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Science

Pick a Color

Published Dec 6, 2007• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The ability to detect single photons makes it possible to investigate the quantum properties of light and to implement strategies for quantum cryptography and quantum communications with single photons as the information carriers. To date, photon detectors have come in two guises: They can be designed either for sensitivity at a single energy or over a broad range of energies, but neither option has offered on-chip tunability of the detected wavelength. Gustavsson et al. now describe a frequency-tunable single-photon detector for the microwave regime using a double quantum dot structure. They are able to shift the discrete energy levels of one dot with respect to the other by application of appropriate gate voltages. Using time-resolved charge detection techniques, they can then directly relate the detection of a tunneling electron to the absorption of a single photon, the energy of which corresponds to the tuned energy-level separation between the two dots. — ISO

DOI
10.1126/science.318.5856.1527a

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The ability to detect single photons makes it possible to investigate the quantum properties of light and to implement strategies for quantum cryptography and quantum communications with single photons as the information carriers. To date, photon detectors have come in two guises: They can be designed either for sensitivity at a single energy or over a broad range of energies, but neither option has offered on-chip tunability of the detected wavelength. Gustavsson et al. now describe a frequency-tunable single-photon detector for the microwave regime using a double quantum dot structure. They are able to shift the discrete energy levels of one dot with respect to the other by application of appropriate gate voltages. Using time-resolved charge detection techniques, they can then directly relate the detection of a tunneling electron to the absorption of a single photon, the energy of which corresponds to the tuned energy-level separation between the two dots. — ISO
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Detectors of microwave photons find applications in different fields ranging from security to cosmology. Due to the intrinsic difficulties related to the detection of vanishingly small energy quanta ℏ ω , significant portions of the microwave electromagnetic spectrum are still uncovered by suitable techniques. No prevailing technology has clearly emerged yet, although different solutions have been tested in different contexts. Here, we focus on semiconductor quantum dots, which feature wide tunability by external gate voltages and scalability for large architectures. We discuss possible pathways for the development of microwave photon detectors based on photon-assisted tunneling in semiconducting double quantum dot circuits. In particular, we consider implementations based on either broadband transmission lines or resonant cavities, and we discuss how developments in charge sensing techniques and hybrid architectures may be beneficial for the development of efficient photon detectors in the microwave range.
The detection of single microwave photons remains a difficult challenge because of their low energy. The authors demonstrate that an aluminum superconducting double dot can be tuned to a regime in which a photon creating a single quasiparticle pair changes the quantum capacitance of the device. By using high-bandwidth reflectometry techniques, they observe the absorption of photons in real time. They also exploit the band structure of the device to tune the frequencies to which it is sensitive and use this to carry out spectroscopy on the ambient black-body radiation environment in their dilution refrigerator.
We develop quantum devices for the generation, manipulation and detection of light at the single photon level. Quantum dot devices allow for the generation of single and entangled photons at various frequencies including telecom wavelengths. We also develop single photon detectors with high efficiency based on NbTIN superconducting nanostructures, low noise and high time resolution to enable a range of applications including quantum communication, quantum sensing and integrated photonics. To allow for complex systems, integrated quantum optics circuits where we combine quantum sources and superconducting detectors are under development.