Cathodoluminescence Study of a Quantum Dot in a Nanowire for Single-Photon Emission

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that cathodoluminescence in a scanning electron microscope can effectively characterize and optimize a quantum dot in a nanowire for single-photon emission, providing insights into its purity and thermal properties.

Contribution

The paper introduces the use of cathodoluminescence for detailed characterization of single-photon emitters in nanowires, including correlation measurement and purity assessment.

Findings

Cathodoluminescence can measure photon correlation functions.

Electron beam manipulation reduces parasitic luminescence.

Thermal properties are comparable to micro-photoluminescence at cryogenic temperatures.

Abstract

Cathodoluminescence in a scanning electron microscope was applied to a semiconductor quantum dot in a nanowire able to emit single photons. We show that cathodoluminescence can be used not only for imaging and spectroscopy, but also to measure the correlation function and characterize the purity of the single-photon emitter. The electron beam can be manipulated to minimize the collection of parasitic luminescence. At cryogenic temperatures, we observed that the thermal budget, as measured via the phonon sidebands, is close to that of non-resonant micro-photoluminescence. This makes cathodoluminescence an efficient tool in the quest of novel single-photon sources.