Summary form only given. The spectroscopy of individual quantum dots (QDs) using optical micro-probing techniques is opening up possibilities of various applications based on the physics of the zero-dimensional (0D) semiconductor structures. Self-assembled quantum dots (SAQDs) are also attractive 0D structures, where strong confinement on a no-meter scale can be realized. Here, we carried out time-correlation measurements of excited carriers in single SAQDs in order to realize coherent optical control. The sharpness of the resonance lines in single dot photoluminescence allows us to observe a long phase relaxation time.
Summary form only given. The spectroscopy of individual quantum dots (QDs) using optical micro-probing techniques is opening up possibilities of various applications based on the physics of the zero-dimensional (0D) semiconductor structures. Self-assembled quantum dots (SAQDs) are also attractive 0D structures, where strong confinement on a no-meter scale can be realized. Here, we carried out time-correlation measurements of excited carriers in single SAQDs in order to realize coherent optical control. The sharpness of the resonance lines in single dot photoluminescence allows us to observe a long phase relaxation time.
We developed a high-resolution Michelson interferometer with a He–Ne two-frequency laser positioning system, and measured the coherent carrier dynamics of a single InAs self-assembled quantum dot (SAQD) using a micro-spectroscopy system. The phase-locked double pulses were stabilized, with the maximum deviation being below 10 nm during the long measurement time of 1 h. Using this system, coherent control of an exciton in an InAs SAQD with very fine phase stabilization was demonstrated. The dephasing time of the single quantum dots was 9.5 ps which is close to that estimated from the homogeneous linewidth in the photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectrum.
Next-generation information technology is expected to rely on discrete two-state quantum systems that can deterministically emit single photons. Quantum dots are mesoscopic (~10,000 atoms large) semiconductor islands grown in a host crystal of larger band-gap that make well-defined two-level quantum systems and are very attractive due to stability, record coherence times, and the possibility of integrating them into larger structures, such as optical microcavities. This work presents experimental progress towards understanding the coherent optical processes that occur in single quantum dots, particularly such phenomena that might be one day utilized for quantum communication applications. High resolution low temperature optical spectroscopy is used in conjunction with first order (amplitude) and second-order (intensity) correlation measurements of the emitted field. A novel technique is introduced that is capable of harvesting the fluorescence of single dots at the same frequency as the laser, previously impossible due to insurmountable scattering. This technique enables the observation, for the first time, of single quantum dot resonance fluorescence, in both the weak and strong excitation regimes, which forms the basis for deterministic generation of single photons. Guided by the rich theoretical description available from quantum optics with atoms we obtain insight into the complex dynamics of this driven system. Quantum dots confined to novel optical microcavities were further investigated using micro photoluminescence. An optical microcavity properly coupled to a two-level system can profoundly modify its emission characteristics via quantum electrodynamical effects, which are highly attractive for single photon sources. The all-epitaxial structures we probe are distinguished by a bulk morphology that overcomes the fragility problems of existing approaches, and provides high quality factors as well as small mode volumes. Lasing is obtained with larger strucutres. Additionally, isolation of individual dots is further realized in smaller cavities and the Purcell effect observed in time-resolved photon counting experiments.
Summary form only given. A realization of time-bin entanglement obtained from quantum dots would join the strength of long distance transmission that characterizes this type of entanglement with the single photon state purity of the quantum dot emission. Compared with polarization entanglement from quantum dots this scheme does not require elimination of the fine structure splitting responsible for partial distinguishability of the quantum dot cascades [1].Here, we present our results on coherent and resonant excitation of quantum dots, creation of photon pairs, scattering free emission and measurement of the high purity of the emitted photons [2, 3]. In addition, we will show our measurements of the generated time-bin entanglement. To excite a single quantum dot we performed two-photon resonant excitation of the biexciton state. Here, we exploited the biexciton binding energy in order to use the laser light which was not resonant to any photon emitted from the quantum dot (Fig. 1a). Our measurements were performed on a single self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dot. We confirmed the resonant nature of the excitation by observing Rabi oscillations (Fig. 1b). Additionally, we performed Ramsey interference measurement and determined the coherence time of the ground-biexciton state superposition. These measurements show that we can coherently transfer the phase of the excitation laser onto the quantum dot system, a necessary requirement to obtain time-bin entanglement.To test the statistics of the emitted state we measured the auto-correlation of the emitted photons (Fig. 3c). Here, the auto-correlation parameter at zero delay was measured to be 0.012(1) without and 0.0073(8) with background subtraction. In addition, we performed a measurement to characterize the state emitted from a quantum dot using a witness-based criterion described in [4]. With this measurement we experimentally confirmed that the resonantly excited quantum dot emits a non-Gaussian state of light (Fig. 1d). This measurement is the first of this nature ever performed on a semiconductor single photon emitter.
The strong confinement of semiconductor excitons in a quantum dot gives rise to atomlike behavior. The full benefit of such a structure is best observed in resonant excitation where the excited state can be deterministically populated and coherently manipulated. Because of the large refractive index and device geometry it remains challenging to observe resonantly excited emission that is free from laser scattering in III/V self-assembled quantum dots. Here we exploit the biexciton binding energy to create an extremely clean single photon source via two-photon resonant excitation of an InAs/GaAs quantum dot. We observe complete suppression of the excitation laser and multiphoton emissions. Additionally, we perform full coherent control of the ground-biexciton state qubit and observe an extended coherence time using an all-optical echo technique. The deterministic coherent photon pair creation makes this system suitable for the generation of time-bin entanglement and experiments on the interaction of photons from dissimilar sources.
Single photon emission is one of the most striking optical properties of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs), and the corresponding photon anti-bunching effect was observed by non-resonant and resonant photoluminescence experiments in single QDs [1,2]. Up to now, all the measurements reported in the literature focus on the incoherent photoluminescence signal for achieving single photon emission. In this regime, the linewidth of the photoluminescence spectrum is limited to the so-called radiative limit. In this paper, we report on the resonant emission (RE) of the exciton in single InAs/GaAs QDs embedded in a planar microcavity [2]. We present an original type of single photon source based on the coherent laser light scattering by a single QD [3]. Besides the antibunching effect showing the nonclassical nature of the emitted light, we observe that the QD emission spectrum is determined by the spectrum of the resonant excitation laser. Figure (a,b,c) shows high-resolution measurements by Fourier transform spectroscopy of the RE where the data are fitted to the first-order correlation function g(1)(τ) of the RE of a two-level system. The inverse Fourier transform of the g(1)(τ) function allows a direct comparison of the different RE emission profiles in figure (d,e,f). By reducing the resonant excitation power, the Mollow triplet shrinks to a single narrow Lorentzian line, while the relative intensity of this narrow peak increases and tends to overwhelm the RE spectrum. This implies that single QDs can produce single photons with a coherence time that is not limited anymore by the QD electronic properties, resulting in an ultra-coherent character [3]. References [1] P. Michler et al, Science 290, 2282 (2000). [2] H. S. Nguyen et al, Phys. Rev. Lett. (accepted, in press). See arXiv 1109.4304. [3] H. S. Nguyen et al, Appl. Phys. Lett. 99, 261904 (2011).
In this presentation, we observed the coherent optical nonlinear interaction of exciton in a single InAs/GaAs self-assembled QD by using coherent control technique at the wavelength 1127 nm, 4.2 K. Due to the large diameter of InAs QDs in the longer wavelength range, dipole moment of confined excitons is predicted to be large so that coherent optical interaction such as Rabi oscillation is expected to be observed. Large dipole moment is one of the most important criteria to realize strong interaction between photons and excitons in QDs.