Two-Photon Spontaneous Emission in Atomically Thin Plasmonic Nanostructures

Area of Science:

• Quantum optics and photonics
• Materials science and nanotechnology

Background:

• Harnessing light-matter interactions at the few-photon level is crucial for quantum technologies.
• On-demand single-photon generation is established, but efficient two-photon generation in individual emitters remains challenging due to slow rates compared to one-photon processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate enhanced two-photon spontaneous emission using atomically thin plasmonic nanostructures.
• To explore the potential of these nanostructures for generating tailored photonic and plasmonic entangled states.
• To investigate plasmon-assisted single-photon creation efficiency.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing atomically thin plasmonic nanostructures to harness two-photon spontaneous emission.
• Analyzing the interplay between Fano and Lorentzian resonances to understand emission line shapes.
• Characterizing far-field two-photon production and plasmon-assisted single-photon emission.

Main Results:

• Achieved giant far-field two-photon production from plasmonic nanostructures.
• Observed a wealth of resonant modes enabling tailored photonic and plasmonic entangled states.
• Demonstrated plasmon-assisted single-photon creation orders of magnitude more efficient than standard one-photon emission.

Conclusions:

• Enhanced two-photon spontaneous emission in 2D nanostructures offers an efficient pathway for light-matter entanglement.
• This approach is promising for developing on-chip quantum information processing and free-space quantum communications.