A. James Clark School of Engineering

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Quantum dots

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    Quantum Dots in Photonic Crystals for Hybrid Integrated Silicon Photonics
    (2024) Rahaman, Mohammad Habibur; Waks, Edo Prof.; Electrical Engineering; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Quantum dots are excellent sources of on-demand single photons and can function as stable quantum memories. Additionally, advanced fabrication techniques of III-V materials and various hybrid integration methods make quantum dots an ideal candidate for integration into fiber- and silicon-based photonic circuits. However, efficiently extracting and integrating quantum dot emissions into fiber- and silicon-based photonic circuits, particularly with high efficiency and low power consumption, presents a continued challenge. This dissertation addresses this challenge by utilizing photonic crystals to couple quantum dot emissions into fiber- and silicon-based photonic circuits. In this dissertation, we first demonstrate an efficient fiber-coupled single photon source at the telecom C-band using InAs/InP quantum dots coupled to a nanobeam photonic crystal. The tapered nanobeam structure facilitates directional emission that is mode-matched to a lensed fiber, resulting in a collection efficiency of up to 65% from the nanobeam to a single-mode fiber. Using this approach, we demonstrate a bright single photon source with a 575 ± 5 Kcps count rate. Additionally, we observe a single photon purity of 0.015 ± 0.03 and Hong-Ou Mandel interference from emitted photons with a visibility of 0.84 ± 0.06. A high-quality factor photonic crystal cavity is needed to further improve the brightness of the single-photon source through Purcell enhancement. However, photonic crystal cavities often suffer from low-quality factors due to fabrication imperfections that create surface states and optical absorption. To address this challenge, we employed atomic layer deposition-based surface passivation of the InP photonic crystal nanobeam cavities to improve the quality factor. We demonstrated 140% higher quality factors by applying a coating of Al2O3 via atomic layer deposition to terminate dangling bonds and reduce surface absorption. Additionally, changing the deposition thickness enabled precise tuning of the cavity mode wavelength without compromising the quality factor. This Al2O3 atomic layer deposition approach holds great promise for optimizing nanobeam cavities, which are well-suited for integration with a wide range of photonic applications. Finally, we propose a hybrid Si-GaAs photonic crystal cavity design that operates at telecom wavelengths and can be fabricated without the need for careful alignment. The hybrid cavity consists of a patterned silicon waveguide that is coupled to a wider GaAs slab featuring InAs quantum dots. We show that by changing the width of the silicon cavity waveguide, we can engineer hybrid modes and control the degree of coupling to the active material in the GaAs slab. This provides the ability to tune the cavity quality factor while balancing the device’s optical gain and nonlinearity. With this design, we demonstrate cavity mode confinement in the GaAs slab without directly patterning it, enabling strong interaction with the embedded quantum dots for applications such as low-power-threshold lasing and optical bistability (156 nW and 18.1 µW, respectively). In addition to classical applications, this cavity is promising for alignment-free, large-scale integration of single photon sources in a silicon chip.
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    INTEGRATED QUANTUM PHOTONIC CIRCUITS WITH QUANTUM DOTS
    (2019) Aghaeimeibodi, Shahriar; Waks, Edo; Electrical Engineering; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Scalable quantum photonics require efficient single-photon emitters as well as low-loss reconfigurable photonic platforms that connect and manipulate these single photons. Quantum dots are excellent sources of on-demand single photons and can act as stable quantum memories. Therefore, integration of quantum dots with photonic platforms is crucial for many applications in quantum information processing. In this thesis, we first describe hybrid integration of InAs quantum dots hosted in InP to silicon photonic waveguides. We demonstrate an efficient transition of quantum emission to silicon. Quantum nature of the emission is confirmed through photon correlation measurements. Secondly, we present a micro-disk resonator device based on silicon photonics that enables on-chip filtering and routing of single photons generated by quantum dots. The tunability of silicon photonics decreases at low temperatures due to “carrier freeze-out”. Because of a strong electro-optic effect in lithium niobate, this material is the ideal platform for reconfigurable photonics, even at cryogenic temperatures. To this end, we demonstrate integration of quantum dots with thin-film lithium niobate photonics promising for active switching and modulating of single photons. More complex quantum photonic devices require multiple identical single-photon emitters on the chip. However, the transition wavelength of quantum dots varies because of the slightly different shape and size of each dot. To address this hurdle, we propose and characterize a quantum dot device located in an electrostatic field. The resonance wavelength of the quantum dot emission is tuned up to 8 nm, more than one order of magnitude greater than the transition linewidth, opening the possibility of tuning multiple quantum dots in resonance with each other. Finally, we discuss the application of a single quantum dot strongly coupled to a nanophotonic cavity as an efficient medium for non-linear phenomenon of optical amplification. Presence of a strong pump laser inverses the population of the quantum dot and leads to stimulated emission from the cavity-coupled quantum dot. Using this platform, we observe an optical gain of ~ 16%, significantly increased compared to previous demonstrations of gain in single solid-state quantum emitters without cavities or weakly coupled to cavities. These demonstrations are significant steps toward robust control of single photons using linear and non-linear photonic platforms.
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    Design of Self-Assembling Nanostructures to Promote Immune Tolerance
    (2018) Hess, Krystina; Jewell, Christopher M; Bioengineering; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    In autoimmune diseases, which affect more than 23 million Americans, the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. This occurs when the process that normally controls self-reactive inflammatory cells (i.e. tolerance) fails. In multiple sclerosis (MS), the myelin sheath, which insulates nerves, is recognized as a foreign antigen. Demyelination by immune cells results in serious symptoms of neurodegeneration. Current treatments for MS are not curative, but rather manage symptoms by broadly suppressing the immune system, leaving patients unable to fight infection. New therapies that are more specific and effective could greatly improve the quality of life for patients. Biomaterials offer specific advantages for generating antigen-specific tolerance, such as cargo protection, targeted delivery, and controlled release of signals. Additionally, recent reports demonstrate that materials themselves can be intrinsically immunogenic. Two promising biomaterials-based strategies for combating autoimmunity involve: 1) delivery of self-antigen with a regulatory molecule or 2) delivery of self-antigen alone. Aim 1 of this dissertation focuses on the first strategy, creating a novel delivery system for myelin peptide and GpG, an immunomodulatory oligonucleotide. This approach involves electrostatic self-assembly of the two immune signals, eliminating the need for a carrier that could exacerbate inflammation, while still offering attractive features of biomaterials, such as co-delivery. The goal is for immune cells to encounter both signals simultaneously, biasing the response towards tolerance. This work represents the first studies using self-assembled materials to target toll-like receptor signaling, recently shown to be implicated in many autoimmune diseases. Aim 2 of this dissertation is based on the second strategy above, which relies on evidence that changing the trafficking and processing of a self-antigen can impact the development of inflammation or tolerance. Quantum dots, NPs that are intrinsically fluorescent and rapidly drain to lymph nodes, can be decorated with a large and controllable number of myelin peptides. These key features of QDs were exploited to reveal that parameters of self-antigen display (i.e. dose, density) impact biodistribution and immune cell uptake, and are directly correlated to the level of tolerance induced. Together, the described nanotechnologies offer opportunities to probe important questions towards the design of antigen-specific therapies.