In experiments conducted nearly 20 years ago, the spontaneous emission from single atoms was modified using electromagnetic cavities. In a condensed matter analogy to a single atom, we demonstrate that the spontaneous emission from an isolated InAs quantum dot can be modified as well. The single quantum dot spontaneous emission is coupled with high efficiency to a single, polarization-degenerate cavity mode using a compact, semiconductor resonator structure. The quantum dot is embedded in a planar epitaxial microcavity, which is processed into a post of submicron diameter. The single quantum dot spontaneous emission lifetime is reduced from the noncavity value of 1.3 ns to 280 ps, resulting in a single-mode spontaneous emission coupling efficiency of 78%. It is believed that this structure will be useful in triggered photons sources for quantum cryptography.

Date Published: 28 March 2002
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 4656, Quantum Dot Devices and Computing, (28 March 2002); doi: 10.1117/12.460801

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 4656:
Quantum Dot Devices and Computing
James A. Lott; Nikolai N. Ledentsov; Kevin J. Malloy; Bruce E. Kane; Thomas W. Sigmon, Editor(s)