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Optics Express

Third-order antibunching from an imperfect single-photon source

Martin J. Stevens, Scott Glancy, Sae Woo Nam, Richard P. Mirin

Published Feb 4, 2014• 56 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We measure second- and third-order temporal coherences, g((2))(τ) and g((3))(τ1,τ2), of an optically excited single-photon source: an InGaAs quantum dot in a microcavity pedestal. Increasing the optical excitation power leads to an increase in the measured count rate, and also an increase in multi-photon emission probability. We show that standard measurements of g((2)) provide limited information about this multi-photon probability, and that more information can be gained by simultaneously measuring g((3)). Experimental results are compared with a simple theoretical model to show that the observed antibunchings are consistent with an incoherent addition of two sources: 1) an ideal single-photon source that never emits multiple photons and 2) a background cavity emission having Poissonian photon number statistics. Spectrally resolved cross-correlation measurements between quantum-dot and cavity modes show that photons from these two sources are largely uncorrelated, further supporting the model. We also analyze the Hanbury Brown-Twiss interferometer implemented with two or three "click" detectors, and explore the conditions under which it can be used to accurately measure g((2))(τ) and g((3))(τ1,τ2).

DOI
10.1364/oe.22.003244

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We measure second- and third-order temporal coherences, g((2))(τ) and g((3))(τ1,τ2), of an optically excited single-photon source: an InGaAs quantum dot in a microcavity pedestal. Increasing the optical excitation power leads to an increase in the measured count rate, and also an increase in multi-photon emission probability. We show that standard measurements of g((2)) provide limited information about this multi-photon probability, and that more information can be gained by simultaneously measuring g((3)). Experimental results are compared with a simple theoretical model to show that the observed antibunchings are consistent with an incoherent addition of two sources: 1) an ideal single-photon source that never emits multiple photons and 2) a background cavity emission having Poissonian photon number statistics. Spectrally resolved cross-correlation measurements between quantum-dot and cavity modes show that photons from these two sources are largely uncorrelated, further supporting the model. We also analyze the Hanbury Brown-Twiss interferometer implemented with two or three "click" detectors, and explore the conditions under which it can be used to accurately measure g((2))(τ) and g((3))(τ1,τ2).
The second-order photon correlation function g2(τ) is of great importance in quantum optics. g2(τ) is typically measured with the Hanbury Brown and Twiss (HBT) interferometer, which employs a pair of single-photon detectors and a dual-channel time acquisition module. Here, we demonstrate a new method to measure and extract g2(τ) with a standard single-photon avalanche photodiode (dead-time = 22 ns) and a single-channel time acquisition module. This is realized by shifting the coincidence counts of interest to a time window not affected by the dead-time and after-pulse of the detection system using a fiber-based delay line. The new scheme is verified by measuring g2(τ) from a single colloidal nanocrystal. Photon antibunching is unambiguously observed and agrees well with the result measured using the standard HBT setup. Our scheme simplifies the higher-order correlation technique and might be favored in cost-sensitive circumstances.
We investigate the intensity correlation properties of single photons emitted from an optically excited single semiconductor quantum dot. The second order temporal coherence function of the photons emitted at various wavelengths is measured as a function of the excitation power. We show experimentally and theoretically that a quantum dot is not only a source of nonclassically correlated monochromatic photons but is also a source of multicolor photons with tunable correlation properties. We found that the emitted photon statistics can be varied by the excitation rate from a sub-Poissonian one, where the photons are temporally antibunched, to super-Poissonian, where they are temporally bunched.
We report the observation of photon antibunching from a single, self-assembled InGaAs quantum dot (QD) at temperatures up to 135 K. The second-order intensity correlation,g(2)g^{(2)}g(2)(0), is less than 0.260$\pm0.024fortemperaturesupto100K.At120K,0.024 for temperatures up to 100 K. At 120 K,0.024fortemperaturesupto100K.At120K,g^{(2)}(0)increasestoabout0.471,whichisslightlylessthanthesecond−orderintensitycorrelationexpectedfromtwoindependentsingleemitters.Inaddition,wecharacterizetheperformanceofasuperconductingsinglephotondetector(SSPD)basedonananopatternedniobiumnitridewirethatexhibits68(0) increases to about 0.471, which is slightly less than the second-order intensity correlation expected from two independent single emitters. In addition, we characterize the performance of a superconducting single photon detector (SSPD) based on a nanopatterned niobium nitride wire that exhibits 68(0)increasestoabout0.471,whichisslightlylessthanthesecond−orderintensitycorrelationexpectedfromtwoindependentsingleemitters.Inaddition,wecharacterizetheperformanceofasuperconductingsinglephotondetector(SSPD)basedonananopatternedniobiumnitridewirethatexhibits68\pm3−pstimingjitterandlessthan100−Hzdarkcountratewithadetectionefficiency(DE)ofupto23-ps timing jitter and less than 100-Hz dark count rate with a detection efficiency (DE) of up to 2% at 902 nm. This detector is used to measure spontaneous emission lifetimes of semiconductor quantum wells (QWs) emitting light at wavelengths of 935 and 1245 nm. The sensitivity to wavelengths longer than 13−pstimingjitterandlessthan100−Hzdarkcountratewithadetectionefficiency(DE)ofupto2\mumandtheGaussiantemporalresponseofthissuperconductingdetectorpresentclearadvantagesovertheconventionaldetectortechnologies.WealsousethisdetectortocharacterizetheemissionfromasingleInGaAsQDembeddedinamicropillarcavity,measuringaspontaneousemissionlifetimeof370psandam and the Gaussian temporal response of this superconducting detector present clear advantages over the conventional detector technologies. We also use this detector to characterize the emission from a single InGaAs QD embedded in a micropillar cavity, measuring a spontaneous emission lifetime of 370 ps and amandtheGaussiantemporalresponseofthissuperconductingdetectorpresentclearadvantagesovertheconventionaldetectortechnologies.WealsousethisdetectortocharacterizetheemissionfromasingleInGaAsQDembeddedinamicropillarcavity,measuringaspontaneousemissionlifetimeof370psandag^{(2)}(0)of0.24(0) of 0.24(0)of0.24\pm$0.03.
Single quantum dots (QDs) are frequently used as single-photon sources, taking advantage of the final exciton decay in a cascade that produces energetically detuned photons. We propose and analyze a new concept of single-photon source, namely, a few-QD microcavity system driven close to, but below the lasing threshold under strong excitation. Surprisingly, even for two or three QDs inside a cavity, antibunching is observed. To quantify the results, we find that a classification of single-photon emission in terms of antibunching in the autocorrelation function g(2)(0){g}^{(2)}(0)g(2)(0) is insufficient and more details of the photon statistics are required. Our investigations are based on a quantum-optical theory that we solve to obtain the density operator for the quantum-mechanical active medium and radiation field.
We observe antibunching in the photons emitted from a strongly coupled single quantum dot and pillar microcavity in resonance. When the quantum dot was spectrally detuned from the cavity mode, the cavity emission remained antibunched, and also anticorrelated from the quantum dot emission. Resonant pumping of the selected quantum dot via an excited state enabled these observations by eliminating the background emitters that are usually coupled to the cavity. This device demonstrates an on-demand single-photon source operating in the strong coupling regime, with a Purcell factor of 61+/-7 and quantum efficiency of 97%.