Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Technical digest - International Electron Devices Meeting/Technical digest

Single photons and entangled photons from a quantum dot

Jelena Vuckovic A, Charles Santori, David A. Fattal, Matthew A. Pelton, Glenn S. Solomon, Bingyang Zhang, Jocelyn Plant, Y. Yamamoto

Published Jun 26, 2003• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We present an efficient source of indistinguishable single photons based on a pulsed excitation of a self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dot embedded in a three-dimensional micropost microcavity. The probability of generating two photons for the same pulse is reduced to 2%, compared to a Poisson-distributed source of the same intensity. An extension of this technique can be used to generate entangled photons. This photon source is crucial for practical implementations of quantum key distribution, as well as for quantum computation and networking based on photonic qubits.

DOI
10.1109/iedm.2002.1175785

Related papers

Generation of "triggered single photons" from a coherently-pumped quantum dot

Pradyumna K. Pathak, Stephen Hughes

A deterministic "on demand" source of single photons is a basic building block for linear quantum computation \cite{linear}, quantum cryptography \cite{crypto}, quantum teleportation \cite{teleport}, and quantum networks \cite{network}. In all these applications, quantum interference between two single-photon pulses on a symmetric beam splitter has been exploited \cite{review}, which imposes stringent requirement for the implemented single photons to be indistinguishable in all degrees of freedom, including their frequencies, spectral widths, pulse shapes, and polarizations. To generate single photons one requires a pumping mechanism to excite a "two-level emitter" and an efficient channeling of the subsequently emitted photons. The efficiency of the source can be enhanced by coupling the emitter to the waveguide \cite{manga} or a microcavity mode \cite{cklaw}. However, hitherto the solid-state single photon sources realized by using a quantum dot coupled with a microcavity rely on incoherent pumping of excitons, which leads to problems with timing jitter \cite{kiraz}, leading to a trade off between efficiency and indistinguishability. Here we introduce a means to realize a highly efficient solid state source of indistinguishable single photons using cavity-assisted adiabatic Raman passage in a single quantum dot - cavity system. We demonstrate pulse-triggered single photons with 100% efficiency and $>90$% indistinguishability using currently available experimental parameters.

arXiv:0911.5673•Nov 30, 2009•0 citations

Quantum dot single photon sources

Y. Yamamoto

Summary form only given. Single-photon sources have recently been demonstrated using a variety of devices, including molecules, mesoscopic quantum wells, colour centers, trapped ions, and semiconductor quantum dots. These sources rarely emit two or more photons in the same pulse, compared to a Poisson-distributed source of the same intensity. Numerous applications for single-photon sources have been proposed in the field of quantum information. However, most, including linear-optical quantum computation, also require that consecutive photons have identical wave packets. For a source based on a single quantum emitter, the emitter must therefore be excited in a rapid or deterministic way, and interact little with its surrounding environment. Here, we test the indistinguishability of photons emitted by a semiconductor quantum dot in a microcavity through a Hong-Ou-Mandel-type two-photon interference experiment. We find that consecutive photons are largely indistinguishable, with a mean wave-packet overlap as large as 0.81, making this source useful in a variety of experiments in quantum optics and quantum information.

European Quantum Electronics Conference (EQEC)•Jan 1, 2003•0 citations

Deterministic photon cascade from resonant two-photon excitation of a single InAs quantum dot

Gregor Weihs, Harishankar Jayakumar, Ana Predojević +3 more

We demonstrate the coherent creation of a biexciton in an InAs/GaAs quantum dot embedded in a planar microcavity through resonant two-photon excitation. This results in laser scattering-free cascaded single photons with excellent two-photon suppression. We also observe Rabi oscillations, Ramsey interference and high indistinguishability. This scheme can be used to generate entangled photon pairs and heralded single photons.

IEEE Photonics Conference•Sep 1, 2012•1 citation

Indistinguishable single photons from a quantum dot

David A. Fattal, Charles Santori, Jelena Vuckovic A +2 more

Abstract We report a set of experiments designed to test the quantum indistinguishability of single photons emitted by a resonantly pumped InAs/GaAs quantum dot, embedded in a microcavity. We first performed high resolution interferometric measurements on the source to infer its coherence time. By comparison with the exciton lifetime, obtained by time‐resolved spectroscopy, we found that some quantum dots were emitting almost transform‐limited photons. The measured ratio of the coherence time to the pulse duration gives a lower bound on the dephasing time which agrees well with previous studies. We then directly measured the mean overlap between wave packets of consecutive photons emitted 2 ns apart, through a Hong–Ou–Mandel type two‐photon interference experiment. For the best dot, an overlap as high as 0.81 was inferred. This result suggests that quantum dots could be a practical single photon source to perform quantum information processing experiments. We stress the importance of the microcavity for identical photon generation.

physica status solidi (b)•Jul 1, 2003•4 citations

Developing the quantum-dot single-photon sources with excellent performance by coupling asymmetric microcavity

Xiang You, Yu-Ming He

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) coupled with optical microcavities provide an excellent platform for generating high-performance single-photon sources. However, the current microcavity structures are difficult to solve the tradeoff between single-photon purity and indistinguishability without additional filtering, due to challenges in suppressing broad phonon sideband spectrum and two-photon emission in the practical experiments. To address these issues, we have developed a novel asymmetric microcavity that supports two nondegenerate polarized modes, both resonant with a single quantum dot. One cavity mode is broadband and is used for excitation to reduce two-photon emission intensity, while the other is narrowband and is used for collection to enhance the indistinguishability of single-photon sources. This asymmetric microcavity also has the ability to overcome at least half of the photon efficiency loss under polarization filtering. Moreover, our model has employed an excitation pulse that resonates with cavity modes eliminating spectral distortion of intracavity fields, and efficiently achieving deterministic population inversion of QDs compared to an elliptical cavity. Our scheme paves the way to develop the excellent performance single-photon sources with higher brightness, near-unity purity, and indistinguishability without any additional filtering in practical experiments.

Physical Review Research•Jan 21, 2025•7 citations

Source of Indistinguishable Single Photons Based on Epitaxial InAs/GaAs Quantum Dots for Integration in Quantum Computing Schemes

A. I. Galimov, Maxim V. Rakhlin, Grigorii V. Klimko +5 more

The characteristics of single photons emitted by columnar microstructures based on epitaxial microcavity heterostructures with distributed Bragg reflectors, which include self-organized InAs/GaAs quantum dots and have a comparatively low Q factor in the range of 2000–3000, have been studied. It has been shown that a state with a given spin configuration—exciton with a certain polarization or trion—can be initialized in a single quantum dot under the coherent resonant linearly polarized optical pumping by a π pulse. The measurement of two-photon interference by the Hong–Ou–Mandel scheme has demonstrated that the degree of indistinguishability of successively emitted single photons is 97 and 93% at a time delay of 2 and 250 ns, respectively. Prospects of application of such sources in optical quantum computing schemes have been discussed.

Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics Letters•Feb 1, 2021•16 citations
We present an efficient source of indistinguishable single photons based on a pulsed excitation of a self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dot embedded in a three-dimensional micropost microcavity. The probability of generating two photons for the same pulse is reduced to 2%, compared to a Poisson-distributed source of the same intensity. An extension of this technique can be used to generate entangled photons. This photon source is crucial for practical implementations of quantum key distribution, as well as for quantum computation and networking based on photonic qubits.
A deterministic "on demand" source of single photons is a basic building block for linear quantum computation \cite{linear}, quantum cryptography \cite{crypto}, quantum teleportation \cite{teleport}, and quantum networks \cite{network}. In all these applications, quantum interference between two single-photon pulses on a symmetric beam splitter has been exploited \cite{review}, which imposes stringent requirement for the implemented single photons to be indistinguishable in all degrees of freedom, including their frequencies, spectral widths, pulse shapes, and polarizations. To generate single photons one requires a pumping mechanism to excite a "two-level emitter" and an efficient channeling of the subsequently emitted photons. The efficiency of the source can be enhanced by coupling the emitter to the waveguide \cite{manga} or a microcavity mode \cite{cklaw}. However, hitherto the solid-state single photon sources realized by using a quantum dot coupled with a microcavity rely on incoherent pumping of excitons, which leads to problems with timing jitter \cite{kiraz}, leading to a trade off between efficiency and indistinguishability. Here we introduce a means to realize a highly efficient solid state source of indistinguishable single photons using cavity-assisted adiabatic Raman passage in a single quantum dot - cavity system. We demonstrate pulse-triggered single photons with 100% efficiency and >90>90>90% indistinguishability using currently available experimental parameters.
Summary form only given. Single-photon sources have recently been demonstrated using a variety of devices, including molecules, mesoscopic quantum wells, colour centers, trapped ions, and semiconductor quantum dots. These sources rarely emit two or more photons in the same pulse, compared to a Poisson-distributed source of the same intensity. Numerous applications for single-photon sources have been proposed in the field of quantum information. However, most, including linear-optical quantum computation, also require that consecutive photons have identical wave packets. For a source based on a single quantum emitter, the emitter must therefore be excited in a rapid or deterministic way, and interact little with its surrounding environment. Here, we test the indistinguishability of photons emitted by a semiconductor quantum dot in a microcavity through a Hong-Ou-Mandel-type two-photon interference experiment. We find that consecutive photons are largely indistinguishable, with a mean wave-packet overlap as large as 0.81, making this source useful in a variety of experiments in quantum optics and quantum information.
Abstract We report a set of experiments designed to test the quantum indistinguishability of single photons emitted by a resonantly pumped InAs/GaAs quantum dot, embedded in a microcavity. We first performed high resolution interferometric measurements on the source to infer its coherence time. By comparison with the exciton lifetime, obtained by time‐resolved spectroscopy, we found that some quantum dots were emitting almost transform‐limited photons. The measured ratio of the coherence time to the pulse duration gives a lower bound on the dephasing time which agrees well with previous studies. We then directly measured the mean overlap between wave packets of consecutive photons emitted 2 ns apart, through a Hong–Ou–Mandel type two‐photon interference experiment. For the best dot, an overlap as high as 0.81 was inferred. This result suggests that quantum dots could be a practical single photon source to perform quantum information processing experiments. We stress the importance of the microcavity for identical photon generation.
Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) coupled with optical microcavities provide an excellent platform for generating high-performance single-photon sources. However, the current microcavity structures are difficult to solve the tradeoff between single-photon purity and indistinguishability without additional filtering, due to challenges in suppressing broad phonon sideband spectrum and two-photon emission in the practical experiments. To address these issues, we have developed a novel asymmetric microcavity that supports two nondegenerate polarized modes, both resonant with a single quantum dot. One cavity mode is broadband and is used for excitation to reduce two-photon emission intensity, while the other is narrowband and is used for collection to enhance the indistinguishability of single-photon sources. This asymmetric microcavity also has the ability to overcome at least half of the photon efficiency loss under polarization filtering. Moreover, our model has employed an excitation pulse that resonates with cavity modes eliminating spectral distortion of intracavity fields, and efficiently achieving deterministic population inversion of QDs compared to an elliptical cavity. Our scheme paves the way to develop the excellent performance single-photon sources with higher brightness, near-unity purity, and indistinguishability without any additional filtering in practical experiments.
The characteristics of single photons emitted by columnar microstructures based on epitaxial microcavity heterostructures with distributed Bragg reflectors, which include self-organized InAs/GaAs quantum dots and have a comparatively low Q factor in the range of 2000–3000, have been studied. It has been shown that a state with a given spin configuration—exciton with a certain polarization or trion—can be initialized in a single quantum dot under the coherent resonant linearly polarized optical pumping by a π pulse. The measurement of two-photon interference by the Hong–Ou–Mandel scheme has demonstrated that the degree of indistinguishability of successively emitted single photons is 97 and 93% at a time delay of 2 and 250 ns, respectively. Prospects of application of such sources in optical quantum computing schemes have been discussed.