Fiber-Coupled Solid State Microcavity Light Emitters

• US 20080089367A1
• Filed: 10/03/2007
• Published: 04/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: California Institute of Technology
• Original Assignee: California Institute of Technology
• Inventors: Painter, Oskar, Srinivasan, Kartik
• Granted Patent: US 8,208,502 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 372/19
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 20/00 Nanooptics, e.g. quantum optics or photonic crystals
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4202 for coupling an active element with fibres without intermediate optical elements, e.g. fibres with plane ends, fibres with shaped ends, bundles
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/43 Arrangements comprising a plurality of opto-electronic elements and associated optical interconnections
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/02208 characterised by the shape of the housings
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0222 Gas-filled housings
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/02251 using optical fibres
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/02325 Mechanically integrated components on mount members or optical micro-benches
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/02423 Liquid cooling, e.g. a liquid cools a mount of the laser
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0607 by varying physical parameters other than the potential of the electrodes, e.g. by an electric or magnetic field, mechanical deformation, pressure, light, temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/1032 Coupling to elements comprising an optical axis that is not aligned with the optical axis of the active region
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/1075 Disk lasers with special modes, e.g. whispering gallery lasers
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/11 Comprising a photonic bandgap structure
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/3412 quantum box or quantum dash

Abstract

Designs of fiber-coupled solid state microcavity light emitters based on microdisk cavities, photonic crystal cavities and other microcavity configurations to provide efficient optical coupling.

Claims

1. An optical device, comprising:

a microcavity light emitter comprising a semiconductor quantum dot structure that absorbs excitation energy and emits laser light;

a single-mode fiber comprising a thinned taper section between first and second single-mode fiber sections and being located near the microcavity light emitter in optical evanescent coupling with the microcavity light emitter to couple a portion of the laser light out of the microcavity light emitter into at least one of the first and second single-mode fiber sections as an output of the microcavity light emitter; and

a movable stage on which the microcavity light emitter is mounted, the movable stage being adjustable in position to control a position of the microcavity light emitter relative to be in optical evanescent coupling with the taper section.

2. The device as in claim 1, wherein:

the microcavity light emitter comprises a semiconductor structure comprising an array of photonic crystal cavities, and wherein the semiconductor quantum dot structure is embedded in an array of photonic crystal cavities.

3. The device as in claim 2, wherein:

the semiconductor quantum dot structure includes a single quantum dot.

4. The device as in claim 1, wherein:

the microcavity light emitter comprises an optical whispering gallery mode micro resonator in which the semiconductor quantum dot structure is embedded.

5. The device as in claim 4, wherein:

the semiconductor quantum dot structure includes a single quantum dot.

6. The device as in claim 1, wherein:

the microcavity light emitter comprises a SiNx microcavity integrated with an N-V center in a diamond nanocrystal or a colloidal quantum dot as the quantum dot structure.

7. The device as in claim 1, comprising:

a fiber holding substrate to which the first and second single-mode fiber sections are engaged in a way to bend the thinned taper section under a tension and the center of the thinned taper section is positioned near the microcavity light emitter to evanescently couple with the microcavity light emitter.

8. The device as in claim 1, comprising:

a pump laser to produce pump light as the excitation energy; and

a pump optical unit located between the pump laser and the microcavity light emitter to direct the pump light into the microcavity light emitter via free space.

9. The device as in claim 1, comprising:

a pump laser to produce pump light as the excitation energy; and

a pump optical unit located between the pump laser and an end of single-mode fiber to couple the pump light from the pump laser into the single-mode fiber and wherein the thinned taper section evanescently couples the pump light into the microcavity light emitter.

10. The device as in claim 1, comprising:

an electrical driver circuit electrically coupled to the microcavity light emitter to inject an electrical current to electrically excite the semiconductor quantum dot structure to cause emission of the laser light.

11. The device as in claim 1, comprising:

a second single-mode fiber comprising a thinned taper section between first and second single-mode fiber sections and being located near the microcavity light emitter in optical evanescent coupling with the microcavity light emitter to couple a portion of the laser light out of the microcavity light emitter into at least one of the first and second single-mode fiber sections as a second output of the microcavity light emitter.

12. The device as in claim 11, wherein:

the single-mode fiber and the second single-mode fiber are evanescently coupled in two different optical modes of the microcavity light emitter to produce two different outputs from the microcavity light emitter.

13. An optical device, comprising:

a device mount;

a microcavity light emitter comprising a semiconductor quantum dot structure that absorbs excitation energy and emits laser light;

a first positioning stage engaged on the device mount to hold the microcavity light emitter, the first positioning stage to adjust a position of the light emitter on the device mount;

a single-mode fiber comprising a thinned taper section between first and second single-mode fiber sections and being located near the microcavity light emitter in optical evanescent coupling with the microcavity light emitter to couple a portion of the laser light out of the microcavity light emitter into at least one of the first and second single-mode fiber sections as an output of the microcavity light emitter;

a fiber holding substrate to which the first and second single-mode fiber sections are engaged in a way to bend the thinned taper section under a tension and the center of the thinned taper section is positioned near the microcavity light emitter to evanescently couple with the microcavity light emitter;

a second positioning stage on which the fiber holding substrate is mounted, the second positioning stage being adjustable in position to control a position of the fiber holding substrate on the device mount;

a cryostat unit to provide cooling; and

at least one thermal conductor connected between the microcavity light emitter and the cryostat unit which cools the microcavity light emitter to place the semiconductor quantum dot structure at a cryogenic temperature.

14. The device as in claim 13, comprising:

a vacuum chamber enclosing, at least, a part of the single-mode fiber including the thinned taper section and the microcavity light emitter under a vacuum condition.

15. The device as in claim 14, comprising:

a gas tank outside the vacuum chamber storing a gas; and

a gas line engaged to the vacuum chamber to comprise a gas tube located near and directed at the microcavity light emitter, the gas line coupled to the gas tank to deliver the gas from the gas tank to the microcavity light emitter when cooled to shift a resonance wavelength of the microcavity light emitter by adsorption of the gas on the cooled microcavity light emitter.

16. The device as in claim 14, wherein:

the thinned taper section of the single-mode fiber is maintained at a temperature higher than a temperature of the microcavity light emitter.

17. The device as in claim 13, comprising:

a pump laser to produce pump light as the excitation energy; and

a pump optical unit located between the pump laser and the microcavity light emitter to direct the pump light into the microcavity light emitter via free space.

18. The device as in claim 13, comprising:

a pump laser to produce pump light as the excitation energy; and

a pump optical unit located between the pump laser and an end of single-mode fiber to couple the pump light from the pump laser into the single-mode fiber and wherein the thinned taper section evanescently couples the pump light into the microcavity light emitter.

19. The device as in claim 13, comprising:

an electrical driver circuit electrically coupled to the microcavity light emitter to inject an electrical current to electrically excite the semiconductor quantum dot structure to cause emission of the laser light.

20. An optical device, comprising:

a substrate;

an array of microcavity light emitters monolithically formed on the substrate, each comprising a semiconductor quantum dot structure that absorbs excitation energy and emits laser light; and

at least one single-mode fiber comprising a thinned taper section between first and second single-mode fiber sections and being located near the microcavity light emitter in optical evanescent coupling with at least one microcavity light emitter to couple a portion of the laser light out of the microcavity light emitter into at least one of the first and second single-mode fiber sections as an output of the microcavity light emitter.