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Generating indistinguishable photons from a quantum dot in a noisy environment

Ted S. Santana, Yong Ma, Ralph N. E. Malein, Faebian Bastiman, Edmund Clarke, and Brian D. Gerardot
Phys. Rev. B 95, 201410(R) – Published 23 May 2017

Abstract

Single photons from semiconductor quantum dots are promising resources for linear optical quantum computing, or, when coupled to spin states, quantum repeaters. To realize such schemes, the photons must exhibit a high degree of indistinguishability. However, the solid-state environment presents inherent obstacles for this requirement as intrinsic semiconductor fluctuations can destroy the photon indistinguishability. Here, we demonstrate that resonant excitation of a quantum dot with a narrow-band laser generates near transform limited power spectra and indistinguishable photons from a single quantum dot in an environment with many charge-fluctuating traps. The specificity of the resonant excitation suppresses the excited state population in the quantum dot when it is detuned due to spectral fluctuations. The dynamics of this process lead to flickering of the emission over long time scales (>5μs) and reduces the time-averaged count rates. Nevertheless, in spite of significant spectral fluctuations, high visibility two-photon interference can be achieved. This approach is useful for quantum dots with nearby surface states in processed photonic structures and quantum emitters in emerging platforms, such as two-dimensional semiconductors.

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  • Received 14 December 2016
  • Revised 26 April 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.95.201410

©2017 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Ted S. Santana1, Yong Ma1,*, Ralph N. E. Malein1, Faebian Bastiman2, Edmund Clarke2, and Brian D. Gerardot1,†

  • 1Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences, SUPA, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
  • 2EPSRC National Centre for III-V Technologies, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom

  • *Present address: Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, China.
  • b.d.gerardot@hw.ac.uk

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Issue

Vol. 95, Iss. 20 — 15 May 2017

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