Quantum Fiber Pigtail

Connects a nanoscale emitter to a user interface

Optically active quantum systems have a high potential in quantum communications and precision sensing. In both cases efficient extraction of quantum light is a key requirement. On the one hand it controls the fidelity of a given operation, on the other it determines the measurement bandwidth.

The quantum fiber-pigtail provides a solution to maximize light extraction. It is based on embedding the emitter in a tapered photonic structure, which is directly attached to the cleaved facet of a single mode fiber. Our first prototype consists of a quantum dot embedded in III-V semiconductor material. The approach is generic and could be applied to other quantum systems, including emitters in diamond or silicon.

Our device is self-aligned, robust, also to immersion in cryogenic liquids, and easy to operate. It is compact and thanks to its tip-like geometry can be used as a scanning probe.

More details: Download quantum fiber-pigtail (PDF, 652 KB)
Movie: external page https://youtu.be/E_A3y_K3kRw

This work is a collaboration between the external page University of Basel, Switzerland, and the external page CEA Grenoble, France, based on an original idea by external page Mathieu Munsch and external page Jean Teissier.