A photonic nanowire trumpet for interfacing a quantum dot and a Gaussian free-space mode

Efficient coupling between a localized quantum emitter and a well defined optical channel represents a powerful route to realize single-photon sources and spin-photon interfaces. The tailored fiber-like photonic nanowire embedding a single quantum dot has recently demonstrated an appealing potential. However, the device requires a delicate, sharp needle-like taper with performance sensitive to minute geometrical details. To overcome this limitation we demonstrate the photonic trumpet, exploiting an opposite tapering strategy. The trumpet features a strongly Gaussian far-field emission. A first implementation of this strategy has lead to an ultra-bright single-photon source with a first-lens external efficiency of 0.75 ± 0.1 and a predicted coupling to a Gaussian beam of 0.61 ± 0.08.

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