Experimental realization of an optical antenna for collecting 99% of photons from a quantum emitter

X. -L. Chu, T. J. K. Brenner, X. -W. Chen, Y. Ghosh, J. A. Hollingsworth, V. Sandoghdar, S. Goetzinger

Published 2014-06-03Version 1

We present the fabrication and characterization of an optical antenna that converts the dipolar radiation of a quantum emitter to a directional beam with 99% efficiency. Aside from its implications for efficient detection of nanoscopic emitters, this antenna facilitates a deterministic single-photon source with applications in quantum information processing, metrology and sub-shot-noise detection of absorption. We discuss the photophysical limitations of the currently used quantum emitters for the realization of such a device.