Richard J. Warburton

Single spins in self-assembled quantum dots

Self-assembled quantum dots have excellent photonic properties. For instance, a single quantum dot is a high-brightness, narrow-linewidth source of single photons. Furthermore, the environment of a single quantum dot can be tailored relatively easily using semiconductor heterostructure and post-growth processing techniques, enabling electrical control of the quantum dot charge and control over the photonic modes with which the quantum dot interacts. A single electron or hole trapped inside a quantum dot has spintronics applications. Although the spin dephasing is rather rapid, a single spin can be manipulated using optical techniques on subnanosecond timescales. Optical experiments are also providing new insights into old issues, such as the central spin problem. This Review provides a snapshot of this active field, with some indications for the future. It covers the basic materials and optical properties of single quantum dots, techniques for initializing, manipulating and reading out single spin qubits, and the mechanisms that limit the electron-spin and hole-spin coherence.

A small mode volume tunable microcavity: Development and characterization

We report the realization of a spatially and spectrally tunable air-gap Fabry-Perot type microcavity of high finesse and cubic-wavelength-scale mode volume. These properties are attractive in the fields of opto-mechanics, quantum sensing, and foremost cavity quantum electrodynamics. The major design feature is a miniaturized concave mirror with atomically smooth surface and radius of curvature as low as 10 μm produced by CO2 laser ablation of fused silica. We demonstrate excellent mode-matching of a focussed laser beam to the microcavity mode and confirm from the frequencies of the resonator modes that the effective optical radius matches the physical radius. With these small radii, we demonstrate wavelength-size beam waists. We also show that the microcavity is sufficiently rigid for practical applications: in a cryostat at 4 K, the root-mean-square microcavity length fluctuations are below 5 pm.

A superconducting nanowire single photon detector on lithium niobate.

Superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) are a key enabling technology for optical quantum information science. In this paper we demonstrate a SNSPD fabricated on lithium niobate, an important material for high speed integrated photonic circuits. We report a system detection efficiency of 0.15% at a 1 kHz dark count rate with a maximum of ~1% close to the critical current at 1550 nm wavelength for a parallel wire SNSPD with front side illumination. There is clear scope for improving on this performance with further materials optimization. Detector integration with a lithium niobate optical waveguide is simulated, demonstrating the potential for high single photon detection efficiency in an integrated quantum optic circuit.

Decoupling a hole spin qubit from the nuclear spins

A huge effort is underway to develop semiconductor nanostructures as low-noise hosts for qubits. The main source of dephasing of an electron spin qubit in a GaAs-based system is the nuclear spin bath. A hole spin may circumvent the nuclear spin noise. In principle, the nuclear spins can be switched off for a pure heavy-hole spin. In practice, it is unknown to what extent this ideal limit can be achieved. A major hindrance is that p-type devices are often far too noisy. We investigate here a single hole spin in an InGaAs quantum dot embedded in a new generation of low-noise p-type device. We measure the hole Zeeman energy in a transverse magnetic field with 10 neV resolution by dark-state spectroscopy as we create a large transverse nuclear spin polarization. The hole hyperfine interaction is highly anisotropic: the transverse coupling is <1% of the longitudinal coupling. For unpolarized, randomly fluctuating nuclei, the ideal heavy-hole limit is achieved down to nanoelectronvolt energies; equivalently dephasing times up to a microsecond. The combination of large and strong optical dipole makes the single hole spin in a GaAs-based device an attractive quantum platform.

An artificial Rb atom in a semiconductor with lifetime-limited linewidth

We report results important for the creation of a best-of-both-worlds quantum hybrid system consisting of a solid-state source of single photons and an atomic ensemble as quantum memory. We generate single photons from a GaAs quantum dot (QD) frequency-matched to the Rb D2-transitions and then use the Rb transitions to analyze spectrally the quantum dot photons. We demonstrate lifetime-limited QD linewidths (1.48 GHz) with both resonant and non-resonant excitation. The QD resonance fluorescence in the low power regime is dominated by Rayleigh scattering, a route to match quantum dot and Rb atom linewidths and to shape the temporal wave packet of the QD photons. Noise in the solid-state environment is relatively benign: there is a blinking of the resonance fluorescence at MHz rates but negligible upper state dephasing of the QD transition. We therefore establish a close-to-ideal solid-state source of single photons at a key wavelength for quantum technologies.

A fiber-coupled quantum-dot on a photonic tip

We present the experimental realization of a quantum fiber-pigtail. The device consists of a semiconductor quantum-dot embedded into a conical photonic wire that is directly connected to the core of a fiber-pigtail. We demonstrate a photon collection efficiency at the output of the fiber of 5.8% and suggest realistic improvements for the implementation of a useful device in the context of quantum information. We also discuss potential applications in scanning probe microscopy. The approach is generic and transferable to other materials including diamond and silicon.Davide Cadeddu,1 Jean Teissier,1 Floris Braakman,1 Niels Gregersen,2 Petr Stepanov,3, 4 Jean-Michel Gérard,3, 4 Julien Claudon,3, 4 Richard J. Warburton,1 Martino Poggio,1 and Mathieu Munsch1 Department of Physics, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 82, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland DTU Fotonik, Department of Photonics Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Building 343, DK-2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark Universit Grenoble Alpes, F-38100 Grenoble, France CEA, INAC-SP2M, 17 rue des Martyrs, F-38054 Grenoble, France (Dated: June 23, 2015)

Deterministic Enhancement of Coherent Photon Generation from a Nitrogen-Vacancy Center in Ultrapure Diamond

The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond has an optically addressable, highly coherent spin. However, an NV center even in high quality single-crystalline material is a very poor source of single photons: extraction out of the high-index diamond is inefficient, the emission of coherent photons represents just a few per cent of the total emission, and the decay time is large. In principle, all three problems can be addressed with a resonant microcavity. In practice, it has proved difficult to implement this concept: photonic engineering hinges on nano-fabrication yet it is notoriously difficult to process diamond without degrading the NV centers. We present here a microcavity scheme which uses minimally processed diamond, thereby preserving the high quality of the starting material, and a tunable microcavity platform. We demonstrate a clear change in the lifetime for multiple individual NV centers on tuning both the cavity frequency and anti-node position, a Purcell effect. The overall Purcell factor

Role of the electron spin in determining the coherence of the nuclear spins in a quantum dot.

F_{\rm P}=2.0

Indistinguishable and efficient single photons from a quantum dot in a planar nanobeam waveguide

translates to a Purcell factor for the zero phonon line (ZPL) of

Resonant driving of a single photon emitter embedded in a mechanical oscillator

F_{\rm P}^{\rm ZPL}\sim30