Final Report Summary - QUANTUMOPTOELECTR (Quantum Opto-Electronics)
Standard light sources luminate huge streams of photons such that the individual character of the quantization of light is completely lost. When a single photon is emitted from a particular atom, it carries the quantum properties of the electronic states from that atom. In the last decade, nanotechnology has enable to create nanoscale semiconductor structures that have atomic like properties such as a discrete electronic spectrum. Photons originating from transitions in this spectrum carry along the embedded quantum properties. The research field of semiconducting quantum optics has defined several objectives including a device that can emit one photon at a particular moment with well-defined, engineered quantum properties. Such a single-photon device would be an important building block for quantum information systems.
Single photon devices have been realized in various semiconductors and nanotechnology has been used to top-down fabricate the active regions with nanoscale dimensions. In our ERC project we have developed an alternative approach. We have realized a bottom-up technique and realized semiconductor nanowires. These nanowires are engineered such that the photons emitted from an embedded active region are guided in one particular direction. So all the photons exit our device in one directions where they can easily be guided into attached circuits for further transport.
We have demonstrated photon sources with high repetion rates while maintaining single photon emission per cycle. Together with our directed waveguiding this yields very bright single photon sources. Our devices are currently being developed towards commercial product with applications in the field of secure quantum information networks.
The ERC project has been crucial in initiating this direction. The ERC funding has allowed to collaborate with scientists from different backgrounds, Materials Science, Engineering and Physics. Nanowire quantum light sources did simply not exist before and our ERC project has enabled us to develop this new technology.
Single photon devices have been realized in various semiconductors and nanotechnology has been used to top-down fabricate the active regions with nanoscale dimensions. In our ERC project we have developed an alternative approach. We have realized a bottom-up technique and realized semiconductor nanowires. These nanowires are engineered such that the photons emitted from an embedded active region are guided in one particular direction. So all the photons exit our device in one directions where they can easily be guided into attached circuits for further transport.
We have demonstrated photon sources with high repetion rates while maintaining single photon emission per cycle. Together with our directed waveguiding this yields very bright single photon sources. Our devices are currently being developed towards commercial product with applications in the field of secure quantum information networks.
The ERC project has been crucial in initiating this direction. The ERC funding has allowed to collaborate with scientists from different backgrounds, Materials Science, Engineering and Physics. Nanowire quantum light sources did simply not exist before and our ERC project has enabled us to develop this new technology.