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arXiv:1909.08353 · Physical Review Applied

Narrow-Band Fiber-Coupled Single-Photon Source

Guilherme Stein, Vladislav Bushmakin, Yijun Wang, Andreas Wolfgang Schell, Ilja Gerhardt

Published May 18, 2020• 12 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

A single-photon source is an essential tool for the emerging field of quantum technologies. Ideally, it should be spectrally compatible with other photonic devices while providing a high flux of narrow-band photons. The single organic dye molecule dibenzanthanthrene under cryogenic conditions possesses the given characteristics and therefore constitutes a prominent single-photon source. Nevertheless, the implementation of such a single-photon source requires a complex experimental setup involving a cryostat with a confocal microscope for the effective collection of the molecular emission. In the approach presented here we use a single emitter coupled directly to the end facet of an optical fiber. This has the potential to transfer a single-photon source based on a quantum emitter from a proof-of-principle type of setup to a scalable ``plug-and-play'' device. We present successful coupling of a single organic molecule to an optical fiber and record the excitation spectrum, measure the saturation curve, and analyze the contributions of Raman background fluorescence. The single-photon nature is proven by an antibunched autocorrelation recording, which reveals coherent Rabi oscillations.

DOI
10.1103/physrevapplied.13.054042

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A single-photon source is an essential tool for the emerging field of quantum technologies. Ideally, it should be spectrally compatible with other photonic devices while providing a high flux of narrow-band photons. The single organic dye molecule dibenzanthanthrene under cryogenic conditions possesses the given characteristics and therefore constitutes a prominent single-photon source. Nevertheless, the implementation of such a single-photon source requires a complex experimental setup involving a cryostat with a confocal microscope for the effective collection of the molecular emission. In the approach presented here we use a single emitter coupled directly to the end facet of an optical fiber. This has the potential to transfer a single-photon source based on a quantum emitter from a proof-of-principle type of setup to a scalable ``plug-and-play'' device. We present successful coupling of a single organic molecule to an optical fiber and record the excitation spectrum, measure the saturation curve, and analyze the contributions of Raman background fluorescence. The single-photon nature is proven by an antibunched autocorrelation recording, which reveals coherent Rabi oscillations.
A single-photon source is an essential tool for the emerging field of quantum technologies. Ideally, it should be spectrally compatible with other photonic systems while providing a high flux of narrow-band photons. The single organic dye molecule dibenzanthantherene (DBATT) embedded into a n-tetradecane Spol’skii matrix under cryogenic conditions possesses the given characteristics, thus constitutes a prominent single-photon source. Nevertheless, the implementation of such a single-photon source requires an elaborate experimental setup involving a cryostat with a confocal microscope for the effective collection of the molecule’s emission. Another approach is to use a single emitter coupled to an optical fiber. This approach has the potential to transfer a single-photon source from a proof-of-principle type of setup to a scalable “plug and play” device. Here we present the alignment-free fiber-coupled organic molecule single-photon source cooled down to cryogenic temperatures using a transport dewar as a cryostat.
A single molecule under cryogenic conditions allows one to realize an extremely bright and simultaneously narrow-band single-photon source. We present a review on the different excitation schemes of a single molecule and present the corresponding single-photon nature of the emitted light. Single-molecule spectroscopy has been recently interlinked with atomic spectroscopy. This optical interconnect among the different quantum systems might be enhanced by a so-called Faraday anomalous dispersion optical filter—an ideal tool for many experiments in quantum optics. We introduce our theoretical and experimental approach on these filters which are based on hot atomic sodium vapor. The electrical tunability together with the brightness of a single molecule allows us to record a full atomic spectrum of this filter with the single photons originating from a single-molecular emitter.
Single organic dye molecules have been studied for almost three decades. A majority of experiments are now conducted under ambient conditions and aim towards material science and micro-biology. The experiments under cryogenic conditions are often based on highly rigid polycyclic hydrocarbons, which have excellent fluorescing properties when they are operated at temperatures below 2 K. Their photonic advantages integrate their high flux, their narrow-band nature and their tunability over the entire visible spectrum. Therefore the use of organic molecules as efficient and narrow-band single photon sources facilitated a number of quantum optical advances in the past years. The results mostly cover quantum sensing, the formation of quantum hybrid systems and the optical combination of multiple photons in all-optical experiments. Here we present all three fields and outline our own experiments in the combination of single molecule studies, atomic spectroscopy and entanglement generation. The brightness and the narrow-band nature of the molecules are outlined and a delayed-choice quantum eraser is presented. The mode-mixing of two photons on a beam-splitter allows for the generation of a degenerate photon pair, which is resonant to the sodium D2-line. Furthermore, its spectral width matches roughly to the natural linewidth of an isolated sodium atom, such that further experiments are feasible. The entanglement of the post-selected photon pair is testified by a violation of Bell's inequality. Even the raw collected clicks violate Bell's inequality by more than two standard deviations.
The development of single-photon sources has been nothing but rapid in recent years, with quantum emitter-based systems showing especially impressive progress. In this article, we give an overview of the developments in single-photon sources based on single molecules. We will introduce polycyclic hydrocarbons as the most commonly used emitter systems for the realization of an organic solid-state single-photon source. At cryogenic temperatures this special class of fluorescent molecules demonstrates remarkable optical properties such as negligible dephasing, indefinite photostability, and high photon rates, which make them attractive as fundamental building blocks in emerging quantum technologies. To better understand the general properties and limitations of these molecules, we discuss sample preparation and relevant emitter parameters such as absorption and emission spectra, lifetime, and dephasing. We will also give an overview of light extraction strategies as a crucial part of a single-photon source. Finally, we conclude with a look into the future, displaying current challenges and possible solutions.
Single photons are highly desirable for encoding, sending and processing quantum information. Suitable engineering of single quantum emitters and their environment can lead to a reliable single photon source and to mediated photon-photon interactions, essential assets for quantum communication and computation purposes. Dye molecules, our chosen single quantum emitter, have attracted much attention in recent years due to their high photostability and narrow emission lines. In this thesis I present a detailed analysis of the optical properties of single dibenzoterrylene molecules in an anthracene matrix. Single photon emission is demonstrated at room and cryogenic temperatures. In the latter case, an analysis of the second-order correlation function of the emission of a single molecule is studied at various temperatures. The data agree with a full solution of the optical Bloch equations over a wide range of temperature, and provide some insight into the dephasing process of the molecules. I then present a technique for integrating single dye molecules with nano-photonic devices. These are hybrid plasmonic waveguides, designed to guide light and to enhance the interaction with a single emitter by a tight confinement of the waveguide mode. Single molecules are deposited over the waveguides and a first evidence of coupling is presented. I conclude with proposed improvements to the optical setup and to the deposition methods. Finally, I present another type of integrated device, where the light matter interaction is enhanced by inserting single quantum emitters into coupled optical resonators. The theoretical description for the case of resonant two-photon absorption from single atoms in coupled photonic crystal cavities is developed. I conclude by proposing a possible realisation of this system, and describing the first steps towards the fabrication of such a device.
Miniaturization of quantum optical devices down to μm-dimensions and integration into fibre optical networks is a major prerequisite for future implementations of quantum information communication and processing applications. Also scalability, long-term stability and room-temperature operation are important properties of such devices. Lately there have been major improvements in down-sizing logical structures and functionalizing optical fibers. Here we present an alignment free, μm-scale single photon source consisting of a single quantum emitter on an optical fiber operating at room temperature. It easily integrates into fiber optic networks for quantum cryptography or quantum metrology applications. Near-field coupling of a single nitrogen-vacancy center is achieved in a bottom-up approach by placing a pre-selected nanodiamond directly on the fiber facet. Its high photon collection efficiency is equivalent to a far-field collection via an objective with a numerical aperture of 0.82. Furthermore, simultaneous excitation and recollection through the fiber is possible introducing a fiber-connected single emitter sensor that allows near-field probing with quantum mechanical properties.