The interaction of matter and light is one of the fundamental processes occurring in nature, and its most elementary form is realized when a single atom interacts with a single photon. Reaching this regime has been a major focus of research in atomic physics and quantum optics1 for several decades and has generated the field of cavity quantum electrodynamics2,3. Here we perform an experiment in which a superconducting two-level system, playing the role of an artificial atom, is coupled to an on-chip cavity consisting of a superconducting transmission line resonator. We show that the strong coupling regime can be attained in a solid-state system, and we experimentally observe the coherent interaction of a superconducting two-level system with a single microwave photon. The concept of circuit quantum electrodynamics opens many new possibilities for studying the strong interaction of light and matter. This system can also be exploited for quantum information processing and quantum communication and may lead to new approaches for single photon generation and detection.

https://arxiv.org/pdf/cond-mat/0407325.pdf

Strong coupling of a single photon to a superconducting qubit using circuit quantum electrodynamics

The electronic and optical properties and the recent progress in applications of 2D semiconductor transition metal dichalcogenides with emphasis on strong excitonic effects, and spin- and valley-dependent properties are reviewed. Recent advances in the development of atomically thin layers of van der Waals bonded solids have opened up new possibilities for the exploration of 2D physics as well as for materials for applications. Among them, semiconductor transition metal dichalcogenides, MX2 (M = Mo, W; X = S, Se), have bandgaps in the near-infrared to the visible region, in contrast to the zero bandgap of graphene. In the monolayer limit, these materials have been shown to possess direct bandgaps, a property well suited for photonics and optoelectronics applications. Here, we review the electronic and optical properties and the recent progress in applications of 2D semiconductor transition metal dichalcogenides with emphasis on strong excitonic effects, and spin- and valley-dependent properties.

Photonics and optoelectronics of 2D semiconductor transition metal dichalcogenides

Phase transitions to quantum condensed phases—such as Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC), superfluidity, and superconductivity—have long fascinated scientists, as they bring pure quantum effects to a macroscopic scale. BEC has, for example, famously been demonstrated in dilute atom gas of rubidium atoms at temperatures below 200 nanokelvin. Much effort has been devoted to finding a solid-state system in which BEC can take place. Promising candidate systems are semiconductor microcavities, in which photons are confined and strongly coupled to electronic excitations, leading to the creation of exciton polaritons. These bosonic quasi-particles are 109 times lighter than rubidium atoms, thus theoretically permitting BEC to occur at standard cryogenic temperatures. Here we detail a comprehensive set of experiments giving compelling evidence for BEC of polaritons. Above a critical density, we observe massive occupation of the ground state developing from a polariton gas at thermal equilibrium at 19 K, an increase of temporal coherence, and the build-up of long-range spatial coherence and linear polarization, all of which indicate the spontaneous onset of a macroscopic quantum phase. Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC), a form of matter first postulated in 1924, has famously been demonstrated in dilute atomic gases at ultra-low temperatures. Much effort is now being devoted to exploring solid-state systems in which BEC can occur. In theory semiconductor microcavities, where photons are confined and coupled to electronic excitations leading to the creation of polaritons, could allow BEC at standard cryogenic temperatures. Kasprzak et al. now present experiments in which polaritons are excited in such a microcavity. Above a critical polariton density, spontaneous onset of a macroscopic quantum phase occurs, indicating a solid-state BEC. BEC should also be possible at higher temperatures if coupling of light with solid excitations is sufficiently strong. Demokritov et al. have achieved just that, BEC at room temperature in a gas of magnons, which are a type of magnetic excitation. This paper presents a comprehensive set of experiments in which polaritons are excited in a semiconductor microcavity. Above a critical density of polaritons, massive occupation of the ground state at 19 K is observed and various pieces of experimental evidence point to a spontaneous onset of a macroscopic quantum phase.

Bose-Einstein condensation of exciton polaritons

Cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) systems allow the study of a variety of fundamental quantum-optics phenomena, such as entanglement, quantum decoherence and the quantum–classical boundary. Such systems also provide test beds for quantum information science. Nearly all strongly coupled cavity QED experiments have used a single atom in a high-quality-factor (high-Q) cavity. Here we report the experimental realization of a strongly coupled system in the solid state: a single quantum dot embedded in the spacer of a nanocavity, showing vacuum-field Rabi splitting exceeding the decoherence linewidths of both the nanocavity and the quantum dot. This requires a small-volume cavity and an atomic-like two-level system. The photonic crystal slab nanocavity—which traps photons when a defect is introduced inside the two-dimensional photonic bandgap by leaving out one or more holes—has both high Q and small modal volume V, as required for strong light–matter interactions. The quantum dot has two discrete energy levels with a transition dipole moment much larger than that of an atom, and it is fixed in the nanocavity during growth.

Vacuum Rabi splitting with a single quantum dot in a photonic crystal nanocavity

1. Introduction and overview 2. Film stress and substrate curvature 3. Stress in anisotropic and patterned films 4. Delamination and fracture 5. Film buckling, bulging and peeling 6. Dislocation formation in epitaxial systems 7. Dislocation interactions and strain relaxation 8. Equilibrium and stability of surfaces 9. The role of stress in mass transport.

Thin Film Materials: Stress, Defect Formation and Surface Evolution

We report, for the first time, the spontaneous light emission from ‘‘zero‐dimensional exciton states’’ in GaAs/GaAlAs quantum wells under a high magnetic field at 80 K. The formation of such fully quantized states is evidenced by observing the wavelength shift Δ λ of the spontaneous emission peak as well as the narrowing of the spectrum width as the magnetic field is raised up to 15 T. The observed shift Δλ is shown to be well explained by the theory in which the high magnetic field effect on two‐dimensional hydrogenic exciton is taken into account. The formation of such a novel state is further evidenced by the strong anisotropy of the photoluminescence spectrum, which depends on the direction of the magnetic field.

Light emission from zero‐dimensional excitons—Photoluminescence from quantum wells in strong magnetic fields

We report the growth, characterization and lasing of vertical microcavity lasers with an active layer of self-organized InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots. The quantum dots are formed by spinodal phase separation in low-In-content (x=0.03) Inx Ga1-x As epilayers deposited with decreasing growth temperature in a hot-wall metalorganic chemical vapor deposition reactor. Optical transitions involving ground and excited states of the quantum dots were investigated using photoluminescence at moderately high excitation densities. Lasing oscillation was observed at 77 K by optical pumping. The coupling parameter β of the spontaneous emission into the lasing mode was estimated to be ~8×10-3.

Vertical Microcavity Lasers with InGaAs/GaAs Quantum Dots Formed by Spinodal Phase Separation.

The authors report the effects of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on the emission properties of highly uniform self-assembled InAs quantum dots (QDs) emitting at 1.3μm grown on GaAs substrate by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. Postgrowth RTA experiments were performed under N2 flow at temperatures ranging from 600to900°C for 30s using GaAs proximity capping. Surprisingly, in spite of the capping, large blueshifts in the emission peak (up to about 380meV at 850°C) were observed (even at low annealing temperatures) along with enhanced integrated photoluminescence (PL) intensities. Moreover, pronounced peak broadenings occurred at low annealing temperatures (<700°C), indicating that RTA does not always cause peak narrowing, as is typically observed with traditional QDs with large inhomogeneous PL linewidths. The mechanism behind the large peak blueshift was studied and found to be attributed to the as-grown QDs with large size, which cause a larger dot-barrier interface and greater strain in and near ...

Effects of rapid thermal annealing on the emission properties of highly uniform self-assembled InAs∕GaAs quantum dots emitting at 1.3μm

Femtosecond dynamics of semiconductor-microcavity polaritons in the nonlinear regime

The authors discuss fabrication of GaAs quantum wires and quantum dots using an in situ MOCVD selective growth technique on SiO2 patterned substrates, as well as the optical properties of those microstructures. Triangular-shaped GaAs quantum wires with a lateral width of 15 nm were obtained. The photoluminescence (PL) and magneto-PL measurements clearly demonstrate the existence of quantum wire effects in the structures. In addition, measures of time-resolved spectra indicate a longer carrier lifetime of excitons in the quantum wires compared with that in the quantum wells. Using a similar but slightly different selective growth technique, GaAs dots with a dimension of 25 nm*25 nm*12 nm surrounded by AlGaAs regions were prepared.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0268-1242/8/6/015/pdf

Masao Nishioka

Papers

Light emission from zero‐dimensional excitons—Photoluminescence from quantum wells in strong magnetic fields

Vertical Microcavity Lasers with InGaAs/GaAs Quantum Dots Formed by Spinodal Phase Separation.

Effects of rapid thermal annealing on the emission properties of highly uniform self-assembled InAs∕GaAs quantum dots emitting at 1.3μm

Femtosecond dynamics of semiconductor-microcavity polaritons in the nonlinear regime

Fabrication and optical properties of GaAs quantum wires and dots by MOCVD selective growth