Single photon sources with single semiconductor quantum dots

In t.his contribution, we briefly recall the basic concepts of quantum optics and properties of semicon- ductor quantum clot. （QD） which a.re necessary to the nnderstanding of the physics of single-photon generation with single QDs. Firstly, we address the theory of quantmn emitter-cavity system, the fluorescence and optical properties of semiconductor QDs, and the photon statistics as well as opti- cal properties of the QDs. We then review the localizatioll of single semiconductor QDs in quantum confined optical microcavity systems to achieve their overall optical properties and perfornances in terms of strong coupling regime, elfieiency, directionality, and polarization control. Furthermore, we will discuss the recenl, progress on the fabrication of single photon sources, and various a.pproaehes for embedding single QDs into mieroca,vities or photonic crystal nanoeavities and show how to ex- tend the wavelength range. We focus in part;icular on new generations of electrically driven QD single photon source leading to high repetition rates, efficiencies at elevated temperature operation. Besides strong eoupling regime, and high collection new development;s of room temperature sin- gle photon emission in the strong coupling regime are reviewed. The generation of indistinguishable photons and remaining challenges for pract ical single-photon sources are also discussed.     

Fabrication of three‐dimensional photonic crystals in quantum‐dot‐based materials

Controlling spontaneous emission (SE) is of fundamental importance to a diverse range of photonic applications including but not limited to quantum optics, low power displays, solar energy harvesting and optical communications. Characterized by photonic bandgap (PBG) property, three‐dimensional (3D) photonic crystals (PCs) have emerged as a promising synthetic material, which can manipulate photons in much the same way as a semiconductor does to electrons. Emission tunable nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs) are ideal point sources to be embedded into 3D PCs towards active devices. The challenge however lies in the combination of QDs with 3D PCs without degradation of their emission properties. Polymer materials stand out for this purpose due to their flexibility of incorporating active materials. Combining the versatile multi‐photon 3D micro‐fabrication techniques, active 3D PCs have been fabricated in polymer‐QD composites with demonstrated control of SE from QDs. With this milestone novel miniaturized photonic devices can thus be envisaged.     

CdSe infiltrated TiO2 based omnidirectional photonic crystals for visible light control

Control of light emission by engineering the electromagnetic vacuum is important in photonics for fundamental understanding as well as in applications. Omnidirectional photonic crystals such as logpile photonic crystals provide a very interesting system to study such phenomena. Here, we describe the first steps towards achieving systematic and reproducible control of light using titanium dioxide (TiO₂) logpile photonic crystals (PC) with incorporated cadmium chalcogenide (CdSe) quantum dots (QDs) (λ  600 nm) to potentially modify QD photoluminescence (PL). We present a technique for coating a monolayer of the QDs on the PC rods based on 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilanol linkage and measured the resulting PL response. Comparison of the PL spectra to a finite difference time domain model shows the need for further localization of QDs and fabrication of additional PC unit cells to observe PL modification.     

二维GaAs 基光子晶体微腔的制作与光谱特性分析

研究了以InAs量子点为有源区的二维GaAs基光子晶体微腔的设计与制作,测试并分析了室温下微腔的光谱特性.观察到了波长约为1137 nm,谱线半高宽度约为1 nm的尖锐低阶谐振模式发光峰.我们比较了不同刻蚀条件下光子晶体微腔的发光谱线,结果表明空气孔洞截面的垂直度是影响光子晶体微腔发光特性的重要因素之一.通过调节干法刻蚀工艺,改变空气孔半径与晶格常数的比率,可以在较大范围内调节谐振模式发光峰位置,达到谐振模式与量子点发光峰调谐的目的.     

Controlling the spontaneous emission rate of single quantum dots in a two-dimensional photonic crystal

We observe large spontaneous emission rate modification of individual InAs quantum dots (QDs) in a 2D photonic crystal with a modified, high-Q single-defect cavity. Compared to QDs in a bulk semiconductor, QDs that are resonant with the cavity show an emission rate increase of up to a factor of 8. In contrast, off-resonant QDs indicate up to fivefold rate quenching as the local density of optical states is diminished in the photonic crystal. In both cases, we demonstrate photon antibunching, showing that the structure represents an on-demand single photon source with a pulse duration from 210 ps to 8 ns. We explain the suppression of QD emission rate using finite difference time domain simulations and find good agreement with experiment.     

White light-emitting quantum dot diodes and tuning of luminescence processes

A novel white light-emitting diode based on a large Stokes shift (~200 nm) and using pure green light-emitting CdSeS quantum dots (QDs) with an Ag/ZnSnO/QDs/spiro-TPD/ITO structure has been fabricated in which ZnSnO and spiro-TPD are served as the electron and hole transport layer, respectively. The large Stokes shift of the CdSeS QDs excludes potentially Förster resonance energy transfer process, which allows spiro-TPD to act as both an emitter and hole transport layer. The devices exhibit a wide EL spectrum consisting of three components: blue emission from spiro-TPD, green emission from QD band–band recombination, and red emission from QD surface-state recombination. We further found that as the intensity ratios among these three components vary with bias the color of the QD light-emitting diodes is tunable. The device displays a good white light-emitting characteristic with CIE coordinates of (0.281, 0.384) at an appropriate bias.     

Design,fabrication and optical characterization of GaAs photonic crystal nanocavity lasers with InAs quantum dots gain wafer-bonded onto Si substrates

We designed and fabricated III–V compound semiconductor two-dimensional photonic crystal (PhC) thin film slabs with quantum dots (QDs) inside formed on Si substrates for highly integrated silicon photonic circuits with built-in nanolasers. Defect-shifted L3 type PhC nanocavities formed in GaAs thin films embedding 1.3 μm-emitting InAs QDs layer-transferred onto Si substrates were investigated. Quality factors <1000 for the PhC nanocavities on SiO₂ were enhanced up to ∼8000 by removing SiO₂ to form air-bridge structures, resulting in room temperature, continuous wave lasing.     

Si quantum dot structures and their applications

This paper presents briefly the history of emission study in Si quantum dots (QDs) in the last two decades. Stable light emission of Si QDs and NCs was observed in the spectral ranges: blue, green, orange, red and infrared. These PL bands were attributed to the exciton recombination in Si QDs, to the carrier recombination through defects inside of Si NCs or via oxide related defects at the Si/SiOx interface. The analysis of recombination transitions and the different ways of the emission stimulation in Si QD structures, related to the element variation for the passivation of surface dangling bonds, as well as the plasmon induced emission and rare earth impurity activation, have been presented.The different applications of Si QD structures in quantum electronics, such as: Si QD light emitting diodes, Si QD single union and tandem solar cells, Si QD memory structures, Si QD based one electron devices and double QD structures for spintronics, have been discussed as well. Note the significant worldwide interest directed toward the silicon-based light emission for integrated optoelectronics is related to the complementary metal-oxide semiconductor compatibility and the possibility to be monolithically integrated with very large scale integrated (VLSI) circuits. The different features of poly-, micro- and nanocrystalline silicon for solar cells, that is a mixture of both amorphous and crystalline phases, such as the silicon NCs or QDs embedded in a α-Si:H matrix, as well as the thin film 2-cell or 3-cell tandem solar cells based on Si QD structures have been discussed as well. Silicon NC based structures for non-volatile memory purposes, the recent studies of Si QD base single electron devices and the single electron occupation of QDs as an important component to the measurement and manipulation of spins in quantum information processing have been analyzed as well.     

Simultaneous near field imaging of electric and magnetic field in photonic crystal nanocavities

The insertion of a metal-coated tip on the surface of a photonic crystal microcavity is used for simultaneous near field imaging of electric and magnetic fields in photonic crystal nanocavities, via the radiative emission of embedded semiconductor quantum dots (QD). The photoluminescence intensity map directly gives the electric field distribution, to which the electric dipole of the QD is coupled. The magnetic field generates, via Faraday's law, a circular current in the apex of the metallized probe that can be schematized as a ring. The resulting magnetic perturbation of the photonic modes induces a blue shift, which can be used to map the magnetic field, within a single near-field scan.     

Growth of InAs/GaAs quantum dots on germanium-on-insulator-on-silicon substrate for silicon photonics

We report the growth of self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) on germanium-on-insulator-on-silicon (GeOI/Si) substrate by antimony-mediated metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The influence of various growth procedures for the GaAs buffer layer on the QD formation and optical quality was investigated. We obtained QDs with density above 10¹⁰ cm⁻², and ground state emission in the 1.3 μm band at room temperature. These results demonstrate the promising suitability of germanium-on-insulator for the monolithic integration of QD-based and other GaAs-based photonic devices on silicon.     

Site-controlled quantum dots grown in inverted pyramids for photonic crystal applications

We report on the growth and optical properties of various configurations of sub-micron pitch dense arrays of pyramidal quantum dots (QDs) grown by organometallic chemical vapour deposition on patterned substrates. We show that the effective growth rate of these QDs is influenced by the ratio between the free {1 1 1}B area and {1 1 1}A exposed facets surrounding them. This provides a powerful technique for engineering the energy level structure of ordered QD arrays by means of geometrical patterning of the growth template. Such technique should be particularly useful for applications in photonic crystals incorporating QDs with tailored absorption and/or emission properties.     

Near-field optical mapping of exciton wave functions in a GaAs quantum dot

Near-field photoluminescence imaging spectroscopy of naturally occurring GaAs quantum dots (QDs) is presented. We successfully mapped out center-of -mass wave functions of an exciton confined in a GaAs QD in real space due to the enhancement of spatial resolution up to 30 nm. As a consequence, we discovered that the spatial profile of the exciton emission, which reflects the shape of a monolayer-high island, differs from that of biexciton emission, due to different distributions of the polarization field for the exciton and biexciton recombinations. This novel technique can be extensively applied to wave function engineering in the design and the fabrication of quantum devices.     

半导体自组织量子点量子发光机理与器件

介绍了自组织量子点单光子发光机理及器件研究进展.主要内容包括：半导体液滴自催化外延GaAs纳米线中InAs量子点和GaAs量子点的单光子发光效应、自组织InAs/GaAs量子点与分布布拉格平面微腔耦合结构的单光子发光效应和器件制备,单量子点发光的共振荧光测量方法、量子点单光子参量下转换实现的纠缠光子发射、单光子的量子存储效应以及量子点单光子发光的光纤耦合输出芯片制备等.     

Photoexcited electron and hole dynamics in semiconductor quantum dots: phonon-induced relaxation, dephasing, multiple exciton generation and recombination

Photoexcited dynamics of electrons and holes in semiconductor quantum dots (QD), including phonon-induced relaxation, multiple exciton generation, fission and recombination (MEG, MEF and MER), were simulated by combining ab?initio time-dependent density functional theory and non-adiabatic molecular dynamics. These nonequilibrium phenomena govern the optical properties and photoexcited dynamics of QDs, determining the branching between electronic processes and thermal energy losses. Our approach accounts for QD size and shape as well as defects, core-shell distribution, surface ligands and charge trapping, which significantly influence the properties of photoexcited QDs. The method creates an explicit time-domain representation of photoinduced processes and describes various kinetic regimes owing to the non-perturbative treatment of quantum dynamics. QDs of different sizes and materials, with and without ligands, are considered. The simulations provide direct evidence that the high-frequency ligand modes on the QD surface play a pivotal role in the electron-phonon relaxation, MEG, MEF and MER. The insights reported here suggest novel routes for controlling the photoinduced processes in semiconductor QDs and lead to new design principles for increasing the efficiencies of photovoltaic devices.     

Activation of silicon quantum dots and coupling between the active centre and the defect state of the photonic crystal in a nanolaser

A new nanolaser concept using silicon quantum dots (QDs) is proposed. The conduction band opened by the quantum confinement effect gives the pumping levels. Localized states in the gap due to some surface bonds on Si QDs can be formed for the activation of emission. An inversion of population can be generated between the localized states and the valence band in a QD fabricated by using a nanosecond pulse laser. Coupling between the active centres formed by localized states and the defect states of the two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystal can be used to select the model in the nanolaser.     

Playing with quantum Hall effects and single-electron-tunneling effects

The usefulness of quantum Hall effect (QHE) conductors and quantum dot (QD) devices is revealed by reviewing five remarkable effects. The first is the sensitive detection of terahertz (THz) radiation by QHE conductors. The second is the imaging of THz emission from non-equilibrium carriers in QHE conductors, by using scanning THz microscopes. The third is the single-photon detection of THz radiation in strong magnetic fields, which is carried out by incorporating a QHE electron system into a QD. Individual events of single-THz-photon absorption within the QD via cyclotron resonance cause the QD to electrically polarize, which, in turn, is detected as switches of the tunnel conductance through the QD. The fourth is the single-photon detection of THz radiation by using double QDs in the absence of a magnetic field. Both of the photon detectors are implemented in gate-voltage-induced lateral GaAs/AlGaAs QDs, and exploiting the extraordinary sensitivity of single-electron transistors to the charge. The fifth is the coherent control of nuclear spins in QHE conductors. Nuclear spins are (i) electrically polarized by unequally populating spin-split QHE edge channels via the hyperfine interaction, (ii) coherently controlled via pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance induced by local RF magnetic fields, and (iii) finally detected by the edge channels through resistance change of the Hall device. The controlled nuclear spins are limited to those along the edge channels, on the order of 10⁹.     

A method to obtain ground state electroluminescence from 1.3μm emitting InAs/GaAs quantum dots grown by molecular beam epitaxy

1.3μm emitting InAs/GaAs quantum dots(QDs) have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy and QD light emitting diodes(LEDs) have been fabricated.In the electroluminescence spectra of QD LEDs,two clear peaks corresponding to the ground state emission and the excited state emission are observed.It was found that the ground state emission could be achieved by increasing the number of QDs contained in the active region because of the state filling effect.This work demonstrates a way to control and tune the emitting wavelength of QD LEDs and lasers.     

量子点操控的光子探测和圆偏振光子发射

半导体量子点是研究光子与电子态相互作用的优选固态体系,并在光子探测和发射两个方向上展现出独特的技术机遇.其中基于量子点的共振隧穿结构被认为在单光子探测方面综合性能最佳,但受到光子数识别、工作温度两个关键性能的制约.利用腔模激子态外场耦合效应,有望获得圆偏振态可控的高频单光子发射.本文介绍作者提出的量子点耦合共振隧穿（QD-cRTD）的光子探测机理,利用量子点量子阱复合电子态的隧穿放大,将QD-cRTD光子探测的工作温度由液氦提高至液氮条件,光电响应的增益达到10⁷以上,并具备双光子识别能力;同时,由量子点能级的直接吸收,原型器件获得了近红外的光子响应.在量子点光子发射机理的研究方面,作者实现了量子点激子跃迁和微腔腔模共振耦合的磁场调控,在Purcell效应的作用下增强激子自旋态的自发辐射速率,从而增强量子点中左旋或右旋圆偏振光的发射强度,圆偏度达到90%以上,形成一种光子自旋可控发射的新途径.     

Numerical investigation on threading dislocation bending with InAs/GaAs quantum dots

The threading dislocations (TDs) in GaAs/Si epitaxial layers due to the lattice mismatch seriously degrade the performance of the lasers grown on silicon. The insertion of InAs quantum dots (QDs) acting as dislocation filters is a pretty good alternative to solving this problem. In this paper, a finite element method (FEM) is proposed to calculate the critical condition for InAs/GaAs QDs bending TDs into interfacial misfit dislocations (MDs). Making a comparison of elastic strain energy between the two isolated systems, a reasonable result is obtained. The effect of the cap layer thickness and the base width of QDs on TD bending are studied, and the results show that the bending area ratio of single QD (the bending area divided by the area of the QD base) is evidently affected by the two factors. Moreover, we present a method to evaluate the bending capability of single-layer QDs and multi-layer QDs. For the QD with 24-nm base width and 5-nm cap layer thickness, taking the QD density of 10¹¹ cm^-2 into account, the bending area ratio of single-layer QDs (the area of bending TD divided by the area of QD layer) is about 38.71%. With inserting five-layer InAs QDs, the TD density decreases by 91.35%. The results offer the guidelines for designing the QD dislocation filters and provide an important step towards realizing the photonic integration circuits on silicon.     

Selective growth of stacked InAs quantum dots by using the templates formed by the Nano-Jet Probe

We have demonstrated the selective area growth of stacked self-assembled InAs quantum dot (QD) arrays in the desired regions on a substrate and confirmed the photoluminescence (PL) emission exhibited by them at room temperature. These InAs QDs are fabricated by the use of a specially designed atomic force microscope cantilever referred to as the Nano-Jet Probe (NJP). By using the NJP, two-dimensional arrays with ordered In nano-dots are fabricated in the desired square regions on a GaAs substrate and directly converted into InAs QD arrays through the subsequent annealing by the irradiation of As flux. By using the converted QD arrays as strain templates, self-organized InAs QDs are stacked. These stacked QDs exhibit the PL emission peak at a wavelength of 1.02 μm.