Quantum dot meets nanowire in a promising encounter

A team of researchers from INAC and Institut Néel have created a hybrid system that consists of a nano-sized quantum dot embedded in a gallium arsenide nanowire. When the wire vibrates, the quantum dot repeatedly stretches and compresses, changing its energy levels and consequently the color of the photons emitted.
The coupling was achieved by mechanical strain and has proven very effective. The scientists are now studying the opposite effect, i.e., exciting the quantum dot optically in order to make the wire vibrate. The system, which enables the dot’s quantum properties to be transferred to a more conventional mechanical oscillator, could ultimately be used in research to provide valuable insight into the frontier between the quantum and non-quantum worlds.
The research was published in Nature Nanotechnology.

Contact: julien.claudon@cea.fr
Learn more at: http://www.cnrs.fr/inp/spip.php?article2437

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