Giant optical nonlinearity induced by a single two-level system interacting with a cavity in the Purcell regime

2006/10/31 by Alexia Auffèves, Alexia Auffeves-Garnier, Christoph Simon +4 · 6 citations
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Condensed matter physics #Fabry–Pérot interferometer #Finesse #Laser #Linearity #Nonlinear system #Optics #Optoelectronics #Photon #Photonic and Optical Devices #Physics #Quantum mechanics #Quantum optics and atomic interactions #Resonance (particle physics) #Saturation (graph theory) #Semiconductor #Semiconductor Quantum Structures and Devices #quant-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreva.75.053823

40 pages, 16 figures, accepted in Phys. Rev. A

arxiv created 2007/04/23 · openalex publication_date 2007/05/30 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

A two-level system that is coupled to a high-finesse cavity in the Purcell regime exhibits a giant optical nonlinearity due to the saturation of the two-level system at very low intensities, of the order of one photon per lifetime. We perform a detailed analysis of this effect, taking into account the most important practical imperfections. Our conclusion is that an experimental demonstration of the giant nonlinearity is feasible using semiconductor micropillar cavities containing a single quantum dot in resonance with the cavity mode.

Citations

• Solid-state single photon sources: light collection strategies
• Vacuum Rabi splitting with a single quantum dot in a photonic crystal nanocavity.
• Measurement of Conditional Phase Shifts for Quantum Logic
• Input and output in damped quantum systems: Quantum stochastic differential equations and the master equation
• Photon blockade in an optical cavity with one trapped atom
• Strong coupling in a single quantum dot–semiconductor microcavity system

Cited by

• Perfect Chirality with Imperfect Polarization
• Continuous-wave versus time-resolved measurements of Purcell factors for quantum dots in semiconductor microcavities
• Generating entanglement between quantum dots with different resonant frequencies based on dipole-induced transparency
• Monitoring stimulated emission at the single-photon level in one-dimensional atoms
• Limitations of two-level emitters as nonlinearities in two-photon controlled-phase gates
• Single-photon switch controlled by a qubit embedded in an engineered electromagnetic environment