A bright triggered twin-photon source in the solid state
Heindel T; Thoma A; Helversen M; Schmidt M; Schlehahn A; Gschrey M; Schnauber P; Schulze J; Strittmatter A; Beyer J; Rodt S; Carmele A; Knorr A; Reitzenstein S
Research article (journal) | Peer reviewedAbstract
A non-classical light source emitting pairs of identical photons represents a versatile resource of interdisciplinary importance with applications in quantum optics and quantum biology. To date, photon twins have mostly been generated using parametric downconversion sources, relying on Poissonian number distributions, or atoms, exhibiting low emission rates. Here we propose and experimentally demonstrate the efficient, triggered generation of photon twins using the energy-degenerate biexciton–exciton radiative cascade of a single semiconductor quantum dot. Deterministically integrated within a microlens, this nanostructure emits highly correlated photon pairs, degenerate in energy and polarization, at a rate of up to (234±4) kHz. Furthermore, we verify a significant degree of photon indistinguishability and directly observe twin-photon emission by employing photon-number-resolving detectors, which enables the reconstruction of the emitted photon number distribution. Our work represents an important step towards the realization of efficient sources of twin-photon states on a fully scalable technology platform.
Details about the publication
Authors from the University of Münster
| Heindel, Tobias |
Distinctions received for the publication
| Karl-Scheel-Prize 2020 (1st prize) Awarded by: Berlin Physical Society (PGzB) Award given to: Heindel, Tobias; Announced at: 28/01/2020 | Date of awarding: 26/06/2020 Type of distinction: Research award or other distinction |