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IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics

Quantum Dot Single Photon Sources Studied with Superconducting Single Photon Detectors

Martin J. Stevens, Robert H. Hadfield, Robert E. Schwall, Sae Woo Nam, Richard P. Mirin

Published Nov 1, 2006• 13 citations
Publisher

Abstract

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,$g^{(2)}$(0), is less than 0.260$\pm$0.024 for temperatures up to 100 K. At 120 K,$g^{(2)}$(0) increases to about 0.471, which is slightly less than the second-order intensity correlation expected from two independent single emitters. In addition, we characterize the performance of a superconducting single photon detector (SSPD) based on a nanopatterned niobium nitride wire that exhibits 68$\pm$3-ps timing jitter and less than 100-Hz dark count rate with a detection efficiency (DE) of up to 2% at 902 nm. This detector is used to measure spontaneous emission lifetimes of semiconductor quantum wells (QWs) emitting light at wavelengths of 935 and 1245 nm. The sensitivity to wavelengths longer than 1$\mu$m and the Gaussian temporal response of this superconducting detector present clear advantages over the conventional detector technologies. We also use this detector to characterize the emission from a single InGaAs QD embedded in a micropillar cavity, measuring a spontaneous emission lifetime of 370 ps and a$g^{(2)}$(0) of 0.24$\pm$0.03.

DOI
10.1109/jstqe.2006.885088

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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±\pm±0.024 for temperatures up to 100 K. At 120 K,g(2)g^{(2)}g(2)(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±\pm±3-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 1μ\muμm 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 ag(2)g^{(2)}g(2)(0) of 0.24±\pm±0.03.
Superconducting single photon detectors (SSPD) based on nanopatterned niobium nitride wires offer single photon counting at fast rates, low jitter, and low dark counts, from visible wavelengths well into the infrared. We demonstrate the first use of an SSPD, packaged in a commercial cryocooler, for single photon source characterization. The source is an optically pumped, microcavity-coupled InGaAs quantum dot, emitting single photons at 902 nm. The SSPD replaces the second silicon Avalanche Photodiode (APD) in a Hanbury-Brown Twiss interferometer measurement of the source second-order correlation function, g(2)( ?). The detection efficiency of the superconducting detector system is >2 % (coupling losses included). The SSPD system electronics jitter is 170 ps, versus 550 ps for the APD unit, allowing the source spontaneous emission lifetime to be measured with improved resolution.
We report the observation of photon antibunching from a single, self-assembled InGaAs/GaAs quantum dot at temperatures up to 135 K. The second-order intensity correlation, g(2)(0), is measured to be less than 0.260 for temperatures up to 100 K. At 120 K, g(2)(0) increases to about 0.471, which is slightly less than the second-order intensity correlation expected from two independent single emitters. At 135 K, g(2)(0) is 0.667, which still indicates nonclassical light emission that is equivalent to having three independent single emitters.
We describe the design and characterization of a fiber-coupled double-channel single-photon detection system based on superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPD), and its application for quantum optics experiments on semiconductor nanostructures. When operated at 2-K temperature, the system shows 10% quantum efficiency at 1.3-¿m wavelength with dark count rate below 10 counts per second and timing resolution <100 ps. The short recovery time and absence of afterpulsing leads to counting frequencies as high as 40 MHz. Moreover, the low dark count rate allows operation in continuous mode (without gating). These characteristics are very attractive-as compared to InGaAs avalanche photodiodes-for quantum optics experiments at telecommunication wavelengths. We demonstrate the use of the system in time-correlated fluorescence spectroscopy of quantum wells and in the measurement of the intensity correlation function of light emitted by semiconductor quantum dots at 1300 nm.
We use a superconducting single-photon detector with less than 40Hz dark count rate to measure spontaneous emission lifetimes of quantum wells emitting light at wavelengths of 935 and 1245nm. The timing jitter of the measurement system—which includes the detector and all other electronic and optical components—is 68±3ps. We demonstrate how the infrared sensitivity and Gaussian temporal response function of this superconducting detector present clear advantages over conventional detector technologies.
We report use of a niobium nitride superconducting single-photon detector in a time-correlated single-photon counting experiment. The detector has a timing jitter of 68 ± 3 ps full width at half maximum with a Gaussian temporal profile. The detector's dark count rate and detection efficiency can be tuned by adjusting the bias current applied to the device. Typical values include a detection efficiency of ~1-2% and a dark count rate below 100 Hz. We use this detector to measure time-resolved photoluminescence at wavelengths up to 1650 nm, well beyond the range of conventional silicon detectors. We also use this superconducting detector to measure the emission of a quantum dot single-photon source.
We report the routing of quantum light emitted by self-assembled InGaAs quantum dots (QDs) into the optical modes of a GaAs ridge waveguide and its efficient detection on-chip via evanescent coupling to NbN superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SSPDs). The waveguide coupled SSPDs primarily detect QD luminescence, with scattered photons from the excitation laser onto the proximal detector being negligible by comparison. The SSPD detection efficiency from the evanescently coupled waveguide modes is shown to be two orders of magnitude larger when compared with operation under normal incidence illumination, due to the much longer optical interaction length. Furthermore, in-situ time resolved measurements performed using the integrated detector show an average QD spontaneous emission lifetime of 0.95 ns, measured with a timing jitter of only 72 ps. The performance metrics of the SSPD integrated directly onto GaAs nano-photonic hardware confirms the strong potential for on-chip few-photon quantum optics using such semiconductor-superconductor hybrid systems.