Tailoring correlations of the local density of states in disordered photonic materials

We present experimental evidence for the different mechanisms driving the fluctuations of the local density of states (LDOS) in disordered photonic systems. We establish a clear link between the microscopic structure of the material and the frequency correlation function of LDOS accessed by a near-field hyperspectral imaging technique. We show, in particular, that short- and long-range frequency correlations of LDOS are controlled by different physical processes (multiple or single scattering processes, respectively) that can be---to some extent---manipulated independently. We also demonstrate that the single scattering contribution to LDOS fluctuations is sensitive to subwavelength features of the material and, in particular, to the correlation length of its dielectric function. Our work paves a way towards a complete control of statistical properties of disordered photonic systems, allowing for designing materials with predefined correlations of LDOS.Comment: 5+9 pages, 5+6 figures. Fixed confusion of references between the main text and the supplemental material in version

Photo-oxidative tuning of individual and coupled GaAs photonic crystal cavities

We demonstrate a new photo-induced oxidation technique for tuning GaAs photonic crystal cavities using a $390~\mathrm{nm}$ pulsed laser with an average power of $10~\mathrm{\mu W}$. The laser oxidizes a small $\left(\sim 500~\mathrm{nm}\right)$ diameter spot, reducing the local index of refraction and blueshifting the cavity. The tuning progress can be actively monitored in real time. We also demonstrate tuning an individual cavity within a pair of proximity-coupled cavities, showing that this method can be used to correct undesired frequency shifts caused by fabrication imperfections in cavity arrays.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Local thermal resonance control of GaInP photonic crystal membrane cavities using ambient gas cooling

We perform spatially dependent tuning of a GaInP photonic crystal cavity using a continuous wave violet laser. Local tuning is obtained by laser heating of the photonic crystal membrane. The cavity resonance shift is measured for different pump positions and for two ambient gases: helium and nitrogen. We find that the width of the temperature profile induced in the membrane depends strongly on the thermal conductivity of the ambient gas. For He gas a narrow spatial width of the temperature profile of 2.8 um is predicted and verified in experiment.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Electromechanical wavelength tuning of double-membrane photonic crystal cavities

We present a method for tuning the resonant wavelength of photonic crystal cavities (PCCs) around 1.55 um. Large tuning of the PCC mode is enabled by electromechanically controlling the separation between two parallel InGaAsP membranes. A fabrication method to avoid sticking between the membranes is discussed. Reversible red/blue shifting of the symmetric/anti-symmetric modes has been observed, which provides clear evidence of the electromechanical tuning, and a maximum shift of 10 nm with < 6 V applied bias has been obtained.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Long-distance radiative coupling between quantum dots in photonic crystal dimers

We study the mutual interaction between two identical quantum dots coupled to the normal modes of two-site photonic crystal molecules in a planar waveguide geometry, i.e. photonic crystal dimers. We find that the radiative coupling between the two quantum emitters is maximized when they are in resonance with either the bonding or the antibonding modes of the coupled cavity system. Moreover, we find that such effective interdot coupling is sizable, in the meV range, and almost independent from the cavities distance, as long as a normal mode splitting exceeding the radiative linewidth can be established (strong cavity-cavity coupling condition). In realistic and high quality factor photonic crystal cavity devices, such distance can largely exceed the emission wavelength, which is promising for long distance entanglement generation between two qubits in an integrated nanophotonic platform. We show that these results are robust against position disorder of the two quantum emitters within their respective cavities.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Unconventional photon blockade in doubly resonant microcavities with second-order nonlinearity

It is shown that non-centrosymmetric materials with bulk second-order nonlinear susceptibility can be used to generate strongly antibunched radiation at an arbitrary wavelength, solely determined by the resonant behavior of suitably engineered coupled microcavities. The proposed scheme exploits the unconventional photon blockade of a coherent driving field at the input of a coupled cavity system, where one of the two cavities is engineered to resonate at both fundamental and second harmonic frequencies, respectively. Remarkably, the unconventional blockade mechanism occurs with reasonably low quality factors at both harmonics, and does not require a sharp doubly-resonant condition for the second cavity, thus proving its feasibility with current semiconductor technology

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.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

Post-fabrication control of evanescent tunnelling in photonic crystal molecules

The post-fabrication control of evanescent tunnelling in photonic crystal molecules is demonstrated through the combination of selective infiltration and oxidation. By laser non thermal oxidation, we reduce the photonic coupling by more than 30% while by means of water micro-infiltration, we increase it by 28%. Fine-tuning of the photonic coupling is achieved by low-power laser oxidation and forced evaporation, opening the route to post-fabrication control of array of coupled cavities