Tilted-potential photonic crystal cavities for integrated quantum photonics.

We propose and investigate a new type of photonic crystal (PhC) cavity for integrated quantum photonics, which provides tailored optical modes with both confined and extended spatial components. The structures consist of elongated PhC cavities in which the effective index of refraction is varied quasi-linearly along their axis, implemented by systematic lateral shifts of the PhC holes. The confined modes have approximately Airy-function envelopes, exhibiting single peaks and extended tails, which is useful for optimizing single photon extraction and transmission in integrated quantum photonic devices. The measured spectrally resolved near-field patterns of such devices show the expected spatial and resonance wavelength behavior, in agreement with numerical simulations of the Airy-Bloch modes. The effects of fabrication-induced disorder on the mode features are also analyzed and discussed. Selective excitation of specific Airy-Bloch modes using integrated, site-controlled quantum dots as localized light sources is demonstrated. Based on the tilted-potential cavity, multiple-QD single photon emitters exploiting wavelength division multiplexing are proposed.

Limiting the Spectral Diffusion of Nano-Scale Light Emitters using the Purcell effect in a Photonic-Confined Environment.

Partial suppression of the spectral diffusion of quantum dot (QD) excitons tuned to resonance of a nano-photonic cavity is reported. The suppression is caused by the Purcell enhancement of the QD-exciton recombination rate, which alters the rate of charging of the solid-state environment by the QD itself. The effect can be used to spectrally-stabilize solid-state emitters of single photons and other non-classical states of light.

Deterministic radiative coupling of two semiconductor quantum dots to the optical mode of a photonic crystal nanocavity.

A system of two site-controlled semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) is deterministically integrated with a photonic crystal membrane nano-cavity. The two QDs are identified via their reproducible emission spectral features, and their coupling to the fundamental cavity mode is established by emission co-polarization and cavity feeding features. A theoretical model accounting for phonon interaction and pure dephasing reproduces the observed results and permits extraction of the light-matter coupling constant for this system. The demonstrated approach offers a platform for scaling up the integration of QD systems and nano-photonic elements for integrated quantum photonics applications.

Effect of Pure Dephasing and Phonon Scattering on the Coupling of Semiconductor Quantum Dots to Optical Cavities.

Using site-controlled semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) free of multiexcitonic continuum states, integrated with photonic crystal membrane cavities, we clarify the effects of pure dephasing and phonon scattering on exciton-cavity coupling in the weak-coupling regime. In particular, the observed QD-cavity copolarization and cavity mode feeding versus QD-cavity detuning are explained quantitatively by a model of a two-level system embedded in a solid-state environment.

Polarization mode control of long-wavelength VCSELs by intracavity patterning.

Polarization mode control is enhanced in wafer-fused vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers emitting at 1310 nm wavelength by etching two symmetrically arranged arcs above the gain structure within the laser cavity. The intracavity patterning introduces birefringence and dichroism, which discriminates between the two polarization states of the fundamental transverse modes. We find that the cavity modifications define the polarization angle at threshold with respect to the crystal axes, and increase the gain anisotropy and birefringence on average, leading to an increase in the polarization switching current. Experimental measurements are explained using the spin-flip model of VCSEL polarization dynamics.

Optical injection locking of transverse modes in 1.3-µm wavelength coupled-VCSEL arrays.

Optical injection locking of 1.3-µm phase-locked VCSEL arrays defined by patterned tunnel junctions and wafer fusion is investigated experimentally and theoretically. The impact of the overlap between the master laser injection beam and the injected modes is demonstrated and explained with a rate equation model that incorporates the spatial variations.

1D and 2D arrays of coupled photonic crystal cavities with a site-controlled quantum wire light source.

We investigated experimentally 1D and 2D arrays of coupled L3 photonic crystal cavities. The optical modes of the coupled cavity arrays are fed by a site-controlled quantum wire light source. By performing photoluminescence measurements and relying on near-field calculation of the cavitiy modes, we evidence optical coupling between the cavities as well as supermode delocalization. In particular, for small cavity separations, fabrication induced disorder effects are shown to be negligible compared to optical coupling between cavities.

Ordered systems of site-controlled pyramidal quantum dots incorporated in photonic crystal cavities.

The coupling of a prescribed number of site-controlled pyramidal quantum dots (QDs) with photonic crystal (PhC) cavities was studied by polarization and power-dependent photoluminescence measurements. The energy of the cavity mode could be readily tuned, making use of the high spectral uniformity of the QDs and designing PhC cavities with different hole radii. Efficient coupling of the PhC cavity modes both to the ground state and to the excited state transitions of the QDs was observed, whereas no evidence for far off-resonant coupling was found.

Phonon-mediated coupling of InGaAs/GaAs quantum-dot excitons to photonic crystal cavities.

We demonstrate that the emission characteristics of site-controlled InGaAs/GaAs single quantum dots embedded in photonic crystal slab cavities correspond to single confined excitons coupled to cavity modes, unlike previous reports of similar systems based on self-assembled quantum dots. By using polarization-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy at different temperatures and a theoretical model, we show that the exciton-cavity interaction range is limited to the phonon sidebands. Photon-correlation and pump-power dependence experiments under nonresonant excitation conditions further establish that the cavity is fed only by a single exciton.

Dense arrays of ordered pyramidal quantum dots with narrow linewidth photoluminescence spectra.

Arrays of site-controlled, pyramidal InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) grown by organo-metallic chemical vapour deposition with densities comparable to those of self-assembled QDs (5 x 10(9) cm(-2)) are demonstrated. The QDs exhibit high quality photoluminescence spectra with inhomogeneous broadening of only 6.5 meV. The QD dipole moment was estimated through the analysis of time-resolved photoluminescence measurements. Such ordered QD arrays should be useful for applications in active nanophotonic systems such as QD lasers, modulators and switches requiring high overlap of the optical modes with the QD active region.

Mechanisms of quantum dot energy engineering by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy on patterned nonplanar substrates.

A novel technique for tuning the strength of quantum confinement in site-controlled semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) is introduced and investigated theoretically and experimentally. The method makes use of controlled local growth rates during metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy on patterned arrays of inverted pyramids. A model accounting for precursor migration and adatom incorporation predicts the tuning in QD thickness as a function of the pattern parameters. The results are in good agreement with experimental findings. This technique offers means for designing QD photonic structures with potential applications in QD-based cavity quantum electrodynamics and quantum information processing.

Luttinger-liquid behavior in weakly disordered quantum wires.

We have measured the temperature dependence of the conductance in long V-groove quantum wires fabricated in GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures. Our data are consistent with recent theories developed within the framework of the Luttinger-liquid model, in the limit of weakly disordered wires. We show that, for the relatively low level of disorder in our quantum wires, the value of the interaction parameter g congruent with 0.66, which is the expected value for GaAs. However, samples with a higher level of disorder show conductance with stronger temperature dependence, which does not allow their treatment in the framework of perturbation theory. Fitting such data with perturbation-theory models leads inevitably to wrong (lower) values of g.

Annular aperture arrays: study in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Baida and Van Labeke recently proposed a structure that exhibits a supertransmission of light through an array of nanometric coaxial apertures in a metallic film that has been named an annular aperture array (AAA) [Opt. Commun. 209, 17 (2002); Phys. Rev. B 67, 155314 (2003); J. Microsc. 213, 140 (2003)]. We present the first experimental study, to our knowledge, of an AAA structure in the visible region. For technological reasons, the structure under study does not produce a supertransmission of 80% as in Baida and Van Labeke [Opt. Commun. 209, 17 (2002)]. We built the nanostructure and experimentally recorded its far-field spectral response. This transmission shows only one broad band with a maximum around lambda = 700 nm, giving a maximum efficiency around 17%. A finite-difference time-domain simulation reproduces quite well the obtained transmission spectrum.