Demonstration of nanophotonic NOT gate using near-field optically coupled quantum dots

We propose and demonstrate the operation of a nanometric optical NOT gate using CuCl quantum dots coupled via an optical near-field interaction. The device was smaller than 20 nm and its repeated operation was verified. The operating energy of this device was much lower than that of a conventional photonic device. We also introduce all-optical NAND and NOR gates using coupled quantum dots. Toward an actual nanophotonic device, we discuss the possibility of coupled InAlAs quantum dots. A double layer of InAlAs quantum dots for nanophotonic device operation was prepared using molecular beam epitaxial growth. We obtained a near-field spectroscopy signal, indicating that the InAlAs quantum dots coupled with the optical near field acted as a NOT gate. The experimental results show that the sample has great potential as an actual nanophotonic device.