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Photonics for Quantum (PfQ)

Single-photon generation through cavity-STIRAP in a neutral QD embedded in a micropillar cavity: an FDTD model study

Gabriela M. Slavcheva, Mirella Koleva, Kai Müller, Robert Anthony Taylor

Published Jul 19, 2022• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We investigate cavity-assisted Stimulated Raman Adiabatic passage (STIRAP) schemes in semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) embedded in an optical cavity as a route for generation of high-quality single photons with programmable waveform. This work addresses the need for high-purity, indistinguishable photons in linear quantum computing, boson sampling, and quantum communications. We develop a time-dependent Maxwell-pseudospin model of single-photon generation through cavity-assisted adiabatic passage in a Λ-system isolated in a neutral InAs QD in a realistic GaAs/AlGaAs micropillar cavity. As a model Λ-system, we consider QD biexciton triplet states coupled to dark-exciton states by a circularly polarised pulse and a cavity field. Our simulations demonstrate control of the emitted single-photon pulse waveform by the driving pulse characteristics: shape, duration, intensity and detuning.

DOI
10.1117/12.2635200

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We investigate the efficiency of atom-cavity based photon-generation schemes to deliver single photons of arbitrary temporal shape. Our model applies to Raman transitions in three-level atoms with one branch of the transition driven by a laser pulse, and the other coupled to a cavity mode. For any possible shape of the single-photon wavepacket, we derive an unambiguous analytic expression for the shape of the required driving laser pulse. We furthermore discuss the constraints limiting the maximum probability for emitting any desired photon, and use these to estimate upper bounds for the efficiency of the process. The model is not only valid for Vacuum-Stimulated Raman Adiabatic Passages (V-STIRAP) in the strong-coupling and bad-cavity regime, but it generally allows controlling the coherence and population flow in any Raman process.
We present a scheme to realize a deterministic solid state source of time-bin entangled photon pairs using cavity-assisted stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) in a single quantum dot. The quantum dot is embedded inside a semiconductor cavity, and the interaction of a coherent superposition of two temporally separated input pulses and the cavity mode leads to a two-photon Raman transition, which produces a time-bin entangled photon pair through the biexciton-exciton cascade. We show that the entanglement of the generated state can be measured using triple coincidence detection, and the degree of entanglement is quantified as the visibility of the interference. We also discuss the effect of pure dephasing on entanglement of the generated photon pair. Pronounced interference visibility values of greater than 1/21/\sqrt{2}1/2​ are demonstrated in triple coincidence measurement using experimentally achievable parameters, thus demonstrating that the generated photons are suitable for applications with Bell's inequality violation and quantum cryptography.
We investigate the efficiency of atom-cavity-based photon-generation schemes to deliver single photons of arbitrary temporal shape. Our model applies to Raman transitions in three-level atoms with one branch of the transition driven by a laser pulse and the other coupled to a cavity mode. For any possible shape of the single-photon wavepacket, we derive an unambiguous analytic expression for the shape of the required driving laser pulse. Furthermore, we discuss the constraints limiting the maximum probability for emitting any desired photon, and use these to estimate upper bounds for the efficiency of the process. The model is not only valid for vacuum-stimulated Raman adiabatic passages (V-STIRAP) in the strong-coupling and bad-cavity regime, but also generally allows the control of the coherence and population flow in any Raman process.
A deterministic "on demand" source of single photons is a basic building block for linear quantum computation \cite{linear}, quantum cryptography \cite{crypto}, quantum teleportation \cite{teleport}, and quantum networks \cite{network}. In all these applications, quantum interference between two single-photon pulses on a symmetric beam splitter has been exploited \cite{review}, which imposes stringent requirement for the implemented single photons to be indistinguishable in all degrees of freedom, including their frequencies, spectral widths, pulse shapes, and polarizations. To generate single photons one requires a pumping mechanism to excite a "two-level emitter" and an efficient channeling of the subsequently emitted photons. The efficiency of the source can be enhanced by coupling the emitter to the waveguide \cite{manga} or a microcavity mode \cite{cklaw}. However, hitherto the solid-state single photon sources realized by using a quantum dot coupled with a microcavity rely on incoherent pumping of excitons, which leads to problems with timing jitter \cite{kiraz}, leading to a trade off between efficiency and indistinguishability. Here we introduce a means to realize a highly efficient solid state source of indistinguishable single photons using cavity-assisted adiabatic Raman passage in a single quantum dot - cavity system. We demonstrate pulse-triggered single photons with 100% efficiency and >90>90>90% indistinguishability using currently available experimental parameters.
Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) coupled with optical microcavities provide an excellent platform for generating high-performance single-photon sources. However, the current microcavity structures are difficult to solve the tradeoff between single-photon purity and indistinguishability without additional filtering, due to challenges in suppressing broad phonon sideband spectrum and two-photon emission in the practical experiments. To address these issues, we have developed a novel asymmetric microcavity that supports two nondegenerate polarized modes, both resonant with a single quantum dot. One cavity mode is broadband and is used for excitation to reduce two-photon emission intensity, while the other is narrowband and is used for collection to enhance the indistinguishability of single-photon sources. This asymmetric microcavity also has the ability to overcome at least half of the photon efficiency loss under polarization filtering. Moreover, our model has employed an excitation pulse that resonates with cavity modes eliminating spectral distortion of intracavity fields, and efficiently achieving deterministic population inversion of QDs compared to an elliptical cavity. Our scheme paves the way to develop the excellent performance single-photon sources with higher brightness, near-unity purity, and indistinguishability without any additional filtering in practical experiments.