Enhanced single photon sources for quantum communications

January 3, 2023

Researchers in CEMES, in collaboration with LPCNO, LAAS and CEA-Leti, have used AFM nanoxerography for large-scale positioning of quantum nanoemitters in the near field of high-index silicon nanoantennas. They demonstrate the increase of the nanosource brightness as a function of the resonances of the nanoantennas. This collaborative work opens the way to new planar architectures of arrays of efficient single photon sources for quantum technologies.

With the emergence of quantum technologies for information transfer, a major stake is the handling of quantum sources of light at the nanoscale and the control of their far-field emission. An approach based on optically resonant nanostructures has demonstrated the capability to control and enhance the emission of quantum emitters accurately positioned in their optical near field. In this context, CMOS-compatible high-index dielectric nanostructures hosting Mie resonances in the visible offer very promising opportunities, since they allow to manipulate, concentrate or redirect light, with low losses.

Researchers from CEMES, in collaboration with LPCNO, LAAS and CEA-Leti, have demonstrated that AFM nanoxerography makes possible the fast, robust and repeatable positioning at large-scale of model quantum emitters (nanodiamonds hosting NV centers) in the gap of silicon nanoantennas with dimer geometry.

By tuning the parameters of the nanoxerography process, the number of deposited nanodiamonds can be statistically controlled, yielding configurations down to a unique single photon emitter, with a high selectivity, and enhanced brightness induced by a near-field Purcell effect. Numerical simulations are in very good quantitative agreement with time-resolved photoluminescence experiments, and a multipolar analysis reveals in particular all the aspects of the coupling between the dipolar emitters and the Mie resonances in these simple nanoantennas. This proof of principle opens the path to a genuine and large-scale spatial control of the coupling of quantum nanoemitters to arrays of optimized nanoantennas. It paves the way to future fundamental studies in quantum nano-optics and to future integrated devices for quantum technologies.

This work has been funded by the projects NanoX MILO (ANR-10-LABX-0037-NEXT), ANR HiLight (ANR-19-CE24-0026-HiLight), IQO-MILO and CALMIP P1107

Publication:
Large-scale controlled coupling of single-photon emitters to high index dielectric nanoantennas using AFM nanoxerography
Mélodie Humbert, Romain Hernandez, Nicolas Mallet, Guilhem Larrieu, Vincent Larrey, Frank Fournel, François Guérin, Etienne Palleau, Vincent Paillard, Aurélien Cuche, Laurence Ressier
Nanoscale, 2023,15, 599-608

https://doi.org/10.1039/D2NR05526K

Contact:
Aurélien Cuche | aurelien.cuche[at]cemes.fr