Generation of Indistinguishable and Entangled Photons from Semiconductor Quantum Dots - Exploiting Resonant and Coherent Single and Two-Photon Excitation Methods

Solid state single-photon emitters are fundamental building blocks for application-oriented quantum photonics. Especially semiconductor based sources, such as single quantum dots, are attracting widespread interest due to their compatibility with today’s industrially established information technologies. Quantum dots are capable of emitting highly non-classical states of light, which are of major importance in the main fields of application quantum communication, computation and metrology. This thesis presents research on the deterministic generation of such light states, particularly entangled photon pairs and indistinguishable single-photons, by optical excitation of single semiconductor quantum dots. The work focuses on resonant and coherent, single and two-photon excitation methods, leading to an optimum optical and quantum-optical photon quality. With regard to specific applications, experimental studies on the subjects of optical interfaces between spatially separated quantum dots, preparation of hyperentangled photon pairs as well as entanglement enhanced interferometry are presented.