Single photons on demand from 3D photonic band-gap structures

¹ Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
² QOLS, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2BW, UK
³ Institut für Experimentalphysik, Universität Innsbruck Technikerstr. 25, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
⁴ Hearne Institute for Theoretical Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy Louisiana State University - 202 Nicholson Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA

Corresponding author: Marian.Florescu@jpl.nasa.gov

Received: 2 November 2004
Accepted: 28 January 2005

Abstract

We describe a practical implementation of a (semi-deterministic) photon gun based on stimulated Raman adiabatic passage pumping and the strong enhancement of the photonic density of states in a photonic band-gap material. We show that this device allows deterministic and unidirectional production of single photons with a high repetition rate of the order of 100. We also discuss specific 3D photonic micro-structure architectures in which our model can be realized and the feasibility of implementing such a device using ions that produce single photons at the telecommunication wavelength of 1.55.