Nano-photonics in III-V semiconductors for integrated quantum optical circuits

• Main Author: Wasley, Nicholas Andrew
• Other Authors: Skolnick, Maurice
• Published: University of Sheffield 2013
• Subjects: 621.3815
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.577387

This thesis describes the optical spectroscopic measurements of III-V semiconductors used to investigate a number of issues related to the development of integrated quantum optical circuits. The disorder-limited propagation of photons in photonic crystal waveguides in the slow-light regime is investigated. The analysis of Fabry-Perot resonances is used to map the mode dispersion and extract the photon localisation length. Andersonlocalised modes are observed at high group indices, when the localisation lengths are shorter than the waveguide lengths, consistent with the Fabry-Perot analysis. A spin-photon interface based on two orthogonal waveguides is introduced, where the polarisation emitted by a quantum dot is mapped to a path-encoded photon. Operation is demonstrated by deducing the spin using the interference of in-plane photons. A second device directly maps right and left circular polarisations to anti-parallel waveguides, surprising for a non-chiral structure but consistent with an off-centre dot. Two dimensional photonic crystal cavities in GaInP and full control over the spontaneous emission rate of InP quantum dots is demonstrated by spectrally tuning the exciton emission energy into resonance with the fundamental cavity mode. Fourier transform spectroscopy is used to investigate the short coherence times of InP quantum dots in GaInP photonic crystal cavities. Additional technological developments are also presented including a quantum dot registration technique, electrical tuning of quantum dot emission and uniaxial strain tuning of H1 cavity modes.