Efficient generation of near infra-red single photons from the zero-phonon line of a single molecule

Jean-Baptiste Trebbia (1) , Hartmut Ruf (1) , Philippe Tamarat (1) , Brahim Lounis (1)

1 CPMOH - Centre de physique moléculaire optique et hertzienne

Using the zero-phonon line (ZPL) emission of a single molecule, we realized a triggered source of near-infra-red (λ=785 nm) single photons at a high repetition rate. A Weierstrass solid immersion lens is used to image single molecules with an optical resolution of 300 nm (~0.4λ) and a high collection efficiency. Because dephasing of the transition dipole due to phonons vanishes at liquid helium temperatures, our source is attractive for the efficient generation of single indistinguishable photons.

Mots clés: Photon statistics (270.5290); Microscopy (110.0180)

Domaines: Physique Quantique [quant-ph]

Jean-Baptiste Trebbia, Hartmut Ruf, Philippe Tamarat, Brahim Lounis. Efficient generation of near infra-red single photons from the zero-phonon line of a single molecule. Optics Express, 2009, 17 (26), pp.23986-23991. ⟨10.1364/OE.17.023986⟩. ⟨hal-00540465⟩