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arXiv:2511.00243 · Physical Review A

Quantum-dot single-photon-source performance with off-resonant pulse preparation schemes

Gavin Crowder, Lora Ramunno, Stephen Hughes

Published Feb 9, 2026• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The preparation of photonic qubits in the excited state is an integral part of the performance of an on-demand single photon source (SPS). Conventional resonant excitation, an excellent approach to maximize the coherence and indistinguishability of the SPS, often requires polarization filtering to remove the pump signal and isolate the qubit emission, but this results in an inherent 50\% hit to the efficiency. Recent excitation schemes strategically try to exploit pulses that excite the qubit while avoiding spectral overlap to bypass this required filtering. In this work, we compare three such pumping schemes to quantify the important SPS figures-of-merit for off-resonant quantum dot schemes, using: (i) a symmetrically detuned dichromatic pulse, (ii) a notch-filtered adiabatic rapid passage (NARP) pulse, and (iii) a swing up of the quantum emitter population (SUPER) pulse. Due to large instantaneous pulse strengths, the dichromatic pulse suffers from phonon-induced dephasing which can lower the SPS performance by up to 50\%. In contrast, the NARP and SUPER pulses are shielded from phonon coupling to differing degrees but both maintain excellent SPS performance. The SUPER pulse can lose significant efficiency if there is variance in its constituent pulses' amplitude, pulse width, or frequency, while the NARP pulse, though potentially more difficult to realize in experiments, is robust against variance in the pulse preparation.

DOI
10.1103/3fd4-x4d1

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The preparation of photonic qubits in the excited state is an integral part of the performance of an on-demand single photon source (SPS). Conventional resonant excitation, an excellent approach to maximize the coherence and indistinguishability of the SPS, often requires polarization filtering to remove the pump signal and isolate the qubit emission, but this results in an inherent 50% hit to the efficiency. Recent excitation schemes strategically try to exploit pulses that excite the qubit while avoiding spectral overlap to bypass this required filtering. In this work, we compare three such pumping schemes to quantify the important SPS figures-of-merit for off-resonant quantum dot schemes, using: (i) a symmetrically detuned dichromatic pulse, (ii) a notch-filtered adiabatic rapid passage (NARP) pulse, and (iii) a swing up of the quantum emitter population (SUPER) pulse. Due to large instantaneous pulse strengths, the dichromatic pulse suffers from phonon-induced dephasing which can lower the SPS performance by up to 50%. In contrast, the NARP and SUPER pulses are shielded from phonon coupling to differing degrees but both maintain excellent SPS performance. The SUPER pulse can lose significant efficiency if there is variance in its constituent pulses' amplitude, pulse width, or frequency, while the NARP pulse, though potentially more difficult to realize in experiments, is robust against variance in the pulse preparation.
The preparation of quantum-dot qubits in the excited state is an integral part of the performance of an on-demand single photon source. Recent excitation schemes strategically use pulses that avoid spectral overlap with the qubit emission for easier differentiation between the pump and signal. In this work, we look at the robustness of two such pumping schemes, (i) a dichromatic pulse, and (ii) a notch-filtered adiabatic rapid passage (NARP) approach, in the presence of phonon coupling. We find that due to large instantaneous pulse strengths, the dichromatic pulse suffers from phonon-induced pure dephasing and can have up to 50% worse performance as a single photon source. On the other hand, the NARP approach is more robust against the phonon coupling due to a weaker and smoother pulse profile.
The development of high-performance quantum technologies relies on the ability to prepare the quantum states of solid-state emitters with high fidelity while cleanly separating the emitted photons from the driving field. Here, we present a comprehensive theoretical comparison of three single-pulse coherent control protocols: resonant Rabi oscillations, adiabatic rapid passage (ARP), and notch-filtered ARP (NARP). To establish an ideal performance baseline, we first map the parameter spaces for each protocol in a closed system, identifying the regions of robust population inversion. We then use a Lindblad master equation to compute the time-resolved emission spectra in the presence of decoherence. Our results show that while all three schemes can generate identical, transform-limited Lorentzian photons, NARP uniquely combines the high-fidelity robustness of adiabatic passage with intrinsic spectral separability. Our findings, which align with the work on NARP by Wilbur et al., establish a clear design framework for engineering the next generation of quantum light sources.
Single or entangled photon states are vital for quantum communication. They can be generated on-demand by solid-state quantum emitters. Achieving high-fidelity photons depends on the excitation process. In addition to more established schemes, we present a radically different excitation scheme using two red-detuned laser pulses through the swing-up (SUPER) effect. The SUPER scheme is compared to other schemes like Rabi rotations, phonon-assisted preparation and adiabatic rapid passage. Experimental demonstrations of the different schemes are pointed out. With this, we highlight advancements in photon generation from solid-state quantum emitters.
In this presentation I will describe a new laser driving scheme for triggered high-brightness single photon emitters using a chirped laser pulse possessing a spectral hole resonant with the transition energy of the emitter, referred to as Notch-filtered adiabatic rapid passage (NARP). When combined with optimized photonic structures for enhanced collection efficiency and commercial filters we estimate that NARP would provide less than 10-8 scattered photons per emitted photon with a 4% detection loss together with resonant driving for high photon indistinguishability. We demonstrate inversion using NARP experimentally in a single semiconductor QD.
Self-assembled semiconductor quantum dots are often referred to as artificial atoms. They are bright single photon sources implemented in an environment easier scalable then implementations with single atoms. These properties promote quantum dots as promising candidates for quantum information technology. A high fidelity state preparation reduces the error rate in quantum information protocols and is hence an essential requirement. \n \nIn this thesis the technique of rapid adiabatic passage is implemented with ultra-fast pulse parameters and is used to study single self-assembled quantum dots by detecting the resonance fluorescence signal following an optical excitation. Different experimental schemes provide insights into different aspects of a quantum dot and its environment. \n \nThe negative trion transition in a single quantum dot represents a good approach to creating an ideal two-level system. With this two-level system, the interaction of the electron trapped in the QD and phonons in the host material is studied with a single chirped pulse. Measuring the resonance fluorescence response of the quantum dot as a function of the pulse area for a set of chirp parameters reveals the electron-phonon interaction. Phonons in the semiconductor environment are a source of decoherence. The non-monotonic behaviour of the coupling to phonons is experimentally demonstrated. Furthermore, a decoupling regime where the electron oscillation is too fast for phonons to follow is reached. A high fidelity state preparation with a vanishing coupling to phonons is demonstrated. Experimental results are affirmed with an excellent agreement with simulations. \n \nIn another scheme, a three-level system consisting of the crystal ground state of the quantum dot, the neutral exciton and the biexciton is investigated. The goal in this experiment is a coherent, resonant and high fidelity preparation of a biexciton state robust against system parameter fluctuations. A biexciton in a semiconductor quantum dot is a source of polarization-entangled photons with high potential for implementation in scalable systems. An excitation with chirped pulses applying the technique of rapid adiabatic passage is the key for the biexciton preparation scheme. In contrast to other state of the art techniques, an interaction with phonons is here intentionally minimized reducing the dephasing and maintaining at the same time a robustness with respect to pulse area and detuning. A fidelity close to one is reached over a pulse area range of more than π. Also in this case, the interpretation of the experiment is confirmed by an excellent agreement with simulations which include a microscopic coupling to phonons. \n \n \nIn a third experiment, a sequence of two chirped pulses with different point spread functions is used to overcome the diffraction limit in spectroscopy. A universal technique - optical nanoscopy via quantum control - to perform diffraction-unlimited spectroscopy on two-level systems is presented. A model for simulating the system is developed and gives a prediction for the expected spatial resolution as a function of the pulse parameters. The concept is demonstrated and the prediction is fulfilled on self-assembled semiconductor quantum dots. A resolution down to 30 nm with an excitation wavelength of 950 nm is reached.
In the SUPER scheme (Swing-UP of the quantum EmitteR population), excitation of a quantum emitter is achieved with two off-resonant, red-detuned laser pulses. This allows the generation of high-quality single photons without the need of complex laser stray light suppression or careful spectral filtering. In the present work, we extend this promising method to quantum emitters, specifically semiconductor quantum dots, inside a resonant optical cavity. A significant advantage of the SUPER scheme is identified in that it eliminates re-excitation of the quantum emitter by suppressing photon emission during the excitation cycle. This, in turn, leads to almost ideal single-photon purity, overcoming a major factor typically limiting the quality of photons generated with quantum emitters in high-quality cavities. We further find that for cavity-mediated biexciton emission of degenerate photon pairs, the SUPER scheme leads to near-perfect biexciton initialization with very high values of polarization entanglement of emitted photon pairs. Published by the American Physical Society 2024