Photon blockade in a photonic crystal cavity with a strongly coupled quantum dot

Abstract

The strong coupling regime between a single emitter and the mode of an optical resonator allows for nonlinear optics phenomena at extremely low light intensities. Down to the single photon level, extreme nonlinearities can be observed, where the presence of a single photon inside the resonator either blocks or enhances the probability of subsequent photons entering the resonator. In this paper we experimentally show the existence of these phenomena, named photon blockade and photon induced tunneling, in a solid state system composed of a photonic crystal cavity with a strongly coupled quantum dot. © 2009 SPIE.