A high-fidelity photon gun: intensity-squeezed light from a single molecule

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a highly regular stream of single photons from an organic molecule using a planar antenna, achieving significant intensity squeezing suitable for quantum technologies.

Contribution

It introduces a novel antenna-based approach to generate intensity-squeezed light from a single molecule with improved photon collection efficiency.

Findings

Achieved 2.2 dB intensity squeezing limited by detection efficiency

Equivalent to 6.2 dB squeezing immediately after the antenna

Demonstrated the most regular single-photon stream to date

Abstract

A two-level atom cannot emit more than one photon at a time. As early as the 1980s, this quantum feature was identified as a gateway to "single-photon sources", where a regular excitation sequence would create a stream of light particles with photon number fluctuations below the shot noise. Such an intensity squeezed beam of light would be desirable for a range of applications such as quantum imaging, sensing, enhanced precision measurements and information processing. However, experimental realizations of these sources have been hindered by large losses caused by low photon collection efficiencies and photophysical shortcomings. By using a planar metallo-dielectric antenna applied to an organic molecule, we demonstrate the most regular stream of single photons reported to date. Measured intensity fluctuations reveal 2.2 dB squeezing limited by our detection efficiency, equivalent to 6.2 dB intensity squeezing right after the antenna.