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arXiv:1304.5754 · Optics Express

A chip-scale, telecommunications-band frequency conversion interface for quantum emitters

Imad H. Agha, Serkan Ateş, Marcelo Davanço, Kartik Srinivasan

Published Sep 6, 2013• 41 citations
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Abstract

We describe a chip-scale, telecommunications-band frequency conversion interface designed for low-noise operation at wavelengths desirable for common single photon emitters. Four-wave-mixing Bragg scattering in silicon nitride waveguides is used to demonstrate frequency upconversion and downconversion between the 980 nm and 1550 nm wavelength regions, with signal-to-background levels > 10 and conversion efficiency of ≈ -60 dB at low continuous wave input pump powers (< 50 mW). Finite element simulations and the split-step Fourier method indicate that increased input powers of ≈ 10 W (produced by amplified nanosecond pulses, for example) will result in a conversion efficiency > 25 % in existing geometries. Finally, we present waveguide designs that can be used to connect shorter wavelength (637 nm to 852 nm) quantum emitters with 1550 nm.

DOI
10.1364/oe.21.021628

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Quantum frequency conversion serves a key role in the realization of hybrid quantum networks by interfacing between wavelength-incompatible platforms. Here we present what is believed to be the first quantum frequency converter connecting visible and telecom domains on a silicon nitride (SiN) chip, using Bragg-scattering four-wave mixing to upconvert heralded single photons from 1260 to 698 nm, which covers a 192 THz span. We examine the noise sources in SiN and devise approaches to suppress noise photons at the source and target frequencies to enable measurements at the single-photon level. We demonstrate an on-chip conversion efficiency of 5% in photon flux and describe design modifications that can be implemented to significantly improve it. Our results pave the way for the implementation of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible devices in quantum networks.
Quantum frequency conversion (QFC) between the visible and telecom is a key to connect quantum memories in fiber-based quantum networks. Current methods for linking such widely separated frequencies, such as sum/difference frequency generation and four-wave mixing Bragg scattering, are prone to broadband noise generated by the pump laser(s). To address this issue, we propose to use third-order sum/difference frequency generation (TSFG/TDFG) for an upconversion/downconversion QFC interface. In this process, two long wavelength pump photons combine their energy and momentum to mediate frequency conversion across the large spectral gap between the visible and telecom bands, which is particularly beneficial from the noise perspective. We show that waveguide-coupled silicon nitride microring resonators can be designed for efficient QFC between 606 and 1550 nm via a 1990 nm pump through TSFG/TDFG. We simulate the device dispersion and coupling, and from the simulated parameters, estimate that the frequency conversion can be efficient (>80%{\gt}80 \%>80%) at 50 mW pump power. Our results suggest that microresonator TSFG/TDFG is promising for compact, scalable, and low-power QFC across large spectral gaps.
In this Letter we demonstrate frequency conversion in the single-photon regime through Bragg-scattering four-wave mixing with near-unit efficiency in a 750 m long commercially available dispersion-engineered highly nonlinear fiber, where all photons and pump laser frequencies are in the low-loss telecommunications band. We achieve 99.1%±4.9% downconversion and 98.0%±5.0% upconversion of photons by 12 nm using a weak coherent state with an average input of 0.27 photons per detection gate window.
We report on single photon frequency downconversion from the red part of the spectrum (738 nm) to the telecommunications C-band. By mixing attenuated laser pulses with an average photon number per pulse < 1 with a strong continuous light field at 1403 nm in a periodically poled Zn:LiNbO3 ridge waveguide an internal conversion efficiency of ∼ 73% is achieved. We further investigate the noise properties of the process by measuring the output spectrum. Our results indicate that by narrow spectral filtering a quantum interface should be feasible which bridges the wavelength gap between quantum emitters like color centers in diamond emitting in the red part of the spectrum and low-loss fiber-optic telecommunications wavelengths.