Energy-tunable sources of entangled photons: a viable concept for solid-state-based quantum relays

TL;DR

This paper introduces a strain-engineered semiconductor device that dynamically tunes the energy of entangled photon pairs emitted by quantum dots, enabling wavelength control for solid-state quantum communication.

Contribution

It presents a novel method using anisotropic strain to tune entangled photon emission energy without degrading entanglement, advancing quantum relay technology.

Findings

Energy tuning range exceeds 100 meV

Entanglement degree remains unaffected by tuning

Potential for deterministic quantum relay implementation

Abstract

We propose a new method of generating triggered entangled photon pairs with wavelength on demand. The method uses a micro-structured semiconductor-piezoelectric device capable of dynamically reshaping the electronic properties of self-assembled quantum dots (QDs) via anisotropic strain-engineering. Theoretical models based on kp theory in combination with finite-element calculations show that the energy of the polarization-entangled photons emitted by QDs can be tuned in a range larger than 100 meV without affecting the degree of entanglement of the quantum source. These results pave the way towards the deterministic implementation of QD entanglement resources in all-electrically-controlled solid-state-based quantum relays.