot (QD) via time- and temperature-dependent two-photon interference (TPI) experiments. An increase in temporal separation between consecutive photon emission events reveals a decrease in TPI visibility on a nanosecond time scale, theoretically described by a non-Markovian noise process in agreement with fluctuating charge traps in the QD's vicinity. Phonon-induced pure dephasing results in a decrease in TPI visibility from (96±4)% at 10 K to a vanishing visibility at 40 K. In contrast to Michelson-type measurements, our experiments provide direct access to the time-dependent coherence of a quantum emitter on a nanosecond time scale.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.116.033601

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We probe the indistinguishability of photons emitted by a semiconductor quantum dot (QD) via time- and temperature-dependent two-photon interference (TPI) experiments. An increase in temporal separation between consecutive photon emission events reveals a decrease in TPI visibility on a nanosecond time scale, theoretically described by a non-Markovian noise process in agreement with fluctuating charge traps in the QD's vicinity. Phonon-induced pure dephasing results in a decrease in TPI visibility from (96±4)% at 10 K to a vanishing visibility at 40 K. In contrast to Michelson-type measurements, our experiments provide direct access to the time-dependent coherence of a quantum emitter on a nanosecond time scale.
We investigate the temperature dependence of photon coherence properties through two-photon interference (TPI) measurements from a single quantum dot (QD) under resonant excitation. We show that the loss of indistinguishability is related only to the electron-phonon coupling and is not affected by spectral diffusion. Through these measurements and a complementary microscopic theory, we identify two independent separate decoherence processes, both of which are associated with phonons. Below 10 K, we find that the relaxation of the vibrational lattice is the dominant contribution to the loss of TPI visibility. This process is non-Markovian in nature and corresponds to real phonon transitions resulting in a broad phonon sideband in the QD emission spectra. Above 10 K, virtual phonon transitions to higher lying excited states in the QD become the dominant dephasing mechanism, this leads to a broadening of the zero phonon line, and a corresponding rapid decay in the visibility. The microscopic theory we develop provides analytic expressions for the dephasing rates for both virtual phonon scattering and non-Markovian lattice relaxation.
We demonstrate the emission of highly indistinguishable photons from a quasi-resonantly pumped coupled quantum dot--microcavity system operating in the regime of cavity quantum electrodynamics. Changing the sample temperature allows us to vary the quantum dot--cavity detuning and, on spectral resonance, we observe a threefold improvement in the Hong-Ou-Mandel interference visibility, reaching values in excess of 80%. Our measurements off-resonance allow us to investigate varying Purcell enhancements, and to probe the dephasing environment at different temperatures and energy scales. By comparison with our microscopic model, we are able to identify pure dephasing and not time jitter as the dominating source of imperfections in our system.
In the present work, we derive a formalism that can be used to predict and interpret the time structure and achievable visibilities for two-photon interference (TPI) experiments using photons from two separate sources. The treatment particularly addresses photons stemming from solid state quantum emitters, which are often subject to pure dephasing and spectral diffusion. Therefore, it includes the impact of phase- and emission frequency-jitter besides the influence of differing radiative lifetimes and a relative spectral detuning. While the treatment is mainly aimed at interference experiments after Hong–Ou–Mandel, we additionally offer generalized equations that are applicable to arbitrary linear optical gates, which rely on TPI.
Quantum interference lies at the foundation of many protocols for scalable quantum computing and communication with linear optics. To observe these effects the light source must emit photons that are indistinguishable. From a technological standpoint, it would be beneficial to have electrical control over the emission. Here we report of an electrically driven single-photon source emitting indistinguishable photons. The device consists of a layer of InAs quantum dots embedded in the intrinsic region of a p-i-n diode. Indistinguishability of consecutive photons is tested in a two-photon interference experiment under two modes of operation, continuous and pulsed current injection. We also present a complete theory based on the interference of photons with a Lorentzian spectrum which we compare to both our continuous wave and pulsed experiments. In the former case, a visibility was measured limited only by the timing resolution of our detection system. In the case of pulsed injection, we employ a two-pulse voltage sequence which suppresses multi-photon emission and allows us to carry out temporal filtering of photons which have undergone dephasing. The characteristic Hong-Ou-Mandel 'dip' is measured, resulting in a visibility of 64 +/- 4%.
We report an electrically driven semiconductor single-photon source capable of emitting photons with a coherence time of up to 400 ps under fixed bias. It is shown that increasing the injection current causes the coherence time to reduce, and this effect is well explained by the fast modulation of a fluctuating environment. Hong-Ou-Mandel-type two-photon interference using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer is demonstrated using this source to test the indistinguishability of individual photons by postselecting events where two photons collide at a beam splitter. Finally, we consider how improvements in our detection system can be used to achieve a higher interference visibility.
We report on two-photon interference of highly indistinguishable single photons emitted by a quantum dot. Strictly resonant excitation with picosecond laser pulses has been used to prepare coherent states with a significantly increased coherence time $({T}_{2}\ensuremath{\sim}1\text{ns})$ and reduced lifetime $({T}_{1}\ensuremath{\sim}650\text{ps})$, as compared to a nonresonant excitation scheme. Indistinguishable photons, with visibilities greater than 70%, have been observed by measuring the Hong-Ou-Mandel dip without postselection of the interfering photons. Near-unity indistinguishable photons should be achievable by preventing fluctuations in the electrostatic environment in the vicinity of the dots, considered as an important source of decoherence.