Intrinsic and environmental effects on the interference properties of a high-performance quantum dot single-photon source

Stefan Gerhardt, Jake Iles-Smith, Dara P. S. McCutcheon, Yu-Ming He, Sebastian Unsleber, Simon Betzold, Niels Gregersen, Jesper Mørk, Sven Höfling, and Christian Schneider
Phys. Rev. B 97, 195432 – Published 18 May 2018

Abstract

We report a joint experimental and theoretical study of the interference properties of a single-photon source based on a In(Ga)As quantum dot embedded in a quasiplanar GaAs microcavity. Using resonant laser excitation with a pulse separation of 2 ns, we find near-perfect interference of the emitted photons, and a corresponding indistinguishability of I=(99.61.4+0.4)%. For larger pulse separations, quasiresonant excitation conditions, increasing pump power, or with increasing temperature, the interference contrast is progressively and notably reduced. We present a systematic study of the relevant dephasing mechanisms and explain our results in the framework of a microscopic model of our system. For strictly resonant excitation, we show that photon indistinguishability is independent of pump power, but strongly influenced by virtual phonon-assisted processes which are not evident in excitonic Rabi oscillations.

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  • Received 26 July 2017
  • Revised 5 April 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.97.195432

©2018 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Stefan Gerhardt1, Jake Iles-Smith2, Dara P. S. McCutcheon3, Yu-Ming He1,4, Sebastian Unsleber1, Simon Betzold1, Niels Gregersen2, Jesper Mørk2, Sven Höfling1,5, and Christian Schneider1

  • 1Technische Physik and Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen Research Center for Complex Material Systems, Physikalisches Institut, Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany
  • 2Department of Photonics Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Ørsteds Plads, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
  • 3Quantum Engineering Technology Labs, H. H. Wills Physics Laboratory and Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1FD, United Kingdom
  • 4Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and Department of Modern Physics, and CAS Center for Excellence and Synergetic Innovation Center in Quantum Information and Quantum Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China
  • 5SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews KY16 9SS, United Kingdom

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Issue

Vol. 97, Iss. 19 — 15 May 2018

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