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Non-resonant dot–cavity coupling and its potential for resonant single-quantum-dot spectroscopy

Nature Photonics volume 3, pages 724–728 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Non-resonant emitter–cavity coupling is a fascinating effect recently observed as unexpected pronounced cavity resonance emission even in strongly detuned single quantum dot–microcavity systems1,2,3. This phenomenon indicates strong, complex light–matter interactions in these solid-state systems, and has major implications for single-photon sources4,5,6 and quantum information applications1,2,3,7,9. We study non-resonant dot–cavity coupling of individual quantum dots in micropillars under resonant excitation, revealing a pronounced effect over positive and negative quantum dot mode detunings. Our results suggest a dominant role of phonon-mediated dephasing in dot–cavity coupling, giving a new perspective to the controversial discussions ongoing in the literature. Such enhanced insight is essential for various cavity-based quantum electrodynamic systems using emitters that experience phonon coupling, such as colour centres in diamond10 and colloidal nanocrystals11. Non-resonant coupling is demonstrated to be a versatile ‘monitoring’ tool for observing relevant quantum dot s-shell emission properties and background-free photon statistics.

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Figure 1: Photon statistics of a non-resonantly coupled quantum dot (QD)–micropillar cavity system.
Figure 2: ΔE(T) dependence of the relative mode emission intensity under non-resonant quantum dot (QD)–mode coupling.
Figure 3: Quantum dot (QD) s-shell resonance scans at different quantum dot–mode detunings ΔE.
Figure 4: ‘Monitoring’ the s-shell emission characteristics of a single quantum dot through a detuned micropillar mode.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the DFG research groups FOR 730 ‘Positioning of Single Nanostructures—Single Quantum Devices’ and FOR 485 ‘Quantum Optics in Semiconductor Nanostructures’. We also thank M. Emmerling and A. Wolf for expert sample preparation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Halbleiteroptik und Funktionelle Grenzflächen, Universität Stuttgart, Allmandring 3, Stuttgart, 70569, Germany

    S. Ates, S. M. Ulrich, A. Ulhaq & P. Michler

  2. Technische Physik, Physikalisches Institut, Universität Würzburg and Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen Research Center for Complex Material Systems, Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany

    S. Reitzenstein, A. Löffler, S. Höfling & A. Forchel

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  1. S. Ates
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Contributions

S.R., A.L., S.H. and A.F. fabricated the sample structure. S.A., S.M.U., A.U. and P.M. conceived the experiments. S.A., S.M.U. and A.U. performed the experiments and analysed the data. S.A., S.M.U. and P.M. wrote the article, with input from the other authors.

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Correspondence to S. M. Ulrich.

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Ates, S., Ulrich, S., Ulhaq, A. et al. Non-resonant dot–cavity coupling and its potential for resonant single-quantum-dot spectroscopy. Nature Photon 3, 724–728 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2009.215

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