Project

Development of a quantum dot single photon source on Silicon for the next generation integrated quantum circuits

Code
3S015820
Duration
01 November 2020 → 31 October 2024
Funding
Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO)
Research disciplines
  • Natural sciences
    • Semiconductors and semimetals
    • Photonics, optoelectronics and optical communications
    • Quantum optics
  • Engineering and technology
    • Nanofabrication, growth and self assembly
    • Nanophotonics
Keywords
Monolithic III-V device integration on silicon substrate Metalorganic Vapor Phase Epitaxy (MOVPE) Single photon source integrated on silicon photonics platform
 
Project description

Quantum technologies have received much interest in the last years thanks to the promise of extreme computational power and secure data transmission. Single photons are important elements for these technologies, being suitable candidates both for quantum computing and communication. This triggered the research community to develop an ideal single photon source (SPS). Devices based on InAs quantum dots (QDs) grown on GaAs substrates are the most promising one in view of actual applications. Their emission is deterministic, and they can be embedded in nanophotonic structures to boost their performance. However, in all proposed SPSs, a dense integration of multiple sources with other photonic components is difficult. To blame are the random positions of these QDs and the lossy waveguides based on GaAs. Here we propose to use as SPS InAs QDs embedded in a novel GaAs nano-ridge (NR) and epitaxially grown on patterned 300 mm Si wafers. By adjusting the growth conditions, the shape and dimension of the NR can be manipulated, allowing to simultaneously control the position of the InAs QDs inside the NR and to enhance their emission. Moreover, due to the straight integration of these NR SPSs with a silicon photonics platform, this device concept can benefit from extremely low loss SiN waveguides. Both the reduction of the losses together with the tight control on the InAs QD positions will pave the way for future quantum integrated photonic circuits.