Single Quantum Dot Selection and Tailor-Made Photonic Device Integration using a Nanoscale-Focus Pinspot

Adv Mater. 2023 Jun;35(26):e2210667. doi: 10.1002/adma.202210667. Epub 2023 May 5.

Abstract

Among the diverse platforms of quantum light sources, epitaxially grown semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are one of the most attractive workhorses for realizing quantum photonic technologies owing to their outstanding brightness and scalability. However, the spatial and spectral randomness of most QDs severely hinders the construction of large-scale photonic platforms. In this work, a methodology is presented to deterministically integrate single QDs with tailor-made photonic structures. A nondestructive luminescence picking method termed as nanoscale-focus pinspot (NFP) is applied using helium-ion microscopy to reduce the luminous QD density while retaining the surrounding medium. A single QD emission is only extracted out of the high-density ensemble QDs. Then the tailor-made photonic structure of a circular Bragg reflector (CBR) is designed and deterministically integrated with the selected QD. Given that the microscopy can image with nanoscale resolution and apply NFP in situ, photonic devices can be deterministically fabricated on target QDs. The extraction efficiency of the NFP-selected QD emission is improved by 25 times after the CBR integration. Since the NFP method only controls the luminescence without destroying the medium, it is applicable to various photonic structures such as photonic waveguides or photonic crystal cavities regardless of materials.

Keywords: photonic cavity integration; quantum dots; quantum light sources; semiconductor quantum dots; single photon sources.