Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1610.03794 · Physical Review A

Temporal shaping of single photons enabled by entanglement

Valentin Averchenko, Сыч Денис Васильевич, Gerhard Schunk, Ulrich Vogl, Christoph Marquardt, Gerd Leuchs

Published Oct 10, 2017• 40 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We present a method to produce pure single photons with an arbitrary designed temporal shape in a heralded way. As an indispensable resource, the method uses pairs of time-energy entangled photons. One photon of a pair undergoes temporal amplitude-phase modulation according to the desired shape. Subsequent frequency-resolved detection of the modulated photon heralds its entangled counterpart in a pure quantum state. The temporal shape of the heralded photon is indirectly affected by the modulation in the heralding arm. We derive conditions for which the shape of the heralded photon is given by the modulation function. The method can be implemented with various sources of time-energy entangled photons. In particular, using entangled photons from parametric down-conversion the method provides a simple means to generate pure shaped photons with an unprecedented broad range of temporal durations, from tenths of femtoseconds to microseconds. This shaping of single photons will push forward the implementation of scalable multidimensional quantum information protocols, efficient photon-matter coupling, and quantum control at the level of single quanta.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.96.043822

Related papers

Efficient generation of temporally shaped photons using nonlocal spectral filtering

Valentin Averchenko, Сыч Денис Васильевич, Christoph Marquardt +1 more

We study the generation of single-photon pulses with the tailored temporal shape via nonlocal spectral filtering. A shaped photon is heralded from a time-energy entangled photon pair upon spectral filtering and time-resolved detection of its entangled counterpart. We show that the temporal shape of the heralded photon is defined by the time-inverted impulse response of the spectral filter and does not depend on the heralding instant. Thus one can avoid postselection of particular heralding instants and achieve a substantially higher heralding rate of shaped photons as compared to the generation of photons via nonlocal temporal modulation. Furthermore, the method can be used to generate shaped photons with a coherence time in the ns-$\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{s}$ range and is particularly suitable to produce photons with the exponentially rising temporal shape required for efficient interfacing to a single quantum emitter in free space.

arXiv:1910.03848•Physical Review A•Jan 10, 2020•23 citations

Temporal pure single photons generated from time-frequency entangled biphotons

Peng Qian, Zhejie Gu, J. F. Chen +1 more

Narrow-band time-frequency entangled biphotons are generated from spontaneous four-wave mixing in cold atom clouds. The coherence time of the entangled biphotons can be extended to sub-microseconds by the slow light effect. The temporal wavefunction of the biphotons can be manipulated through modulating the spectral or spatial mode of the controlling laser beams. Concerning a pair of entangled biphoton and the resulting heralded single photon, it was commonly believed that, time-frequency entanglement damages the temporal purity of the single photon. However, the case is totally different for biphotons with long coherence time which is far beyond the time resolution of single-photondetectors. We demonstrate that, the single photon heralded from these time-frequency entangled biphotons is in a pure temporal state. Therefore, single photons are able to be shaped through the time-frequency entanglement with their partner photons, while the single photons could be found to be still in a pure state and thus useful for quantum information processing and communication technology.

Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•Nov 3, 2016•0 citations

Generic method for lossless generation of arbitrarily shaped photons

Сыч Денис Васильевич, Valentin Averchenko, Gerd Leuchs

We put forward a generic method that enables lossless generation of pure single photons with arbitrary shape over any degree of freedom or several degrees of freedom simultaneously. The method exploits pairs of entangled photons. One of the photons is the subject for lossy shaping manipulations followed by a specially designed mode-equalizing measurement. A successful measurement outcome heralds the losslessly shaped second photon. The method has three crucial ingredients that define the quantum state of the shaped photon: the initial bipartite state of the photons, modulation of the first photon, and its mode-equalizing detection. We provide a specific recipe with a combination of these ingredients for achieving any desired pure state of the shaped photon.

arXiv:1605.00023•Physical Review A•Nov 21, 2017•23 citations

Quantum-state purity of heralded single photons produced from frequency-anticorrelated biphotons

Shengwang Du

We analyze the quantum-state purity of heralded single photons produced from frequency-anticorrelated biphotons. We find that the quantum-state purity in the time-frequency domain depends strongly on the response time uncertainty of the trigger-photon detector that heralds the generation of its paired photon. If the trigger response time is much shorter than the two-photon coherence time, the time-frequency quantum-state purity of heralded single photons approaches unity and the heralded single photon is in a nearly pure state. If the trigger response time is much longer than the two-photon coherence time, the heralded photon is then projected onto a mixed state. Making use of the time-frequency entanglement, heralded single photons with a well-defined temporal wave function or a frequency superposition state can be produced and engineered. This time-frequency entanglement allows for shaping heralded single photons through nonlocal spectral modulation.

arXiv:1507.03483•Physical Review A•Oct 28, 2015•29 citations

Heralded generation of high-purity ultrashort single photons in arbitrary temporal shapes

Vahid Ansari, Emanuele Roccia, Matteo Santandrea +9 more

We experimentally demonstrate a source of nearly pure single photons in arbitrary temporal shapes heralded from a parametric down-conversion (PDC) source at telecom wavelengths. The technology is enabled by the tailored dispersion of in-house fabricated waveguides with shaped pump pulses to directly generate the PDC photons in on-demand temporal shapes. We generate PDC photons in Hermite-Gauss and frequency-binned modes and confirm a minimum purity of 0.81, even for complex temporal shapes.

•Nov 27, 2017•0 citations

Heralded generation of high-purity ultrashort single photons in programmable temporal shapes

Vahid Ansari, E. Roccia, Matteo Santandrea +9 more

We experimentally demonstrate a source of nearly pure single photons in arbitrary temporal shapes heralded from a parametric down-conversion (PDC) source at telecom wavelengths. The technology is enabled by the tailored dispersion of in-house fabricated waveguides with shaped pump pulses to directly generate the PDC photons in on-demand temporal shapes. We generate PDC photons in Hermite-Gauss and frequency-binned modes and confirm a minimum purity of 0.81, even for complex temporal shapes.

arXiv:1711.09678•Optics Express•Jan 25, 2018•56 citations
We present a method to produce pure single photons with an arbitrary designed temporal shape in a heralded way. As an indispensable resource, the method uses pairs of time-energy entangled photons. One photon of a pair undergoes temporal amplitude-phase modulation according to the desired shape. Subsequent frequency-resolved detection of the modulated photon heralds its entangled counterpart in a pure quantum state. The temporal shape of the heralded photon is indirectly affected by the modulation in the heralding arm. We derive conditions for which the shape of the heralded photon is given by the modulation function. The method can be implemented with various sources of time-energy entangled photons. In particular, using entangled photons from parametric down-conversion the method provides a simple means to generate pure shaped photons with an unprecedented broad range of temporal durations, from tenths of femtoseconds to microseconds. This shaping of single photons will push forward the implementation of scalable multidimensional quantum information protocols, efficient photon-matter coupling, and quantum control at the level of single quanta.
We study the generation of single-photon pulses with the tailored temporal shape via nonlocal spectral filtering. A shaped photon is heralded from a time-energy entangled photon pair upon spectral filtering and time-resolved detection of its entangled counterpart. We show that the temporal shape of the heralded photon is defined by the time-inverted impulse response of the spectral filter and does not depend on the heralding instant. Thus one can avoid postselection of particular heralding instants and achieve a substantially higher heralding rate of shaped photons as compared to the generation of photons via nonlocal temporal modulation. Furthermore, the method can be used to generate shaped photons with a coherence time in the ns-$\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{s}$ range and is particularly suitable to produce photons with the exponentially rising temporal shape required for efficient interfacing to a single quantum emitter in free space.
Narrow-band time-frequency entangled biphotons are generated from spontaneous four-wave mixing in cold atom clouds. The coherence time of the entangled biphotons can be extended to sub-microseconds by the slow light effect. The temporal wavefunction of the biphotons can be manipulated through modulating the spectral or spatial mode of the controlling laser beams. Concerning a pair of entangled biphoton and the resulting heralded single photon, it was commonly believed that, time-frequency entanglement damages the temporal purity of the single photon. However, the case is totally different for biphotons with long coherence time which is far beyond the time resolution of single-photondetectors. We demonstrate that, the single photon heralded from these time-frequency entangled biphotons is in a pure temporal state. Therefore, single photons are able to be shaped through the time-frequency entanglement with their partner photons, while the single photons could be found to be still in a pure state and thus useful for quantum information processing and communication technology.
We put forward a generic method that enables lossless generation of pure single photons with arbitrary shape over any degree of freedom or several degrees of freedom simultaneously. The method exploits pairs of entangled photons. One of the photons is the subject for lossy shaping manipulations followed by a specially designed mode-equalizing measurement. A successful measurement outcome heralds the losslessly shaped second photon. The method has three crucial ingredients that define the quantum state of the shaped photon: the initial bipartite state of the photons, modulation of the first photon, and its mode-equalizing detection. We provide a specific recipe with a combination of these ingredients for achieving any desired pure state of the shaped photon.
We analyze the quantum-state purity of heralded single photons produced from frequency-anticorrelated biphotons. We find that the quantum-state purity in the time-frequency domain depends strongly on the response time uncertainty of the trigger-photon detector that heralds the generation of its paired photon. If the trigger response time is much shorter than the two-photon coherence time, the time-frequency quantum-state purity of heralded single photons approaches unity and the heralded single photon is in a nearly pure state. If the trigger response time is much longer than the two-photon coherence time, the heralded photon is then projected onto a mixed state. Making use of the time-frequency entanglement, heralded single photons with a well-defined temporal wave function or a frequency superposition state can be produced and engineered. This time-frequency entanglement allows for shaping heralded single photons through nonlocal spectral modulation.