Observation of frequency-uncorrelated photon pairs generated by counter-propagating spontaneous parametric down-conversion

Yi-Chen Liu; Dong-Jie Guo; Kun-Qian Ren; Ran Yang; Minghao Shang; Wei Zhou; Xinhui Li; Chang-Wei Sun; Ping Xu; Zhenda Xie; Yan-Xiao Gong; Shi-Ning Zhu

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-92141-y

Scientific Reports (Jun 2021)

Observation of frequency-uncorrelated photon pairs generated by counter-propagating spontaneous parametric down-conversion

Yi-Chen Liu,
Dong-Jie Guo,
Kun-Qian Ren,
Ran Yang,
Minghao Shang,
Wei Zhou,
Xinhui Li,
Chang-Wei Sun,
Ping Xu,
Zhenda Xie,
Yan-Xiao Gong,
Shi-Ning Zhu

Affiliations

Yi-Chen Liu: National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, School of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University
Dong-Jie Guo: National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, School of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University
Kun-Qian Ren: National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, School of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University
Ran Yang: National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, School of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University
Minghao Shang: National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, School of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University
Wei Zhou: National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, School of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University
Xinhui Li: National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, School of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University
Chang-Wei Sun: National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, School of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University
Ping Xu: National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, School of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University
Zhenda Xie: National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, School of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University
Yan-Xiao Gong: National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, School of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University
Shi-Ning Zhu: National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, School of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-92141-y
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 1 – 6

Abstract

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Abstract We report the generation of frequency-uncorrelated photon pairs from counter-propagating spontaneous parametric down-conversion in a periodically-poled KTP waveguide. The joint spectral intensity of photon pairs is characterized by measuring the corresponding stimulated process, namely, the difference frequency generation process. The experimental result shows a clear uncorrelated joint spectrum, where the backward-propagating photon has a narrow bandwidth of 7.46 GHz and the forward-propagating one has a bandwidth of 0.23 THz like the pump light. The heralded single-photon purity estimated through Schmidt decomposition is as high as 0.996, showing a perspective for ultra-purity and narrow-band single-photon generation. Such unique feature results from the backward-wave quasi-phase-matching condition and does not has a strict limitation on the material and working wavelength, thus fascinating its application in photonic quantum technologies.

Published in Scientific Reports

ISSN: 2045-2322 (Online)
Publisher: Nature Portfolio
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Medicine; Science
Website: https://www.nature.com/srep/

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