Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

physica status solidi (b)

Gigantic Photon–Photon Coupling in Biased Semiconductor Microcavities: A Step toward Single-Photon Blockade

M. Rüfenacht

Published Sep 1, 2000• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We discuss optical nonlinearities in biased semiconductor microcavities. Optical nonlinearities arise from field screening by spatially separated electron–hole pairs in biased quantum wells (QWs). However, in wide QWs where the spatial separation is large, biasing is accompanied by a drastic decrease of oscillator strength, and has a negative impact on the optical nonlinearity. We show here that in an exciton polariton microcavity in the strong coupling regime, a decrease in oscillator strength only weakly affects the optical nonlinearity. Gigantic enhancement of photon–photon interaction is then realized by biasing, and the single-photon blockade limit can be reached.

DOI
10.1002/1521-3951(200009)221:1<151::aid-pssb151>3.3.co;2-0

Related papers

Strong Coupling between Single Photons in Semiconductor Microcavities

William T. M. Irvine, Kevin J. Hennessy, Dirk Bouwmeester

We discuss the observability of strong coupling between single photons in semiconductor microcavities coupled by a chi2 nonlinearity. We present two schemes and analyze the feasibility of their practical implementation in three systems: photonic crystal defects, micropillars, and microdisks, fabricated out of GaAs. We show that, if a weak coherent state is used to enhance the chi2 interaction, the strong coupling regime between two modes at different frequencies occupied by a single photon is within reach of current technology. The unstimulated strong coupling of a single photon and a photon pair is very challenging and will require an improvement in mirocavity quality factors of 2-4 orders of magnitude to be observable.

arXiv:quant-ph/0602085•Physical Review Letters•Feb 7, 2006•73 citations

Optical bistability and spatial resonator solitons based on exciton-polariton nonlinearity

Ye. Larionova, W. Stolz, Carl O. Weiss

We show experimentally optical bistability and the existence of bright and dark resonator solitons in the strong coupling regime between quantum-well excitons and the optical field in a semiconductor microcavity. The strong coupling results in a quasi-particle exciton-polariton, which gives access to positive and negative reactive and dissipative optical nonlinearities, as opposed to the usual room temperature semiconductor nonlinearities possessing essentially only one sign. The existence range and the properties of solitons can be varied widely by the detuning between polariton states and light frequency.

Optics Letters•Feb 6, 2008•39 citations

Quantifying Exciton-Photon Entanglement in Semiconductor Microcavities: A Closed Formula for Strong and Weak Coupling Regimes

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.

IEEE photonics journal•Sep 19, 2023•0 citations

Quantum optical diode with semiconductor microcavities

H. Z. Shen, Y. H. Zhou, X. X. Yi

The semiconductor diode, which acts as an electrical rectifier and allows unidirectional electronic transports, is the key to information processing in integrated circuits. Analogously, an optical rectifier (or diode) working at specific target wavelengths has recently become a highly sought-after device in optical communication and signal processing. In this paper, we propose a scheme to realize an optical diode for photonic transport at the level of few photons. The system consists of two spatially overlapping single-mode semiconductor microcavities coupled via ${\ensuremath{\chi}}^{(2)}$ nonlinearities. The photon blockade is predicted to take place in this system. These photon blockade effects can be achieved by tuning the frequency of the input laser field (driving field). Based on those blockades, we analytically derive the one- and two-photon current in terms of a zero and a finite time-delayed two-order correlation function. The results suggest that the system can serve as a one- and two-photon quantum optical diode which allows transmission of photons in one direction much more efficiently than in the other.

arXiv:1403.5620•Physical Review A•Aug 26, 2014•120 citations

Nonlinear Rydberg exciton-polaritons in Cu2O microcavities

M. N. Makhonin, Anthonin Delphan, Kok Wee Song +13 more

Abstract Rydberg excitons (analogues of Rydberg atoms in condensed matter systems) are highly excited bound electron-hole states with large Bohr radii. The interaction between them as well as exciton coupling to light may lead to strong optical nonlinearity, with applications in sensing and quantum information processing. Here, we achieve strong effective photon–photon interactions (Kerr-like optical nonlinearity) via the Rydberg blockade phenomenon and the hybridisation of excitons and photons forming polaritons in a Cu2O-filled microresonator. Under pulsed resonant excitation polariton resonance frequencies are renormalised due to the reduction of the photon-exciton coupling with increasing exciton density. Theoretical analysis shows that the Rydberg blockade plays a major role in the experimentally observed scaling of the polariton nonlinearity coefficient as ∝ n4.4±1.8 for principal quantum numbers up to n = 7. Such high principal quantum numbers studied in a polariton system for the first time are essential for realisation of high Rydberg optical nonlinearities, which paves the way towards quantum optical applications and fundamental studies of strongly correlated photonic (polaritonic) states in a solid state system.

arXiv:2401.02868•Light Science & Applications•Feb 6, 2024•22 citations

Quantum optical effects in semiconductor microcavities

E. Giacobino, Jean‐Philippe Karr, Gaétan Messin +2 more

Investigations of quantum effects in semiconductor quantum-well microcavities interacting with laser light in the strong-coupling regime are presented. Modifications of quantum fluctuations of the outgoing light are expected due to the non-linearity originating from coherent exciton–exciton scattering. In the strong-coupling regime, this scattering translates into a four-wave mixing interaction between the mixed exciton–photon states, the polaritons. Squeezing and giant amplification of the polariton field and of the outgoing light field fluctuations are predicted. However, polariton–phonon scattering is shown to yield excess noise in the output field, which may destroy the non-classical effects. Experiments demonstrate evidence for giant amplification due to coherent four-wave mixing of polaritons. Noise reduction below the thermal noise level was also observed.

Comptes Rendus Physique•Jan 1, 2002•64 citations
We discuss optical nonlinearities in biased semiconductor microcavities. Optical nonlinearities arise from field screening by spatially separated electron–hole pairs in biased quantum wells (QWs). However, in wide QWs where the spatial separation is large, biasing is accompanied by a drastic decrease of oscillator strength, and has a negative impact on the optical nonlinearity. We show here that in an exciton polariton microcavity in the strong coupling regime, a decrease in oscillator strength only weakly affects the optical nonlinearity. Gigantic enhancement of photon–photon interaction is then realized by biasing, and the single-photon blockade limit can be reached.
We discuss the observability of strong coupling between single photons in semiconductor microcavities coupled by a chi2 nonlinearity. We present two schemes and analyze the feasibility of their practical implementation in three systems: photonic crystal defects, micropillars, and microdisks, fabricated out of GaAs. We show that, if a weak coherent state is used to enhance the chi2 interaction, the strong coupling regime between two modes at different frequencies occupied by a single photon is within reach of current technology. The unstimulated strong coupling of a single photon and a photon pair is very challenging and will require an improvement in mirocavity quality factors of 2-4 orders of magnitude to be observable.
We show experimentally optical bistability and the existence of bright and dark resonator solitons in the strong coupling regime between quantum-well excitons and the optical field in a semiconductor microcavity. The strong coupling results in a quasi-particle exciton-polariton, which gives access to positive and negative reactive and dissipative optical nonlinearities, as opposed to the usual room temperature semiconductor nonlinearities possessing essentially only one sign. The existence range and the properties of solitons can be varied widely by the detuning between polariton states and light frequency.
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.
The semiconductor diode, which acts as an electrical rectifier and allows unidirectional electronic transports, is the key to information processing in integrated circuits. Analogously, an optical rectifier (or diode) working at specific target wavelengths has recently become a highly sought-after device in optical communication and signal processing. In this paper, we propose a scheme to realize an optical diode for photonic transport at the level of few photons. The system consists of two spatially overlapping single-mode semiconductor microcavities coupled via ${\ensuremath{\chi}}^{(2)}$ nonlinearities. The photon blockade is predicted to take place in this system. These photon blockade effects can be achieved by tuning the frequency of the input laser field (driving field). Based on those blockades, we analytically derive the one- and two-photon current in terms of a zero and a finite time-delayed two-order correlation function. The results suggest that the system can serve as a one- and two-photon quantum optical diode which allows transmission of photons in one direction much more efficiently than in the other.
Abstract Rydberg excitons (analogues of Rydberg atoms in condensed matter systems) are highly excited bound electron-hole states with large Bohr radii. The interaction between them as well as exciton coupling to light may lead to strong optical nonlinearity, with applications in sensing and quantum information processing. Here, we achieve strong effective photon–photon interactions (Kerr-like optical nonlinearity) via the Rydberg blockade phenomenon and the hybridisation of excitons and photons forming polaritons in a Cu2O-filled microresonator. Under pulsed resonant excitation polariton resonance frequencies are renormalised due to the reduction of the photon-exciton coupling with increasing exciton density. Theoretical analysis shows that the Rydberg blockade plays a major role in the experimentally observed scaling of the polariton nonlinearity coefficient as ∝ n4.4±1.8 for principal quantum numbers up to n = 7. Such high principal quantum numbers studied in a polariton system for the first time are essential for realisation of high Rydberg optical nonlinearities, which paves the way towards quantum optical applications and fundamental studies of strongly correlated photonic (polaritonic) states in a solid state system.
Investigations of quantum effects in semiconductor quantum-well microcavities interacting with laser light in the strong-coupling regime are presented. Modifications of quantum fluctuations of the outgoing light are expected due to the non-linearity originating from coherent exciton–exciton scattering. In the strong-coupling regime, this scattering translates into a four-wave mixing interaction between the mixed exciton–photon states, the polaritons. Squeezing and giant amplification of the polariton field and of the outgoing light field fluctuations are predicted. However, polariton–phonon scattering is shown to yield excess noise in the output field, which may destroy the non-classical effects. Experiments demonstrate evidence for giant amplification due to coherent four-wave mixing of polaritons. Noise reduction below the thermal noise level was also observed.