Controlling the emission from single quantum dots with electro-opto-mechanical photonic crystal cavities

Abstract

We present a device for the spectral reconfiguration of a two-dimensional photonic crystal cavity (PCC) based on parallel semiconductor membranes. The mechanical motion of the slabs introduces a variation in the effective refractive index of the coupled waveguides where the photonic crystal is etched resulting in a shift of the freespace wavelength. Using an integrated electrostatic actuator we demonstrated independent tuning up to 15 nm with less than 6 V bias. We present the electromechanical control of a PCC mode in resonance to single quantum dot (QD) emission lines for the real-time compensation of the spectral mismatch due to the dots' inhomogeneity. We discuss the operation of the device at low temperatures (< 10 K) and we measured the Purcell effect via the electro-mechanical control. A reversible tuning range of 13 nm and a spontaneous emission rate control by a factor of ten has been achieved.