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arXiv:0710.3745 · Physical Review A

Parametric down-conversion with optimized spectral properties in nonlinear photonic crystals

María Corona, Alfred B. U’Ren

Published Oct 18, 2007• 14 citations
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Abstract

We study the joint spectral properties of photon pairs generated by spontaneous parametric down-conversion in a one-dimensional nonlinear photonic crystal in a collinear, degenerate, type-II geometry. We show that the photonic crystal properties may be exploited to compensate for material dispersion and obtain photon pairs that are nearly factorable, in principle, for arbitrary materials and spectral regions, limited by the ability to fabricate the nonlinear crystal with the required periodic variation in the refractive indices for the ordinary and extraordinary waves.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.76.043829

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The efficient and controllable generation of entangled photon pairs is a cornerstone for advancing quantum technologies, including quantum computing, communication, and sensing. Traditional methods, primarily relying on spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) or spontaneous four-wave mixing (SFWM) in bulk nonlinear crystals or waveguides, often suffer from low efficiency, bulky form factors, and limited control over the spectral and spatial properties of the generated photons. This paper explores a transformative approach leveraging resonant Bound States in the Continuum (BICs) within nanophotonic structures to overcome these limitations. BICs are extraordinary optical resonances characterized by theoretically infinite quality (Q) factors, enabling extreme light localization and immense field enhancement within subwavelength volumes. By integrating nonlinear optical materials into BIC-supporting structures, such as photonic crystal slabs or metasurfaces, the local electric field strength experienced by the nonlinear medium can be dramatically increased, boosting the efficiency of entangled photon generation. Furthermore, the sharp, tailor-able spectral response of BICs offers unprecedented control over the joint spectral amplitude of the photon pairs, promising high degrees of spectral purity and entanglement fidelity. This work outlines the theoretical underpinnings, potential device architectures, and anticipated advantages of BIC-enhanced entangled photon sources, paving the way for compact, high-brightness, and spectrally engineered quantum light sources critical for next-generation quantum technologies.
We present a theoretical analysis of the process of spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC) in a nonlinear crystal characterized by a linearly-chirped χ(2) grating along the direction of propagation. Our analysis leads to an expression for the joint spectral amplitude, based on which we can derive various spectral–temporal properties of the photon pairs and of the heralded single photons obtained from the photon pairs, including: The single-photon spectrum (SPS), the chronocyclic Wigner function (CWF) and the Schmidt number. The simulations that we present are for the specific case of a collinear SPDC source based on a PPLN crystal with the signal and idler photons emitted close to the telecom window. We discuss the mechanism for spectral broadening due to the presence of a linearly chirped χ(2) grating, showing that not only the width but also to some extent the shape of the SPDC spectrum may be controlled. Also, we discuss how the fact that the different spectral components are emitted on different planes in the crystal leads to single-photon chirp.
We study spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC) in a one-dimensional photonic crystal designed to operate in a doubly resonant configuration, where the frequencies of the pump and the generated photons are both tuned to band-edge resonances. We investigate the spectral correlations of the generated photons as a function of the spectral width of the pump, and demonstrate that the SPDC generation rate can scale with the fifth power of the structure length in the limit of a quasi-continuous-wave pump. We show that such an unusual scaling can be simply connected with the scaling of second-harmonic generation in the same structure, illustrating the general link between spontaneous and stimulated parametric nonlinear processes.