TY - JOUR
T1 - Giant nonlinear interaction between two optical beams via a quantum dot embedded in a photonic wire
AU - Nguyen, H.A.
AU - Grange, T.
AU - Reznychenko, B.
AU - Yeo, I.
AU - de Assis, P.L.
AU - Tumanov, D.
AU - Fratini, F.
AU - Malik, N. S.
AU - Dupuy, E.
AU - Gregersen, Niels
AU - Auffeves, A.
AU - Gérard, J-M.
AU - Claudon, J.
AU - Poizat, Jean-Philippe
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Optical nonlinearities usually appear for large intensities, but discrete transitions allow for giant nonlinearities operating at the single-photon level. This has been demonstrated in the last decade for a single optical mode with cold atomic gases, or single two-level systems coupled to light via a tailored photonic environment. Here, we demonstrate a two-mode giant nonlinearity with a single semiconductor quantum dot (QD) embedded in a photonic wire antenna. We exploit two detuned optical transitions associated with the exciton-biexciton QD level scheme. Owing to the broadband waveguide antenna, the two transitions are efficiently interfaced with two free-space laser beams. The reflection of one laser beam is then controlled by the other beam, with a threshold power as low as 10 photons per exciton lifetime (1.6 nW). Such a two-color nonlinearity opens appealing perspectives for the ealization of ultralow-power logical gates and optical quantum gates, and could also be implemented in an integrated photonic circuit based on planar waveguides.
AB - Optical nonlinearities usually appear for large intensities, but discrete transitions allow for giant nonlinearities operating at the single-photon level. This has been demonstrated in the last decade for a single optical mode with cold atomic gases, or single two-level systems coupled to light via a tailored photonic environment. Here, we demonstrate a two-mode giant nonlinearity with a single semiconductor quantum dot (QD) embedded in a photonic wire antenna. We exploit two detuned optical transitions associated with the exciton-biexciton QD level scheme. Owing to the broadband waveguide antenna, the two transitions are efficiently interfaced with two free-space laser beams. The reflection of one laser beam is then controlled by the other beam, with a threshold power as low as 10 photons per exciton lifetime (1.6 nW). Such a two-color nonlinearity opens appealing perspectives for the ealization of ultralow-power logical gates and optical quantum gates, and could also be implemented in an integrated photonic circuit based on planar waveguides.
U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevB.97.201106
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevB.97.201106
M3 - Journal article
SN - 1098-0121
VL - 97
JO - Physical Review B (Condensed Matter and Materials Physics)
JF - Physical Review B (Condensed Matter and Materials Physics)
M1 - 201106
ER -