Optical properties of semiconductors coupled to a superconductor and their application to quantum information and communication

Shlomi Bouscher, Dmitry Panna, Alex Hayat

Abstract Devices combining superconductors with semiconductors offer a wide range of applications, particularly in the growing field of quantum information processing. This is due to their ability to take advantage of both the extensive knowledge gathered in the field of semiconductors and the unique quantum properties of superconductors. This results in novel device concepts, such as structures generating and detecting entangled photon pairs as well as novel optical gain and laser realizations. In this review, we discuss the fundamental concepts and the underlying physical phenomena of superconductor–semiconductor optoelectronics as well as practical device implementations.

Matthias Le Dall, Igor Diniz, Rog 'erio de Sousa

Hong Tang, Denglong Wang, Weixi Zhang +2 more

In the past few years, with developing the technology of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and improving the semiconductor technology, it has become possible to realize the application of optical soliton to communication device. Studies show the reduction of group velocity of the optical soliton in EIT medium under weak driving condition, which possibly realizes the storing of optical pulses in information storage. More importantly, semiconductor quantum wells have the inherent advantages such as large electric dipole moments of the transitions, high nonlinear optical coefficients, small size, easily operating and integrating. So it is considered to be the most potential EIT medium to realize the application of quantum devices. The optical soliton behavior in the semiconductor quantum well is studied, which can provide a certain reference value for the practical application of information transmission and processing together quantum devices. Although there has been a series of researches on both linear and nonlinear optical properties in semiconductor quantum wells structures, few publications report the effects of the cross-coupling longitude-optical phonon (CCLOP) relaxation on its linear and nonlinear optical properties. However, to our knowledge, the electron-longitude-optical phonon scattering rate can be realized experimentally by varying the sub-picosecond range to the order of a picosecond. According to this, we in the paper study the effects of the CCLOP relaxation on its linear and nonlinear optical properties in a cascade-type three-level EIT semiconductor quantum well. According to the current experimental conditions, we first propose a cascade-type three-level EIT semiconductor quantum well model. And in this model we consider the longitudinal optical phonons coupling between the bond state and anti-bond state. Subsequently, by using the multiple-scale method, we analytically study the dynamical properties of solitons in the cascade-type three-level EIT semiconductor quantum well with the CCRLOP. It is shown that when the CCRLOP strength is smaller, there exhibits the dark soliton in the EIT semiconductor quantum well. Only if the strength of the CCRLOP is larger, will in the system there exists bright soliton. That is to say, with increasing the strength of the CCRLOP, the soliton type of the system is converted from dark to bright soliton little by little. So, the temporal soliton type can be effectively controlled by the strength of the CCRLOP. In addition, we also find that the group velocity of the soliton can also be controlled by the strength of CCRLOP and the control light. These results may provide a theoretical basis for manipulating experimentally the dynamics of soliton in semiconductor quantum wells.

Andrew L. DiRienzo, Daniel N. Rogovin, Marlan O. Scully +3 more

Rubén Darío Guerrero

Semiconductor microcavities have great potential for quantum information science, quantum optics, and quantum sensing. Researchers designing devices based on these microcavities could benefit from having accurate figures of merit to guide their design and enhance the entanglement latency and strength of their devices. This article presents a closed formula for computing the exciton-photon concurrence in semiconductor microcavities. The formula is tailored for the ultralow density limit of both excitons and photons, allowing a better understanding of the entanglement properties in this regime. The closed formula allows for accurate and easy quantification of the exciton-photon coupling strength in terms of the parameters of the system like the couplings, frequencies, and linewidths, which has applications in quantum optics and quantum information science. The presented formulas can be used in rational microcavity design for various applications, such as single-photon sources, quantum light sources, and optoelectronic devices. This contributes to the systematic design and control of entanglement properties of quantum devices tailored for specific tasks in quantum information science, quantum optics, and quantum sensing. In summary, this work represents a valuable contribution to both practical applications and fundamental research in the fields of nanostructures, quantum optics, and quantum information science.