We perform extended numerical studies to maximize the overall photon coupling efficiency of fiber-coupled quantum dot single-photon sources emitting in the near-infrared and O-band and C-band. Using the finite element method, we optimize the photon extraction and fiber-coupling efficiency of quantum dot single-photon sources based on micromesas, microlenses, circular Bragg grating cavities and micropillars. The numerical simulations which consider the entire system consisting of the quantum dot source itself, the coupling lens, and the single-mode fiber, yield overall photon coupling efficiencies of up to 83%. Our work provides objectified comparability of different fiber-coupled single-photon sources and proposes optimized geometries for the realization of practical and highly efficient quantum dot single-photon sources.

The proteins secreted by human tissues (the secretome) are important for the basic understanding of human biology, but also for identification of potential targets for future diagnosis and therapy. Here, we present an annotation of all predicted secreted proteins (n=2,623) with information about their spatial distribution in the human body. A high-throughput mammalian cell factory was established to create a resource of recombinant full-length proteins. This resource was used for phenotypic assays involving β-cell dedifferentiation and for development of targeted proteomics assays. A comparison between host cells, including omics analysis, shows that many of the proteins that failed to be generated in CHO cells could be rescued in human HEK293 cells. In conclusion, the human secretome has been mapped and characterized to facilitate further exploration of the human secretome.

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User-friendly single-photon sources with high photon-extraction efficiency are crucial building blocks for photonic quantum applications. For many of these applications, such as long-distance quantum key distribution, the use of single-mode optical fibers is mandatory, which leads to stringent requirements regarding the device design and fabrication. We report on the on-chip integration of a quantum dot (QD) microlens with a 3D-printed micro-objective in combination with a single-mode on-chip fiber coupler. The practical quantum device is realized by the deterministic fabrication of the QD-microlens via in situ electron-beam lithography and the 3D two-photon laser writing of the on-chip micro-objective and fiber chuck. A QD with a microlens is an efficient single-photon source, whose emission is collimated by the on-chip micro-objective. A second polymer microlens is located at the end facet of the single-mode fiber and ensures that the collimated light is efficiently coupled into the fiber core. For this purpose, the fiber is placed in an on-chip fiber chuck, which is precisely aligned to the QD-microlens thanks to the sub-micrometer processing accuracy of high-resolution two-photon direct laser writing. The resulting quantum device has a broadband photon extraction efficiency, a single-mode fiber-coupling efficiency of 22%, a measured single-photon flux of 42 kHz (8.9 kHz) under cw (pulsed) optical excitation, which corresponds to 1.5 MHz (0.3 MHz) at the single-mode fiber output, and a multi-photon probability in terms of g(2)(0) = 0.00±0.000.04 (0.13 ± 0.05) under cw (pulsed) optical excitation. The stable design of the developed fiber-coupled quantum device makes it highly attractive for integration into user-friendly plug-and-play quantum applications.

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Self‐organized semiconductor quantum dots represent almost ideal two‐level systems, which have strong potential to applications in photonic quantum technologies. For instance, they can act as emitters in close‐to‐ideal quantum light sources. Coupled quantum dot systems with significantly increased functionality are potentially of even stronger interest since they can be used to host ultra‐stable singlet‐triplet spin qubits for efficient spin‐photon interfaces and for deterministic photonic 2D cluster‐state generation. An advanced quantum dot molecule (QDM) device is realized and excellent optical properties are demonstrated. The device includes electrically controllable QDMs based on stacked quantum dots in a pin‐diode structure. The QDMs are deterministically integrated into a photonic structure with a circular Bragg grating using in situ electron beam lithography. A photon extraction efficiency of up to (24 ± 4)% is measured in good agreement with numerical simulations. The coupling character of the QDMs is clearly demonstrated by bias voltage dependent spectroscopy that also controls the orbital couplings of the QDMs and their charge state in quantitative agreement with theory. The QDM devices show excellent single‐photon emission properties with a multi‐photon suppression of g(2)false(0false)=false(3.9±0.5false)×10−3. These metrics make the developed QDM devices attractive building blocks for use in future photonic quantum networks using advanced nanophotonic hardware.

Photonic quantum technology is essentially based on the exchange of individual photons as information carriers. Therefore, the development of practical single-photon sources that emit single photons on-demand is a crucial contribution to advance this emerging technology and to promoting its first real-world applications. In the last two decades, a large number of quantum light sources based on solid state emitters have been developed on a laboratory scale. Corresponding structures today have almost ideal optical and quantum-optical properties. For practical applications, however, one crucial factor is usually missing, namely direct on-chip fiber coupling, which is essential, for example, for the direct integration of such quantum devices into fiber-based quantum networks. In fact, the development of fiber-coupled quantum light sources is still in its infancy, with very promising advances having been made in recent years. Against this background, this review article presents the current status of the de-velopment of fiber-coupled quantum light sources based on solid state quantum emitters and discusses challenges, technological solutions and future prospects. Among other things, the numerical optimiza-tion of the fiber coupling efficiency, coupling methods, and important realizations of such quantum devices are presented and compared. Overall, this article provides an important overview of the state of the art and the performance parameters of fiber-coupled quantum light sources that have been achieved so far. It is aimed equally at experts in the scientific field and at students and newcomers who want to get an overview of the current developments.

A combination of advanced light engineering concepts enables a substantial improvement in photon extraction efficiency of micro–cavity–based single–photon sources in the telecom O–band at ∼1.3 µm. We employ a broadband bottom distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) and a top DBR formed in a dielectric micropillar with an additional circular Bragg grating in the lateral plane. This device design includes a doped layer in pin–configuration to allow for electric carrier injection. It provides broadband (∼8–10 nm) emission enhancement with an overall photon–extraction efficiency of ∼83% into the upper hemisphere and photon–extraction efficiency of ∼79% within numerical aperture NA=0.7. The efficiency of photon coupling to a single–mode fiber reaches 11% for SMF28 fiber (with NA=0.12), exceeds 22% for 980HP fiber (with NA=0.2) and reaches ∼40% for HNA fiber (with NA=0.42) as demonstrated by 3D finite–difference time–domain modeling.