Alexander Schlehahn

An electrically driven cavity-enhanced source of indistinguishable photons with 61% overall efficiency

We report on an electrically driven efficient source of indistinguishable photons operated at pulse-repetition rates f up to 1.2 GHz. The quantum light source is based on a p-i-n-doped micropillar cavity with integrated self-organized quantum dots, which exploits cavity quantum electrodynamics effects in the weak coupling regime to enhance the emission of a single quantum emitter coupled to the cavity mode. We achieve an overall single-photon extraction efficiency of (61 ± 11) % for a device triggered electrically at f = 625 MHz. Analyzing the suppression of multi-photon emission events as a function of excitation repetition rate, we observe single-photon emission associated with g(2)HBT(0) values between 0.076 and 0.227 for f ranging from 373 MHz to 1.2 GHz. Hong-Ou-Mandel-type two-photon interference experiments under pulsed current injection at 487 MHz reveal a photon-indistinguishability of (41.1 ± 9.5) % at a single-photon emission rate of (92 ± 23) MHz.

Single-photon emission at a rate of 143 MHz from a deterministic quantum-dot microlens triggered by a mode-locked vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser

We report on the realization of a quantum dot (QD) based single-photon source with a record-high single-photon emission rate. The quantum light source consists of an InGaAs QD which is deterministically integrated within a monolithic microlens with a distributed Bragg reflector as back-side mirror, which is triggered using the frequency-doubled emission of a mode-locked vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser (ML-VECSEL). The utilized compact and stable laser system allows us to excite the single-QD microlens at a wavelength of 508 nm with a pulse repetition rate close to 500 MHz at a pulse width of 4.2 ps. Probing the photon statistics of the emission from a single QD state at saturation, we demonstrate single-photon emission of the QD-microlens chip with g(2)(0) < 0.03 at a record-high single-photon flux of (143 ± 16) MHz collected by the first lens of the detection system. Our approach is fully compatible with resonant excitation schemes using wavelength tunable ML-VECSELs, which will optimize ...

Generating single photons at gigahertz modulation-speed using electrically controlled quantum dot microlenses

We report on the generation of single-photon pulse trains at a repetition rate of up to 1 GHz. We achieve this speed by modulating the external voltage applied on an electrically contacted quantum dot microlens, which is optically excited by a continuous-wave laser. By modulating the photoluminescence of the quantum dot microlens using a square-wave voltage, single-photon emission is triggered with a response time as short as (281 ± 19) ps, being 6 times faster than the radiative lifetime of (1.75 ± 0.02) ns. This large reduction in the characteristic emission time is enabled by a rapid capacitive gating of emission from the quantum dot, which is placed in the intrinsic region of a p-i-n-junction biased below the onset of electroluminescence. Here, since our circuit acts as a rectifying differentiator, the rising edge of the applied voltage pulses triggers the emission of single photons from the optically excited quantum dot. The non-classical nature of the photon pulse train generated at GHz-speed is pro...

Mode selection in electrically driven quantum dot microring cavities

Within this paper a novel method for selecting certain lasing modes from a whispering gallery mode (WGM) spectrum of electrically pumped microrings is presented. Selection is achieved by introducing sub-wavelength sized notches of about 50 nm width and 500 nm depth to the sidewalls of ring shaped quantum dot micro cavities with 80 µm diameter and ridge widths below 2 µm. It is shown that the notches act as scattering centers, suppressing modes that have maxima in intensity at the notch position. By a variation of the angle between the notches, different repetitive patterns of lasing modes and suppressed modes are conceivable.

Advanced in-situ electron-beam lithography for deterministic nanophotonic device processing

We report on an advanced in-situ electron-beam lithography technique based on high-resolution cathodoluminescence (CL) spectroscopy at low temperatures. The technique has been developed for the deterministic fabrication and quantitative evaluation of nanophotonic structures. It is of particular interest for the realization and optimization of non-classical light sources which require the pre-selection of single quantum dots (QDs) with very specific emission features. The two-step electron-beam lithography process comprises (a) the detailed optical study and selection of target QDs by means of CL-spectroscopy and (b) the precise retrieval of the locations and integration of target QDs into lithographically defined nanostructures. Our technology platform allows for a detailed pre-process determination of important optical and quantum optical properties of the QDs, such as the emission energies of excitonic complexes, the excitonic fine-structure splitting, the carrier dynamics, and the quantum nature of emission. In addition, it enables a direct and precise comparison of the optical properties of a single QD before and after integration which is very beneficial for the quantitative evaluation of cavity-enhanced quantum devices.

Operating single quantum emitters with a compact Stirling cryocooler

The development of an easy-to-operate light source emitting single photons has become a major driving force in the emerging field of quantum information technology. Here, we report on the application of a compact and user-friendly Stirling cryocooler in the field of nanophotonics. The Stirling cryocooler is used to operate a single quantum emitter constituted of a semiconductor quantum dot (QD) at a base temperature below 30 K. Proper vibration decoupling of the cryocooler and its surrounding enables free-space micro-photoluminescence spectroscopy to identify and analyze different charge-carrier states within a single quantum dot. As an exemplary application in quantum optics, we perform a Hanbury-Brown and Twiss experiment demonstrating a strong suppression of multi-photon emission events with g((2))(0) < 0.04 from this Stirling-cooled single quantum emitter under continuous wave excitation. Comparative experiments performed on the same quantum dot in a liquid helium (LHe)-flow cryostat show almost identical values of g((2))(0) for both configurations at a given temperature. The results of this proof of principle experiment demonstrate that low-vibration Stirling cryocoolers that have so far been considered exotic to the field of nanophotonics are an attractive alternative to expensive closed-cycle cryostats or LHe-flow cryostats, which could pave the way for the development of high-quality table-top non-classical light sources.

Single Quantum Dot with Microlens and 3D-Printed Micro-objective as Integrated Bright Single-Photon Source

Integrated single-photon sources with high photon-extraction efficiency are key building blocks for applications in the field of quantum communications. We report on a bright single-photon source realized by on-chip integration of a deterministic quantum dot microlens with a 3D-printed multilens micro-objective. The device concept benefits from a sophisticated combination of in situ 3D electron-beam lithography to realize the quantum dot microlens and 3D femtosecond direct laser writing for creation of the micro-objective. In this way, we obtain a high-quality quantum device with broadband photon-extraction efficiency of (40 ± 4)% and high suppression of multiphoton emission events with g(2)(τ = 0) < 0.02. Our results highlight the opportunities that arise from tailoring the optical properties of quantum emitters using integrated optics with high potential for the further development of plug-and-play fiber-coupled single-photon sources.

A bright triggered twin-photon source in the solid state

The realization of integrated light sources capable of emitting non-classical multi-photon states, is a fascinating, yet equally challenging task at the heart of quantum optics [1]. One example of such light-states are photon twins, which up till now have mostly been generated with low emission rates using probabilistic parametric down-conversion sources [2] or atoms [3].

A stand-alone fiber-coupled single-photon source

In this work, we present a stand-alone and fiber-coupled quantum-light source. The plug-and-play device is based on an optically driven quantum dot delivering single photons via an optical fiber. The quantum dot is deterministically integrated in a monolithic microlens which is precisely coupled to the core of an optical fiber via active optical alignment and epoxide adhesive bonding. The rigidly coupled fiber-emitter assembly is integrated in a compact Stirling cryocooler with a base temperature of 35 K. We benchmark our practical quantum device via photon auto-correlation measurements revealing g(2)(0) = 0.07 ± 0.05 under continuous-wave excitation and we demonstrate triggered non-classical light at a repetition rate of 80 MHz. The long-term stability of our quantum light source is evaluated by endurance tests showing that the fiber-coupled quantum dot emission is stable within 4% over several successive cool-down/warm-up cycles. Additionally, we demonstrate non-classical photon emission for a user-intervention-free 100-hour test run and stable single-photon count rates up to 11.7 kHz with a standard deviation of 4%.

High-β micropillar lasers with site-controlled quantum dots fabricated via a buried stressor approach

We report on the realization of quantum-dot (QD) micropillar lasers based on a buried stressor growth approach [1]. This method allows for the site-controlled growth and device integration of QDs with high optical quality [2, 3]. Compared to other concepts for site-controlled QD growth, this approach has the important advantage that the number of QDs within a small ensemble located in the center of the cavity can be controlled by the design of the buried stressor. This allows one to fine-tune the gain and, thus, to engineer the devices for few-QD lasing or for single-QD emission regimes. Moreover, the applied technique ensures that the ensemble with a controlled number of QDs is located in the electric field maximum at the center of the micropillars to provide maximum light-matter coupling strength.