Generation of photon pairs in dispersion shift fibers through spontaneous four wave mixing: Influence of self-phase modulation

Correlated signal and idler photon pairs with small detuning in the telecom band can be generated through spontaneous four-wave mixing in dispersion shift fibers. However, photons originated from other nonlinear processes in optical fibers, such as Raman scattering and self-phase modulation, may contaminate the photon pairs. It has been proved that photons produced by Raman scattering are the background noise of photon pairs. Here we show that photons induced by self-phase modulation of pump pulses are another origin of background noise. After studying the dependence of self-phase modulation induced photons in signal and idler bands, we demonstrate that the quantum correlation of photon pairs can be degraded by the self-phase modulation effect. The investigations are useful for characterizing and optimizing an all fiber source of photon pairs.     

Quantum Cryptography with Correlated Twin Laser Beams

The data transmission protocol using strongly correlated twin laser beams is proposed. The properties of the laser beam states are described in detail. The protocol is based on the strong correlation of photon numbers in both beams in each measurement. The protocol stability against eavesdropping attacks is analyzed.     

高强度激光与等离子体相互作用中的受激Raman级联散射、光子凝聚以及大振幅电磁孤立子的产生与加速

应用一维相对论电磁粒子模拟程序，详细研究了线性极化强激光入射到无碰撞稀疏密度长等离子体中引起的受激Raman散射、Raman级联散射、级联散射到光子凝聚、以及大振幅电磁孤立子的产生与加速. 通过研究发现：在适当的激光振幅和等离子体状态下，强的光子凝聚现象会导致大振幅电磁孤立子的产生，电磁孤立子可以以静止、向后以及向前加速的形式存在；在密度均匀的等离子体中，电磁孤立子的加速不仅依赖于激光振幅而且依赖于等离子体的长度；电磁孤立子的电磁频率大约为未扰动电子等离子体振荡频率的二分之一左右，孤立子内电磁场的电场具有半周期结构，相应电磁场的磁场以及静电场则具有一个完整的周期结构. 关键词： 粒子模拟 受激Raman散射 Raman级联散射 光子凝聚 电磁孤立子     

Raman processes in free-free transitions in the presence of intense laser beam

The differential cross section for the electron scattering accompanied by simultaneous absorption or emisson of one Raman photon and the inverse bremsstrahlung process in an intense laser beam is calculated.     

High efficiency and high brightness Raman conversion of dye laser radiation

A technique for efficient Raman conversion of an excimer pumped dye laser is described, based on the use of a Raman oscillator/amplifier combination. A photon conversion efficiency of 90% to first Stokes is demonstrated, with diffraction-limited beam quality.     

基于相关光子多模式相关性的InSb模拟探测器定标方法

利用基于参量下转换产生的相关光子可以实现“无溯源”的绝对定标. 将该方法推广应用于模拟探测器定标的过程中, 获取两路模拟光电流信号的有效相关信息是主要难点. 在相关光子的多模式相关性理论模型的基础上, 提出了一种新的光电流处理方案. 通过将某一时刻采集到的光电流所包含的电荷量转换为等效光子计数, 采用双光路平衡探测和双通道数据波动校正的技术思路, 开展了红外模拟探测器量子效率定标验证实验研究. 利用532 nm单波长激光器为抽运源、PPLN晶体为非线性晶体, 在25 ℃工作温度下获取了631和3390 nm的相关光子对, 定标了InSb红外模拟探测器在3390 nm处的绝对功率响应度. 结果表明, 对InSb模拟探测器的合成不确定度为7.785%. 根据量子效率与绝对功率响应度之间的函数关系, 定标结果与国内计量单位的校准结果的相对偏差为3.6%. 利用多模式相关性在模拟信号下实现红外模拟探测器的绝对功率响应度定标在国际上暂无此方面的报道, 该方法验证了应用多模式相关性理论开展模拟探测器定标方法的可行性, 对于探索基于相关光子的定标技术和拓宽辐射定标应用领域具有重要意义.     

拉曼喷泉原子钟

利用托曼光场代替喷泉原子钟的微波腔实现拉曼喷泉原子钟.将分离托曼光场技术与冷原子喷泉技术相结合.避免了存真空腔内放置微波腔,简化了真空系统.同时还保持了很高的准确度.采用半经典理论研究了冷原子喷泉与托曼光场的相互作用过程.得到了冉赛(Ramsey)条纹.比较了托曼喷泉原子钟与热铯束拉曼原子钟,前者有更小的体积和功耗,其精度可能达到或超过商用小铯钟.还比较了拉曼喷泉原子钟与微波喷泉原子钟的差别,分析了光子反冲的影响,提出利用同向传播和相向传播的两台拉曼原子钟测最精细结构常数.     

Highly efficient Raman conversion in O2 pumped by a seeded narrow band second-harmonic Nd:YAG laser

The first-Stokes conversion efficiency for a stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) is usually very low in gaseous oxygen media. In 3.0 Mpa O₂, a single longitudinal mode second harmonic Nd:YAG laser pump source gives a typical vibrational first-Stokes conversion efficiency of only 2.5%, In comparison, the accompanying stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) attains a reflectivity of 67%. However, by seeding an OPO beam into the Raman cavity, the first-Stokes photon conversion efficiency now attains a peak value of 54%, while the SBS reflectivity reduces to 5% in a 6.1 Mpa 41:59 O₂/ He mixture. This 54% efficiency was obtained for a seeder laser pulse-width less than one half that of pump laser (6.8 ns). A first-Stokes peak power conversion efficiency as high as 88% has been obtained when the pump and seeder pulse peaks coincide. So, we may expect a higher first-Stokes photon conversion efficiency if the seeder pulse-width can be made equal to or larger than that of the pump pulse. On the other hand, the beam quality of the first-Stokes in an O₂/ He mixture excels that of the pump laser for a seeder energy of 5 mJ and pump energy of 50 mJ. However, at pump energies higher than 105 mJ and a pump laser repetition rate of 10 Hz, the thermal defocusing effect worsens the first-Stokes beam quality. This thermal defocusing effect is a result of the Raman heat release and could be eliminated by fast circulating and cooling the Raman gas medium.     

Photon-induced sputtering

Photon induced sputtering occurs in many materials. It is different from ion beam sputtering because the photon beam lacks momentum and this must always be derived from a secondary process. In general the result is an emission of atoms with approximately thermal energy. However processes do exist which can produce more energetic sputtering and also the directional effects associated with replacement collision sequences within the lattice. The general principles for photon induced sputtering are reviewed.     

Nonlocal pulse shaping with entangled photon pairs

Nonlocal shaping effects in the time or spectral profiles of an entangled photon pair emerging from a pulsed parametric down-converter are observed by spectrally or temporally filtering one of the twin beams. In particular, we demonstrate the appearance of fourth-order ("ghost") interference fringes in the spectrum of one beam conditioned by photodetection at the output of an unbalanced Michelson interferometer placed in the path of the other beam. The coherence time of the pump is the limiting factor for the sharpness of the details in the shaped biphoton spectrum.     

Quantum-correlated photon pair generation in tellurite microstructured optical fibers

We theoretically investigated the generation of quantum-correlated photon pair through spontaneous four-wave mixing in tellurite microstructured optical fiber (MOF). We evaluated the performance of photon pair generation in tellurite fibers based on Raman gain coefficient spectra. It was shown that the TBSN16P6W tellurite fiber provided a low Raman noise on correlation photon generation over a wide pump-idler detuning range. We can choose proper tellurite composition to obtain a low Raman gain window over wide range for correlated photon pair generation. We also designed the tellurite MOF structure to obtain a small dispersion value with high nonlinear coefficient at telecommunication wavelengths, thus realize efficient quantum-correlated photon pair generation.     

SEM Investigation of the electrical properties of silicon ribbons

The structure and electrical properties of silicon ribbons grown on a substrate by the Ribbon Growth on Substrate (RGS) method method for solar cell applications have been investigated in secondary electron and electron beam induced current modes of scanning electron microscopy. The growth method and growth conditions have provided the formation of the coarse-grained structure of silicon, in which the majority of grains are separated by twin boundaries and the dislocation density does not exceed 10⁶ cm⁻². According to the electron beam induced current investigations, the recombination contrast from twin boundaries is extremely low at 300 K, only a small amount of twin boundaries show an increase in the contrast upon cooling, and the contrast from dislocations is almost absent in the temperature range from 100 to 300 K.     

Photon-number dependent cavity vacuum induced transparency and single photon separation

We investigate photon-number dependent cavity vacuum induced transparency and magneto-optical rotation (MOR) in a cavity quantum electrodynamics system, which consists of two cavities and an ensemble of Λ-type atoms. We demonstrate that the probe photon coupled into one cavity can be transferred to the mode of another cavity via coherent Raman scattering. The transmission, the phase shift, as well as the vacuum Rabi splitting therefore strongly depend upon the probe photon number coupled into the cavity. The photon number dependent cavity vacuum induced transparency can be extended into four-level tripod atoms, leading to photon-number dependent MOR. This can be used to separate the single photon from higher photon number components in the direction of polarization and create a deterministic single photon source.     

Raman spectrum of Si nanowires: temperature and phonon confinement effects

The Raman spectrum of Si nanowires (NWs) is a matter of controversy. Usually, the one-phonon band appears broadened and shifted. This behaviour is interpreted in terms of phonon confinement; however, similar effects are observed for NWs with dimensions for which phonon confinement does not play any relevant role. In this context, the temperature increase induced by the laser beam is recognized to play a capital role in the shape of the spectrum. The analysis of the Raman spectrum, under the influence of the heating induced by the laser beam, is strongly dependent on the excitation conditions and the properties of the NWs. We present herein an analysis of the Raman spectrum of Si NWs based on a study of the interaction between the laser beam and the NWs, for both ensembles of NWs and individual NWs, taking account of the temperature increase in the NWs under the focused laser beam and the dimensions of the NWs.     

GaAs(100)衬底上ZnSe薄膜的热壁束外延生长

介绍热壁束外延法生长ZnSe/GaAs异质结工作。低能电子衍射和俄歇电子能谱对样品的原位检测表明,用此方法可以在GaAs(100)衬底上外延得到单晶的ZnSe(100)薄膜。当外延生长速率大时,Znse薄膜质量下降,样品的Raman谱中出现TO模。X射线衍射实验结果表明,这种外延膜质量的退化主要是由于在ZnSe(100)薄膜体内存在〈111〉方向的晶核。 关键词：     

Investigation of the photon-number statistics of twin beams by direct detection

We present the results of an experiment in which we observed photon-number statistics of twin beams emerging from a nondegenerate optical parametric oscillator. We generated the photocurrent for recording by detecting the light and mixing it with a standard electrical oscillator. The measured photocurrent variances exhibited a quantum correlation of as much as -4.9 dB between signal and idler, whereas their photon number distributions were super-Poissonian. We also obtained the difference photon-number distribution.     

Generation of quantum‐entangled twin photons by waveguide nonlinear‐optic devices

This paper reviews the quasi‐phase‐matched (QPM) waveguide nonlinear‐optic device technologies for generation of quantum‐entangled twin photons indispensable for quantum‐information techniques. After a brief introduction to the concept of entanglement, quantum theory analysis of twin‐photon generation (TPG) is outlined to clarify the properties of twin photons. Then, methods for entangled‐photon generation are discussed. Practical design and theoretical performances of LiNbO₃ waveguide QPM TPG devices, as well as the fabrication techniques, are described. Finally, experimental demonstrations of polarization‐entangled twin‐photon generation by waveguide Type‐I and Type‐II QPM TPG devices are presented.     

Non-classical correlation between a single photon and the collective spin excited state of a cold atomic ensemble

We experimentally establish a non-classical correlation between a single Stokes photon and the collective spin excited state of a cold atomic ensemble by using a spontaneous Raman scattering process. The correlation between them can be proved by transferring the spin excited state of the atomic ensemble into an anti-Stokes photon and checking the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality between the Stokes and the anti-Stokes photons. The non-classical correlation can be kept for at least 300 ns.     

EPR light beams and non-Gaussian quantum distributions in the time domain

We investigate time-dependent properties of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) light beams generated in nondegenerate optical parametric oscillator (NOPO) driven by a sequence of laser pulses with Gaussian time-dependent envelops. The peculiarities of EPR beams are discussed on the base of quadrature squeezing and also in the framework of phase-space Wigner functions for EPR beams which are combined on a half beam splitter. We also investigate the Wigner functions of intensity-correlated twin beams following the conditional photon state-preparation scheme. It is demonstrated that the Wigner functions involve negative values in parts of the phase space for the schemes with one-, two-, and three-photons.     

Semiconductor waveguide source of counterpropagating twin photons

We experimentally demonstrate an integrated semiconductor source of counterpropagating twin photons in the telecom range. A pump beam impinging on top of an AlGaAs waveguide generates parametrically two counterpropagating, orthogonally polarized signal/idler guided modes. A 2 mm long waveguide emits at room temperature one average photon pair per pump pulse, with a spectral linewidth of 0.15 nm. The twin character of the emitted photons is ascertained through a time-correlation measurement. This work opens a route towards new guided-wave semiconductor quantum devices.