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US 6,665,486 B2Granted
Single photon generating apparatus
AssigneeNEC Corporation
InventorAkihisa Tomita
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A single photon generating apparatus includes an optical waveguide, an active medium section and a resonator section. In the active medium section, a single electron is excited in response to application of exciting energy, and a single photon is emitted from the electron. The resonator section optically resonates with the active medium section, holds the photon emitted from the electron in the resonator, and transfers the held photon to the optical waveguide in response to a first control signal.
Claims26
A single photon generating apparatus comprising:
- an optical waveguide;
- an active medium section in which a single electron is excited in response to application of exciting energy, wherein a single photon is emitted from said electron;
- and
- a resonator section which optically resonates with said active medium section, holds said photon emitted from said electron in said resonator, and transfers said held photon to said optical waveguide in response to a first control signal,
- wherein said active medium section includes a quantum dot in which said electron is excited in response to the application of said exciting energy such that said photon is emitted, and wherein said quantum dot is optically separated from said resonator section after said photon is emitted from said electron.
2 more elements
A single photon generating apparatus comprising:
- an optical waveguide;
- an active medium section in which a single electron is excited in response to application of exciting energy, wherein a single photon is emitted from said electron;
- and
- a resonator section which optically resonates with said active medium section, holds said photon emitted from said electron in said resonator, and transfers said held photon to said optical waveguide in response to a first control signal,
- wherein said active medium section includes a quantum dot in which said electron is excited in response to the application of said exciting energy such that said photon is emitted, and wherein said quantum dot is optically separated from said resonator section after said photon is emitted from said electron, and
- wherein the application of said exciting energy is achieved by application of a first light pulse, and wherein said first light pulse has a duration time shorter than a recombination time of said electron.
3 more elements
A single photon generating apparatus comprising:
- an optical waveguide;
- an active medium section in which a single electron is excited in response to application of exciting energy, wherein a single photon is emitted from said electron;
- and
- a resonator section which optically resonates with said active medium section, holds said photon emitted from said electron in said resonator, and transfers said held photon to said optical waveguide in response to a first control signal,
- wherein the application of said exciting energy is achieved by application of a first light pulse, and wherein said active medium section comprises:
- a semiconductor substrate;
- a quantum dot formed on said semiconductor substrate, wherein said electron is excited in response to the application of said exciting energy;
- a cap layer which is provided between said quantum dot and said resonator section and optically separates said quantum dot from said resonator in response to a second control signal;
- and
- a first electrode formed on said cap layer apart from said quantum dot in a horizontal direction;
- and
- a second electrode formed on a surface of said semiconductor substrate opposite to said quantum dot in correspondence to said first electrode,
- wherein said first light pulse is applied to said quantum dot from a region where said second electrode is not formed.
10 more elements
A single photon generating apparatus comprising:
- an optical waveguide;
- an active medium section in which a single electron is excited in response to application of exciting energy, wherein a single photon is emitted from said electron;
- and
- a resonator section which optically resonates with said active medium section, holds said photon emitted from said electron in said resonator, and transfers said held photon to said optical waveguide in response to a first control signal, wherein said resonator section comprises:
- a resonator which optically resonates with said active medium section, and holds said photon therein;
- and
- a connection member which is provided between said resonator and said optical waveguide and passes said photon from said resonator to said optical waveguide in response to a second control signal.
4 more elements
A single photon generating apparatus comprising:
- an optical waveguide;
- an active medium section in which a single electron is excited in response to application of exciting energy, wherein a single photon is emitted from said electron;
- and
- a resonator section which optically resonates with said active medium section, holds said photon emitted from said electron in said resonator, and transfers said held photon to said optical waveguide in response to a first control signal, wherein said optical waveguide is arranged such that optical coupling between said optical waveguide and said resonator section in a whispering gallery mode is minimum.
1 more element
A single photon generating apparatus comprising:
- an optical waveguide;
- an active medium section in which a single electron is excited in response to application of exciting energy, wherein a single photon is emitted from said electron;
- and
- a resonator section which optically resonates with said active medium section, holds said photon emitted from said electron in said resonator, and transfers said held photon to said optical waveguide in response to a first control signal, wherein said active medium section includes a quantum dot in which said electron is excited in response to the application of said exciting energy such that said photon is emitted, and
- said resonator section is formed by a first region of a photonic crystal other than a second region, wherein openings are arranged in triangular lattice in said second region of said photonic crystal, and said quantum dot is arranged in said first region.
2 more elements
A method of generating a single photon, comprising:
- (a) exciting a single electron in a quantum dot;
- (b) confining a single photon generated from said electron in a resonator;
- and
- (c) leading said confined photon into an optical waveguide;
- and
- (d) minimizing optical coupling between said optical waveguide and said resonator in a whispering gallery mode.
3 more elements
A method of generating a single photon, comprising:
- (a) exciting a single electron in a quantum dot;
- (b) confining a single photon generated from said electron in a resonator;
- and
- (c) leading said confined photon into an optical waveguide,
- wherein said exciting step includes:
- exciting said electron in said quantum dot in response to application of a light pulse, and further comprising:
- (d) optically separating said quantum dot from said resonator after said photon is emitted from said electron.
4 more elements
A method of generating a single photon, comprising:
- (a) exciting a single electron in a quantum dot;
- (b) confining a single photon generated from said electron in a resonator;
- and
- (c) leading said confined photon into an optical waveguide, wherein said leading step includes:
- (d) optically connecting said resonator with said optical waveguide in response to a control signal when said photon is confined in said resonator.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.