Broadband source of polarization entangled photons

A broadband source of polarization entangled photons based on type-II spontaneous parametric down conversion from a chirped PPKTP crystal is presented. With numerical simulation and experimental evaluation, we report a source of broadband polarization entangled states with a bandwidth of approximately 125 nm for use in quantum interferometry. The technique has the potential to become a basis for the development of flexible broadband sources with designed spectral properties.     

Nonlocal hyperconcentration on entangled photons using photonic module system

Entanglement distribution will inevitably be affected by the channel and environment noise. Thus distillation of maximal entanglement nonlocally becomes a crucial goal in quantum information. Here we illustrate that maximal hyperentanglement on nonlocal photons could be distilled using the photonic module and cavity quantum electrodynamics, where the photons are simultaneously entangled in polarization and spatial-mode degrees of freedom. The construction of the photonic module in a photonic band-gap structure is presented, and the operation of the module is utilized to implement the photonic nondestructive parity checks on the two degrees of freedom. We first propose a hyperconcentration protocol using two identical partially hyperentangled initial states with unknown coefficients to distill a maximally hyperentangled state probabilistically, and further propose a protocol by the assistance of an ancillary single photon prepared according to the known coefficients of the initial state. In the two protocols, the total success probability can be improved greatly by introducing the iteration mechanism, and only one of the remote parties is required to perform the parity checks in each round of iteration. Estimates on the system requirements and recent experimental results indicate that our proposal is realizable with existing or near-further technologies.     

Nonlinear interactions with an ultrahigh flux of broadband entangled photons

We experimentally demonstrate sum-frequency generation with entangled photon pairs, generating as many as 40,000 photons per second, visible even to the naked eye. The nonclassical nature of the interaction is exhibited by a linear intensity dependence of the nonlinear process. The key element in our scheme is the generation of an ultrahigh flux of entangled photons while maintaining their nonclassical properties. This is made possible by generating the down-converted photons as broadband as possible, orders of magnitude wider than the pump. This approach can be applied to other nonlinear interactions, and may become useful for various quantum-measurement tasks.     

Realization of double resonance for a bright frequency-tunable source of narrowband entangled photons

In this paper,we report an interesting phenomenon when precisely adjust the tuning crystal for double-resonance of a type-II configured parametric amplifier cavity,which is later verified as a cavity-enhanced effect in optics alignment.The theoretical result indicates that an angle accuracy error within 0.09 is necessary to achieve a high contrast ratio of 100:1 for a cavity with a finesse of about 205,which is crucial but high-demanding to get a high-quality narrowband entanglement source.Meanwhile,we figure out a method to release such a high requirement and get high visibility in a moderate-accuracy alignment.     

Nonlinear three-wave interaction in photonic crystals

We present a multi-scale analysis of nonlinear three-wave-interaction processes in photonic crystals. Based on photonic Bloch functions as carrier waves, we derive the effective nonlinear coupled wave equations that govern pulse propagation in these systems and obtain the corresponding effective photonic crystal parameters directly from photonic band-structure computations. As an illustration, we show how hitherto inaccessible radiation-conversion processes such as wave-front reversal of optical pulses can be realized. Furthermore, we describe a novel regime of nonlinear three-wave interaction in photonic crystals associated with the nearly degenerate case and show how these results may be utilized to study experimentally certain problems from plasma physics and hydrodynamics in the context of nonlinear photonic crystals.     

Triggered single photons and entangled photons from a quantum dot microcavity

Current quantum cryptography systems are limited by the attenuated coherent pulses they use as light sources: a security loophole is opened up by the possibility of multiple-photon pulses. By replacing the source with a single-photon emitter, transmission rates of secure information can be improved. We have investigated the use of single self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots as such single-photon sources, and have seen a tenfold reduction in the multi-photon probability as compared to Poissonian pulses. An extension of our experiment should also allow for the generation of triggered, polarization-entangled photon pairs. The utility of these light sources is currently limited by the low efficiency with which photons are collected. However, by fabricating an optical microcavity containing a single quantum dot, the spontaneous emission rate into a single mode can be enhanced. Using this method, we have seen 78% coupling of single-dot radiation into a single cavity resonance. The enhanced spontaneous decay should also allow for higher photon pulse rates, up to about 3 GHz. Received 8 July 2001 and Received in final form 25 August 2001     

Nonlinear photonic crystals near the supercollimation point

We uncover a strong coupling between nonlinearity and diffraction in a photonic crystal at the supercollimation point. We show that this is modeled by a nonlinear diffraction term in a nonlinear-Schr?dinger-type equation in which the properties of solitons are investigated. Linear stability analysis shows solitons are stable in an existence domain that obeys the Vakhitov-Kolokolov criterium. In addition, we investigate the influence of the nonlinear diffraction on soliton collision scenarios.     

Temporal shaping of entangled photons

We experimentally demonstrate shaping of the two-photon wave function of entangled-photon pairs, utilizing coherent pulse-shaping techniques. By performing spectral-phase manipulations we tailor the second-order correlation function of the photons exactly like a coherent ultrashort pulse. To observe the shaping we perform sum-frequency generation with an ultrahigh flux of entangled photons. At the appropriate conditions, sum-frequency generation performs as a coincidence detector with an ultrashort response time (approximately 100 fs), enabling a direct observation of the two-photon wave function. This property also enables us to demonstrate background-free, high-visibility two-photon interference oscillations.     

Quantum cryptography with entangled photons

By realizing a quantum cryptography system based on polarization entangled photon pairs we establish highly secure keys, because a single photon source is approximated and the inherent randomness of quantum measurements is exploited. We implement a novel key distribution scheme using Wigner's inequality to test the security of the quantum channel, and, alternatively, realize a variant of the BB84 protocol. Our system has two completely independent users separated by 360 m, and generates raw keys at rates of 400-800 bits/s with bit error rates around 3%.     

Modeling of the propagation of single photons in finite one-dimensional photonic crystals

A model of the propagation of a quantized electromagnetic field in a one-dimensional photonic crystal that contains two-level atoms that interact with the field is proposed. The model separately considers the interaction of the quantized radiation with the quantum system and with the photonic crystal. The use of the model is exemplified by its application to the study of the decay of excited states of one- and two-level atoms placed in the photonic crystal. The possibility of the transformation of the front of a single photon by a finite dielectric is demonstrated.     

Flying qubits and entangled photons

Efficient generation of polarized single photons or entangled photon pairs is crucial for the implementation of quantum key distribution (QKD) systems. Self organized semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are capable of emitting on demand one polarized photon or an entangled photon pair upon current injection. Highly efficient single‐photon sources consist of a pin structure inserted into a microcavity where single electrons and holes are funneled into an InAs QD via a submicron AlOx aperture, leading to emission of single polarized photons with record purity of the spectrum and non‐classicality of the photons. A new QD site‐control technique is based on using the surface strain field of an AlO_x current aperture below the QD. GaN/AlN QD based devices are promising to operate at room temperature and reveal a fine‐structure splitting (FSS) depending inversely on the QD size. Large GaN/AlN QDs show disappearance of the FSS. Theory also suggests QDs grown on (111)‐oriented GaAs substrates as source of entangled photon pairs.     

Magneto-optical spectroscopy with entangled photons

We suggest a way in which entangled photons produced by a type II downconverter can be used for magneto-optical spectroscopy with district advantages. Both collinear and noncollinear geometries can be used. We present quantum mechanical results for the coincidence detection of different polarizations at the output.     

Three-coupled-quantum-well nanostructures as a source of far-infrared entangled light

A scheme is proposed to achieve the two-mode entanglement in an asymmetric semiconductor three-coupled-quantum-well (TCQW) system based on the intersubband transitions (ISBTs). In the present scheme, the TCQW structure is trapped into a doubly resonant cavity, and the required quantum coherence effects is induced by the corresponding ISBTs, which is the key of realising entanglement. By numerically simulating the dynamics of the system, we show that the entangled cavity modes with the far-infrared wavelengh can be realised in this TCQW system. The present research provides an efficient approach to achieve far-infrared entangled light in the semiconductor nanostructures, which may have significant impact on the progress of solid-state quantum information theory.     

Indistinguishable entangled photons generated by a light-emitting diode

A linear optical quantum computer relies on interference between photonic qubits for logic, and entanglement for near-deterministic operation. Here we measure the interference and entanglement properties of photons emitted by a quantum dot embedded within a light-emitting diode. We show that pairs of simultaneously generated photons are entangled, and indistinguishable from subsequently generated photons. We measure entanglement fidelity of 0.87 and two-photon-interference visibility of 0.60 ± 0.05. The visibility, limited by detector jitter, could be improved by optical cavity designs.     

Shaping the waveform of entangled photons

We demonstrate experimentally tunable control of the joint spectrum, i.e., waveform and degree of frequency correlations, of paired photons generated in spontaneous parametric down-conversion. This control is mediated by the spatial shape of the pump beam in type-I noncollinear configurations.     

Nonlinear photonic crystals: I. Quadratic nonlinearity

We develop a consistent mathematical theory of weakly nonlinear periodic dielectric media for the dimensions one, two and three. The theory is based on the Maxwell equations with classical quadratic and cubic constitutive relations. In particular, we give a complete classification of different nonlinear interactions between Floquet-Bloch modes based on indices which measure the strength of the interactions. The indices take on a small number of prescribed values which are collected in a table. The theory rests on the asymptotic analysis of oscillatory integrals describing the nonlinear interactions.     

Nonlinear photonic crystals: III. Cubic nonlinearity

Abstract

Weakly nonlinear interactions between wavepackets in a lossless periodic dielectric medium are studied based on the classical Maxwell equations with a cubic nonlinearity. We consider nonlinear processes such that: (i) the amplitude of the wave component due to the nonlinearity does not exceed the amplitude of its linear component; (ii) the spatial range of a probing wavepacket is much smaller than the dimension of the medium sample, and it is not too small compared with the dimension of the primitive cell. These nonlinear processes are naturally described in terms of the cubic interaction phase function based on the dispersion relations of the underlying linear periodic medium. It turns out that only a few quadruplets of modes have significant nonlinear interactions. They are singled out by a system of selection rules including the group velocity, frequency and phase matching conditions. It turns out that the intrinsic symmetries of the cubic interaction phase stemming from assumed inversion symmetry of the dispersion relations play a significant role in the cubic nonlinear interactions. We also study canonical forms of the cubic interaction phase leading to a complete quantitative classification of all possible significant cubic interactions. The classification is ultimately based on a universal system of indices reflecting the intensity of nonlinear interactions.     

Diatoms as living photonic crystals

We present an analysis of the optical structure of a representative diatom, Coscinodiscus granii. The silica cell wall can be regarded as a photonic crystal slab waveguide with moderate refractive-index contrast. In a cell, at least two different patterns are found: a hexagonal array of pores with a large lattice constant in the valve, and a square array of holes with a small lattice constant in the girdle. It is demonstrated that light can be coupled into the waveguide and that there are some photonic resonances in the visible spectral range, which have been determined by band-structure calculations. PACS 42.70.Qs; 87.17.-d