24 research outputs found
Compliant Metamaterials for Resonantly Enhanced Infrared Absorption Spectroscopy and Refractive Index Sensing
Metamaterials can be designed to operate at frequencies from the visible to the mid-IR, making these structures useful for both refractive index sensing and surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy. Here we investigate how the mechanical deformation of compliant metamaterials can be used to create new types of tunable sensing surfaces. For split ring resonator based metamaterials on polydimethylsiloxane we demonstrate refractive index sensing with figures of merit of up to 10.1. Given the tunability of the resonance of these structures through the infrared after fabrication, they are well suited for detection of the absorption signal of many typical vibrational modes. The results highlight the promise of postfabrication tunable sensors and the potential for integration
Highly Strained Compliant Optical Metamaterials with Large Frequency Tunability
Metamaterial designs are typically limited to operation over a narrow bandwidth dictated by the resonant line width.
Here we report a compliant metamaterial with tunability of Δλ ~ 400 nm, greater than the resonant line width at optical frequencies, using high-strain mechanical deformation of an elastomeric substrate to controllably modify the distance between the resonant elements. Using this compliant platform, we demonstrate dynamic surface-enhanced infrared absorption by tuning the metamaterial resonant frequency through a CH stretch vibrational mode, enhancing the reflection signal by a factor of 180. Manipulation of resonator components is also used to tune and modulate the Fano resonance of a coupled system
Complete Coherent Control of a Quantum Dot Strongly Coupled to a Nanocavity
Strongly coupled quantum dot-cavity systems provide a non-linear
configuration of hybridized light-matter states with promising quantum-optical
applications. Here, we investigate the coherent interaction between strong
laser pulses and quantum dot-cavity polaritons. Resonant excitation of
polaritonic states and their interaction with phonons allow us to observe
coherent Rabi oscillations and Ramsey fringes. Furthermore, we demonstrate
complete coherent control of a quantum dot-photonic crystal cavity based
quantum-bit. By controlling the excitation power and phase in a two-pulse
excitation scheme we achieve access to the full Bloch sphere. Quantum-optical
simulations are in good agreement with our experiments and provide insight into
the decoherence mechanisms
Ultrafast polariton-phonon dynamics of strongly coupled quantum dot-nanocavity systems
We investigate the influence of exciton-phonon coupling on the dynamics of a
strongly coupled quantum dot-photonic crystal cavity system and explore the
effects of this interaction on different schemes for non-classical light
generation. By performing time-resolved measurements, we map out the
detuning-dependent polariton lifetime and extract the spectrum of the
polariton-to-phonon coupling with unprecedented precision. Photon-blockade
experiments for different pulse-length and detuning conditions (supported by
quantum optical simulations) reveal that achieving high-fidelity photon
blockade requires an intricate understanding of the phonons' influence on the
system dynamics. Finally, we achieve direct coherent control of the polariton
states of a strongly coupled system and demonstrate that their efficient
coupling to phonons can be exploited for novel concepts in high-fidelity single
photon generation
Two-plasmon quantum interference
Surface plasma waves on metals arise from the collective oscillation of many free electrons in unison. These waves are usually quantized by direct analogy to electromagnetic fields in free space, with the surface plasmon, the quantum of the surface plasma wave, playing the same role as the photon. It follows that surface plasmons should exhibit all the same quantum phenomena that photons do. Here, we report a plasmonic version of the Hong–Ou–Mandel experiment, in which we observe unambiguous two-photon quantum interference between plasmons, confirming that surface plasmons faithfully reproduce this effect with the same visibility and mutual coherence time, to within measurement error, as in the photonic case. These properties are important if plasmonic devices are to be employed in quantum information applications, which typically require indistinguishable particles
On-chip architecture for self-homodyned nonclassical light
In the last decade, there has been remarkable progress on the practical integration of on-chip quantum photonic devices, yet quantum-state generators remain an outstanding challenge. Simultaneously, the quantum-dot photonic-crystal-resonator platform has demonstrated a versatility for creating nonclassical light with tunable quantum statistics thanks to a newly discovered self-homodyning interferometric effect that preferentially selects the quantum light over the classical light when using an optimally tuned Fano resonance. In this work, we propose a general structure for the cavity quantum electrodynamical generation of quantum states from a waveguide-integrated version of the quantum-dot photonic-crystal-resonator platform, which is specifically tailored for preferential quantum-state transmission. We support our results with rigorous finite-difference time-domain and quantum-optical simulations and show how our proposed device can serve as a robust generator of highly pure single- and even multiphoton states
Coherent generation of nonclassical light on chip via detuned photon blockade
The on-chip generation of non-classical states of light is a key-requirement
for future optical quantum hardware. In solid-state cavity quantum
electrodynamics, such non-classical light can be generated from self-assembled
quantum dots strongly coupled to photonic crystal cavities. Their anharmonic
strong light-matter interaction results in large optical nonlinearities at the
single photon level, where the admission of a single photon into the cavity may
enhance (photon-tunnelling) or diminish (photon-blockade) the probability for a
second photon to enter the cavity. Here, we demonstrate that detuning the
cavity and QD resonances enables the generation of high-purity non-classical
light from strongly coupled systems. For specific detunings we show that not
only the purity but also the efficiency of single-photon generation increases
significantly, making high-quality single-photon generation by photon-blockade
possible with current state-of-the-art samples.Comment: Phys. Rev. Lett. in pres