Saimon Filipe Covre da Silva
@jku.at/en/institute-of-semiconductor-and-solid-state-physics/research-divisions
Semiconductor
Johannes Kepler University
RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS
Condensed Matter Physics
Scopus Publications
Scholar Citations
Scholar h-index
Scholar i10-index
Scopus Publications
Peter Millington-Hotze, Harry E. Dyte, Santanu Manna, Saimon F. Covre da Silva, Armando Rastelli, and Evgeny A. Chekhovich
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
AbstractMagnetic noise of atomic nuclear spins is a major source of decoherence in solid-state spin qubits. In theory, near-unity nuclear spin polarization can eliminate decoherence of the electron spin qubit, while turning the nuclei into a useful quantum information resource. However, achieving sufficiently high nuclear polarizations has remained an evasive goal. Here we implement a nuclear spin polarization protocol which combines strong optical pumping and fast electron tunneling. Nuclear polarizations well above 95% are generated in GaAs semiconductor quantum dots on a timescale of 1 minute. The technique is compatible with standard quantum dot device designs, where highly-polarized nuclear spins can simplify implementations of qubits and quantum memories, as well as offer a testbed for studies of many-body quantum dynamics and magnetism.
Yusuf Karli, Daniel A. Vajner, Florian Kappe, Paul C. A. Hagen, Lena M. Hansen, René Schwarz, Thomas K. Bracht, Christian Schimpf, Saimon F. Covre da Silva, Philip Walther,et al.
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
AbstractQuantum communication networks rely on quantum cryptographic protocols including quantum key distribution (QKD) based on single photons. A critical element regarding the security of QKD protocols is the photon number coherence (PNC), i.e., the phase relation between the vacuum and one-photon Fock state. To obtain single photons with the desired properties for QKD protocols, optimal excitation schemes for quantum emitters need to be selected. As emitters, we consider semiconductor quantum dots, that are known to generate on-demand single photons with high purity and indistinguishability. Exploiting two-photon excitation of a quantum dot combined with a stimulation pulse, we demonstrate the generation of high-quality single photons with a controllable degree of PNC. The main tuning knob is the pulse area giving full control from minimal to maximal PNC, while without the stimulating pulse the PNC is negligible in our setup for all pulse areas. Our approach provides a viable route toward secure communication in quantum networks.
Harry E. Dyte, George Gillard, Santanu Manna, Saimon F. Covre da Silva, Armando Rastelli, and Evgeny A. Chekhovich
American Physical Society (APS)
The measurement problem dates back to the dawn of quantum mechanics. Here, we measure a quantum dot electron spin qubit through off-resonant coupling with thousands of redundant nuclear spin ancillae. We show that the link from quantum to classical can be made without any"wavefunction collapse", in agreement with the Quantum Darwinism concept. Large ancilla redundancy allows for single-shot readout with high fidelity $\\approx99.85\\%$. Repeated measurements enable heralded initialization of the qubit and probing of the equilibrium electron spin dynamics. Quantum jumps are observed and attributed to burst-like fluctuations in a thermally populated phonon bath.
Tobias M. Krieger, Christian Weidinger, Thomas Oberleitner, Gabriel Undeutsch, Michele B. Rota, Naser Tajik, Maximilian Aigner, Quirin Buchinger, Christian Schimpf, Ailton J. Garcia,et al.
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Solid-state quantum emitters embedded in circular Bragg resonators are attractive due to their ability to emit quantum states of light with high brightness and low multi-photon probability. As for any emitter-microcavity system, fabrication imperfections limit the spatial and spectral overlap of the emitter with the cavity mode, thus limiting their coupling strength. Here, we show that an initial spectral mismatch can be corrected after device fabrication by repeated wet chemical etching steps. We demonstrate ~16 nm wavelength tuning for optical modes in AlGaAs resonators on oxide, leading to a 4-fold Purcell enhancement of the emission of single embedded GaAs quantum dots. Numerical calculations reproduce the observations and suggest that the achievable performance of the resonator is only marginally affected in the explored tuning range. We expect the method to be applicable also to circular Bragg resonators based on other material platforms, thus increasing the device yield of cavity-enhanced solid-state quantum emitters.
Florian Hornung, Ulrich Pfister, Stephanie Bauer, Dee Rocking Cyrlyson’s, Dongze Wang, Ponraj Vijayan, Ailton J. Garcia, Saimon Filipe Covre da Silva, Michael Jetter, Simone L. Portalupi,et al.
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Peter Millington-Hotze, Santanu Manna, Saimon F. Covre da Silva, Armando Rastelli, and Evgeny A. Chekhovich
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
AbstractThe spin diffusion concept provides a classical description of a purely quantum-mechanical evolution in inhomogeneously polarized many-body systems such as nuclear spin lattices. The central spin of a localized electron alters nuclear spin diffusion in a way that is still poorly understood. Here, spin diffusion in a single GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dot is witnessed in the most direct manner from oscillatory spin relaxation dynamics. Electron spin is found to accelerate nuclear spin relaxation, from which we conclude that the long-discussed concept of a Knight-field-gradient diffusion barrier does not apply to GaAs epitaxial quantum dots. Our experiments distinguish between non-diffusion relaxation and spin diffusion, allowing us to conclude that diffusion is accelerated by the central electron spin. Such acceleration is observed up to unexpectedly high magnetic fields – we propose electron spin-flip fluctuations as an explanation. Diffusion-limited nuclear spin lifetimes range between 1 and 10 s, which is sufficiently long for quantum information storage and processing.
Michael Seidel, Yuhui Yang, Thorsten Schumacher, Yongheng Huo, Saimon Filipe Covre da Silva, Sven Rodt, Armando Rastelli, Stephan Reitzenstein, and Markus Lippitz
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Key requirements for quantum plasmonic nanocircuits are reliable single-photon sources, high coupling efficiency to the plasmonic structures, and low propagation losses. Self-assembled epitaxially grown GaAs quantum dots are close to ideal as stable, bright, and narrowband single-photon emitters. Likewise, wet-chemically grown monocrystalline silver nanowires are among the best plasmonic waveguides. However, large propagation losses of surface plasmons on the high-index GaAs substrate prevent their direct combination. Here, we show by experiment and simulation that the best overall performance of the quantum plasmonic nanocircuit based on these building blocks is achieved in the intermediate field regime with an additional spacer layer between the quantum dot and the plasmonic waveguide. High-resolution cathodoluminescence measurements allow a precise determination of the coupling distance and support a simple analytical model to explain the overall performance. The coupling efficiency is increased up to four times by standing wave interference near the end of the waveguide.
F. Basso Basset, M. B. Rota, M. Beccaceci, T. M. Krieger, Q. Buchinger, J. Neuwirth, H. Huet, S. Stroj, S. F. Covre da Silva, G. Ronco,et al.
American Physical Society (APS)
Two-photon resonant excitation of the biexciton-exciton cascade in a quantum dot generates highly polarization-entangled photon pairs in a near-deterministic way. However, the ultimate level of achievable entanglement is still debated. Here, we observe the impact of the laser-induced ac-Stark effect on the quantum dot emission spectra and on entanglement. For increasing pulse-duration-to-lifetime ratios and pump powers, decreasing values of concurrence are recorded. Nonetheless, additional contributions are still required to fully account for the observed below-unity concurrence.
Gabriel Gomes, Marcos L F Gomes, Saimon F Covre da Silva, Ailton Garcia, Armando Rastelli, Odilon D D Couto, Angelo Malachias, and Christoph Deneke
IOP Publishing
Abstract Rolled-up tubes based on released III–V heterostructures have been extensively studied and established as optical resonators in the last two decades. In this review, we discuss how light emitters (quantum wells and quantum dots) are influenced by the inherently asymmetric strain state of these tubes. Therefore, we briefly review whispering gallery mode resonators built from rolled-up III–V heterostructures. The curvature and its influence over the diameter of the rolled-up micro- and nanotubes are discussed, with emphasis on the different possible strain states that can be produced. Experimental techniques that access structural parameters are essential to obtain a complete and correct image of the strain state for the emitters inside the tube wall. In order to unambiguously extract such strain state, we discuss x-ray diffraction results in these systems, providing a much clearer scenario compared to a sole tube diameter analysis, which provides only a first indication of the lattice relaxation in a given tube. Further, the influence of the overall strain lattice state on the band structure is examined via numerical calculations. Finally, experimental results for the wavelength shift of emissions due to the tube strain state are presented and compared with theoretical calculations available in literature, showing that the possibility to use rolled-up tubes to permanently strain engineer the optical properties of build-in emitters is a consistent method to induce the appearance of electronic states unachievable by direct growth methods.
Vikas Remesh, Ria G. Krämer, René Schwarz, Florian Kappe, Yusuf Karli, Malte Per Siems, Thomas K. Bracht, Saimon Filipe Covre da Silva, Armando Rastelli, Doris E. Reiter,et al.
AIP Publishing
A scalable source of single photons is a key constituent of an efficient quantum photonic architecture. To realize this, it is beneficial to have an ensemble of quantum emitters that can be collectively excited with high efficiency. Semiconductor quantum dots hold great potential in this context due to their excellent photophysical properties. Spectral variability of quantum dots is commonly regarded as a drawback introduced by the fabrication method. However, this is beneficial to realize a frequency-multiplexed single-photon platform. Chirped pulse excitation, relying on the so-called adiabatic rapid passage, is the most efficient scheme to excite a quantum dot ensemble due to its immunity to individual quantum dot parameters. Yet, the existing methods of generating chirped laser pulses to excite a quantum emitter are bulky, lossy, and mechanically unstable, which severely hampers the prospects of a quantum dot photon source. Here, we present a compact, robust, and high-efficiency alternative for chirped pulse excitation of solid-state quantum emitters. Our simple plug-and-play module consists of chirped fiber Bragg gratings, fabricated via femtosecond inscription, to provide high values of dispersion in the near-infrared spectral range, where the quantum dots emit. We characterize and benchmark the performance of our method via chirped excitation of a GaAs quantum dot, establishing high-fidelity single-photon generation. Our highly versatile chirping module coupled to a photon source is a significant milestone toward realizing practical quantum photonic devices.
Florian Kappe, Yusuf Karli, Thomas K Bracht, Saimon Filipe Covre da Silva, Tim Seidelmann, Vollrath Martin Axt, Armando Rastelli, Gregor Weihs, Doris E Reiter, and Vikas Remesh
IOP Publishing
Abstract Nanoscale bright sources that produce high-purity single photons and high-fidelity entangled photon pairs are the building blocks to realize high security quantum communication devices. To achieve high communication rates, it is desirable to have an ensemble of quantum emitters that can be collectively excited, despite their spectral variability. In case of semiconductor quantum dots, Rabi rotations are the most popular method for resonant excitation. However, these cannot assure a universal, highly efficient excited state preparation, due to the sensitivity to excitation parameters. In contrast, adiabatic rapid passage (ARP), relying on chirped optical pulses, is immune to quantum dot spectral inhomogeneity. Here, we show that the robustness of ARP holds true for the simultaneous excitation of the biexciton states in multiple, spatially separated and spectrally different quantum dots. For positive chirps, we also find a regime where the influence of phonons relax the sensitivity to spectral detunings and lower the needed excitation power. Being able to generate high-purity photons from spatially multiplexed quantum dot sources using the biexciton to ground state cascade is a big step towards the implementation of high photon rate, entanglement-based quantum key distribution protocols.
F Basso Basset, M Valeri, J Neuwirth, E Polino, M B Rota, D Poderini, C Pardo, G Rodari, E Roccia, S F Covre da Silva,et al.
IOP Publishing
Abstract Entanglement-based quantum key distribution can enable secure communication in trusted node-free networks and over long distances. Although implementations exist both in fiber and in free space, the latter approach is often considered challenging due to environmental factors. Here, we implement a quantum communication protocol during daytime for the first time using a quantum dot source. This technology presents advantages in terms of narrower spectral bandwidth—beneficial for filtering out sunlight—and negligible multiphoton emission at peak brightness. We demonstrate continuous operation over the course of three days, across an urban 270 m-long free-space optical link, under different light and weather conditions.
Leon Zaporski, Noah Shofer, Jonathan H. Bodey, Santanu Manna, George Gillard, Martin Hayhurst Appel, Christian Schimpf, Saimon Filipe Covre da Silva, John Jarman, Geoffroy Delamare,et al.
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Barbara Ursula Lehner, Tim Seidelmann, Gabriel Undeutsch, Christian Schimpf, Santanu Manna, Michał Gawełczyk, Saimon Filipe Covre da Silva, Xueyong Yuan, Sandra Stroj, Doris E. Reiter,et al.
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Entangled photon pairs are essential for a multitude of quantum photonic applications. To date, the best performing solid-state quantum emitters of entangled photons are semiconductor quantum dots operated around liquid-helium temperatures. To favor the widespread deployment of these sources, it is important to explore and understand their behavior at temperatures accessible with compact Stirling coolers. Here we study the polarization entanglement among photon pairs from the biexciton–exciton cascade in GaAs quantum dots at temperatures up to ∼65 K. We observe entanglement degradation accompanied by changes in decay dynamics, which we ascribe to thermal population and depopulation of hot and dark states in addition to the four levels relevant for photon pair generation. Detailed calculations considering the presence and characteristics of the additional states and phonon-assisted transitions support the interpretation. We expect these results to guide the optimization of quantum dots as sources of highly entangled photons at elevated temperatures.
Julia Neuwirth, Francesco Basso Basset, Michele B. Rota, Jan-Gabriel Hartel, Marc Sartison, Saimon F. Covre da Silva, Klaus D. Jöns, Armando Rastelli, and Rinaldo Trotta
American Physical Society (APS)
Unwanted multiphoton emission commonly reduces the degree of entanglement of photons generated by non-classical light sources and, in turn, hampers their exploitation in quantum information science and technology. Quantum emitters have the potential to overcome this hurdle but, so far, the effect of multiphoton emission on the quality of entanglement has never been addressed in detail. Here, we tackle this challenge using photon pairs from a resonantly-driven quantum dot and comparing quantum state tomography and second-order coherence measurements as a function of the excitation power. We observe that the relative (absolute) multiphoton emission probability is as low as 𝒑 𝒎 = (5.6 ± 0.6) 10 -4 ( 𝒑 𝟐 = (1.5 ± 0.3) 10 -6 ) at the maximum source brightness, values that lead to a negligible effect on the degree of entanglement. In stark contrast with probabilistic sources of entangled photons, we also demonstrate that the multiphoton emission probability and the degree of entanglement remain practically unchanged against the excitation power for multiple Rabi cycles, despite we clearly observe oscillations in the second-order coherence measurements. Our results,
F. Basso Basset, F. Salusti, L. Schweickert, M. B. Rota, D. Tedeschi, S. F. Covre da Silva, E. Roccia, V. Zwiller, K. D. Jöns, A. Rastelli,et al.
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Yusuf Karli, Florian Kappe, Vikas Remesh, Thomas K. Bracht, Julian Münzberg, Saimon Covre da Silva, Tim Seidelmann, Vollrath Martin Axt, Armando Rastelli, Doris E. Reiter,et al.
American Chemical Society (ACS)
The quest for the perfect single-photon source includes finding the optimal protocol for exciting the quantum emitter. Coherent optical excitation was, up until now, achieved by tuning the laser pulses to the transition frequency of the emitter, either directly or in average. Recently, it was theoretically discovered that an excitation with two red-detuned pulses is also possible where neither of which would yield a significant upper-level population individually. We show that the so-called swing-up of quantum emitter population (SUPER) scheme can be implemented experimentally with similar properties to existing schemes by precise amplitude shaping of a broadband pulse. Because of its truly off-resonant nature, this scheme has the prospect of powering high-purity photon sources with superior photon count rate.
Julian Münzberg, Franz Draxl, Saimon Filipe Covre da Silva, Yusuf Karli, Santanu Manna, Armando Rastelli, Gregor Weihs, and Robert Keil
AIP Publishing
We report on a multi-photon source based on active demultiplexing of single photons emitted from a resonantly excited GaAs quantum dot. Active temporal-to-spatial mode demultiplexing is implemented via resonantly enhanced free-space electro-optic modulators, making it possible to route individual photons at high switching rates of 38 MHz. We demonstrate routing into four spatial modes with a high end-to-end efficiency of ≈ 79% and measure a four-photon coincidence rate of 0.17 Hz mostly limited by the single-photon source brightness and not by the efficiency of the demultiplexer itself. We use the demultiplexer to characterize the pairwise indistinguishability of consecutively emitted photons from the quantum dot with variable delay time.
Santanu Manna, Huiying Huang, Saimon Filipe Covre da Silva, Christian Schimpf, Michele B. Rota, Barbara Lehner, Marcus Reindl, Rinaldo Trotta, and Armando Rastelli
Elsevier BV
Gonzalo Carvacho, Emanuele Roccia, Mauro Valeri, Francesco Basso Basset, Davide Poderini, Claudio Pardo, Emanuele Polino, Lorenzo Carosini, Michele B. Rota, Julia Neuwirth,et al.
Optica Publishing Group
Quantum networks play a crucial role in distributed quantum information processing, enabling the establishment of entanglement and quantum communication among distant nodes. Fundamentally, networks with independent sources allow for new forms of nonlocality, beyond the paradigmatic Bell’s theorem. Here we implement the simplest of such networks—the bilocality scenario—in an urban network connecting different buildings with a fully scalable and hybrid approach. Two independent sources using different technologies—a quantum dot and a nonlinear crystal—are used to share a photonic entangled state among three nodes connected through a 270 m free-space channel and fiber links. By violating a suitable nonlinear Bell inequality, we demonstrate the nonlocal behavior of the correlations among the nodes of the network. Our results pave the way towards the realization of more complex networks and the implementation of quantum communication protocols in an urban environment, leveraging the capabilities of hybrid photonic technologies.
Evandro Martin Lanzoni, Saimon F Covre da Silva, Matthijn Floris Knopper, Ailton J Garcia, Carlos Alberto Rodrigues Costa, and Christoph Deneke
IOP Publishing
Abstract Unstrained GaAs quantum dots are promising candidates for quantum information devices due to their optical properties, but their electronic properties have remained relatively unexplored until now. In this work, we systematically investigate the electronic structure and natural charging of GaAs quantum dots at room temperature using Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). We observe a clear electrical signal from these structures demonstrating a lower surface potential in the middle of the dot. We ascribe this to charge accumulation and confinement inside these structures. Our systematical investigation reveals that the change in surface potential is larger for a nominal dot filling of 2 nm and then starts to decrease for thicker GaAs layers. Using k · p calculation, we show that the confinement comes from the band bending due to the surface Fermi level pinning. We find a correlation between the calculated charge density and the KPFM signal indicating that k · p calculations could be used to estimate the KPFM signal for a given structure. Our results suggest that these self-assembled structures could be used to study physical phenomena connected to charged quantum dots like Coulomb blockade or Kondo effect.
Julia Neuwirth, Francesco Basso Basset, Michele B. Rota, Saimon Filipe . Covre da Silva, Klaus D. Jöns, Armando Rastelli, and Rinaldo Trotta
SPIE
During recent years, quantum dots have become an increasingly established source of highly entangled photons 1. The main motivation for the development of this technology has resided in the expectation that a resonantly driven quantum emitter can offer a path towards on-demand photon pair generation 2. In fact, state-of-the-art sources relying on spontaneous parametric down-conversion intrinsically suffer from multipair emission at high pair generation rates, which causes a tradeoff between brightness and degree of entanglement 3. Despite the key importance of this aspect, the experimental study of how multiphoton emission affects the entanglement properties of quantum dot-based sources has received surprisingly little attention. In this paper we report the investigation of the multipair emission of the source under quasi-deterministic resonant two-photon excitation without filtering the excitation laser using polarization suppression. The focus is on measuring the real multipair emission entering in entanglement-based measurements, minimizing measurement artefacts from the setup and in particular from the excitation source. This is investigated by measuring the second-order correlation function at zero-time delay in several measurement conditions, including spectral filtering. Our work confirms that the multipair emission is provided also for entanglement-based measurement conditions and thus helps the design of efficient photon sources for quantum information and communication technologies.