An artificial Rb atom in a semiconductor with lifetime-limited linewidth

We report results important for the creation of a best-of-both-worlds quantum hybrid system consisting of a solid-state source of single photons and an atomic ensemble as quantum memory. We generate single photons from a GaAs quantum dot (QD) frequency matched to the Rb D2 transitions and then use the Rb transitions to analyze spectrally the quantum dot photons. We demonstrate lifetime-limited QD linewidths (1.42 GHz) with both resonant and nonresonant excitation. The QD resonance fluorescence in the low power regime is dominated by Rayleigh scattering, a route to match quantum dot and Rb atom linewidths and to shape the temporal wave packet of the QD photons. Noise in the solid-state environment is relatively benign: there is a blinking of the resonance fluorescence at MHz rates but negligible dephasing of the QD excitonic transition. We therefore demonstrate significant progress towards the realization of an ideal solid-state source of single photons at a key wavelength for quantum technologies.