Single-photon emission in telecommunication band from an InAs quantum dot grown on InP with molecular-beam epitaxy

Abstract

We report on the experimental demonstration of a single-photon source based on an InAs quantum dot (QD) on InP grown by molecular-beam epitaxy emitting in the telecommunication band. We develop a method to reduce the QD density to prevent inter-dot coupling via tunneling through coupled excited states. A single InAs QD embedded in an as-etched pillar structure exhibits intense and narrow emission lines. Photon antibunching is clearly observed using superconducting single-photon detectors with high sensitivity, and further improvement of the generated single-photon purity is demonstrated with below-barrier-bandgap excitation. © 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.