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arXiv:2409.07875 · Nature Communications

Wavevector-resolved polarization entanglement from radiative cascades

Alessandro Laneve, Michele B. Rota, Francesco Basso Basset, Mattia Beccaceci, Valerio Villari, Thomas Oberleitner, Yorick Reum, Tobias M. Krieger, Quirin Buchinger, Rohit Prasad, Saimon F. Covre da Silva, Andreas Theo Pfenning, Sandra Stroj, Sven Höfling, Armando Rastelli, Tobias Huber, Rinaldo Trotta

Published Jul 5, 2025• 8 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The generation of entangled photons from radiative cascades has enabled milestone experiments in quantum information science with several applications in photonic quantum technologies. Significant efforts are being devoted to pushing the performances of near-deterministic entangled-photon sources based on single quantum emitters often embedded in photonic cavities, so to boost the flux of photon pairs. The general postulate is that the emitter generates photons in a nearly maximally entangled state of polarization, ready for application purposes. Here, we demonstrate that this assumption is unjustified. We show that in radiative cascades there exists an interplay between photon polarization and emission wavevector, which can be further amplified by embedding the emitters in micro-cavities. We discuss how the polarization entanglement of photon pairs from a biexciton-exciton cascade in quantum dots strongly depends on their propagation wavevector and we even observe entanglement vanishing for large emission angles. Our experimental results, backed by theoretical modeling, yield a brand-new understanding of cascaded emission for various quantum emitters. In addition, our model provides quantitative guidelines for designing optical microcavities that retain both a high degree of entanglement and collection efficiency, moving the community one step further towards an ideal source of entangled photons for quantum technologies. The assumption that light sources based on radiative cascades provide maximally polarization-entangled photons is not always correct. Here the authors show experimentally in cavity-embedded quantum dots that photon polarization correlates with its emission mode, impacting the degree of entanglement for emitted photon pairs.

DOI
10.1038/s41467-025-61460-3

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The generation of entangled photons from radiative cascades has enabled milestone experiments in quantum information science with several applications in photonic quantum technologies. Significant efforts are being devoted to pushing the performances of near-deterministic entangled-photon sources based on single quantum emitters often embedded in photonic cavities, so to boost the flux of photon pairs. The general postulate is that the emitter generates photons in a nearly maximally entangled state of polarization, ready for application purposes. Here, we demonstrate that this assumption is unjustified. We show that in radiative cascades there exists an interplay between photon polarization and emission wavevector, which can be further amplified by embedding the emitters in micro-cavities. We discuss how the polarization entanglement of photon pairs from a biexciton-exciton cascade in quantum dots strongly depends on their propagation wavevector and we even observe entanglement vanishing for large emission angles. Our experimental results, backed by theoretical modeling, yield a brand-new understanding of cascaded emission for various quantum emitters. In addition, our model provides quantitative guidelines for designing optical microcavities that retain both a high degree of entanglement and collection efficiency, moving the community one step further towards an ideal source of entangled photons for quantum technologies. The assumption that light sources based on radiative cascades provide maximally polarization-entangled photons is not always correct. Here the authors show experimentally in cavity-embedded quantum dots that photon polarization correlates with its emission mode, impacting the degree of entanglement for emitted photon pairs.
Motivated by recent advances in the development of single photon emitters for quantum information sciences, here we design and formulate a quantum cascade model that describes cascade emission by a quantum dot (QD) in a cavity structure while preserving entanglement that stores information needed for single photon emission. The theoretical approach is based on a photonic structure that consists of two orthogonal cavities in which resonance with either the first or second of the two emitted photons is possible, leading to amplification and rerouting of the entangled light. The cavity-QD scheme uses a four-level cascade emitter that involves three levels for each polarization, leading to two spatially entangled photons for each polarization. By solving the Schrodinger equation, we identify the characteristic properties of the system, which can be used in conjunction with optimization techniques to achieve the "best" design relative to a set of prioritized criteria or constraints in our optical system. The theoretical investigations include an analysis of emission spectra in addition to the joint spectral density profile, and the results demonstrate the ability of the cavities to act as frequency filters for the photons that make up the entanglements and to modify entanglement properties. The results provide new opportunities for the experimental design and engineering of on-demand single photon sources.
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Semiconductor quantum dots are promising sources for polarization-entangled photons. As an alternative to the usual cascaded biexciton-exciton emission, direct two-photon emission from the biexciton can be used. With a high-quality optical resonator tuned to half the biexciton energy, a large proportion of the photons can be steered into the two-photon emission channel. In this case the degree of polarization entanglement is inherently insensitive to the exciton fine-structure splitting. In the present work we analyze the biexciton emission with particular emphasis on the influence of coupling of the quantum-dot cavity system to its environment. Especially for a high-quality cavity, the coupling to the surrounding semiconductor material can open up additional phonon-assisted decay channels. Our analysis demonstrates that with the cavity tuned to half the biexciton energy, the potentially detrimental influence of the phonons on the polarization entanglement is strongly suppressed---high degrees of entanglement can still be achieved. We further discuss spectral properties and statistics of the emitted twin photons.
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Semiconductor quantum light sources are favorable for a wide range of quantum photonic tasks, particularly quantum computing and quantum information processing. Here, we theoretically investigate the properties of quantum emitters as a source of entangled photons with practical quantum properties including heralding of on-demand single photons. Through the theoretical analysis, we characterize the properties of a cascade (biexciton) emitter, including (1) studies of single-photon purity, (2) investigating the first- and second-order correlation functions, and (3) determining the Schmidt number of the entangled photons. The analytical expression derived for the Schmidt number of the cascade emitters reveals a strong dependence on the ratio of decay rates of the first and second photons. Looking into the joint spectral density of the generated biphotons, we show how the purity and degree of entanglement are connected to the production of heralded single photons. Our model is further developed to include polarization effects, fine structure splitting, and the emission delay between the exciton and biexciton emission. The extended model offers more details about the underlying mechanism of entangled photon production, and it provides additional degrees of freedom for manipulating the system and characterizing purity of the output photon. The theoretical investigations and the analysis provide a cornerstone for the experimental design and engineering of on-demand single photons.
We perform full time-resolved tomographic measurements of the polarization state of pairs of photons emitted during the radiative cascade of the confined biexciton in a semiconductor quantum dot. The biexciton was deterministically initiated using a $\ensuremath{\pi}$-area pulse into the biexciton two-photon absorption resonance. Our measurements demonstrate that the polarization states of the emitted photon pair are maximally entangled. We show that the measured degree of entanglement depends solely on the temporal resolution by which the time difference between the emissions of the photon pair is determined. A route for fabricating an on-demand source of maximally polarization entangled photon pairs is thereby provided.