arXiv subjects

Andrea Fiore

Publications and source records attributed to Andrea Fiore.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Strain coupling of a single exciton to a nano-optomechanical resonator

We demonstrate coupling of a semiconductor quantum dot (QD) to an optomechanical cavity, mediated by the strain of a nano-mechanical mode. The device comprises an optomechanical photonic crystal nanobeam in GaAs with embedded In(Ga)As QDs. The flexural mechanical mode of the device can be optically driven exploiting the large optomechanical coupling rate of the cavity. The vibrations generate a time-modulated strain field that shifts the quantum dot transition energy. We observe that optical driving of the mechanical mode induces a shift in an excitonic line corresponding to an estimated vacuum strain coupling rate of 214 kHz. Our approach represents an important step towards the use of phonons to couple different on-chip quantum systems.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2020

The physical limits of nanoLEDs and nanolasers for optical communications

Nanoscale light sources are being intensively investigated for their potential to enable low-energy, high-density optical communication and sensing systems. Both nano-light-emitting diodes (nanoLEDs) and nanolasers have been considered, based on advanced nanophotonic concepts such as photonic crystals and plasmonic structures, with dimensions well into the sub-micrometer domain. With decreasing dimensions, light-matter interaction becomes stronger, potentially leading to efficient and ultrafast radiative emission, both in the spontaneous and stimulated regime. These features have created wide expectations for the practical prospects of such nanoscale light sources, in particular for optical interconnects. In this article we examine the limits to the downscaling of LEDs and lasers, and ask ourselves which type of source is most suited to ultralow-power optical communications. Based on simple physical considerations on the scaling of spontaneous and stimulated emission rates for semiconductor active regions at room temperature, we analyze the speed and energy limits for nanoLEDs and nanolasers as a function of their size. The role of spontaneous emission enhancement (Purcell effect) in practical nanophotonic sources is also revisited. The main conclusion is that nanoLEDs reach a fundamental energy/speed limit for data rates exceeding a few Gb/s, whereas nanolasers with active dimensions in the range of few 100s nm may enable direct modulation rates larger than 40 Gb/s at power levels adequate for short-distance and low-energy optical interconnects.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2018

Microwave-to-optics conversion using a mechanical oscillator in its quantum groundstate

Conversion between signals in the microwave and optical domains is of great interest both for classical telecommunication, as well as for connecting future superconducting quantum computers into a global quantum network. For quantum applications, the conversion has to be both efficient, as well as operate in a regime of minimal added classical noise. While efficient conversion has been demonstrated using mechanical transducers, they have so far all operated with a substantial thermal noise background. Here, we overcome this limitation and demonstrate coherent conversion between GHz microwave signals and the optical telecom band with a thermal background of less than one phonon. We use an integrated, on-chip electro-opto-mechanical device that couples surface acoustic waves driven by a resonant microwave signal to an optomechanical crystal featuring a 2.7 GHz mechanical mode. We initialize the mechanical mode in its quantum groundstate, which allows us to perform the transduction process with minimal added thermal noise, while maintaining an optomechanical cooperativity >1, so that microwave photons mapped into the mechanical resonator are effectively upconverted to the optical domain. We further verify the preservation of the coherence of the microwave signal throughout the transduction process.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Nano-Opto-Electro-Mechanical Systems

A new class of hybrid systems that couple optical, electrical and mechanical degrees of freedom in nanoscale devices is under development in laboratories worldwide. These nano-opto-electro-mechanical systems (NOEMS) offer unprecedented opportunities to dynamically control the flow of light in nanophotonic structures, at high speed and low power consumption. Drawing on conceptual and technological advances from cavity optomechanics, they also bear the potential for highly efficient, low-noise transducers between microwave and optical signals, both in the classical and quantum domains. This Progress Article discusses the fundamental physical limits of NOEMS, reviews the recent progress in their implementation, and suggests potential avenues for further developments in this field.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2018

Purcell Effect in the Stimulated and Spontaneous Emission Rates of Nanoscale Semiconductor Lasers

Nanoscale semiconductor lasers have been developed recently using either metal, metallo-dielectric or photonic crystal nanocavities. While the technology of nanolasers is steadily being deployed, their expected performance for on-chip optical interconnects is still largely unknown due to a limited understanding of some of their key features. Specifically, as the cavity size is reduced with respect to the emission wavelength, the stimulated and the spontaneous emission rates are modified, which is known as the Purcell effect in the context of cavity quantum electrodynamics. This effect is expected to have a major impact in the 'threshold-less' behavior of nanolasers and in their modulation speed, but its role is poorly understood in practical laser structures, characterized by significant homogeneous and inhomogeneous broadening and by a complex spatial distribution of the active material and cavity field. In this work, we investigate the role of Purcell effect in the stimulated and spontaneous emission rates of semiconductor lasers taking into account the carriers' spatial distribution in the volume of the active region over a wide range of cavity dimensions and emitter/cavity linewidths, enabling the detailed modeling of the static and dynamic characteristics of either micro- or nano-scale lasers using single-mode rate-equations analysis. The ultimate limits of scaling down these nanoscale light sources in terms of Purcell enhancement and modulation speed are also discussed showing that the ultrafast modulation properties predicted in nanolasers are a direct consequence of the enhancement of the stimulated emission rate via reduction of the mode volume.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2016

Coherent Atom-Phonon Interaction through Mode Field Coupling in Hybrid Optomechanical Systems

We propose a novel type of optomechanical coupling which enables a tripartite interaction between a quantum emitter, an optical mode and a macroscopic mechanical oscillator. The interaction uses a mechanism we term mode field coupling: mechanical displacement modifies the spatial distribution of the optical mode field, which in turn modulates the atom-photon coupling rate. In properly designed multimode optomechanical systems, we can achieve situations in which mode field coupling is the only possible interaction pathway for the system. This enables, for example, swapping of a single excitation between emitter and phonon, creation of nonclassical states of motion and mechanical ground-state cooling in the bad-cavity regime. Importantly, the emitter-phonon coupling rate can be enhanced through an optical drive field, allowing active control of strong atom-phonon coupling for realistic experimental parameters.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Experimental investigation of the detection mechanism in WSi nanowire superconducting single photon detectors

We use quantum detector tomography to investigate the detection mechanism in WSi nanowire superconducting single photon detectors (SSPDs). To this purpose, we fabricated a 250nm wide and 250nm long WSi nanowire and measured its response to impinging photons with wavelengths ranging from $\lambda$ = 900 nm to $\lambda$ = 1650 nm. Tomographic measurements show that the detector response depends on the total excitation energy only. Moreover, for energies Et > 0.8eV the current energy relation is linear, similar to what was observed in NbN nanowires, whereas the current-energy relation deviates from linear behaviour for total energies below 0.8eV.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

GaAs integrated quantum photonics: Towards dense and fully-functional quantum photonic integrated circuits

The recent progress in integrated quantum optics has set the stage for the development of an integrated platform for quantum information processing with photons, with potential applications in quantum simulation. Among the different material platforms being investigated, direct-bandgap semiconductors and particularly gallium arsenide (GaAs) offer the widest range of functionalities, including single- and entangled-photon generation by radiative recombination, low-loss routing, electro-optic modulation and single-photon detection. This paper reviews the recent progress in the development of the key building blocks for GaAs quantum photonics and the perspectives for their full integration in a fully-functional and densely integrated quantum photonic circuit.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Position-Dependent Local Detection Efficiency in a Nanowire Superconducting Single-Photon Detector

We probe the local detection efficiency in a nanowire superconducting single-photon detector along the cross-section of the wire with a spatial resolution of 10 nm. We experimentally find a strong variation in the local detection efficiency of the device. We demonstrate that this effect explains previously observed variations in NbN detector efficiency as function of device geometry.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Tailoring the photon hopping by nearest and next-nearest-neighbour interaction in photonic arrays

Arrays of photonic cavities are relevant structures for developing large-scale photonic integrated circuits and for investigating basic quantum electrodynamics phenomena, due to the photon hopping between interacting nanoresonators. Here, we investigate, by means of scanning near-field spectroscopy, numerical calculations and an analytical model, the role of different neighboring interactions that give rise to delocalized supermodes in different photonic crystal array configurations. The systems under investigation consist of three nominally identical two-dimensional photonic crystal nanocavities on membrane aligned along the two symmetry axes of the triangular photonic crystal lattice. We find that the nearest and next-nearest-neighbour coupling terms can be of the same relevance. In this case, a non-intuitive picture describes the resonant modes, and the photon hopping between adjacent nano-resonators is strongly affected. Our findings prove that exotic configurations and even post-fabrication engineering of coupled nanoresonators could directly tailor the mode spatial distribution and the group velocity in coupled resonator optical waveguides.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2015

Control of the electromagnetic environment of a quantum emitter by shaping the vacuum field in a coupled-cavity system

We propose a scheme for the ultrafast control of the emitter-field coupling rate in cavity quantum electrodynamics. This is achieved by the control of the vacuum field seen by the emitter through a modulation of the optical modes in a coupled-cavity structure. The scheme allows the on/off switching of the coupling rate without perturbing the emitter and without introducing frequency chirps on the emitted photons. It can be used to control the shape of single-photon pulses for high-fidelity quantum state transfer, to control Rabi oscillations and as a gain-modulation method in lasers. We discuss two possible experimental implementations based on photonic crystal cavities and on microwave circuits.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Inhomogeneous critical current in nanowire superconducting single-photon detectors

A superconducting thin film with uniform properties is the key to realize nanowire superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs) with high performance and high yield. To investigate the uniformity of NbN films, we introduce and characterize simple detectors consisting of short nanowires with length ranging from 100nm to 15{\mu}m. Our nanowires, contrary to meander SSPDs, allow probing the homogeneity of NbN at the nanoscale. Experimental results, endorsed by a microscopic model, show the strongly inhomogeneous nature of NbN films on the sub-100nm scale.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Dynamically controlling the emission of single excitons in photonic crystal cavities

Single excitons in semiconductor microcavities represent a solid-state and scalable platform for cavity quantum electrodynamics (c-QED), potentially enabling an interface between flying (photon) and static (exciton) quantum bits in future quantum networks. While both single-photon emission and the strong coupling regime have been demonstrated, further progress has been hampered by the inability to control the coherent evolution of the c-QED system in real time, as needed to produce and harness charge-photon entanglement. Here, using the ultrafast electrical tuning of the exciton energy in a photonic crystal (PhC) diode, we demonstrate the dynamic control of the coupling of a single exciton to a PhC cavity mode on a sub-ns timescale, faster than the natural lifetime of the exciton, for the first time. This opens the way to the control of single-photon waveforms, as needed for quantum interfaces, and to the real-time control of solid-state c-QED systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Superconducting series nanowire detector counting up to twelve photons

We demonstrate a superconducting photon-number-resolving detector capable of resolving up to twelve photons at telecommunication wavelengths. It is based on a series array of twelve superconducting NbN nanowire elements, each connected in parallel with an integrated resistor. The photon-induced voltage signals from the twelve elements are summed up into a single readout pulse with a height proportional to the detected photon number. Thirteen distinct output levels corresponding to the detection of n=0-12 photons are observed experimentally. A detailed analysis of the excess noise shows the potential of scaling to an even larger dynamic range.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Ultrafast nonlocal control of spontaneous emission

Solid-state cavity quantum electrodynamics systems will form scalable nodes of future quantum networks, allowing the storage, processing and retrieval of quantum bits, where a real-time control of the radiative interaction in the cavity is required to achieve high efficiency. We demonstrate here the dynamic molding of the vacuum field in a coupled-cavity system to achieve the ultrafast nonlocal modulation of spontaneous emission of quantum dots in photonic crystal cavities, on a timescale of ~200 ps, much faster than their natural radiative lifetimes. This opens the way to the ultrafast control of semiconductor-based cavity quantum electrodynamics systems for application in quantum interfaces and to a new class of ultrafast lasers based on nano-photonic cavities.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Universal Response Curve for Nanowire Superconducting Single-Photon Detectors

Using detector tomography, we investigate the detection mechanism in NbN-based superconducting single photon detectors (SSPDs). We demonstrate that the detection probability uniquely depends on a particular linear combination of bias current and energy, for a large variation of bias currents, input energies and detection probabilities, producing a universal detection curve. We obtain this result by studying multiphoton excitations in a nanodetector with a sparsity-based tomographic method that allows factoring out of the optical absorption. We discuss the implication of our model system for the understanding of meander-type SSPDs.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2012

Ultrasensitive N-photon interferometric autocorrelator

We demonstrate a novel method to measure the Nth-order (N=1, 2, 3, 4) interferometric autocorrelation with high sensitivity and temporal resolution. It is based on the combination of linear absorption and nonlinear detection in a superconducting nanodetector, providing much higher efficiency than methods based on all-optical nonlinearities. Its temporal resolution is only limited by the quasi-particle energy relaxation time, which is directly measured to be in the 20 ps range for the NbN films used in this work. We present a general model of interferometric autocorrelation with these nonlinear detectors and discuss the comparison with other approaches and possible improvements.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2012

Widely tunable, efficient on-chip single photon sources at telecommunication wavelengths

We demonstrate tunable on-chip single photon sources using the Stark tuning of single quantum dot (QD) excitonic transitions in short photonic crystal waveguides (PhC WGs). The emission of single QDs can be tuned in real-time by 9 nm with an applied bias voltage less than 2V. Due to a reshaped density of optical modes in the PhC WG, a large coupling efficiency \beta>65% to the waveguide mode is maintained across a wavelength range of 5 nm. When the QD is resonant with the Fabry-Perot mode of the PhC WG, a strong enhancement of spontaneous emission is observed leading to a maximum coupling efficiency \beta=88%. These results represent an important step towards the scalable integration of single photon sources in quantum photonic integrated circuits.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗