A quantum dot as a source of time-bin entangled multi-photon states

A quantum computer has the potential to revolutionize multiple industries by enabling a drastic speed-up relative to classical computers for certain quantum algorithms and simulations. Linear optical quantum computing is an approach that uses photons as qubits, which are known for suffering little from decoherence. A source of multiple entangled and indistinguishable photons would be a significant step in the development of an optical quantum computer. Consequently, multiple proposals for the generation of such a stream of photons have recently been put forward. Here we introduce an alternative scheme based on a semiconductor quantum dot (QD) embedded in an optical microcavity in a magnetic field. A single charge carrier trapped in the dot has an associated spin that can be controlled by ultrashort optical pulses. Photons are sequentially generated by resonant scattering from the QD, while the charge spin is used to determine the encoding of the photons into time-bins. In this way a multi-photon entangled state can be gradually built up. With a simple optical pulse sequence we demonstrate a proof of principle experiment of our proposal by showing that the time-bin of a single photon is dependent on the measured state of the trapped charge spin.