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Design and simulations of highly efficient single-photon sources

Niels Gregersen, Jakob Rosenkrantz de Lasson, Jesper Mørk

Published Jan 1, 2015• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

The realization of the highly-efficient single-photon source represents not only an experimental, but also a numerical challenge. We will present the theory of the waveguide QED approach, the design challenges and the current limitations. Additionally, the important numerical challenges in the simulations of sources with in-plane emission will be discussed.

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The realization of the highly-efficient single-photon source represents not only an experimental, but also a numerical challenge. We will present the theory of the waveguide QED approach, the design challenges and the current limitations. Additionally, the important numerical challenges in the simulations of sources with in-plane emission will be discussed.
Solid-state sources capable of emitting single photons on demand are of great interest in quantum information applications. Ideally, such a source should emit exactly one photon into the collection optics per trigger, the emitted photons should be indistinguishable, and the source should be electrically driven. Several design strategies addressing these requirements have been proposed. In the cavity-based source, light emission is controlled using resonant cavity quantum electrodynamics effects, whereas in the waveguide-based source, broadband electric field screening effects are employed to direct the light emission into the optical mode of interest. For all the strategies, accurate modeling and careful optical engineering is required to achieve high performance. In this study, we discuss the models and numerical techniques used to analyze such structures. The physical effects governing the light emission profile and the possibilities of tailoring it as well as the mechanisms governing the coherence are elucidated. The major design strategies pursued to optimize the single-photon source performance and the remaining challenges are reviewed.
In applications like quantum cryptography and quantum computation, it is desirable to obtain single photon sources which can produce a train of single photons on demand at a high repetition rate, especially at or near room temperature. Such single-photon sources can be realized by tailoring the photonic environment of the quantum emitter. The photonic environment determines the local density of states, into which the photon can be emitted. A number of structures such as interfaces, cavities and waveguides have already been used to modify the spontaneous emission (SE) rate; nevertheless there is still room for improving the overall efficiency of the single-photon sources, e.g., by inventing new ways of enhancing light-matter interaction.
Single-photon (SP) sources are important for a number of optical quantum information processing applications. We study the possibility to integrate triggered solid-state SP emitters directly on a photonic chip. A major challenge consists in efficiently extracting their emission into a single guided mode. Using 3D finite-difference time-domain simulations, we investigate the SP emission from dipole-like nanometer-sized inclusions embedded into different silicon nitride (SiNx) photonic nanowire waveguide designs. We elucidate the effect of the geometry on the emission lifetime and the polarization of the emitted SP. The results show that highly efficient and polarized SP sources can be realized using suspended SiNx slot-waveguides. Combining this with the well-established CMOS-compatible processing technology, fully integrated and complex optical circuits for quantum optics experiments can be developed.
We propose a Rydberg quantum antenna, consisting of a one-dimensional chain of neutral atoms trapped in a standing-wave optical tweezer, as a chip-interfaced single-photon source. Rydberg blockade induces a single collective excitation in the atomic chain, while its ordered geometry shapes the photon emission into a directional beam, thereby realizing a quantum antenna that emits strictly one photon at a time. Through numerical simulations, we demonstrate single-photon collection efficiencies into a waveguide exceeding 70\% through a high-NA lens with a negligible multiple excitation probability. These performance are robust against probabilistic atom loading in the standing-wave dipole traps, requiring only ten atoms, indicating experimental feasibility. The Rydberg quantum antenna thus offers a unique route toward scalable arrays of high-efficiency, high-purity, and identical single-photon sources interfaced with a photonic chip, addressing key challenges in photonic quantum information technology.
A bright source of on-demand entangled photons is needed for quantum networks. A single quantum dot in a site-selected nanowire waveguide is a promising candidate for realizing such sources. However, such sources are associated with poor single-photon indistinguishability, limiting their applicability in quantum networks. A common approach for enhancing the single-photon indistinguishability in quantum dot-based entangled photon sources is to implement a broadband optical cavity. Achieving a high-Purcell cavity while retaining the advantages of the nanowire, such as directional emission, a broad operational bandwidth, and high light extraction efficiency, has been a significant challenge. Here, we propose a nanowire cavity based on quasi-bound states in the continuum formed by the strong coupling of two resonant optical modes. We numerically predict this design to support a cavity mode with 4 nm bandwidth and a Purcell enhancement of $\sim$17. This cavity mode enables a directional far-field emission profile (88% overlap with a Gaussian) with a light extraction efficiency of $\sim$74%. Our solution opens up a route for generating entangled photon pairs with enhanced extraction efficiency and single-photon indistinguishability for the practical realization of quantum networks.