Phonon scattering inhibits simultaneous near-unity efficiency and indistinguishability in semiconductor single-photon sources

Semiconductor quantum dots have recently emerged as a leading platform to efficiently generate highly indistinguishable photons, and this work addresses the timely question of how good these solid-state sources can ultimately be. We establish the crucial role of lattice relaxation in these systems in giving rise to trade-os between indistinguishability and efficiency. We analyse the two source architectures most commonly employed: a quantum dot embedded in a waveguide and a quantum dot coupled to an optical cavity. For waveguides, we demonstrate that the broadband Purcell effect results in a simple inverse relationship, where indistinguishability and efficiency cannot be simultaneously increased. For cavities, the frequency selectivity of the Purcell enhancement results in a more subtle trade-o, where indistinguishability and efficiency can be simultaneously increased, though by the same mechanism not arbitrarily, limiting a source with near-unity indistinguishability (> 99%) to an efficiency of approximately 96% for realistic parameters.