Quantum Photonics

by Thomas P. Pearsall

Overview

This textbook employs a pedagogical approach that facilitates access to the fundamentals of Quantum Photonics. It contains an introductory description of the quantum properties of photons through the second quantization of the electromagnetic field, introducing stimulated and spontaneous emission of photons at the quantum level. Schrödinger’s equation is used to describe the behavior of electrons in a one-dimensional potential. Tunneling through a barrier is used to introduce the concept of non­locality of an electron at the quantum level, which is closely-related to quantum confinement tunneling, resonant tunneling, and the origin of energy bands in both periodic (crystalline) and aperiodic (non-crystalline) materials. Introducing the concepts of reciprocal space, Brillouin zones, and Bloch’s theorem, the determination of electronic band structure using the pseudopotential method is presented, allowing direct computation of the band structures of most group IV, group III-V, and group II-VI semiconductors. The text is supported by numerous numerical calculations that can be repeated by the student.

The book includes an extensive treatment of the time duration of tunneling. The non-local nature of quantum mechanical states is further developed by the proof of Bell’s theorem and an in-depth discussion of its implications for experimental phenomena like quantum tunneling and quantum entanglement. The entangled quantum photon pair is the workhorse for exploring the fundamental non-locality of quantum mechanics, as well as important applications such as quantum cryptography. Further, the book presents the generation of entangled photon pairs by spontaneous parametric downconversion in detail using operators of the quantized photonic field.

The physics of laser action is presented using the quantum photonic basis of spontaneous and stimulated emission, highlighting the limits of Maxwell’s equations in describing quantum behavior. Further, the book shows how the quantum confinement of electrons leads to reduced threshold current on the macroscopic level. Quantum cascade and interband cascade laser structures are analyzed using methods developed in earlier chapters to show how band structure engineering can be applied to access photon emission energies that cannot be achieved using conventional materials.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783319855783
Publisher:	Springer International Publishing
Publication date:	05/18/2018
Series:	Graduate Texts in Physics
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2017
Pages:	292
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Thomas Pearsall has a distinguished career in photonic science and technology, where he has made major contributions to fiber-optic telecommunications and silicon photonics. A graduate of Cornell University, he worked in research at Thomson/CSF, and at Bell Labs for nearly two decades. In 1990, Pearsall was named Boeing-Johnson Chair and Professor at the University of Washington. From 1998 to 2002, he directed research on planar photonic crystals at Corning in Fontainebleau, France. Throughout his career, he has invented and developed the semiconductor materials,l asers, LEDs and photodetectors that are ubiquitous in optical fiber telecommunication networks around the globe. He has also designed and demonstrated key elements of silicon-based photonics, using strained-silicon and silicon-based photonic crystal materials.

In 2003, Pearsall started EPIC, The European Photonics Industry Consortium, which has been a leading contributor to the launch and the development of the European Technology Platform Photonics²¹. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and a Fellow of the IEEE.

Table of Contents

Introduction.- Properties of Electrons.- Photons.- Tunnelling.- Bandstructure of Periodic Structures.- Photons in Periodic Media.- Quantum Cascade Lasers.- Photonics in Resonant Cavities.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Pearsall has merged most modern quantum devices, and quantum information with semiconductor physics. The chapter topics include electromagnetic field quantization, giving rise to spontaneous parametric down conversion, and multi-photon entanglement. There is also Bell’s theorem, local reality, and hidden variables. Each chapter has homework exercises making the book valuable for a course at the 1st year graduate level. A unique feature is that Pearsall presents a diorama of free-electron semiconductor bandstructure evolving into the actual band-structure as the pseudo-potentials are turned on 10 successive steps. He presents this for the 3 most important cases, Si, Ge, and GaAs. This is terrific for students. This book is very much needed, and covers the topics that students will care about in the coming years.” (Prof. Eli Yablonovitch, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley)

“Quantum photonics is a welcome addition to graduate physics textbooks: it explores a number of topics that have become important in recent years, and for which it is very useful to find here a basic and pedagogical presentation. I especially liked the parallel treatments of quantum photons and quantum electrons. Instead of searching in the literature for separate entries, one finds here the main ideas for both bosons and fermions placed side by side, and explained in a very straightforward way. The book has also been very handy to introduce student trainees to various topics, such as two-dimensional electrons and modulation doping.” (Ulf Gennser, Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, France)

“I enjoyed reading the chapter on pseudopotenial band structure calculations very much. It is difficult to make the step from the abstract equation to plotting the band structure using the pseudopotential method by writing your own code. With the help of the provided Matlab script, I was able to comprehend the method. The topic is difficult because many semiconductor books hide important details, such as presenting the algorithm as such. I think it is very helpful nowadays having books that come with scripts so that the readers can reproduce the plots. I have used this script and the lecture material on band structure calculations in my Quantum Physics Lecture at the Hochschule München.” (Stefan Birner, nextnano GmbH)

“This book contains a rather unique, yet highly useful combination of topics. Starting from the behavior of electrons is semiconductor heterostructures, it extends to laser physics and quantum optics, focusing on the relevant properties for the “second quantum revolution”, whose applications we face today in quantum information technology. Relevant experiments on quantum interference are discussed both for photons and electrons, accompanied by a theoretical description using second quantization. All calculations are easy to follow also for experimentalists. Overall this is a very timely book on the physics necessary to understand semiconductor based quantum photonic devices. In addition it is a pleasure to read, offering also new perspectives on various topics.” (Prof. Dr. Manfred Helm, Director, Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR))

Editorial Reviews

The book is suitable as a textbook because of its pedagogical approach to the fundamentals of quantum photonics. Every chapter ends with a set of exercises and a reference list. This textbook is recommended for a graduate-level course on quantum photonics.” (Reva Gar, Optics & Photonics News, osa-opn.org, October, 2021)

“There is an in-depth treatment of quantum-mechanical tunneling together with MATLAB source code for calculations of sequential tunneling. … the book offers impressive breadth of topics, effortlessly compressed into fewer than 300 pages. There is no indication that this book has already been used for pedagogical purposes but, with the included exercises, it is eminently suited for such usage.” (K. Alan Shore, Optics & Photonics News, osa-opn.org, October, 2017)

“The book is surely interesting because it introduces many arguments that are usually only marginally explained or ignored altogether. … it may be recommended asa text of support for a course in quantum optics or photonics ... .” (Mario Bertolotti, Contemporary Physics, January 28, 2019)

From the Publisher