Graduation Year
2017
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Ph.D.
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Degree Granting Department
Physics
Major Professor
Andreas Muller, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Myung K. Kim, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Zhimin Shi, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Jiangfeng Zhou, Ph.D.
Keywords
Resonance Fluorescence, Entanglement, Semiconductor Quantum Dots, Quantum Optics, Photon Statistics
Abstract
Self-assembled semiconductor quantum dots have attracted considerable interest recently, ranging from fundamental studies of quantum optics to advanced applications in the field of quantum information science. With their atom-like properties, quantum dot based nanophotonic devices may also substantially contribute to the development of quantum computers. This work presents experimental progress towards the understanding of light-matter interactions that occur beyond well-understood monochromatic resonant light scattering processes in semiconductor quantum dots. First, we report measurements of resonance fluorescence under bichromatic laser excitation. With the inclusion of a second laser, both first-order and second-order correlation functions are substantially altered. Under these conditions, the scattered light exhibits a rich spectrum containing many spectral features that lead to a range of nonlinear multiphoton dynamics. These observations are discussed and compared with a theoretical model. Second, we investigated the light scattered by a quantum dot in the presence of spectral filtering. By scanning the tunable filters placed in front of each detector of a Hanbury-Brown and Twiss setup and recording coincidence measurements, a \two-photon spectrum" has been experimentally reconstructed for the first time. The two-photon spectrum contains a wealth of information about the cascaded emission involved in the scattering process, such as transitions occurring via virtual intermediate states. Our measurements also reveal that the scattered frequency-filtered light from a quantum dot violates the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality. Finally, Franson-interferometry has been performed using spectrally filtered light from quantum dot resonance fluorescence. Visibilities exceeding the classical limit were demonstrated by using a pair of folded Mach-Zehnder interferometers, paving the way for producing single time-energy entangled photon pairs that could violate Bell's inequalities.
Scholar Commons Citation
Peiris, Manoj, "Towards Violation of Classical Inequalities using Quantum Dot Resonance Fluorescence" (2017). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/6925
