In situ laser microprocessing of single self-assembled quantum dots and optical microcavities

The authors employ a focused laser beam both as a probe and as a local heat source to tune in situ, over a broad range and with resolution-limited accuracy, the quantized energy states of single optical microcavities and self-assembled quantum dots (QDs). The approach is demonstrated by bringing an optical mode of a microdisk into resonance with the emission of a single QD and by tuning spatially separated QDs in mutual resonance. This processing method may be used, e.g., to fabricate arrays of perfectly resonant QDs.