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arXiv:1502.03553 · Optics Express

Integrated quantum photonic sensor based on Hong-Ou-Mandel interference

Sahar Basiri-Esfahani, Casey R. Myers, Ardalan Armin, Joshua Combes, Gerard J Milburn

Published Jun 9, 2015• 19 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Photonic-crystal-based integrated optical systems have been used for a broad range of sensing applications with great success. This has been motivated by several advantages such as high sensitivity, miniaturization, remote sensing, selectivity and stability. Many photonic crystal sensors have been proposed with various fabrication designs that result in improved optical properties. In parallel, integrated optical systems are being pursued as a platform for photonic quantum information processing using linear optics and Fock states. Here we propose a novel integrated Fock state optical sensor architecture that can be used for force, refractive index and possibly local temperature detection. In this scheme, two coupled cavities behave as an "effective beam splitter". The sensor works based on fourth order interference (the Hong-Ou-Mandel effect) and requires a sequence of single photon pulses and consequently has low pulse power. Changes in the parameter to be measured induce variations in the effective beam splitter reflectivity and result in changes to the visibility of interference. We demonstrate this generic scheme in coupled L3 photonic crystal cavities as an example and find that this system, which only relies on photon coincidence detection and does not need any spectral resolution, can estimate forces as small as 10(-7) Newtons and can measure one part per million change in refractive index using a very low input power of 10(-10)W. Thus linear optical quantum photonic architectures can achieve comparable sensor performance to semiclassical devices.

DOI
10.1364/oe.23.016008

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Photonic-crystal-based integrated optical systems have been used for a broad range of sensing applications with great success. This has been motivated by several advantages such as high sensitivity, miniaturization, remote sensing, selectivity and stability. Many photonic crystal sensors have been proposed with various fabrication designs that result in improved optical properties. In parallel, integrated optical systems are being pursued as a platform for photonic quantum information processing using linear optics and Fock states. Here we propose a novel integrated Fock state optical sensor architecture that can be used for force, refractive index and possibly local temperature detection. In this scheme, two coupled cavities behave as an "effective beam splitter". The sensor works based on fourth order interference (the Hong-Ou-Mandel effect) and requires a sequence of single photon pulses and consequently has low pulse power. Changes in the parameter to be measured induce variations in the effective beam splitter reflectivity and result in changes to the visibility of interference. We demonstrate this generic scheme in coupled L3 photonic crystal cavities as an example and find that this system, which only relies on photon coincidence detection and does not need any spectral resolution, can estimate forces as small as 10(-7) Newtons and can measure one part per million change in refractive index using a very low input power of 10(-10)W. Thus linear optical quantum photonic architectures can achieve comparable sensor performance to semiclassical devices.
Abstract We propose a quantum plasmonic sensor using Hong–Ou–Mandel (HOM) interferometry that measures the refractive index of an analyte, embedded in a plasmonic beam splitter composed of a dual-Kretschmann configuration, which serves as a frustrated total internal reflection beamsplitter (BS). The sensing performance of the HOM interferometry, combined with single-photon detectors, is evaluated through Fisher information for estimation of the refractive index of the analyte. This is subsequently compared with the classical benchmark that considers the injection of a coherent state of light into the plasmonic BS. By varying the wavelength of the single photons and the refractive index of the analyte, we identify a wide range where a 50% quantum enhancement is achieved and discuss the observed behaviors in comparison with the classical benchmark. We expect this study to provide a useful insight into the advancement of quantum-enhanced sensing technologies, with direct implications for a wide range of nanophotonic BS structures.
We theoretically demonstrate that a photonic crystal microcavity coupled to waveguides works as an optical beam splitter. Numerical simulations illustrate that spatially separated two output modes have a relative phase close to $\ensuremath{\pi}/2$ and tunable transmission coefficients. The general transformation of this beam splitter gives a single-qubit rotation operator about the xxx axis. Using such beam splitters, we show single-photon interference via the Mach-Zehnder interferometer and two-photon entanglement via Hong-Ou-Mandel effect. This system may have great applications in constructing interferometers and integrated circuits for optical quantum information processing with solid-state materials.
The Hong–Ou–Mandel (HOM) effect is a fascinating quantum phenomenon that defies classical explanation. Traditionally, remote nonlinear sources have been used to achieve coincident photons at the HOM beam splitter. Here, we suggest that the coincident emission source required for HOM interference can be created locally using superradiant near field coupled emitters positioned across the beam splitter gap. We show that sensitivity to permittivity changes in the beam splitter gap, and corresponding Fisher information can be substantially enhanced with HOM photon detection. Subsequently, we outline several strategies for integration of superradiant emitters with practical sensor systems. Taken together, these findings should pave a way for a wide array of near field HOM quantum sensors and novel quantum devices.
We fabricated various optical devices on a hybrid Si3N4–LiNbO3platform for integrated quantum photonic circuits and observed Hong–Ou–Mandel (HOM) quantum interference. Strip-loaded waveguides were prepared via Si3N4deposition on LiNbO3. Consequently, fundamental building blocks for quantum photonics, such as ring resonators, various beam splitters, and Mach–Zehnder interferometers, were fabricated and tested. Using 50:50 beam splitters, we observed HOM quantum interference and achieved a visibility of 96.6 ± 1.2% after the subtraction of accidental counts. More advanced quantum-integrated devices are expected to be realized using the proposed hybrid platform.
Quantum information science aims to revolutionize existing methods for manipulating data by utilizing the unique features of nonclassical physical phenomena. This control is realized over several platforms, one particular being photonics which employs state of the art fabrication techniques that achieve integrated nanocircuit components. The Hong-Ou-Mandel effect underlies the basic entangling mechanism of linear optical quantum computing, and is a critical feature in the design of nanophotonic circuits used for quantum information processing. We will present some results from an on-chip Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) experiment that replaces the conventional beam splitter with a more compact and highly versatile ring resonator allowing greater functionality with an expanded parameter space dubbed Hong-Ou-Mandel Manifold (HOMM). The overarching goal of this work is to demonstrate on-chip, scalable, dynamically configurable quantum-optical interconnects for integration into photonic quantum information processing devices.
Summary form only given. The main features of quantum mechanics reside into interference deriving from the superposition of different quantum objects. The Hong-Ou-Mandel effect is a purely quantum phenomenon deriving from the interference of two photons. It is a consequence of the bosonic nature of light and can be observed when two identical photons impinge simultaneously on a two-port balanced beam splitter and, as a result, both are forced to exit from the same port. While current quantum optical technology enables two-photon interference both in bulk and integrated systems, simultaneous interference of more than two particles, leading to richer quantum phenomena, is still a challenging task.The emergence of integrated quantum photonics have opened exciting perspectives for the realization of scalable, miniaturized and intrinsically stable optical setups. In particular, the ultrafast laser-writing technique has proved to be a powerful tool for demonstrating new quantum integrated-optics devices, able to perform quantum logic operations as well as two-photon quantum walks. Here we report the experimental observation of threephoton interference in an integrated three-port directional coupler realized by ultrafast laser-writing. By exploiting the capability of this technique to produce three-dimensional structures, we realized and tested in the quantum regime a three-photon beam splitter, namely a tritter, which allowed us to observe bosonic coalescence of three photons [1]. Such a system can be exploited as a building block to implement a generalized class of multi-arm interferometers. We introduce the concept of 3D multi-photon interferometry [2], and we discuss their application in the context of quantum interferometry and quantum phase estimation. We propose novel geometries for integrated multi-arm interferometers based on three-port (tritter) and four-port (quarter) devices, and we discuss possible measurement protocols, based on the injection of multi-photon Fock states in this kind of multi-port devices, demonstrating relevant metrological advantages in phase-estimation tasks. Furthermore, we provide a first insight on the application of this technology in the still unexplored field of multiparameter estimation.Several other contexts may benefit from the adoption of 3-dimensional integrated interferometers realized by femtosecond laser-writing. For instance, they can be adopted for the realization of “proof-of-principle” quantum simulators [3], and, combined in a modular structure, they can be used to realize full-scale quantum simulators for large size quantum systems. The adoption of multiphoton-multimode platforms may indeed disclose the “hardto-simulate” scenario by adopting linear optics to implement a computational power beyond the one of a classical computer.