Complete evolution equation for the joint amplitude in photon-pair generation through spontaneous four-wave mixing

Abstract

As four-wave-mixing-based photon-pair sources mature, accurate modelling of the photon-pair properties becomes important. Unlike spontaneous parametric down-conversion, four-wave mixing is accompanied by a number of parasitic effects such as nonlinear phase modulation. Currently, most modelling of photon-pair states are analytic in nature, which limits the number and type of effects that can be taken into account. In this work, we derive a complete, dual-pump evolution equation for the joint amplitude of photon pairs, wherein any desired effects can be included. We describe how to efficiently obtain numerical solution to this equation using a split-step approach. Lastly, we cover a few analytical solutions and compare two schemes for pure-photon generation under three different parasitic effects. We show how one scheme is highly sensitive to parasitic effects, while the other is very robust.