Indistinguishable Photon Pairs Research Articles

Large reconfigurable quantum circuits with SPAD arrays and multimode fibers

Reprogrammable integrated optics provides a natural platform for tunable quantum photonic circuits, but faces challenges when high dimensions and high connectivity are involved. Here, we implement high-dimensional linear transformations on spatial modes of photons using wavefront shaping together with mode mixing in a multimode fiber, and measure photon correlations using a time-tagging single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) array. Our demonstration of a generalization of a Hong-Ou-Mandel interference to 22 output ports shows the scalability potential of wavefront shaping in complex media in conjunction with SPAD arrays for implementing high-dimensional reconfigurable quantum circuits. Specifically, we achieved (80.5±6.8)% similarity for indistinguishable photon pairs and (84.9±7.0)% similarity for distinguishable photon pairs using 22 detectors and random circuits.

Tunable quantum interference using a topological source of indistinguishable photon pairs

Sources of quantum light, in particular correlated photon pairs that are indistinguishable for all degrees of freedom, are the fundamental resource for photonic quantum computation and simulation. Although such sources have been recently realized using integrated photonics, they offer limited ability to tune the spectral and temporal correlations between generated photons because they rely on a single component, such as a ring resonator. Here, we demonstrate a tunable source of indistinguishable photon pairs using dual-pump spontaneous four-wave mixing in a topological system comprising a two-dimensional array of resonators. We exploit the linear dispersion of the topological edge states to tune the spectral bandwidth (by about 3.5×), and thereby, to tune quantum interference between generated photons by tuning the two pump frequencies. We demonstrate energy−time entanglement and, using numerical simulations, confirm the topological robustness of our source. Our results could lead to tunable, frequency-multiplexed quantum light sources for photonic quantum technologies.

Path to increasing the coincidence efficiency of integrated resonant photon sources

Silicon ring resonators are used as photon pair sources by taking advantage of silicon's large third order nonlinearity with a process known as spontaneous four wave mixing. These sources are capable of producing pairs of indistinguishable photons but typically suffer from an effective $50\%$ loss. By slightly decoupling the input waveguide from the ring, the drop port coincidence ratio can be significantly increased with the trade-off being that the pump is less efficiently coupled into the ring. Ring resonators with this design have been demonstrated having coincidence ratios of $\sim 96\%$ but requiring a factor of $\sim 10$ increase in the pump power. Through the modification of the coupling design that relies on additional spectral dependence, it is possible to achieve similar coincidence ratios without the increased pumping requirement. This can be achieved by coupling the input waveguide to the ring multiple times, thus creating a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. This coupler design can be used on both sides of the ring resonator so that resonances supported by one of the couplers are suppressed by the other. This is the ideal configuration for a photon-pair source as it can only support the pump photons at the input side while only allowing the generated photons to leave through the output side. Recently, this device has been realized with preliminary results exhibiting the desired spectral dependence and with a coincidence ratio as high as $\sim 97\%$ while allowing the pump to be nearly critically coupled to the ring. The demonstrated near unity coincidence ratio infers a near maximal heralding efficiency from the fabricated device. This device has the potential to greatly improve the scalability and performance of quantum computing and communication systems.

Bright source of indistinguishable photons based on cavity-enhanced parametric down-conversion utilizing the cluster effect

We present a bright, simple-to-setup, single-mode source of indistinguishable photon pairs at the cesium D1-line with a bandwidth of about 100 MHz. The source is based on degenerate, cavity enhanced spontaneous parametric down-conversion utilizing the cluster effect. The setup relies on a microcontroller-based digital locking system. A brightness of 1.1×103/(s mW) detected, indistinguishable photon pairs could be measured.

Broadband indistinguishability from bright parametric downconversion in a semiconductor waveguide

Parametric downconversion (PDC) in semiconductor Bragg-reflection waveguides (BRW) is routinely exploited for photon-pair generation in the telecommunication range. Contrary to many conventional PDC sources, BRWs offer possibilities to create spectrally broadband but nevertheless indistinguishable photon pairs in orthogonal polarizations that simultaneously incorporate high frequency entanglement. We explore the characteristics of co-propagating twin beams created in a type-II ridge BRW. Our PDC source is bright and efficient, serving as a benchmark of its performance and justifies its exploitation for further use in quantum photonics. We then examine the coalescence of the twin beams and investigate the effect of their inevitable multi-photon contributions on the observed photon bunching. Our results show that BRWs have a great potential for producing broadband indistinguishable photon pairs as well as multi-photon states.

Ultracompact quantum splitter of degenerate photon pairs

Integrated sources of indistinguishable photons have attracted a lot of attention because of their applications in quantum communication and optical quantum computing. Here, we demonstrate an ultracompact quantum splitter for degenerate photon pairs based on a monolithic silicon chip. It incorporates a Sagnac loop and a microring resonator with a total footprint of 0.011 mm2, generating and deterministically splitting indistinguishable photon pairs using two-photon interference. The ring resonator provides an enhanced photon generation rate, and the Sagnac loop ensures the photons travel through equal path lengths and interfere with the correct phase to enable the reversed Hong–Ou–Mandel (HOM) effect to take place. In the experiment, we observed a HOM dip visibility of 94.5±3.3%, indicating the generated photons are in a suitable state for further integration with other components for quantum applications, such as controlled-NOT gates.

Shot-by-shot imaging of Hong-Ou-Mandel interference with an intensified sCMOS camera.

We report the first observation of Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interference of highly indistinguishable photon pairs with spatial resolution. Direct imaging of two-photon coalescence with an intensified sCMOS camera system clearly reveals spatially separated photons appearing pairwise within one of the two modes. With the use of the camera system, we quantified the number of pairs and recovered the full HOM dip yielding 96.3% interference visibility, as well as counted the number of coalesced pairs. We retrieved the spatial modes of both interfering photons by performing a proof-of-principle demonstration of a new, low-noise, high-resolution coincidence imaging scheme.

Pulsed source of spectrally uncorrelated and indistinguishable photons at telecom wavelengths.

We report on the generation of indistinguishable photon pairs at telecom wavelengths based on a type-II parametric down conversion process in a periodically poled potassium titanyl phosphate (PPKTP) crystal. The phase matching, pump laser characteristics and coupling geometry are optimised to obtain spectrally uncorrelated photons with high coupling efficiencies. Four photons are generated by a counter-propagating pump in the same crystal and anlysed via two photon interference experiments between photons from each pair source as well as joint spectral and g((2)) measurements. We obtain a spectral purity of 0.91 and coupling efficiencies around 90% for all four photons without any filtering. These pure indistinguishable photon sources at telecom wavelengths are perfectly adapted for quantum network demonstrations and other multi-photon protocols.

Bright filter-free source of indistinguishable photon pairs

We demonstrate a high-brightness source of pairs of indistinguishable photons based on a type-II phase-matched doubly-resonant optical parametric oscillator operated far below threshold. The cavityenhanced down-conversion output of a PPKTP crystal is coupled into two single-mode fibers with a mode coupling efficiency of 58%. The high degree of indistinguishability between the photons of a pair is demonstrated by a Hong-Ou-Mandel interference visibility of higher than 90% without any filtering at an instantaneous coincidence rate of 450,000 pairs/s per mW of pump power per nm of down-conversion bandwidth. For the degenerate spectral mode with a linewidth of 7 MHz at 795 nm a rate of 70 pairs/(s mW MHz) is estimated, increasing the spectral brightness for indistinguishable photons by two orders of magnitude compared to similar previous sources.

Electrical control of the uncertainty in the time of single photon emission events

We report that with appropriate voltage biasing it is possible to reduce the uncertainty in the time at which photons are emitted from a single quantum dot by an arbitrary factor. Using a resonant cavity light-emitting diode, we reduce the photon emission time jitter to one-fifth of the radiative lifetime. This enables us to demonstrate single-photon emission at a repetition rate of $1.07\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{GHz}$ from both the exciton and biexciton states. This idea may lead to a new method by which pairs of indistinguishable photons can be generated for photonic quantum logic experiments.

Measurement of the helicity of photon pairs using the optical Berry phase

The optical Berry phase in a helically wound optical fibre connects the geometric torsion of the waveguide with the photon spin. We use this relationship to construct an interferometer which determines the spin of a single photon and of a photon pair from a parametric down conversion source. A probability amplitude model and a more elaborate operator algorithm both describe our experimental results. We show that pairs of indistinguishable photons have twice the spin of single photons and discuss our experiments which differ from recent de Broglie wave measurements of photon pairs.