A Broadband Nanowire Quantum Dot Cavity Design for the Efficient Extraction of Entangled Photons

TL;DR

This paper proposes a nanowire cavity design based on quasi-bound states in the continuum to enhance the extraction efficiency and indistinguishability of entangled photons from quantum dots, advancing quantum network technology.

Contribution

It introduces a novel nanowire cavity design supporting broadband, high Purcell enhancement via quasi-bound states, improving entangled photon source performance.

Findings

Supports a 4 nm bandwidth cavity mode

Achieves Purcell enhancement of approximately 17

Provides 74% light extraction efficiency

Abstract

A bright source of on-demand entangled photons is needed for quantum networks. A single quantum dot in a site-selected nanowire waveguide is a promising candidate for realizing such sources. However, such sources are associated with poor single-photon indistinguishability, limiting their applicability in quantum networks. A common approach for enhancing the single-photon indistinguishability in quantum dot-based entangled photon sources is to implement a broadband optical cavity. Achieving a high-Purcell cavity while retaining the advantages of the nanowire, such as directional emission, a broad operational bandwidth, and high light extraction efficiency, has been a significant challenge. Here, we propose a nanowire cavity based on quasi-bound states in the continuum formed by the strong coupling of two resonant optical modes. We numerically predict this design to support a cavity mode with 4 nm bandwidth and a Purcell enhancement of $\sim$17. This cavity mode enables a directional far-field emission profile (88% overlap with a Gaussian) with a light extraction efficiency of $\sim$74%. Our solution opens up a route for generating entangled photon pairs with enhanced extraction efficiency and single-photon indistinguishability for the practical realization of quantum networks.