Giant Optical Non-Linearity induced by a Single Quantum Dot in a Semiconducting Microcavity

Photonic information processing requires giant optical non-linearities to implement logic gates between photons and optical switches at the single photon level. A very promising non-linear medium is a "one dimensional atom", that is a directional high-finesse cavity containing a resonant two-level system in the Purcell regime. We aim at experimentally demonstrating this effect using a single quantum dot in a symmetric micropillar, the directionality of the micropillar ensuring the one-dimensionality of the problem.