Grant: Alliance Grants

Highly efficient quantum-dot nano-wire light sources with many potential research and industrial applications (for example, quantum computing, quantum sensing, quantum key distribution, and so on) have been developed at NRC on the basis of III-V semiconductors. However, as any III-V structures, they are incompatible with the standard CMOS fabrication processes, which requires some kind of hybrid integration technologies. Additionally, nanowire growth technology does not allow in-plane orientation of light emission. The existing approaches to extraction of their output such as direct coupling to fibres using lenses, growing emitters on fibre facets, and so on often demonstrate unsatisfactory real-life coupling efficiency. Respectable coupling efficiency figures were reported, but they suffer from scaling limitations. To date, an efficient and scalable method for integrating deterministic single photon sources remains elusive. The short-term goal of this project is a scalable, passively aligned and packaged integrated quantum light source used in a turn-key manner both as fibre-pigtailed emitter arrays and as part of other micro-packages in a quantum optical system. Ideally, the integration/packaging method should not rely on any active alignment and use a minimal set of elements (e.g. avoiding multiple micro-lenses). Finally, the whole technology should produce a package compatible with cryogenic temperatures and not needing any alignment or adjustment. The long-term goal is to enable quantum sensing applications, including quantum-enhanced LiDAR, quantum-enhanced gyroscopes, quantum-enhanced (interaction-free ghost) imaging, and microscopy.