Fiber-pigtailing quantum-dot cavity-enhanced light emitting diodes

Abstract

We report on a process for the fiber-coupling of electrically driven cavity-enhanced quantum dot light emitting devices. The developed technique allows for the direct and permanent coupling of p-i-n-doped quantum dot micropillar cavities to single-mode optical fibers. The coupling process, fully carried out at room temperature, involves a spatial scanning technique, where the fiber facet is positioned relative to a device with a diameter of 2 μm using the fiber-coupled electroluminescence of the cavity emission as a feedback parameter. Subsequent gluing and UV curing enable a rigid and permanent coupling between micropillar and fiber core. Comparing our experimental results with finite element method simulations indicates a cavity-to-fiber mode-coupling efficiency of ∼46%. Furthermore, we demonstrate pulsed current injection at a repetition rate exceeding 200 MHz as well as low-temperature operation down to 77 K of the fiber-coupled micropillar device. The technique presented in this work is an important step in the quest for efficient and practical quantum light sources for applications in quantum information.