type-I Parametric Down-conversion Research Articles

Few-mode squeezing in type-I parametric downconversion by complete group velocity matching.

Frequency-degenerate pulsed type-I parametric downconversion is a widely used source of squeezed light for numerous quantum optical applications. However, this source is typically spectrally multimode, and the generated squeezing is distributed between many spectral modes with a limited degree of squeezing per mode. We show that in a nonlinear crystal, where the condition of complete group velocity matching (GVM) for the pump and the signal is satisfied, the number of generated modes may be as low as two or three modes. We illustrate the general theory with the example of the MgO-doped lithium niobate crystal pumped at 775 nm and generating squeezed light at 1.55 µm. Our model includes the derivation of the degree of squeezing from the properties of the pump and the crystal and shows that 12 dB of squeezing can be obtained in a periodically poled crystal ata length of 80 mm.

Time-to-space ghost imaging.

Temporal ghost imaging is based on the temporal correlations of two optical beams and aims at forming a temporal image of a temporal object with a resolution, fundamentally limited by the photodetector resolution time and reaching 55 ps in a recent experiment. For further improvement of the temporal resolution, it is suggested to form a spatial ghost image of a temporal object relying on strong temporal-spatial correlations of two optical beams. Such correlations are known to exist between two entangled beams generated in type-I parametric downconversion. It is shown that a sub-picosecond-scale temporal resolution is accessible with a realistic source of entangled photons.

Bloch-Messiah decomposition and Magnus expansion for parametric down-conversion with monochromatic pump: role of the gain

We consider the effect of different orders of Magnus expansion for the field transformation in type-I parametric down-conversion with a monochromatic pump. The exact solution, existing in this case, allows us to analyze the convergence of the Magnus expansion for the spectrum of squeezing and the angle of squeezing. We demonstrate how the convergence of the Magnus series depends on the parametric gain for various values of the phase mismatch. For each phase-mismatch angle we find the gain, which is the exact upper bound for the convergence of the Magnus series.

Bloch-Messiah decomposition and Magnus expansion for parametric down-conversion with monochromatic pump

We discuss the Bloch-Messiah decomposition for the broadband squeezed light generated by type-I parametric down-conversion with monochromatic pump. Using an exact solution for this process, we evaluate the squeezing parameters and the corresponding squeezing eigenmodes. Next, we consider the Magnus expansion of the quantum-mechanical evolution operator for this process and obtain its first three approximation orders. Using these approximated solutions, we evaluate the corresponding approximations for the Bloch-Messiah decomposition. Our results allow us to conclude that the first-order approximation of the Magnus expansion is sufficient for description of the broadband squeezed light for squeezing values below 12.5 dB. For higher degrees of squeezing we show fast convergence of the Magnus series providing a good approximation for the exact solution already in the third order. We propose a quantitative criterion for this ultra-high-gain regime of parametric down-conversion when the higher-orders terms of the Magnus expansion, known in the literature as the operator-ordering effects, become necessary.

Entanglement-enhanced two-photon absorption in spectral phase-modulated type-I parametric down-conversion

We demonstrate control of the two-photon absorption probability for a simple three-level atom using type-I nondegenerate down-converted photons that have been phase-modulated using a spectral phase filter of variable modulation frequency and modulation depth. We find enhancement of two-photon absorption for entangled photons, as compared with that for unentangled photons. We also find that, for certain pairs of modulation frequency and depth values, we can either further enhance or suppress the absorption process relative to that for zero phase modulation.

Bright integrated photon-pair source for practical passive decoy-state quantum key distribution

We report on a bright, nondegenerate type-I parametric down-conversion source, which is well suited for passive decoy-state quantum key distribution. We show the photon-number-resolved analysis over a broad range of pump powers and we prove heralded higher-order $n$-photon states up to $n=4$. The inferred photon click statistics exhibit excellent agreements to the theoretical predictions. From our measurement results we conclude that our source meets the requirements to avert photon-number-splitting attacks.

Three-photon states in nonlinear crystal superlattices

It has been a longstanding goal in quantum optics to realize controllable sources generating joint multiphoton states, particularly, photon triplet with arbitrary spectral characteristics. We demonstrate that such sources can be realized via cascaded parametric down-conversion (PDC) in superlattice structures of nonlinear and linear segments. We consider scheme that involves two parametric processes: $\omega_{0}\rightarrow\omega_{1}+\omega_{2}$, $\omega_{2}\rightarrow\omega_{1}+\omega_{1}$ under pulsed pump and investigate spontaneous creation of photon triplet as well as generation of high-intensity mode in intracavity three-photon splitting. We show preparation of Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger polarization entangled states in cascaded type-II and type-I PDC in framework of consideration dual-grid structure that involves two periodically-poled crystals. We demonstrate the method of compensation of the dispersive effects in non-linear segments by appropriately chosen linear dispersive segments of superlattice for preparation heralded joint states of two polarized photons. In the case of intracavity three-photon splitting, we concentrate on investigation of photon-number distributions, third-order photon-number correlation function as well as the Wigner functions. These quantities are observed both for short interaction time intervals and in over transient regime, when dissipative effects are essential.

Programmable purification of type-I polarization-entanglement

We suggest and demonstrate a scheme to compensate spatial and spectral decoherence effects in the generation of polarization entangled states by type-I parametric downconversion. In our device, a programmable spatial light modulator imposes a polarization dependent phase-shift on different spatial sections of the overall downconversion output and this effect is exploited to realize an effective purification technique for polarization entanglement.

Spatiotemporal structure of biphoton entanglement in type-II parametric down-conversion

We investigate the spatiotemporal structure of the biphoton correlation in type-II parametric down-conversion (PDC). As in type-I PDC [Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 223601 (2009)], we find that the correlation is nonfactorizable in space and time. Differently from type I, the type-II correlation in the spontaneous regime displays an asymmetric V-shaped structure in any cross section including time and one transverse dimension. This asymmetry along the temporal coordinate originates from the signal-idler group velocity mismatch and tends to disappear as the parametric gain is raised. We observe a progressive transition toward a symmetric X-shaped geometry similar to that found in type I when stimulated PDC becomes dominant. We also give quantitative evaluations of the localization in space and in time of the correlation, analyze its behavior for different crystal tuning angles, and underline qualitative differences with respect to type-I PDC.

Non-collinear and non-degenerate polarization-entangled photon generation via concurrent type-I parametric downconversion in PPLN

A periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) crystal has been used as an efficient source of non-collinearly generated polarization-entangled photon pairs at 810 and 1550 nm. The PPLN crystal was endowed with a specially designed poling pattern and the entangled photons were generated via the nonlinear optical process of spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC). A novel design based on overlapping two concurrent type-I quasi-phase-matching structures in a single PPLN crystals produced correlated pairs of alternatively polarized photons in largely separated spectral regions. The phase of the resulting two-photon state is directly linked to parameters of the nonlinear grating. Continuous tunability of the generated Bell state, from Phi(+) to Phi(-), has been demonstrated by translating a slightly wedged crystal perpendicular to the pump beam.

Observation of the four-photon de Broglie wavelength by state-projection measurement

A measurement process is constructed to project an arbitrary two-mode $N$-photon state to a maximally entangled $N$-photon state (the {\it NOON}-state). The result of this projection measurement shows a typical interference fringe with an $N$-photon de Broglie wavelength. For an experimental demonstration, this measurement process is applied to a four-photon superposition state from two perpendicularly oriented type-I parametric down-conversion processes. Generalization to arbitrary $N$-photon states projection measurement can be easily made and may have wide applications in quantum information. As an example, we formulate it for precision phase measurement.

Projection measurement of the maximally entangledN-photon state for a demonstration of theN-photon de Broglie wavelength

We construct a projection measurement process for the maximally entangled N-photon state (the NOON-state) with only linear optical elements and photodetectors. This measurement process will give null result for any N-photon state that is orthogonal to the NOON state. We examine the projection process in more detail for N=4 by applying it to a four-photon state from type-II parametric down-conversion. This demonstrates an orthogonal projection measurement with a null result. This null result corresponds to a dip in a generalized Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer for four photons. We find that the depth of the dip in this arrangement can be used to distinguish a genuine entangled four-photon state from two separate pairs of photons. We next apply the NOON state projection measurement to a four-photon superposition state from two perpendicularly oriented type-I parametric down-conversion processes. A successful NOON state projection is demonstrated with the appearance of the four-photon de Broglie wavelength in the interference fringe pattern.

Efficient fiber coupling of down-conversion photon pairs

We develop and apply an effective analytic theory of a non-collinear, broadband type-I parametric down-conversion to study a coupling efficiency of the generated photon pairs into single mode optical fibers. We derive conditions necessary for highly efficient coupling for single and double type-I crystal producing polarization entangled states of light. We compare the obtained approximate analytic expressions with the exact numerical solutions and discuss the results for a case of BBO crystals.

Optimal coupling of entangled photons into single-mode optical fibers

We present a consistent multimode theory that describes the coupling of single photons generated by collinear Type-I parametric downconversion into single-mode optical fibers. We have calculated an analytic expression for the fiber diameter which maximizes the pair photon count rate. For a given focal length and wavelength, a lower limit of the fiber diameter for satisfactory coupling is obtained.

광자쌍의 뭉침현상이 단일계수에 미치는 영향

Hong-Ou-Handel 간섭계를 이용한 광자쌍의 4차 간섭실험에서 두 광자의 뭉침이 단일계수에 미치는 영향을 조사하였다. 검출기의 단일광자 시간 분해능보다 짧은 시간간격으로 두 광자가 검출기에 입사할 때 하나의 검출기에서 측정되는 단일계수가 현저하게 줄어드는 변화를 확인하였다. We report an effect of photon pairs on single-photon detection rates, while Hong-Ou-Handel's two-photon interference experiment is performed with photons produced in noncollinear type-I parametric down-conversion. Photon pairing behavior or spatial bunching is measured and shown to cause a decrease in the single photon counting rate. Such a dip is found to result from the fact that the single-photon timing resolution of photodetectors is much longer compared to the time interval between the two photons incident on the single-photon detector.