High-performance sources of multidimensionally engineered quantum light based on monolithic microcavity-metalens interfaces

Jiantao Ma; Dong Liu; Shunfa Liu; Jiawei Yang; Nilo Mata-Cervera; Bo Chen; Xueshi Li; Guixin Qiu; Kaixuan Chen; Hanqing Liu; Haiqiao Ni; Dunzhao Wei; Zhichuan Niu; Ying Yu; Yijie Shen; Liu Liu; Xuehua Wang; Jin Liu

doi:10.1186/s43593-026-00130-3

Your Location：

Home >

Browse articles >

High-performance sources of multidimensionally engineered quantum light based on monolithic microcavity-metalens interfaces

eLight Vol. 6, (2026)

Research Article | Updated：2026-07-21

- High-performance sources of multidimensionally engineered quantum light based on monolithic microcavity-metalens interfaces
- Affiliations：
- Author bio：
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1186/s43593-026-00130-3
  CLC：
- Received：01 February 2026，
  
  Revised：2026-03-05，
  
  Accepted：09 March 2026，
  
  Online First：23 April 2026，
  
  Published：2026-12
- Accepted：
Scan QR Code
Jiantao Ma, Dong Liu, Shunfa Liu, et al. High-performance sources of multidimensionally engineered quantum light based on monolithic microcavity-metalens interfaces[J]. eLight, 2026, 6.
DOI：

Jiantao Ma, Dong Liu, Shunfa Liu, et al. High-performance sources of multidimensionally engineered quantum light based on monolithic microcavity-metalens interfaces[J]. eLight, 2026, 6. DOI： 10.1186/s43593-026-00130-3.

摘要

Abstract

The ultimate non-classic light sources for modern photonic quantum technology require on-demand generation of indistinguishable quantum light with high brightness and flexible engineering of quantum emission in multiple degrees of freedom. In this work

we present monolithic microcavity-metalens interfaces consisting of quantum-dot-micropillar single-photon sources and ultra-thin metalenses accurately aligned on opposite sides of an III-V compound semiconductor chip. The pronounced cavity quantum electrodynamics effect enabled by the micropillar cavity facilitates single-photon emission from quantum dots with simultaneous high degrees of single-photon purity

source brightness and photon indistinguishability while the multi-functional metalenses concurrently tailor quantum emission in multiple physical degrees of freedom including radiation divergence

emission directionality

polarization state and orbital angular momentum (OAM). Furthermore

high-fidelity polarization-OAM entanglement and single photons with local spin topologies are successfully generated in our integrated device. In particular

we demonstrate stable propagations of single-photon skrymions in atmospheric turbulence and reveal their topological advantages over the conventional structured quantum light. Our work advances the research fields of integrated quantum photonics and meta-optics

providing integrated high-dimensional quantum light sources for advanced photonic quantum science and technology.

关键词

Keywords

references

J.L. O’Brien , A. Furusawa , J. Vučković , Photonic quantum technologies . Nat. Photon. 3 , 687 - 695 ( 2009 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2009.229 http://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2009.229

N. Gisin , R. Thew , Quantum communication . Nat. Photon. 1 , 165 - 171 ( 2007 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2007.22 http://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2007.22

J.L. O’Brien , Optical quantum computing . Science 318 , 1567 - 1570 ( 2007 ). http://doi.org/10.1126/science.1142892 http://doi.org/10.1126/science.1142892

H.-S. Zhong et al. , Quantum computational advantage using photons . Science 370 , 1460 - 1463 ( 2020 ). http://doi.org/10.1126/science.abe8770 http://doi.org/10.1126/science.abe8770

L.S. Madsen et al. , Quantum computational advantage with a programmable photonic processor . Nature 606 , 75 - 81 ( 2022 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04725-x http://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04725-x

V. Giovannetti , S. Lloyd , L. Maccone , Advances in quantum metrology . Nat. Photon. 5 , 222 - 229 ( 2011 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2011.35 http://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2011.35

J. McKeever et al. , Deterministic generation of single photons from one atom trapped in a cavity . Science 303 , 1992 - 1994 ( 2004 ). http://doi.org/10.1126/science.1095232 http://doi.org/10.1126/science.1095232

M. Keller , B. Lange , K. Hayasaka , W. Lange , H. Walther , Continuous generation of single photons with controlled waveform in an ion-trap cavity system . Nature 431 , 1075 - 1078 ( 2004 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/nature02961 http://doi.org/10.1038/nature02961

I. Aharonovich , D. Englund , M. Toth , Solid-state singlephoton emitters . Nat. Photon. 10 , 631 - 641 ( 2016 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2016.186 http://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2016.186

P. Michler , Quantum dots for quantum information technologies ( Springer , Berlin , 2017 ). http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56378-7 http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56378-7

P. Senellart , G. Solomon , A. White , High-performance semiconductor quantum-dot single-photon sources . Nat. Nanotechnol. 12 , 1026 - 1039 ( 2017 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2017.218 http://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2017.218

X. Zhou , L. Zhai , J. Liu , Epitaxial quantum dots: a semiconductor launchpad for photonic quantum technologies . Photon. Insights 1 , R07 - R07 ( 2023 ). http://doi.org/10.3788/PI.2022.R07 http://doi.org/10.3788/PI.2022.R07

S. Castelletto et al. , A silicon carbide room-temperature single-photon source . Nat. Mater. 13 , 151 - 156 ( 2014 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3806 http://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3806

Y. Zhou et al. , Room temperature solid-state quantum emitters in the telecom range . Sci. Adv. 4 , eaar3580 ( 2018 ). http://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aar3580 http://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aar3580

A.R.-P. Montblanch , M. Barbone , I. Aharonovich , M. Atatüre , A.C. Ferrari , Layered materials as a platform for quantum technologies . Nat. Nanotechnol. 18 , 555 - 571 ( 2023 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-023-01354-x http://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-023-01354-x

J. Wang , F. Sciarrino , A. Laing , M.G. Thompson , Integrated photonic quantum technologies . Nat. Photon. 14 , 273 - 284 ( 2020 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-019-0532-1 http://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-019-0532-1

A.W. Elshaari , W. Pernice , K. Srinivasan , O. Benson , V. Zwiller , Hybrid integrated quantum photonic circuits . Nat. Photon. 14 , 285 - 298 ( 2020 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-020-0609-x http://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-020-0609-x

N. Somaschi et al. , Near-optimal single-photon sources in the solid state . Nat. Photon. 10 , 340 - 345 ( 2016 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2016.23 http://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2016.23

Y.-M. He et al. , Deterministic implementation of a bright, ondemand single-photon source with near-unity indistinguishability via quantum dot imaging . Optica 4 , 802 - 808 ( 2017 ). http://doi.org/10.1364/OPTICA.4.000802 http://doi.org/10.1364/OPTICA.4.000802

H. Wang et al. , Towards optimal single-photon sources from polarized microcavities . Nat. Photon. 13 , 770 - 775 ( 2019 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-019-0494-3 http://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-019-0494-3

J. Liu et al. , A solid-state source of strongly entangled photon pairs with high brightness and indistinguishability . Nat. Nanotechnol. 14 , 586 - 593 ( 2019 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-019-0435-9 http://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-019-0435-9

H. Wang et al. , On-demand semiconductor source of entangled photons which simultaneously has high fidelity, efficiency, and indistinguishability . Phys. Rev. Lett. 122 , 113602 ( 2019 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.113602 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.113602

R. Uppu et al. , Scalable integrated single-photon source . Sci. Adv. 6 , eabc8268 ( 2020 ). http://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abc8268 http://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abc8268

N. Tomm et al. , A bright and fast source of coherent single photons . Nat. Nanotechnol. 16 , 399 - 403 ( 2021 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-020-00831-x http://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-020-00831-x

Y. Wei et al. , Tailoring solid-state single-photon sources with stimulated emissions . Nat. Nanotechnol. 17 , 470 - 476 ( 2022 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-022-01092-6 http://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-022-01092-6

O. Gazzano et al. , Bright solid-state sources of indistinguishable single photons . Nat. Commun. 4 , 1425 ( 2013 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms2434 http://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms2434

J. Yang et al. , Tunable quantum dots in monolithic fabry-perot microcavities for high-performance single-photon sources . Light Sci. Appl. 13 , 33 ( 2024 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-024-01384-7 http://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-024-01384-7

Y. Kan , S.I. Bozhevolnyi , Advances in metaphotonics empowered single photon emission . Adv. Opt. Mater. 11 , 2202759 ( 2023 ). http://doi.org/10.1002/adom.202202759 http://doi.org/10.1002/adom.202202759

J. Ma et al. , Engineering quantum light sources with flat optics . Adv. Mater. 36 , 2313589 ( 2024 ). http://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202313589 http://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202313589

H.-T. Chen , A.J. Taylor , N. Yu , A review of metasurfaces: physics and applications . Rep. Prog. Phys. 79 , 076401 ( 2016 ). http://doi.org/10.1088/0034-4885/79/7/076401 http://doi.org/10.1088/0034-4885/79/7/076401

W.T. Chen , A.Y. Zhu , F. Capasso , Flat optics with dispersionengineered metasurfaces . Nat. Rev. Mater. 5 , 604 - 620 ( 2020 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-020-0203-3 http://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-020-0203-3

L. Li et al. , Metalens-array–based high-dimensional and multi-photon quantum source . Science 368 , 1487 - 1490 ( 2020 ). http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba9779 http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba9779

T.-Y. Huang et al. , A monolithic immersion metalens for imaging solid-state quantum emitters . Nat. Commun. 10 , 2392 ( 2019 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-10238-5 http://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-10238-5

C. Wu et al. , Room-temperature on-chip orbital angular momentum single-photon sources . Sci. Adv. 8 , eabk3075 ( 2022 ). http://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abk3075 http://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abk3075

Y. Bao et al. , On-demand spin-state manipulation of single-photon emission from quantum dot integrated with metasurface . Sci. Adv. 6 , eaba8761 ( 2020 ). http://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aba8761 http://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aba8761

D. Komisar et al. , Multiple channelling single-photon emission with scattering holography designed metasurfaces . Nat. Commun. 14 , 6253 ( 2023 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42046-3 http://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42046-3

S. Jia et al. , Multichannel single-photon emissions with on-demand momentums by using anisotropic quantum metasurfaces . Adv. Mater. 35 , 2212244 ( 2023 ). http://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202212244 http://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202212244

T. Stav et al. , Quantum entanglement of the spin and orbital angular momentum of photons using metamaterials . Science 361 , 1101 - 1104 ( 2018 ). http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat9042 http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat9042

K. Wang et al. , Quantum metasurface for multiphoton interference and state reconstruction . Science 361 , 1104 - 1108 ( 2018 ). http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat8196 http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat8196

C. Li et al. , Arbitrarily structured quantum emission with a multifunctional metalens . eLight 3 , 19 ( 2023 ). http://doi.org/10.1186/s43593-023-00052-4 http://doi.org/10.1186/s43593-023-00052-4

A.S. Solntsev , G.S. Agarwal , Y.S. Kivshar , Metasurfaces for quantum photonics . Nat. Photonics 15 , 327 - 336 ( 2021 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-021-00793-z http://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-021-00793-z

F. Ding , S.I. Bozhevolnyi , Advances in quantum meta-optics . Mater. Today ( 2023 ). http://doi.org/10.1016/j.mattod.2023.07.021 http://doi.org/10.1016/j.mattod.2023.07.021

X.-L. Wang et al. , Quantum teleportation of multiple degrees of freedom of a single photon . Nature 518 , 516 - 519 ( 2015 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/nature14246 http://doi.org/10.1038/nature14246

J. Wang et al. , Multidimensional quantum entanglement with large-scale integrated optics . Science 360 , 285 - 291 ( 2018 ). http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aar7053 http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aar7053

B. Chen et al. , Bright solid-state sources for single photons with orbital angular momentum . Nat. Nanotechnol. 16 , 302 - 307 ( 2021 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-020-00827-7 http://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-020-00827-7

X. Ding et al. , On-demand single photons with high extraction efficiency and near-unity indistinguishability from a resonantly driven quantum dot in a micropillar . Phys. Rev. Lett. 116 , 020401 ( 2016 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.020401 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.020401

M.V. Berry , Quantal phase factors accompanying adiabatic changes . Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A Math. Phys. Sci. 392 , 45 - 57 ( 1984 ).

J. Liu et al. , Cryogenic photoluminescence imaging system for nanoscale positioning of single quantum emitters . Rev. Sci. Instrum. 88 , 023116 ( 2017 ). http://doi.org/10.1063/1.4976578 http://doi.org/10.1063/1.4976578

S. Liu et al. , Super-resolved snapshot hyperspectral imaging of solid-state quantum emitters for high-throughput integrated quantum technologies . Nat. Photonics 18 , 967 - 974 ( 2024 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-024-01449-4 http://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-024-01449-4

L. Rickert et al. , A fiber-pigtailed quantum dot device generating indistinguishable photons at ghz clock-rates . Nanophotonics 14 ( 11 ), 1795 - 1808 ( 2025 ). http://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2024-0519 http://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2024-0519

Margaria, N. et al. Efficient fiber-pigtailed source of indistinguishable single photons. arXiv preprint arXiv:2410.07760 http://arxiv.org/abs/2410.07760 (2024).

S. Liu et al. , Dual-resonance enhanced quantum light-matter interactions in deterministically coupled quantum-dot-micropillars . Light Sci. Appl. 10 , 158 ( 2021 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-021-00604-8 http://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-021-00604-8

S. Thomas et al. , Bright polarized single-photon source based on a linear dipole . Phys. Rev. Lett. 126 , 233601 ( 2021 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.233601 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.233601

N. Coste et al. , High-rate entanglement between a semiconductor spin and indistinguishable photons . Nat. Photonics 17 , 582 - 587 ( 2023 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-023-01186-0 http://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-023-01186-0

A. Suprano et al. , Orbital angular momentum based intra-and interparticle entangled states generated via a quantum dot source . Adv. Photon. 5 , 046008 - 046008 ( 2023 ). http://doi.org/10.1117/1.AP.5.4.046008 http://doi.org/10.1117/1.AP.5.4.046008

D.F. James , P.G. Kwiat , W.J. Munro , A.G. White , Measurement of qubits . Phys. Rev. A 64 , 052312 ( 2001 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.64.052312 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.64.052312

P. Ornelas , I. Nape , R. de Mello Koch , A. Forbes , Non-local skyrmions as topologically resilient quantum entangled states of light . Nat. Photonics 18 , 258 - 266 ( 2024 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-023-01360-4 http://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-023-01360-4

Y. Shen et al. , Optical skyrmions and other topological quasiparticles of light . Nat. Photonics 18 , 15 - 25 ( 2024 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-023-01325-7 http://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-023-01325-7

Y. Shen , H. Wang , S. Fan , Free-space topological optical textures: tutorial . Adv. Opt. Photonics 17 , 295 - 374 ( 2025 ). http://doi.org/10.1364/AOP.547634 http://doi.org/10.1364/AOP.547634

J. Ma et al. , Nanophotonic quantum skyrmions enabled by semiconductor cavity quantum electrodynamics . Nat. Phys. 21 , 1462 - 1468 ( 2025 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-025-02973-y http://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-025-02973-y

Y. Shen , E.C. Martínez , C. Rosales-Guzmán , Generation of optical skyrmions with tunable topological textures . ACS Photonics 9 , 296 - 303 ( 2022 ). http://doi.org/10.1021/acsphotonics.1c01703 http://doi.org/10.1021/acsphotonics.1c01703

W. Lin , Y. Ota , Y. Arakawa , S. Iwamoto , On-chip optical skyrmionic beam generators . Optica 11 , 1588 - 1594 ( 2024 ). http://doi.org/10.1364/OPTICA.540469 http://doi.org/10.1364/OPTICA.540469

T. He et al. , Optical skyrmions from metafibers with subwavelength features . Nat. Commun. 15 , 10141 ( 2024 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54207-z http://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54207-z

A. Klug , I. Nape , A. Forbes , The orbital angular momentum of a turbulent atmosphere and its impact on propagating structured light fields . New J. Phys. 23 , 093012 ( 2021 ). http://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ac1fca http://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ac1fca

J. Chen , A. Forbes , C.-W. Qiu , More than just a name? from magnetic to optical skyrmions and the topology of light . Light Sci. Appl. 14 , 28 ( 2025 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-024-01708-7 http://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-024-01708-7

C. He , Y. Shen , A. Forbes , Towards higher-dimensional structured light . Light Sci. Appl. 11 , 205 ( 2022 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-022-00897-3 http://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-022-00897-3

Y. Shen , Y. Hou , N. Papasimakis , N.I. Zheludev , Supertoroidal light pulses as electromagnetic skyrmions propagating in free space . Nat. Commun. 12 , 5891 ( 2021 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26037-w http://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26037-w

M.A. Cox et al. , Structured light in turbulence . IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron. 27 , 1 - 21 ( 2020 ). http://doi.org/10.1109/JSTQE.2020.3023790 http://doi.org/10.1109/JSTQE.2020.3023790

I. Toselli , O. Korotkova , X. Xiao , D.G. Voelz , Slmbased laboratory simulations of Kolmogorov and non-Kolmogorov anisotropic turbulence . Appl. Opt. 54 , 4740 - 4744 ( 2015 ). http://doi.org/10.1364/AO.54.004740 http://doi.org/10.1364/AO.54.004740

X. Liu et al. , Heralded entanglement distribution between two absorptive quantum memories . Nature 594 , 41 - 45 ( 2021 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03505-3 http://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03505-3

M. Erhard , M. Krenn , A. Zeilinger , Advances in high-dimensional quantum entanglement . Nat. Rev. Phys. 2 , 365 - 381 ( 2020 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-020-0193-5 http://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-020-0193-5

P. Lodahl et al. , Chiral quantum optics . Nature 541 , 473 - 480 ( 2017 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/nature21037 http://doi.org/10.1038/nature21037

D. Cogan , Z.-E. Su , O. Kenneth , D. Gershoni , Deterministic generation of indistinguishable photons in a cluster state . Nat. Photonics 17 , 324 - 329 ( 2023 ).

Y. Chen et al. , In situ three-dimensional strain engineering of solid-state quantum emitters in photonic structures towards scalable quantum networks . Nat. Commun. 16 , 5564 ( 2025 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60403-2 http://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60403-2

B. Göbel , I. Mertig , O.A. Tretiakov , Beyond skyrmions: review and perspectives of alternative magnetic quasiparticles . Phys. Rep. 895 , 1 - 28 ( 2021 ). http://doi.org/10.1016/j.physrep.2020.10.001 http://doi.org/10.1016/j.physrep.2020.10.001

N. Nagaosa , Y. Tokura , Topological properties and dynamics of magnetic skyrmions . Nat. Nanotechnol. 8 , 899 - 911 ( 2013 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2013.243 http://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2013.243

T. Von Karman , Progress in the statistical theory of turbulence . Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 34 , 530 - 539 ( 1948 ). http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.34.11.530 http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.34.11.530

A.N. Kolmogorov , The local structure of turbulence in incompressible viscous fluid for very large Reynolds. Numbers . Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR 30 , 301 ( 1941 ).

G.A. Tyler , R.W. Boyd , Influence of atmospheric turbulence on the propagation of quantum states of light carrying orbital angular momentum . Opt. Lett. 34 , 142 - 144 ( 2009 ). http://doi.org/10.1364/OL.34.000142 http://doi.org/10.1364/OL.34.000142

J.W. Goodman , Introduction to Fourier optics ( Roberts and Company publishers , Greenwood Village , 2005 ).

M. Kass , A. Witkin , D. Terzopoulos , Snakes: active contour models . Int. J. Comput. Vis. 1 , 321 - 331 ( 1988 ). http://doi.org/10.1007/BF00133570 http://doi.org/10.1007/BF00133570

Views

Downloads

CSCD

Alert me when the article has been cited

Submit

Publicity Resources

Quantum skyrmions and high dimensional entanglement mediated by nanophotonics

Nonlinear nonlocal metasurfaces

Robust chirality via merging accidental BICs with net zero topological charge

Scanning-exciton optical nanoscopy using a single quantum dot

Compact, reconfigurable, and scalable photonic neurons by modulation-and-weighting microring resonators

Related Author

No data

Related Institution

No data

⁰