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Applied Physics Letters

Fast radiative quantum dots: From single to multiple photon emission

Emmanuelle Peter, S. Laurent, Jacqueline Bloch, J. Hours, Spyridon Varoutsis, Isabelle Robert-Philip, A. Beveratos, Aristide Lemaître, A. Cavanna, Gilles Patriarche, P. Senellart, D. Martrou

Published May 28, 2007• 34 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Photon correlation measurements are performed on single GaAs quantum dots with various excitonic radiative lifetimes. A continuous increase of the probability that the quantum dot emits more than one photon per excitation pulse is observed when decreasing the exciton radiative lifetime. The authors show that this increase is due to recapture processes into the quantum dot. A model for the second-order autocorrelation function including relaxation processes is developed and gives good description of the experimental observations.

DOI
10.1063/1.2744475

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A bright source of single and indistinguishable photons

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In the fields of quantum communications and quantum computing, the transmission of information using single photons guarantees the security of the communication and enables calculations that would be impossible with our "classical" computers. One of the key elements in implementing such protocols is the photon source. It must emit, on demand, one and only one photon with specific quantum properties.The aim of this project is to characterise a source of single and indistinguishable photons, designed and manufactured at CEA-Grenoble, and consisting of an indium arsenide (InAs) semiconductor quantum dot integrated into a gallium arsenide (GaAs) nanocavity. With its low quality factor, the nanocavity enables photons to be extracted efficiently over a wide range of wavelengths (30nm). In addition, thanks to its small mode volume, the spontaneous emission of quantum dots within it can be accelerated by Purcell effect (Purcell factor up to 6).In this manuscript, we first detail the implementation and the optimisation of the experimental setups used to characterise the photons emitted by our sample : microphotoluminescence, radiative lifetime measurement, Hanbury-Brown and Twiss (HBT) experiment and Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) experiment. Then, we present the experimental results obtained for photons emitted by two distinct quantum dots : One containing neutral exciton states, and the second, containing a charged exciton state. In order to photo-create these exciton states in the quantum dots, two pulsed optical excitation schemes were implemented: the two-photon resonant excitation of the neutral biexciton, and the phonon-assisted quasi-resonant excitation of the neutral and charged excitons. We present the measurement of the three figures of merit of a single photon source for these two quantum dots : the brightness, the single-photon purity and the indistinguishability of the emitted photons. In a second phase, we will focus on the charged exciton state and measure the profile of its emission line and its autocorrelation function under continuous resonant excitation. These results, achieved within the nano-photonics group of the University of Basel, constitute the first demonstration of continuous excitation on these nanostructures, which is a good surprise given their small size.Finally, we will look at the effects of the application of mechanical stress on the energy separation of the two neutral exciton states, known as the "fine structure splitting" (FSS). During the radiative cascade of the neutral biexciton state, the two photons emitted are entangled in polarisation, and the fidelity of the entanglement depends in particular on the FSS. Here, we will consider a second sample, where the InAs quantum dots are embedded in a GaAs photonic nanowire. By bending the nanowire, mechanical stresses are applied to the quantum dots, which will modify the energy of the exciton states. We will present an experimental study aimed at observing a possible effect on the fine structure splitting.In conclusion, we have developed and optimised various experimental setups for characterising photon sources for applications in the fields of quantum communications and quantum computing. For a first version of these photonic nanostructures, the brightness, the single-photon purity and the indistinguishability of the photons emitted by our quantum dots integrated into nanocavities are very encouraging for the future. The next objectives are to improve the nanocavities and to characterise the decoherence phenomena and the mechanical coupling between the quantum dots and these nanostructures.

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The photon correlation of photon emission from a single quantum dot with cw excitation and pulsed excitation is investigated in details. To calculate the second-order correlation function for optical pumping, we deduce rate equations with a simplified two-level model under cw excitation and present the master equation approach in the interaction picture to the study of evolution of a three-level system under pulsed excitation. In addition, we report photon correlation measurements on a single self-assembled In 0.5 Ga 0.5 As quantum dot, which show strong antibunching behaviour under both the conditions of cw and pulsed excitations. The calculated results are in agreement with the experimental measurements.

Chinese Physics Letters•Oct 27, 2005•7 citations
Photon correlation measurements are performed on single GaAs quantum dots with various excitonic radiative lifetimes. A continuous increase of the probability that the quantum dot emits more than one photon per excitation pulse is observed when decreasing the exciton radiative lifetime. The authors show that this increase is due to recapture processes into the quantum dot. A model for the second-order autocorrelation function including relaxation processes is developed and gives good description of the experimental observations.
We report on photon correlation measurements on a single quantum dot formed at fluctuations of the interface of a GaAs/GaAlAs quantum well. We demonstrate that under pulsed nonresonant excitation, the quantum dot emits a single photon per pulse. This shows that after the photon emission, there is no refill of the quantum dot by the nearby two-dimensional reservoir of delocalized states. The possibility of delivering Fourier transform limited single photons makes this system a good candidate for exciton- and photon-based quantum information processing schemes.
We report correlation and cross-correlation measurements of photons emitted under continuous wave excitation by a single II–VI quantum dot (QD) grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. A standard technique of microphotoluminescence combined with an ultrafast photon correlation setup allowed us to see an antibunching effect on photons emitted by excitons recombining in a single CdTe∕ZnTe QD, as well as cross correlation within the biexciton (X2)-exciton (X) radiative cascade from the same dot. Fast microchannel plate photomultipliers and a time-correlated single photon module gave us an overall temporal resolution of 140ps better than the typical exciton lifetime in II–VI QDs of about 250ps.
We have studied the photoluminescence correlation from a single InAs/GaAs self-assembled Stranski–Krastanow quantum dot under continuous, as well as under pulsed excitation. Under weak continuous excitation, where the single dot luminescence is due primarily to single exciton recombinations, antibunching is observed in the single dot emission correlation. Under weak pulsed excitation, the number of photons emitted by the quantum dot per pulse is close to one. We present data obtained under both conditions and are able to show that devices based on single quantum dots can be used to generate single photons.
We analyse the population dynamics and the photon emission statistics of a single semiconductor quantum dot with an exciton–biexciton–triexciton multilevel driven by a pulse field, in which the quantum regression theorem and optical Bloch equations are employed. The populations of the three states are comparable under resonant excitation with the input pulse area around 1.5π. Three second-order cross-correlation functions demonstrate the correlated three-photon emissions at a given order from triexciton, biexciton and exciton states driven by single pulses, while the probability of the bunched three-photon cascaded emissions decreases to the minimum as the input pulse area increases to 2π in every period.
In the fields of quantum communications and quantum computing, the transmission of information using single photons guarantees the security of the communication and enables calculations that would be impossible with our "classical" computers. One of the key elements in implementing such protocols is the photon source. It must emit, on demand, one and only one photon with specific quantum properties.The aim of this project is to characterise a source of single and indistinguishable photons, designed and manufactured at CEA-Grenoble, and consisting of an indium arsenide (InAs) semiconductor quantum dot integrated into a gallium arsenide (GaAs) nanocavity. With its low quality factor, the nanocavity enables photons to be extracted efficiently over a wide range of wavelengths (30nm). In addition, thanks to its small mode volume, the spontaneous emission of quantum dots within it can be accelerated by Purcell effect (Purcell factor up to 6).In this manuscript, we first detail the implementation and the optimisation of the experimental setups used to characterise the photons emitted by our sample : microphotoluminescence, radiative lifetime measurement, Hanbury-Brown and Twiss (HBT) experiment and Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) experiment. Then, we present the experimental results obtained for photons emitted by two distinct quantum dots : One containing neutral exciton states, and the second, containing a charged exciton state. In order to photo-create these exciton states in the quantum dots, two pulsed optical excitation schemes were implemented: the two-photon resonant excitation of the neutral biexciton, and the phonon-assisted quasi-resonant excitation of the neutral and charged excitons. We present the measurement of the three figures of merit of a single photon source for these two quantum dots : the brightness, the single-photon purity and the indistinguishability of the emitted photons. In a second phase, we will focus on the charged exciton state and measure the profile of its emission line and its autocorrelation function under continuous resonant excitation. These results, achieved within the nano-photonics group of the University of Basel, constitute the first demonstration of continuous excitation on these nanostructures, which is a good surprise given their small size.Finally, we will look at the effects of the application of mechanical stress on the energy separation of the two neutral exciton states, known as the "fine structure splitting" (FSS). During the radiative cascade of the neutral biexciton state, the two photons emitted are entangled in polarisation, and the fidelity of the entanglement depends in particular on the FSS. Here, we will consider a second sample, where the InAs quantum dots are embedded in a GaAs photonic nanowire. By bending the nanowire, mechanical stresses are applied to the quantum dots, which will modify the energy of the exciton states. We will present an experimental study aimed at observing a possible effect on the fine structure splitting.In conclusion, we have developed and optimised various experimental setups for characterising photon sources for applications in the fields of quantum communications and quantum computing. For a first version of these photonic nanostructures, the brightness, the single-photon purity and the indistinguishability of the photons emitted by our quantum dots integrated into nanocavities are very encouraging for the future. The next objectives are to improve the nanocavities and to characterise the decoherence phenomena and the mechanical coupling between the quantum dots and these nanostructures.
The photon correlation of photon emission from a single quantum dot with cw excitation and pulsed excitation is investigated in details. To calculate the second-order correlation function for optical pumping, we deduce rate equations with a simplified two-level model under cw excitation and present the master equation approach in the interaction picture to the study of evolution of a three-level system under pulsed excitation. In addition, we report photon correlation measurements on a single self-assembled In 0.5 Ga 0.5 As quantum dot, which show strong antibunching behaviour under both the conditions of cw and pulsed excitations. The calculated results are in agreement with the experimental measurements.