Modal Coupling of Single Photon Emitters Within Nanofiber Waveguides

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that electrospun nanofibers with embedded emitters can efficiently couple single photons into specific optical modes, enabling scalable, room-temperature quantum photonic applications.

Contribution

It introduces a scalable nanofiber platform that achieves efficient modal coupling of single photon emitters without resonant interactions, suitable for quantum technologies.

Findings

Achieved subwavelength field localization and broadband near-field coupling.

Quantified modal coupling efficiency using momentum spectroscopy.

Demonstrated low-loss, single-mode coupling suitable for room-temperature operation.

Abstract

Nanoscale generation of individual photons in confined geometries is an exciting research field aiming at exploiting localized electromagnetic fields for light manipulation. One of the outstanding challenges of photonic systems combining emitters with nanostructured media is the selective channelling of photons emitted by embedded sources into specific optical modes and their transport at distant locations in integrated systems. Here, we show that soft-matter nanofibers, electrospun with embedded emitters, combine subwavelength field localization and large broadband near-field coupling with low propagation losses. By momentum spectroscopy, we quantify the modal coupling efficiency identifying the regime of single-mode coupling. These nanofibers do not rely on resonant interactions, making them ideal for room-temperature operation, and offer a scalable platform for future quantum information technology.