Modification of the spontaneous emission of quantum dots near the surface of a three-dimensional colloidal photonic crystal

This paper demonstrates experimentally and numerically that a significant modification of spontaneous emission rate can be achieved near the surface of a three-dimensional photonic crystal.In experiments,semiconductor core-shell quantum dots are intentionally confined in a thin polymer film on which a three-dimensional colloidal photonic crystal is fabricated.The spontaneous emission rate of quantum dots is characterised by conventional and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) measurements.The modification of the spontaneous emission rate,which is reflected in the change of spectral shape and PL lifetime,is clearly observed.While an obvious increase in the PL lifetime is found at most wavelengths in the band gap,a significant reduction in the PL lifetime by one order of magnitude is observed at the short-wavelength band edge.Numerical simulation reveals a periodic modulation of spontaneous emission rate with decreasing modulation strength when an emitter is moved away from the surface of the photonic crystal.It is supported by the fact that the modification of spontaneous emission rate is not pronounced for quantum dots distributed in a thick polymer film where both enhancement and suppression are present simultaneously.This finding provides a simple and effective way for improving the performance of light emitting devices.     

Spontaneous emission enhancement of quantum dots in a photonic crystal wire

Photonic wires are the simplest extended low-dimensional systems. Photonic crystal confinement confers them a divergent density of states at zero-group-velocity points, which leads to enhancement of spontaneous emission rates [D. Kleppner, Phys. Rev. Lett. 47, 233 (1981)10.1103/Phys. Rev. Lett. 47.233]. We experimentally evidence, for the first time, the spectral signature of these Purcell factor singularities, using the out-of-plane emission of InAs quantum dots buried in GaAs/AlGaAs based photonic crystal based wire. Additionally, in-plane collection at the wire exit shows large enhancements of the signal at some of the density of states singularities.     

Modified spontaneous emission of CdTe quantum dots inside a photonic crystal

The angular dependence of the spontaneous emission of CdTe quantum dots (QDs) inside a photonic crystal with a pseudogap is reported. The sensitive dependences of the radiative lifetime and the photoluminescence spectrum of CdTe QDs on the observation angle demonstrate the effect of the photonic bandgap on the spontaneous emission of the QDs.     

Logic gate based on a one-dimensional photonic crystal containing quantum dots

The feasibility of using quantum dots as a dense resonant medium with large transition dipole moments is analyzed. The possibility of creating one-dimensional photonic crystals containing quantum dots is examined on the basis of published experimental and theoretical data and the basic parameters of such systems are discussed. A numerical solution of the generalized Maxwell–Bloch equations is used to show that the interaction of coherent light pulses with a photonic structure containing quantum dots can be used to create optical logical operations of types that will depend on the spectral properties of the crystal.     

Positioning photonic crystal cavities to single InAs quantum dots

We have investigated the optical properties of planar photonic crystal cavities formed by removing a single hole from a two-dimensional square lattice of air holes etched through a thin GaAs slab. We have demonstrated cavity resonances with quality factors (Q’s) as high as 8500, using an internal light source provided by an ensemble of InAs quantum dots (QDs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The high-Q modes are confined to a very small mode volume, V = 0.7(λ/n)³, making them attractive to study in the context of cavity quantum electrodynamics with single QDs, where a high is needed to observe the strong coupling between an electronic state of the dot and the optical cavity mode. To this end, we have developed an accurate and robust alignment technique that positions a photonic crystal cavity to a single QD with 25 nm resolution. We present the details of this new technology and demonstrate its effectiveness by strategically positioning a number of QDs within photonic crystal cavities at points where the electric field intensity is high.     

Purcell effect of GaAs quantum dots by photonic crystal microcavities

We fabricate photonic crystal slab microcavities embedded with GaAs quantum dots by electron beam lithography and droplet epitaxy. The Purcell effect of exciton emission of the quantum dots is confirmed by the micro photoluminescence measurement. The resonance wavelengths, widths, and polarization are consistent with numerical simulation results.     

Single quantum dots for slow and fast light in a planar photonic crystal

We theoretically investigate slow and fast light propagation and pulse velocity control in a nanocavity containing a single quantum dot side-coupled to a planar-photonic-crystal waveguide. We demonstrate that low coupling strength (i.e., the weak coupling regime) between a cavity and a dot, under on-resonance condition, can lead to delays of about +90 ps for a pulse 1/e-width of 280 ps. The group delay dependence on the various coupling parameters suggests achievable delays of +300 ps and consequently very slow light speeds of around 5000 m/s in a 1.5 microm cavity-waveguide section. We also show that under off-resonant condition one can achieve significant pulse advancement of -60 ps.     

Charge controlled self-assembled quantum dots coupled to photonic crystal nanocavities

The system of charge controlled self-assembled quantum dots coupled to high-Q photonic crystal cavity modes is studied. The quantum dots are embedded in a p-i-n diode structure. Different designs of photonic crystal cavities are used, namely H1 and L3 and the Purcell effect is demonstrated. Furthermore, the fine tuning of the H1 cavity design is studied in order to achieve far field emission profiles that result in higher collection efficiency. An increase in the overall signal from the quantum dot when it is coupled to a cavity is observed, due to the Purcell effect and the improved collection efficiency. This together with the deterministic charging of the quantum dot that is demonstrated, can be used for a single electron spin measurement.     

Quantum information processing through quantum dots in slow-light photonic crystal waveguides

We propose a scheme to realize controlled phase-flip gate between two single photons through a single quantum dot (QD) in a slow-light photonic crystal (PhC) waveguide. Enhanced Purcell factor and large β-factor lead to high gate fidelity over broadband frequencies compared to cavity-assisted system. The excellent physical integration of this PhC waveguide system provides tremendous potential for large-scale quantum information processing. Then we generalize to a multi-atom controlled phase-flip gate based on waveguide system in Sagnac interferometer. Through the Sagnac interferometer, the single photon adds the phase-flip operation on the atomic state without changing the photonic state. The controlled phase-flip gate on the atoms can be successfully constructed with high fidelity in one step, even without detecting the photon.     

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.     

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.     

Enhanced single-photon emission from quantum dots in photonic crystal waveguides and nanocavities

A theoretical formalism is presented to investigate enhanced radiative decay of excited dipoles in photonic crystal waveguides and nanocavities with a view to achieving efficient single-photon emission from embedded quantum dots. Surprisingly, large enhancement effects are achievable in both waveguides and nanocavities, and enhanced emission in the waveguide is shown to scale proportionally (inversely) with the photon group index (velocity). Further, a way to include radiative coupling of the quantum dot is shown, and the importance of its inclusion is subsequently demonstrated.     

Modified spontaneous emission and qubit entanglement from dipole-coupled quantum dots in a photonic crystal nanocavity

The modified spontaneous emission dynamics of two photon-coupled quantum dots in a planar-photonic crystal are theoretically investigated. Based on a photon Green function technique for quantizing the electromagnetic fields in arbitrary surroundings, pronounced vacuum Rabi oscillations and dipole-dipole interactions are self-consistently incorporated and are shown to result in a high degree of quantum-bit entanglement. Quantum dots with different optical dipole moments are also found to yield a very rich display of quantum dynamics and offer several advantages over coupling identical atoms.     

Mapping the local density of optical states of a photonic crystal with single quantum dots

We use single self-assembled InGaAs quantum dots as internal probes to map the local density of optical states of photonic crystal membranes. The employed technique separates contributions from nonradiative recombination and spin-flip processes by properly accounting for the role of the exciton fine structure. We observe inhibition factors as high as 70 and compare our results to local density of optical states calculations available from the literature, thereby establishing a quantitative understanding of photon emission in photonic crystal membranes.     

Electroluminescence of colloidal ZnSe quantum dots

The article reports a green chemical synthesis of colloidal ZnSe quantum dots at a moderate temperature. The prepared colloid sample is characterised by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. UV-vis spectroscopy reveals as-expected blue-shift with strong absorption edge at 400 nm and micrographs show a non-uniform size distribution of ZnSe quantum dots in the range 1-4 nm. Further, photoluminescence and electroluminescence spectroscopies are carried out to study optical emission. Each of the spectroscopies reveals two emission peaks, indicating band-to-band transition and defect related transition. From the luminescence studies, it can be inferred that the recombination of electrons and holes resulting from interband transition causes violet emission and the recombination of a photon generated hole with a charged state of Zn-vacancy gives blue emission. Meanwhile electroluminescence study suggests the application of ZnSe quantum dots as an efficient light emitting device with the advantage of colour tuning (violet-blue-violet).     

微腔中CdSe量子点荧光增强效应

文章主要研究了CdSe量子点微腔结构,微腔结构包括上下分布式布拉格反射镜(DBR),中间的有源层为溶解在聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯(PMMA)中的CdSe胶体量子点.采用传递矩阵法模拟微腔的反射光谱,对实验测试曲线进行较好的拟合.通过测试微腔结构的光致荧光(PL)光谱,其半峰宽(FWHM)由未加入微腔的CdSe量子点样品的27.9 nm,减小到微腔结构的7.5 nm,在微腔中的量子点,由于腔模式的出现,其发光谱的品质因数增加了3.6倍,达到了荧光增强的效果. 关键词： CdSe量子点 微腔效应 荧光增强     

Experimental realization of highly efficient broadband coupling of single quantum dots to a photonic crystal waveguide

We present time-resolved spontaneous emission measurements of single quantum dots embedded in photonic crystal waveguides. Quantum dots that couple to a photonic crystal waveguide are found to decay up to 27 times faster than uncoupled quantum dots. From these measurements beta-factors of up to 0.89 are derived, and an unprecedented large bandwidth of 20 nm is demonstrated. This shows the promising potential of photonic crystal waveguides for efficient single-photon sources. The scaled frequency range over which the enhancement is observed is in excellent agreement with recent theoretical proposals taking into account that the light-matter coupling is strongly enhanced due to the significant slow-down of light in the photonic crystal waveguides.     

胶体CdSe量子点的色度学特性研究

使用化学胶体法合成了CdSe量子点，研究了样品的荧光量子产率，发现随CdSe量子点粒径的增大，荧光量子产率存在先增大后减小的现象.研究了CdSe量子点的色度学特性，通过对不同尺寸、不同粒径分布范围的CdSe量子点色度坐标的计算，讨论了粒径分布范围对其荧光颜色饱和度的影响，解释了为何难以获得高颜色饱和度的绿光量子点.利用红、蓝两种不同尺寸的量子点配制出白光样品，提出了估计配色后样品色度坐标的经验公式，结果显示白光样品色度坐标的实验值与经验公式估计值基本一致.     

Coherent photonic coupling of semiconductor quantum dots

We report a new type of coupling between quantum dot excitons mediated by the strong single-photon field in a high-finesse micropillar cavity. Coherent exciton coupling is observed for two dots with energy differences of the order of the exciton-photon coupling. The coherent coupling mode is characterized by an anticrossing with a particularly large line splitting of 250 microeV. Because of the different dispersion relations with temperature, the simultaneous photonic coupling of quantum dot excitons can be easily distinguished from cases of sequential strong coupling of two quantum dots.     

Two-photon-pumped lasing from colloidal nanocrystal quantum dots

Upconverted lasing in the nonlinear, two-photon absorption regime has been demonstrated, for the first time to the best of our knowledge in colloidal nanocrystal quantum dots (NQDs). Upon pulse excitation at sub-bandgap photon energies the radiative recombination of excitons in close-packed CdSe/CdS/ZnS core-shell NQDs was found to be sufficiently fast to compete with the intrinsic nonradiative Auger recombination, as confirmed by the presence of a fast decay (approximately 7 ps) in the time-resolved photoluminescence.