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Integrated Optics: Design, Devices, Systems, and Applications

Versatile linearly polarized photon generation from a quantum emitter in metasurface-decorated waveguides

Cuo Wu, Fei Ding, Zhiming Wang, Sergey I. Bozhevolnyi

Published Apr 15, 2021• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Linearly polarized quantum sources with high purity and well-defined polarization angles are the fundamental blocks in the photonic quantum technological evolution. However, due to the orientation of the dipole moment with the quantum emitters, the polarization state of the emitted photons is intrinsically limited. Therefore, it is impossible to generate arbitrary linear polarization states simultaneously. Here, we propose a new concept of versatilely generating linearly polarized emission based on a quantum metasurface platform that combines nano-diamonds containing color centers with metasurface-decorated waveguides. By tailoring the size and orientation of the slit meta-atom on the waveguide, linearly polarized emission with arbitrary polarization angles can be achieved with the degree of linear polarization larger than 0.999.

DOI
10.1117/12.2592221

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Linearly polarized quantum sources with high purity and well-defined polarization angles are the fundamental blocks in the photonic quantum technological evolution. However, due to the orientation of the dipole moment with the quantum emitters, the polarization state of the emitted photons is intrinsically limited. Therefore, it is impossible to generate arbitrary linear polarization states simultaneously. Here, we propose a new concept of versatilely generating linearly polarized emission based on a quantum metasurface platform that combines nano-diamonds containing color centers with metasurface-decorated waveguides. By tailoring the size and orientation of the slit meta-atom on the waveguide, linearly polarized emission with arbitrary polarization angles can be achieved with the degree of linear polarization larger than 0.999.
Manipulating photoluminescence from solid-state quantum emitters (QEs) on demand is of central importance for advanced quantum nanophotonic technologies. In comparison with conventional free-space approaches relying on bulky optical components, emitter-integrated metasurfaces provide a compact and efficient route for shaping photon emission directly at the source. Recent progress has established a common platform in which QE-excited surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are transformed by surrounding metasurfaces into free-space radiation with tailored propagation direction, polarization state, relative intensity, and spatial structure. This review highlights two complementary strategies that have recently been utilized for shaping quantum emission. The first is emitter-coupled meta-optics, which enables versatile photon sources with arbitrary polarization states, off-normal directionality, and multichannel emission by means of phase-engineered anisotropic meta-atoms. The second is vectorial scattering holography, including multiplexed implementations, which allows direct reconstruction of arbitrarily structured and polarization-multiplexed emission from individual nanodiamonds. Together, these approaches unlock unprecedented degrees of freedom for nanoscale light shaping and provide a promising route toward scalable quantum photonic devices and high-capacity information processing.
Skyrmions, topologically stable field configurations, have recently emerged in classical optics as structured light for high-density data applications. Achieving controllable on-chip generation of single-photon skyrmions, while being highly desirable for quantum information technologies, remains challenging due to the nanoscale confinement of quantum emitters (QEs). Here we demonstrate a metasurface-integrated quantum emitter (metaQE) platform enabling room-temperature on-chip generation of single-photon skyrmions. Near-field coupling between QEs and propitiously designed surface arrays of meta-atoms mediates spin-orbit interaction, transforming nanoscale-localized dipole emission into free-propagating topologically structured photonic modes. By exploiting this approach for structuring quantum emission from different color centers in nanodiamonds, we realize diverse skyrmionic states, including high-order anti-skyrmions and skyrmionium, and thereby demonstrate its universality across QEs. Our work establishes a unified framework for on-chip structured quantum light sources, offering versatile control of high-dimensional topological states, such as skyrmions, and advancing scalable quantum photonic technologies.
Complex polarization states of photon pairs are indispensable in various quantum technologies. Conventional methods for preparing desired two-photon polarization states are realized through bulky nonlinear crystals, which can restrict the versatility and tunability of the generated quantum states due to the fixed crystal nonlinear susceptibility. Here we present a solution using a nonlinear metasurface incorporating multiplexed silica metagratings on a lithium niobate film of 300 nm thickness. We fabricate two orthogonal metagratings on a single substrate with an identical resonant wavelength, thereby enabling the spectral indistinguishability of the emitted photons, and we demonstrate in experiments that the two-photon polarization states can be shaped by the metagrating orientation. Leveraging this essential property, we formulate a theoretical approach for generating arbitrary polarization-entangled qutrit states by combining three metagratings on a single metasurface, allowing the encoding of the desired quantum states or information. Our findings enable miniaturized optically controlled quantum devices by using ultrathin metasurfaces as polarization-entangled photon sources.
Complete control of photon emission at the nanoscale is crucial for scalable quantum technology. Control over the polarization of light is traditionally achieved aaa $p\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}o\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}s\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}t\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}e\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}r\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}i\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}o\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}r\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}i$ using birefringent optics, but this work takes a different approach by intrinsically altering the polarization $e\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}m\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}i\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}t\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}t\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}e\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}d$ by a source. The authors use a nanofiber's evanescent field to induce radiation of arbitrary polarization by a linear dipole emitter in a waveguide, potentially spanning the entire Poincar\'e sphere. This remarkable manifestation of the mapping of an emitter's purely geometrical degrees of freedom to the polarization states of its emission opens the door to applications in nanophotonics.
Here we report on our recent experimental efforts towards the design, fabrication and characterization of various metasurface structures that would allow spatial and temporal control of photon emission from atomic ensembles, as well as state preparation of solid state and atomic quantum emitters. The emphasis is placed on the development of two distinct categories of structures: (i) Micro- and meso-scale free-space self-polarizing confocal cavities formed by dielectric metasurfaces. (ii) flat hyper-gratings fabricated on the surface of a diamond, which would make the radiation pattern from NV centers in the diamond to be highly directional so that the emitted photons can be collected with high efficiency.
Metasurfaces are highly effective at manipulating classical light in the linear regime; however, effectively controlling the polarization of nonclassical light generated from nonlinear resonant metasurfaces remains a challenge. Here, we present a solution by achieving polarization engineering of frequency-nondegenerate biphotons emitted via spontaneous parametric down-conversion in GaAs metasurfaces, utilizing quasi-bound states in the continuum (qBIC) resonances to enhance biphoton generation. Through comprehensive polarization tomography, we demonstrate that the emitted photons' polarization directly reflects the qBIC mode's far-field properties. Furthermore, we show that both the type of qBIC mode and the symmetry of the meta-atoms can be tailored to control each single-photon polarization state, and that the subsequent two-photon polarization states are nearly separable, offering potential applications in the heralded generation of single photons with adjustable polarization. This work provides a significant step toward utilizing metasurfaces to generate quantum light and engineer their polarization, a critical aspect for future quantum technologies.