Nanometer optomechanical transistor based on nanometer cavity optomechanics with a single quantum dot

A mechanical oscillator coupled to the optical fields of a cavity has emerged as an important new frontier in modern quantum optics and quantum information processing. In the present article, we report on the smallest optomechanical system with a single quantum dot (QD), where the role of the optical cavity is played by an excitonic resonance of the QD, while the role of the mechanical element is played by the lattice vibrations. The coupling between an exciton and phonons via deformation potential serves as the coupling of a mechanical oscillator to the cavity field via radiation pressure. This single quantum dot system provides a realization of the smallest optomechanical system which can act as a quantum optomechanical transistor and is achievable immediately in current experiments. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3665650]