Regular arrays of two-level emitters at distances smaller that the transition wavelength collectively scatter, absorb and emit photons. The strong inter-particle dipole coupling creates large energy shifts of the collective delocalized excitations, which generates a highly nonlinear response at the single and few photon level. This should allow to implement nanoscale non-classical light sources via weak coherent illumination. At the generic tailored examples of regular chains or polygons we show that the fields emitted perpendicular to the illumination direction exhibit a strong directional confinement with genuine quantum properties as antibunching. For short interparticle distances superradiant directional emission can enhance the radiated intensity by an order of magnitude compared to a single atom focused to a strongly confined solid angle but still keeping the anti-bunching parameter at the level of $g^{(2)}(0) \approx 10^{-2}$.
Color centers in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) have emerged as promising candidates for single-photon emitters (SPEs) due to their bright emission characteristics at room temperature. In contrast to mono- and few-layered hBN, color centers in multi-layered flakes show superior emission characteristics such as higher saturation counts and spectral stability. Here, we report a method for determining both the axial position and three-dimensional dipole orientation of SPEs in thick hBN flakes by tuning the photonic local density of states using vanadium dioxide (VO2), a phase change material. Emit…
We present a combined classical and quantum electrodynamics description of the coupling between two circularly-polarized quantum emitters held above a metal surface supporting surface plasmons. Depending on their position and their natural frequency, the emitter-emitter interactions evolve from being reciprocal to nonreciprocal, which makes the system a highly tunable platform for chiral coupling at the nanoscale. By relaxing the stringent material and geometrical constraints for chirality, we explore the interplay between coherent and dissipative coupling mechanisms in the system. Thus, we re…
Deterministically integrating single solid-state quantum emitters with photonic nanostructures serves as a key enabling resource in the context of photonic quantum technology. Due to the random spatial location of many widely-used solid-state quantum emitters, a number of positoning approaches for locating the quantum emitters before nanofabrication have been explored in the last decade. Here, we review the working principles of several nanoscale positioning methods and the most recent progress in this field, covering techniques including atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, …
Color centers in solids are the fundamental constituents of a plethora of applications such as lasers, light emitting diodes and sensors, as well as the foundation of advanced quantum information and communication technologies. Their photoluminescence properties are usually studied under Stokes excitation, in which the emitted photons are at a lower energy than the excitation ones. In this work, we explore the opposite Anti-Stokes process, where excitation is performed with lower energy photons. We report that the process is sufficiently efficient to excite even a single quantum system, namely…
Placing quantum emitters close to a metallic nano-wire, an effective interaction can be achieved over distances large compared to the resonance wavelength due to the strong coupling between emitters and the surface plasmon modes of the wire. This leads to modified collective decay rates, as well as to Lamb and dipole-dipole shifts. In this paper we present a general method for calculating these level shifts which we subsequently apply to the case of a pair of atoms coupled to the guided modes of a nano-wire.
We report progress in the theory of photoluminescence and light scattering by two closely spaced particles. This study is based on our original method to derive the master equation for a system of coupled quantum emitters driven by a cw laser. We emphasise on the case when the emitters are two-level systems but notably different in their transition frequencies and transition moments. The master equation is shown to describe the dipole-dipole coupling and the cooperative entanglement between the particles naturally. It is provided by the use of the Bogolyubov-Born-Green-Kirkwood-Yvon (BBGKY) hi…
We investigate two-dimensional atomic arrays as a platform to modify the electromagnetic environment of individual quantum emitters. Specifically, we demonstrate that control over emission linewidths, resonant frequency shifts, and local enhancement of driving fields is possible due to strong dipole-dipole interactions within ordered, subwavelength atom configurations. We demonstrate that these effects can be used to dramatically enhance coherent dipole-dipole interactions between distant quantum emitters within an atom array. Possible experimental realizations and potential applications are d…
We report a photoluminescence imaging system for locating single quantum emitters with respect to alignment features. Samples are interrogated in a 4~K closed-cycle cryostat by a high numerical aperture (NA=0.9, 100$\times$ magnification) objective that sits within the cryostat, enabling high efficiency collection of emitted photons without image distortions due to the cryostat windows. The locations of single InAs/GaAs quantum dots within a $>50$~$μ$m~$\times$~50~$μ$m field of view are determined with $\approx4.5$~nm uncertainty (one standard deviation) in a 1~s long acquisition. The uncertai…
Inhomogeneous broadening is a major limitation for the application of quantum emitters in hBN to integrated quantum photonics. Here we demonstrate that blue emitters with an emission wavelength of 436 nm are less sensitive to electric fields than other quantum emitter species in hBN. Our measurements of Stark shifts indicate negligible transition dipole moments for these centers with dominant quadratic stark effect. Using these results, we employed DFT calculations to identify possible point defects with small transition dipole moments, which may be the source of blue emitters in hBN.
Plasmonic antennas are attractive optical structures for many applications in nano and quantum technologies. By providing enhanced interaction between a nanoemitter and light, they efficiently accelerate and direct spontaneous emission. One challenge, however, is the precise nanoscale positioning of the emitter in the structure. Here we present a laser etching protocol that deterministically positions a single colloidal CdSe/CdS core/shell quantum dot emitter inside a subwavelength plasmonic patch antenna with three-dimensional nanoscale control. By exploiting the properties of metal-insulator…
Powered by the mutual developments in instrumentation, materials andtheoretical descriptions, sensing and imaging capabilities of quantum emitters insolids have significantly increased in the past two decades. Quantum emitters insolids, whose properties resemble those of atoms and ions, provide alternative waysto probing natural and artificial nanoscopic systems with minimum disturbance andultimate spatial resolution. Among those emerging quantum emitters, the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color center in diamond is an outstanding example due to its intrinsicproperties at room temperature (highly-lumi…
This proposal investigates the photon-statistics of light emitted by a statistical ensemble of cold atoms excited by the near-field of an optical nanofiber tip. Dipole-dipole interactions of atoms at such short distance from each other suppress the simultaneous emission of more than one photon and lead to antibunching of photons. We consider a mean atom number on the order of one and deal with a poissonian mixture of one and two atoms including dipole-dipole interactions and collective decay. Time tracks of the atomic states are simulated in quantum Monte Carlo simulations from which the $g^{(…
Control over transition rates between spin states of emitters is crucial in a wide variety of fields ranging from quantum information science to the nanochemistry of free radicals. We present an approach to drive a both electric and magnetic dipole-forbidden transition of a spin emitter by placing it in a nanomagnonic cavity, requiring a description of both the spin emitter beyond the point dipole approximation and the vacuum magnetic fields of the nanomagnonic cavity with a large spatial gradient over the volume of the spin emitter. We specifically study the SiV$^-$ defect in diamond, whose Z…
A ring of sub-wavelength spaced dipole-coupled quantum emitters possesses only few radiant but many extraordinarily subradiant collective modes. These exhibit a 3D-confined spatial radiation field pattern forming a nano-scale high-Q optical resonator. We show that tailoring the geometry, orientation and distance between two such rings allows for increasing the ratio of coherent ring-to-ring coupling versus free-space emission by several orders of magnitude. In particular we find that subradiant excitations, when delocalized over several ring sites, are effectively transported between the rings…
In a closely packed ensemble of quantum emitters, cooperative effects are typically suppressed due to the dephasing induced by the dipole-dipole interactions. Here, we show that by adding sufficiently strong collective dephasing cooperative effects can be restored. In particular, we show that the dipole force on a closely packed ensemble of strongly driven two-level quantum emitters, which collectively dephase, is enhanced in comparison to the dipole force on an independent non-interacting ensemble. Our results are relevant to solid state systems with embedded quantum emitters such as colour c…
Cavity-embedded quantum emitters show strong modifications of free space radiation properties such as an enhanced decay known as the Purcell effect. The central parameter is the cooperativity $C$, the ratio of the square of the coherent cavity coupling strength over the product of cavity and emitter decay rates. For a single emitter, $C$ is independent of the transition dipole moment and dictated by geometric cavity properties such as finesse and mode waist. In a recent work [Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 093601 (2017)] we have shown that collective excitations in ensembles of dipole-dipole coupled qu…
Single-emitter plasmonic patch antennas are room-temperature deterministic single photon sources, which exhibit highly accelerated and directed single photon emission. However, for efficient operation these structures require three-dimensional nanoscale deterministic control of emitter positioning within the device, which is a demanding task, esp. when emitter damage during fabrication is a major concern. To overcome this limitation, our deterministic room-temperature in situ optical lithography protocol uses spatially modulated light to position a plasmonic structure non-destructively on any …
We develop a general dynamical theory for studying a single photon transport in a one-dimensional (1D) waveguide coupled to multiple emitters which can be either identical or non-identical. In this theory, both the effects of the waveguide and non-waveguide vacuum modes are included. This theory enables us to investigate the propagation of an emitter excitation or an arbitrary single photon pulse along an array of emitters coupled to a 1D waveguide. The dipole-dipole interaction induced by the non-waveguide modes, which is usually neglected in the literatures, can significantly modify the dyna…
A detailed theory describing linear optics of vapors comprised of interacting multi-level quantum emitters is proposed. It is shown both by direct integration of Maxwell-Bloch equations and using a simple analytical model that at large densities narrow transparency windows appear in otherwise completely opaque spectra. The existence of such windows is attributed to overlapping resonances. This effect, first introduced for three-level systems in [R. Puthumpally-Joseph, M. Sukharev, O. Atabek and E. Charron, Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 163603 (2014)], is due to strongly enhanced dipole-dipole interact…
Photon emission is the hallmark of light-matter interaction and the foundation of photonic quantum science, enabling advanced sources for quantum communication and computing. Although single-emitter radiation can be tailored by the photonic environment, the introduction of multiple emitters extends this picture. A fundamental challenge, however, is that the radiative dipole-dipole coupling rapidly decays with spatial separation, typically within a fraction of the optical wavelength. We realize distant dipole-dipole radiative coupling with pairs of solid-state optical quantum emitters embedded …
Entangled photons are crucial for quantum technologies, but generating arbitrary entangled photon states deterministically, efficiently, and with high fidelity remains a challenge. Here, we demonstrate how hybridization and dipole-dipole interactions -- potentially simultaneously available in colloidal quantum dots and molecular aggregates -- leveraged in conjunction can couple simple, well understood emitters into composite emitters with flexible control over the level structure. We show that cascade decay through carefully designed level structures can result in emission of frequency-entangl…
We propose and demonstrate a new approach for achieving strong light-matter interactions with quantum emitters. Our approach makes use of a plasmon resonator composed of defect-free, highly crystalline silver nanowires surrounded by patterned dielectric distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs). These resonators have an effective mode volume (Veff) two orders of magnitude below the diffraction limit and quality factor (Q) approaching 100, enabling enhancement of spontaneous emission rates by a factor exceeding 75 at the cavity resonance. We also show that these resonators can be used to convert a br…
We study the effect of mode-coupling on a single-photon device in which a dipole-quantum-emitter (DQE) is embedded in a bimodal whispering-gallery-mode cavity (WGMC). A scatterer is used to induce mode coupling between counter-clockwise and clockwise propagating light fields, which interact with the DQE. In contrast to models for the interaction between a DQE and a (one-mode or two-mode) cavity field, we find that strong photon antibunching can occur even for a weak DQE-field coupling and large dephasing of the DQE, when mode coupling is introduced. We also find that mode coupling can make the…
Nowadays, integrated photonics is a key technology in quantum information processing (QIP) but achieving all-optical buses for quantum networks with efficient integration of single photon emitters remains a challenge. Photonic crystals and cavities are good candidates but do not tackle how to effectively address a nanoscale emitter. Using a nanowire nanowaveguide, we realise an hybrid nanodevice which locally excites a single photon source (SPS). The nanowire acts as a passive or active sub-wavelength waveguide to excite the quantum emitter. Our results show that localised excitation of a SPS …
Coupling single photon emitters to surface plasmons provides a versatile ground for on chip quantum photonics. However, achieving good coupling efficiency requires precise alignment of both the position and dipole orientation of the emitter relative to the plasmonic mode. We demonstrate coupling of single emitters in the 2-D semiconductor, WSe2 self-aligned with propagating surface plasmon polaritons in silver-air-silver, metal-insulator-metal waveguides. The waveguide produces strain induced defects in the monolayer which are close to the surface plasmon mode with favorable dipole orientation…
We consider an ensemble of cavity-coupled two-level emitters interacting via full (coherent and dissipative) dipole-dipole interactions. Using an adiabatic elimination procedure we derive effective equations of motion for a subsystem consisting of the cavity and a single emitter. Those equations can be used for schemes to enhance the cavity-coupling of single emitters as shown in [S. Schütz, J. Schachenmayer, D. Hagenmüller, G. K. Brennen, T. Volz, V. Sandoghdar, T. W. Ebbesen, C. Genes, and G. Pupillo, e-print arXiv:1904.08888]. We analyze limitations of effective subsystem parameters, and st…
Hybrid plasmonic nanoemitters based on the combination of quantum dot emitters (QD) and plasmonic nanoantennas open up new perspectives in the control of light. However, precise positioning of any active medium at the nanoscale constitutes a challenge. Here, we report on the optimal overlap of antenna's near-field and active medium whose spatial distribution is controlled via a plasmon-triggered 2-photon polymerization of a photosensitive formulation containing QDs. Au nanoparticles of various geometries are considered. The response of these hybrid nano-emitters is shown to be highly sensitive…
We present direct imaging of the emission pattern of individual chromium-based single photon emitters in diamond and measure their quantum efficiency. By imaging the excited state transition dipole intensity distribution in the back focal plane of high numerical aperture objective, we determined that the emission dipole is oriented nearly orthogonal to the diamond-air interface. Employing ion implantation techniques, the emitters were engineered with various proximities from the diamond-air interface. By comparing the decay rates from the single chromium emitters at different depths in the dia…
An array of $N$ closely spaced dipole coupled quantum emitters exhibits super- and subradiance with characteristic tailorable spatial radiation patterns. Optimizing their geometry and distance with respect to the spatial profile of a near resonant optical cavity mode allows to increase the ratio between light scattering into the cavity mode and free space by several orders of magnitude. This leads to a distinct nonlinear particle number scaling of the relative strength of coherent light-matter interactions versus decay. In particular, for subradiant states the collective cooperativity increase…
Periodic-Pulse Control of Collective Emission and Photon Statistics in Interacting Quantum Emitters
Middle Tennessee State University（中田纳西州立大学）；Quantum Research, Interdisciplinary Science, and Education (QRISE) Center, Middle Tennessee State University（中田纳西州立大学量子研究、跨学科科学与教育中心）
We investigate two-color photon correlations in the light emitted by strongly coupled two-level emitters. Spectral filtering allows us to manipulate the collected light statistics and we show that the resonances induced by dipole-dipole interactions give rise to specific correlations, where the time-symmetry of the correlations is broken. Based on the collective dressed states, our study encompasses both the case of real processes, where the photons are associated with specific resonances and classical correlations between each other, and virtual processes, where pairs of photons are emitted w…
One-dimensional quantum emitters with chiral couplings can exhibit nonreciprocal decay channels, along with light-induced dipole-dipole interactions mediated via an atom-waveguide interface. When the position disorders are introduced to such atomic array, we are able to identify the dynamical phase transition from excitation delocalization to localization, with an interplay between the directionality of decay rates and the strength of light-induced dipole-dipole interactions. Deep in the localization phase, its characteristic length decreases and saturates toward a reciprocal coupling regime, …
We investigate a one-dimensional quantum emitter chain where transport of excitations and correlations takes place via nearest neighbor, dipole-dipole interactions. In the presence of collective radiative emission, we show that a phase imprinting wavepacket initialization procedure can lead to subradiant transport and can preserve quantum correlations. In the context of cavity mediated transport, where emitters are coupled to a common delocalized optical mode, we analyze the effect of frequency disorder and nonidentical photon-emitter couplings on excitation transport.
Inherent binary or collective interactions in ensembles of quantum emitters induce a spread in the energy and lifetime of their eigenstates. While this typically causes fast decay and dephasing, in many cases certain special entangled collective states with minimal decay can be found, which possess ideal properties for spectroscopy, precision measurements or information storage. We show that for a specific choice of laser frequency, power and geometry or a suitable configuration of control fields one can efficiently prepare these states. We demonstrate this by studying preparation schemes for …
In recent years the controlled coupling of single photon emitters to propagating surface plasmons has been intensely studied, which is fueled by the prospect of a giant photonic non-linearity on a nano-scaled platform. In this article we will review the recent progress on coupling single emitters to nano-wires towards the construction of a new platform for strong light-matter interaction. The control over such a platform might open new doors for quantum information processing and quantum sensing at the nanoscale, and for the study of fundamental physics in the ultra-strong coupling regime.
On-demand, high repetition rate sources of indistinguishable, polarised single photons are the key component for future photonic quantum technologies. Colour centres in diamond offer a promising solution, and the narrow line-width of the recently identified nickel-based NE8 centre makes it particularly appealing for realising the transform-limited sources necessary for quantum interference. Here we report the characterisation of dipole orientation and coherence properties of a single NE8 colour centre in a diamond nanocrystal at room-temperature. We observe a single photon coherence time of 0.…
Controlling photon emission by single quantum emitters with nanostructures is crucial for scalable on-chip quantum information processing. Nowadays nanoresonators can affect the lifetime of emitters and ultimately induce strong coupling between the emitters and the light field, while nanoantennas can control the directionality of the emission. Expanding this control to the manipulation of the emission of orbital angular momentum-changing transitions would enable coupling between long-lived solid-state qubits and flying qubits. As these transitions are associated with circular rather than linea…
In Nature Photonics 5, 166 (2011), we reported on a planar dielectric antenna that achieved 96% efficiency in collecting the photons emitted by a single molecule. In that work the transition dipole moment of the molecule was set perpendicular to the antenna plane. Here, we present an extension of that scheme that reaches collection efficiencies beyond 99% for emitters with arbitrarily oriented dipole moments. Our work opens important doors in a wide range of contexts including quantum optics, quantum metrology, nano-analytics, and biophysics. In particular, we provide antenna parameters to rea…
We show that a three-level lambda quantum emitter with equal spontaneous emission rates on both optically active transitions can absorb an incident light field with a probability approaching unity, provided that the focused light profile matches that of the emitter dipole emission pattern. Even with realistic focusing geometries, our results could find applications in long-distance entanglement of spin qubits.
Waveguides allow for direct coupling of emitters separated by large distances, offering a path to connect remote quantum systems. However, when facing the distances needed for practical applications, retardation effects due to the finite speed of light are often overlooked. Previous works studied the non-Markovian dynamics of emitters with retardation, but the properties of the radiated field remain mostly unexplored. By considering a toy model of two distant two-level atoms coupled through a waveguide, we observe that the spectrum of the radiated field exhibits non-Markovian features such as …
In the present article the SPP propagation in an attenuating medium is investigated. The analytical calculations of the total electric-field Green's tensor of a metal-dielectric interface structure are provided and novel explicit expressions for Green's tensor of a metal-dielectric interface are presented. The contribution of plasmons are obtained by evaluating the poles of the reflection coefficient for p-polarized waves incident on the metal interface. The emission pattern of a classical dipole located above air/silver interface is studied. The relative intensity of the field to the field in…
Dipole-coupled subwavelength quantum emitter arrays respond cooperatively to external light fields as they may host collective delocalized excitations (a form of excitons) with super- or subradiant character. Deeply subwavelength separations typically occur in molecular ensembles, where in addition to photon-electron interactions, electron-vibron couplings and vibrational relaxation processes play an important role. We provide analytical and numerical results on the modification of super- and subradiance in molecular rings of dipoles including excitations of the vibrational degrees of freedom.…
We investigate the reduction of the electromagnetic field fluctuations in resonance fluorescence from a single emitter coupled to an optical nanostructure. We find that such hybrid system can lead to the creation of squeezed states of light, with quantum fluctuations significantly below the shot noise level. Moreover, the physical conditions for achieving squeezing are strongly relaxed with respect to an emitter in free space. A high degree of control over squeezed light is feasible both in the far and near fields, opening the pathway to its manipulation and applications on the nanoscale with …
We investigate the quantum dynamics of a quantum oscillator coupled with the most upper state of a three-level $Λ-$ type system. The two transitions of the three-level emitter, possessing orthogonal dipole moments, are coherently pumped with a single or two electromagnetic field sources, respectively. We have found ranges for flexible lasing or cooling phenomena referring to the quantum oscillator's degrees of freedom. This is due to asymmetrical decay rates and quantum interference effects leading to population transfer among the relevant dressed states of the emitter's subsystem with which t…
