Integrating solid-state qubits to photonic circuit can be a revolutionary ingredient for quantum information processing and transportation of information. If on one hand solidstate based qubits are a very promising candidate for the quantum computation unit, photons, on the other hand, are the most reliable and fast way to transport information. Making the junction of this two ingredients is highly desired. In this sense, semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) in photonic crystals (PhC) provide a perfect environment for such an integration, where waveguides can be used to connect qubits and detectors. In this work, the light-matter interaction of a system composed of quantum dots embedded in semiconductors nanocavities is studied in details using density matrix formalism in the Lindblad form. In a first study, the effect of incoherent therms on the splitting of emission spectrum of a single QD inside a PhC is analyzed and we found that the splitting observed in the experiments can not translated very easily by polaritonic splitting. In other words, the observed splitting is not the coherent coupling between exciton and photons. In another work a quantum dot molecule inside a PhC is used and found that depending on the symmetry (symmetric or anti-symmetric) the molecule state, the splitting in the emission spectrum can be decreased (even zero depending on the choices of parameters) or enhanced when compared to that of a single QD. In the last study the emission spectrum of a system composed of an empty cavity coupled to another cavity with a single QD embedded is investigated. Our results demonstrate that the emission spectra of a low quality factor mode of the empty cavity can be used to monitor the quantum dot-cavity subsystem and its interactions.
Integrating solid-state qubits to photonic circuit can be a revolutionary ingredient for quantum information processing and transportation of information. If on one hand solidstate based qubits are a very promising candidate for the quantum computation unit, photons, on the other hand, are the most reliable and fast way to transport information. Making the junction of this two ingredients is highly desired. In this sense, semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) in photonic crystals (PhC) provide a perfect environment for such an integration, where waveguides can be used to connect qubits and detectors. In this work, the light-matter interaction of a system composed of quantum dots embedded in semiconductors nanocavities is studied in details using density matrix formalism in the Lindblad form. In a first study, the effect of incoherent therms on the splitting of emission spectrum of a single QD inside a PhC is analyzed and we found that the splitting observed in the experiments can not translated very easily by polaritonic splitting. In other words, the observed splitting is not the coherent coupling between exciton and photons. In another work a quantum dot molecule inside a PhC is used and found that depending on the symmetry (symmetric or anti-symmetric) the molecule state, the splitting in the emission spectrum can be decreased (even zero depending on the choices of parameters) or enhanced when compared to that of a single QD. In the last study the emission spectrum of a system composed of an empty cavity coupled to another cavity with a single QD embedded is investigated. Our results demonstrate that the emission spectra of a low quality factor mode of the empty cavity can be used to monitor the quantum dot-cavity subsystem and its interactions.
This thesis is devoted to theoretically study the systems of single quantum dots (QDs) embedded in various photonic nanostructures, in close relation with experimental data. The word single is essential: due to their nanometer size, QDs have mainly been studied as ensembles. It is only recently that the experimental progress, in particular in the domain of QDs growth, has allowed to address single QDs. This helped to observe that the confined states in a QD resemble those of an atom, leading in turn to the macro-atom picture for QDs. It opened the path to the study of cavity quantum electrodynamics (CQED) in the solid state, as the analogous of a system of an atom in an electromagnetic cavity. However, already at the level of the QD (i.e. without a solid state cavity), the macro-atom picture has been proven to be oversimplified. Various effects related to the solid state environment of the QD have been experimentally and theoretically evidenced, like the influence of acoustic and optical phonons. These are channels of decoherence for the otherwise well isolated and confined QD levels. When adding the cavity, these effects are possibly enhanced, which can lead to very large deviations from the CQED ideal picture. Therefore the clear understanding of these effects is of essential importance, especially in view of the application of solid state systems to quantum information science. In Chapter 2, we address the radiation-matter coupling between two QDs in a nanocavity. This field of research combines the high quality of light resonators to the nonlinearities of the semiconductor material. It is promising in view of manipulating and transferring single long-lived excitations, an essential goal for quantum information science. Then, we study the deviations of a QD from the idealized macroatom picture. First, in Chapter 3, we include the influence of acoustic phonons on the light emitted by a QD-cavity system. We show that the QD modified susceptibility leads to the qualitative explanation of the cavity feeding effects, which is one of the most striking deviations of the QD-cavity system from the ideal CQED picture. In addition to phonons are extended two-dimensional states populated by the non resonant pumping laser in the QD's wetting layer (WL). In Chapters 4 and 5 we build a Monte-Carlo model of the excitation-decay mechanism in a QD-cavity system. We use it to describe the influence of WL states on the dynamics of the QD, leading in turn to a non-CQED behavior. This approach is particularly successful in the case of large QD-cavity detuning, where it predicts both time-dependent and spectral characteristics of the emitted light. Finally, in Chapter 6, we discuss our conclusions, emphasizing in particular that the knowledge of the actual solid state environment of the QD leads to a better control over the parameters allowing to reach the CQED regime. We also discuss the possible extensions of this work, in particular in relation to the analysis of the stimulated emission regime.
We investigate how to control single-photon transport along the photonic crystal waveguide with the recent experimentally demonstrated artificial atoms [i.e., $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$-type quantum dots (QDs)] [S. G. Carter et al., Nat. Photon. 7, 329 (2013)] in an all-optical way. Adopting full quantum theory in real space, we analytically calculate the transport coefficients of single photons scattered by a $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$-type QD embedded in single- and two-mode photonic crystal cavities (PCCs), respectively. Our numerical results clearly show that the photonic transmission properties can be exactly manipulated by adjusting the coupling strengths of waveguide-cavity and QD-cavity interactions. Specifically, for the PCC with two degenerate orthogonal polarization modes coupled to a $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$-type QD with two degenerate ground states, we find that the photonic transmission spectra show three Rabi-splitting dips and the present system could serve as single-photon polarization beam splitters. The feasibility of our proposal with the current photonic crystal technique is also discussed.
Generating strong interactions between single quanta of light and matter is central to quantum information science, and a key component of quantum computers and long-distance quantum networks. In quantum information processing, these interactions are required to create elementary logic operations (quantum gates) between stationary matter quantum bits (qubits) and photonic qubits that can be transmitted over long distances. Efficient quantum gates between photonic and matter qubits are a crucial enabler for a broad range of applications that include robust quantum networks, nondestructive quantum measurements, and strong photon-photon interactions. So far these qubit-photon gates have been achieved using single atoms and at microwave frequencies in circuit QED systems. Their implementation with solidstate quantum emitters, however, has remained a difficult challenge. We demonstrate that the qubit state of a photon can be controlled by a single solid-state qubit composed of a quantum dot (QD) strongly coupled to an optical nanocavity. We show that the QD acts as a coherently controllable qubit system that conditionally flips the polarization of a photon reflected from the cavity mode on picosecond timescales. This operation implements a controlled NOT (cNOT) logic gate between the QD and the incident photon, which is a universal quantum operation that can serve as a general light-matter interface for remote entanglements and quantum computations. Our results represent an important step towards an all solid-state implementation of quantum networks and quantum computers, and provide a versatile approach for controlling and probing interactions between a photon and a single quantum emitter on ultra-fast timescales.
The interaction of light with matter is at the heart of quantum optics, which itself enables insight into the fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics. First experimental access to this research field has been realized by coupling atoms to light. Here, the transition between discrete energy states of the atom is associated with the absorption and emission of a photon, a single quantum of the electromagnetic field. As a central aspect of quantum optics, the light-emitter interaction can be significantly enhanced by placing the emitter in optical cavity that is on resonance with the emitter. In recent years, this has led to a rapidly evolving research field known as cavity quantum electrodynamics (CQED). In CQED two different regimes are distinguished: the strong and the weak coupling regimes. In the strong coupling regime, the emitted photon is reflected from the cavity mirrors and eventually reabsorbed by the emitter. In contrast, the weak coupling regime describes the irreversible emission, where the photon leaks out of the cavity before it can be reabsorbed. Both the weak and strong coupling regimes enabled fundamental experiments for a better understanding of quantum optical phenomena. \n \n \n \nCQED grants access to the quantum world and hence offers potentially revolutionizing applications, particularly in the field of quantum information processing. A central aspect for the successful implementation of quantum applications is the system's scalability. Unfortunately, placing atoms deterministically inside a cavity remains technologically elaborate and hence minimizes the prospect of scaling a atom-CQED system. \n \nA possibility to address this issue is to implement CQED in the solid state, where sophisticated fabrication strategies allow miniaturization and scalability of the system. Particularly the development of self-assembled quantum dots (QD) in semiconductors represent a promising route. QDs can be considered as artificial atoms that mimic the atomic two-level system. These structures interact strongly with light and therefore have the potential for replacing atoms in CQED. As a central advantage, QDs are naturally trapped, which greatly simplifies the deterministic incorporation into the cavity. \n \nIn recent years, many efforts have been made to couple self-assembled QDs to microcavities. Generally, the successful implementation of CQED requires a cavity with a high quality factor Q and a low mode volume. In a majority of the approaches, the high Q/small mode volume cavities were monolithically defined around the QD, embedding the QD at a fixed position inside the cavity. Both the weak and strong coupling regimes have been reached with these systems. However, for future applications they suffer from several disadvantages. The fixed position of the QD inside the cavity minimizes the prospects for spectral tunability and spatial positioning the QD inside the cavity. Furthermore, prospects for further increasing of the cavity Q-factor and minimization of the mode volume remain limited in these systems. \n \nIn this thesis the mentioned disadvantages are addressed by developing a fully tunable miniaturized Fabry-Pérot microcavity with low mode volume. The design enables both spatial positioning of the emitter inside the cavity and spectral tunability. Successful coupling of a single QD to the microcavity is demonstrated including the strong coupling regime. Further a new approach to decrease the cavity mode volume is presented, where we demonstrate weak coupling is achieved
Though QD arrays have initially been mostly studied in an attempt to improve semiconductor lasers, much attention has been recently devoted to the revolutionary prospects opened by the unique properties of single QDs. These artificial atoms allow to mimic in solid-state systems some of the quantum optics experiments performed on atoms since the early 80’s. Recent demonstrations of coherent control experiments on QDs illustrate this fruitful analogy [10]. We will focus here our discussion on the impact of QDs on two other fields, solid-state cavity quantum electrodynamics (CQED) and the generation of quantum states of light. A single QD can be used to emit triggered single photon pulses and photon pairs, whereas its narrow emission spectrum permits to implement microcavities very efficiently to tailor its emission properties. By combining both kind of effects, it is possible to control simultaneously the number of emitted photons as well as their quantum state and to build a solid-state singlemode source of single photons (singlemode S4P) as proposed [11] and demonstrated recently by our group [12]. This novel device represents the ultimate step in a field which has been extremely active in the last 15 years, spontaneous emission (SE) control in optoelectronic devices using confined electronic and/or photonic systems [13]. Before reviewing the development of this single mode S4P, based on a single QD in a pillar microcavity, we will briefly discuss its potential applications in the field of quantum information processing and quantum communications (QIPC).
Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have emerged as promising candidates for studying quantum optical phenomena. In particular, cavity-quantum electrodynamics effects can be investigated using a single QD embedded inside a photonic nanostructure, where both the carriers and photons are confined within sub-micron length scales in all three dimensions. Since QD location inside the cavity is fixed by the growth, this system is free of the stringent trapping requirements that limit its atomic counterpart. The possibility of fabricating photonic nanostructures with ultra-small optical-mode volumes and long photon lifetimes enhances the prospects for applications in quantum information processing.