Photonic wires and trumpets for ultrabright single photon sources

Photonic wires have recently demonstrated very attractive assets in the field of high-efficiency single photon sources. After presenting the basics of spontaneous emission control in photonic wires, we compare the two possible tapering strategies that can be applied to their output end so as to tailor their radiation diagram in the far-field.

We highlight the novel “photonic trumpet” geometry, which provides a clean Gaussian beam, and is much less sensitive to fabrication imperfections than the more common needle-like taper geometry. S4Ps based on a single QD in a PW with integrated bottom mirror and tapered tip display jointly a record-high efficiency (0.75±0.1 photon per pulse) and excellent single photon purity.

Beyond single photon sources, photonic wires and trumpets appear as a very attractive resource for solid-state quantum optics experiments.