Quantum optical diode with semiconductor microcavities

Abstract: The semiconductor diode, which acts as an electrical rectifier and allows unidirectional electronic transports, is the key to information processing in integrated circuits. Analogously, an optical rectifier (or diode) working at specific target wavelengths has recently becomes a dreaming device in optical communication and signal processing. In this paper, we propose a scheme to realize an optical diode for photonic transport at the level of few photons. The system consists of two spatially overlapping single-mode semiconductor microcavities coupled via ${\chi ^{(2)}}$ nonlinearities. The photon blockade is predicted to take place in this system. These photon blockade effects can be achieved by tuning the frequency of the input laser field (driving field). Based on those blockades, we derive analytically the single- and two-photon current in terms of zero and finite-time delayed two-order correlation function. The results suggest that the system can serve as an single- and two-photon quantum optical diodes which allow transmission of photons in one direction much more efficiently than in the other.