Plexcitonic quantum light emission from nanoparticle-on-mirror cavities

TL;DR

This paper models and analyzes the quantum light emission from nanoparticle-on-mirror cavities, revealing new mechanisms for efficient nonclassical light generation and the enhancement of photon correlations with multiple emitters.

Contribution

It introduces an analytical quantum-optical model of plexcitonic nanocavities, uncovering novel nonclassical light emission mechanisms and demonstrating enhanced photon correlations with multiple emitters.

Findings

Identification of three configurations producing strongly antibunched light

Demonstration that plasmonic spectrum enables more efficient nonclassical light than resonant modes

Showing that adding a second emitter enhances photon correlations

Abstract

We investigate the quantum-optical properties of the light emitted by a nanoparticle-on-mirror cavity filled with a single quantum emitter. Inspired by recent experiments, we model a dark-field set-up and explore the photon statistics of the scattered light under grazing laser illumination. Exploiting analytical solutions to Maxwell's equations, we quantize the nanophotonic cavity fields and describe the formation of plasmon exciton polaritons (or plexcitons) in the system. This way, we reveal that the rich plasmonic spectrum of the nanocavity offers unexplored mechanisms for nonclassical light generation that are more efficient than the resonant interaction between the emitter natural transition and the brightest optical mode. Specifically, we find three different sample configurations in which strongly antibunched light is produced. Finally, we illustrate the power of our approach by showing that the introduction of a second emitter in the platform can enhance photon correlations further.