arXiv subjects

Diego Martín-Cano

Publications and source records attributed to Diego Martín-Cano.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Single-molecule strong optomechanical regimes in SERS via hybrid plasmonic cavities

We identify enhanced strong coherent Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) interactions facilitated by hybridized metallo-dielectric cavities with a resonant fluorescent molecule. By illuminating a detuned electronic transition near saturation via a narrowband hybrid plasmonic mode, we observe enhanced splittings in the Stokes and anti-Stokes spectra, revealing strong optomechanical coupling and nonlinear vibrational modifications at intensities far below irreversible SERS damage thresholds. We compute the second-order photon correlations that allows identifying the nonclassical character associated to these strong optomechanical interactions and SERS configurations that enables them to optically characterize the anharmonic character of the vibrational modes.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Deterministic single-photon source over the terahertz regime

The terahertz (THz) regime still lacks a source capable of emitting single photons deterministically. Here, we propose an on-demand THz single-photon source, triggered by a sequence of coherent optical pulses used to dress a polar quantum emitter. The permanent dipole moment of the emitter activates THz transitions within its Rabi-split doublets, which are enhanced through resonant coupling to a THz cavity. We identify a challenge unique to this platform: spontaneous emission of visible photons competes with the THz process, degrading performance in two distinct ways depending on the sign of the drive detuning---either increasing the vacuum component, reducing brightness, or increasing multiphoton contributions, reducing purity. We demonstrate how to overcome those challenges through optimized pulse areas and a sufficiently high Purcell rate. A hybrid resonator-nanoparticle design for a cavity satisfying the latter requirement is presented, yielding efficiencies of 65-92\% and purities of 88-100\%, comparable to the best visible single-photon sources, while providing broad tunability across the THz range. Finally, we exploit the visible emission itself, using its detection to fully reconstruct the THz photon-number distribution and herald a single THz photon, boosting efficiency to 90-95\%. All these capabilities illustrate the new technological opportunities unlocked by the unique integration of terahertz and visible frequencies.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Entanglement of two optical emitters mediated by a terahertz channel

Quantum technologies in the terahertz (THz) require a coherent interface between addressable qubits and THz quantum channels -- a capacity that so far, remains largely underdeveloped. Here, we propose and demonstrate the generation of steady-state entanglement between polar quantum emitters, mediated by THz photons. We exploit strong visible-light driving of the emitters to create Rabi-split dressed eigenstates whose energy separation can be optically tuned into the THz regime. The polar nature of the emitters activates THz transitions within these eigenstates, allowing them to couple to a THz photonic mode that induces collective dissipative dynamics. A coherent driving and control of these effective THz emitters is achieved by using a sideband optical drive with detuning close to the THz transition frequency. The resulting interplay of collective dissipation and driving activates a mechanism to generate steady-state entanglement with high values of the concurrence ($C>0.9$), attainable under experimentally feasible parameters. Crucially, both coherent manipulation and quantum state tomography are implemented entirely through optical means, avoiding direct THz control and detection. This establishes a hybrid visible-THz quantum interface in which a THz channel mediates qubit-qubit entanglement (a key operational requirement for THz quantum technologies) while remaining optically accessible.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Coherent electron-vibron interactions in Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS)

In this work we identify coherent electron-vibron interactions between near-resonant and non-resonant electronic levels that contribute beyond standard optomechanical models for off-resonant or resonance SERS. By developing an open-system quantum model using first molecular interaction principles, we show how the Raman interference of both resonant and non-resonant contributions can provide several orders of magnitude modifications of the SERS peaks with respect to former optomechanical models and over the fluorescence backgrounds. This cooperative optomechanical mechanism allows for generating an enhancement of nonclassical photon pair correlations between Stokes and anti-Stokes photons, which can be detected by photon-counting measurements. Our results demonstrate Raman enhancements and suppressions of coherent nature that significantly impact the standard estimations of the optomechanical contribution from SERS spectra and their quantum mechanical observable effects.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Dissipative stabilization of maximal entanglement between non-identical emitters via two-photon excitation

Two non-identical quantum emitters, when placed within a cavity and coherently excited at the two-photon resonance, can reach stationary states of nearly maximal entanglement. In Vivas-Viaña et al., we introduce a frequency-resolved Purcell effect stabilizing entangled $W$ states among strongly interacting quantum emitters embedded in a cavity. Here, we delve deeper into a specific configuration with a particularly rich phenomenology: two interacting quantum emitters under coherent excitation at the two-photon resonance. This scenario yields two resonant cavity frequencies where the combination of two-photon driving and Purcell-enhanced decay stabilizes the system into the sub- and superradiant states, respectively. By considering the case of non-degenerate emitters and exploring the parameter space of the system, we show that this mechanism is merely one among a complex family of phenomena that can generate both stationary and metastable entanglement when driving the emitters at the two-photon resonance. We provide a global perspective of this landscape of mechanisms and contribute analytical characterizations and insights into these phenomena, establishing connections with previous reports in the literature and discussing how some of these effects can be optically detected.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Frequency-resolved Purcell effect for the dissipative generation of steady-state entanglement

We report a driven-dissipative mechanism to generate stationary entangled $W$ states among strongly-interacting quantum emitters placed within a cavity. Driving the ensemble into the highest energy state -- whether coherently or incoherently -- enables a subsequent cavity-enhanced decay into an entangled steady state consisting of a single de-excitation shared coherently among all emitters, i.e., a $W$ state, well known for its robustness against qubit loss. The non-harmonic energy structure of the interacting ensemble allows this transition to be resonantly selected by the cavity, while quenching subsequent off-resonant decays. Evidence of this purely dissipative mechanism should be observable in state-of-the-art cavity QED systems in the solid-state, enabling new prospects for the scalable stabilization of quantum states in dissipative quantum platforms.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Single-photon source over the terahertz regime

We present a proposal for a tunable source of single photons operating in the terahertz (THz) regime. This scheme transforms incident visible photons into quantum THz radiation by driving a single polar quantum emitter with an optical laser, with its permanent dipole enabling dressed THz transitions enhanced by the resonant coupling to a cavity. This mechanism offers optical tunability of properties such as the frequency of the emission or its quantum statistics (ranging from antibunching to entangled multi-photon states) by modifying the intensity and frequency of the drive. We show that the implementation of this proposal is feasible with state-of-the-art photonics technology.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Single-molecule vacuum Rabi splitting: four-wave mixing and optical switching at the single-photon level

A single quantum emitter can possess a very strong intrinsic nonlinearity, but its overall promise for nonlinear effects is hampered by the challenge of efficient coupling to incident photons. Common nonlinear optical materials, on the other hand, are easy to couple to but are bulky, imposing a severe limitation on the miniaturization of photonic systems. In this work, we show that a single organic molecule acts as an extremely efficient nonlinear optical element in the strong coupling regime of cavity quantum electrodynamics. We report on single-photon sensitivity in nonlinear signal generation and all-optical switching. Our work promotes the use of molecules for applications such as integrated photonic circuits, operating at very low powers.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Chiral emission into nanophotonic resonators

Chiral emission, where the handedness of a transition dipole determines the direction in which a photon is emitted, has recently been observed from atoms and quantum dots coupled to nanophotonic waveguides. Here, we consider the case of chiral light-matter interactions in resonant nanophotonic structures, deriving closed-form expressions for the fundamental quantum electrodynamic quantities that describe these interactions. We show how parameters such as the position dependent, directional Purcell factors and mode volume can be calculated using computationally efficient two dimensional eigenmode simulations. As an example, we calculate these quantities for a prototypical ring resonator with a geometric footprint of only 4.5~$μ$m$^2$, showing that perfect directionality with a simultaneous Purcell enhancement upwards of 400 are possible. The ability to determine these fundamental properties of nanophotonic chiral interfaces is crucial if they are to form elements of quantum circuits and networks.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2018

Manipulation of Quenching in Nanoantenna-Emitter Systems Enabled by External Detuned Cavities: A Path to Enhance Strong-Coupling

We show that a broadband Fabry-Perot microcavity can assist an emitter coupled to an off-resonant plasmonic nanoantenna to inhibit the nonradiative channels that affect the quenching of fluorescence. We identify the interference mechanism that creates the necessary enhanced couplings and bandwidth narrowing of the hybrid resonance and show that it can assist entering into the strong coupling regime. Our results provide new possibilities for improving the efficiency of solid-state emitters and accessing diverse realms of photophysics with hybrid structures that can be fabricated using existing technologies.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2015

A Sub-$\rm λ^{3}$-Volume Cantilever-based Fabry-Pérot Cavity

We report on the realization of an open plane-concave Fabry-Pérot resonator with a mode volume below $λ^3$ at optical frequencies. We discuss some of the less common features of this new microcavity regime and show that the ultrasmall mode volume allows us to detect cavity resonance shifts induced by single nanoparticles even at quality factors as low as $100$. Being based on low-reflectivity micromirrors fabricated on a silicon cantilever, our experimental arrangement provides broadband operation, tunability of the cavity resonance, lateral scanning and promise for optomechanical studies.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2015

Reduction of nonclassical fluctuations by entangled nonidentical emitters in nanophotonic environments

We propose a scheme in which broadband nanostructures allow to generate squeezed light and entanglement of quantum emitters that are extremely far detuned. It is shown that the reduced fluctuations of the electromagnetic field arising from collective resonance fluorescence provide also a means to detect the entanglement between the emitters. Due to the near-field enhancement in the proposed hybrid systems, these nonclassical effects can be encountered outside both the extremely close separations limiting the observation in free space and narrow frequency bands in high-Q cavities. Our approach permits to overcome the limitations of noninteracting single emitters and is more robust against phase decoherence induced by the environment.

quant-ph↗