Strain-Engineered Deterministic Quantum Dots for Telecom O-Band Emission Using Buried Stressors

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a novel strain-engineering method using buried stressors to create site-controlled quantum dots emitting at telecom O-band wavelengths, with high purity and thermal stability, suitable for quantum communication.

Contribution

Introduces a buried AlAs/Al2O3 stressor layer technique for deterministic, site-controlled quantum dots emitting at telecom wavelengths, eliminating the need for strain-reducing layers and enabling spectral tunability.

Findings

Achieved telecom O-band emission from site-controlled InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots.

Quantum dots exhibit high-purity single-photon emission at 4 K and 77 K.

Modeling confirms the experimental emission characteristics and guides further redshifting strategies.

Abstract

The deterministic realization of quantum light sources operating at telecom wavelengths is essential for long-distance fiber-based quantum communication and distributed quantum computing. In this work, we demonstrate that telecom O-band emission can be achieved from site-controlled InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs). Our concept utilizes a buried AlAs/Al$_2$O$_3$ stressor layer with the unique feature that induces a well-defined and controllable tensile strain field at the growth surface, enabling both a redshift of QD emission to the $\sim$1.3~\mu m range and site-selective nucleation at the mesa centers. This concept eliminates not only the need for strain-reducing layers (SRLs), which are known to degrade optical coherence, but also provides spatial control and spectral tunability. The grown telecom QDs show pure single-photon emission with $g^{(2)}(\tau) = (5.0 \pm 1.0) \times 10^{-2}$ at 4 K and $(2.8 \pm 0.3) \times 10^{-1}$ at 77~K, demonstrating the quantum nature and thermal stability of the emitters. The emission characteristics of complex excitonic states are analyzed using 8-band $k \cdot p$ and configuration-interaction modeling, which quantitatively reproduces the experimental observations. Finally, we present a theory-supported strategy to further redshift the emission toward the center of the O-band and beyond by employing a multi-buried-stressor approach. This combined framework of experiment and theory establishes the buried stressor concept as a scalable route toward highly coherent, position-controlled O-band quantum emitters compatible with industrial photonic integration.