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Researchers in Basel Develop Ideal Single-Photon Source

With the help of a semiconductor quantum dot, physicists at the University of Basel have developed a new type of light source that emits single photons. For the first time, the researchers have managed to create a stream of identical photons from a semiconductor. They have reported their findings in the scientific journal Nature Communications together with colleagues from the University of Bochum.

08 September 2015

Semiconductor quantum dot emitting a stream of identical photons.
Semiconductor quantum dot emitting a stream of identical photons. © University of Basel

A single-photon source never emits two or more photons at the same time. Single photons are important in the field of quantum information technology where, for example, they are used in quantum computers. Alongside the brightness and robustness of the light source, the indistinguishability of the photons is especially crucial. In particular, this means that all photons must be precisely the same color. Creating such a source of identical single photons has proven very difficult in the past.

However, quantum dots made of semiconductor materials are offering new hope. A quantum dot consists of a few hundred thousand atoms and forms by self-assembly under certain conditions in a semiconductor. Single electrons can be trapped inside a quantum dot and are confined on a nanometer scale. An individual photon is emitted when a quantum state decays.

Quantum cryptography and quantum communication are two potential areas of application for single-photon sources. These technologies could make it possible to perform calculations that are far beyond the capabilities of today's computers.

The study was supported by the QSIT - Quantum Science and Technology National Center of Competence in Research, of which the University of Basel is the co-leading house.

Original article
Andreas V. Kuhlmann, Jonathan H. Prechtel, Julien Houel, Arne Ludwig, Dirk Reuter, Andreas D. Wieck, und Richard J. Warburton
Transform-limited single photons from a single quantum dot
Nature Communications 6:8204 (2015) | DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9204


Further information
Dr. Andreas Kuhlmann, University of Basel. Department of Physics, tel. + 41 61 267 38 66, email: andreas.kuhlmann@unibas.ch

Further information

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