We demonstrate a new generation mechanism for polarisation- and colour-entangled photon pairs. In our approach we tailor the phase-matching of a periodically poled KTP crystal such that two downconversion processes take place simultaneously. Relying on this effect, our source emits entangled bipartite photon states, emerging intrinsically from a single, unidirectionally pumped crystal with uniform poling period. Its property of being maximally compact and luminous at the same time makes our source unique compared to existing photon-entanglement sources and is therefore of high practical significance in quantum information experiments.
We demonstrate a new generation mechanism for polarisation- and colour-entangled photon pairs. In our approach we tailor the phase-matching of a periodically poled KTP crystal such that two downconversion processes take place simultaneously. Relying on this effect, our source emits entangled bipartite photon states, emerging intrinsically from a single, unidirectionally pumped crystal with uniform poling period. Its property of being maximally compact and luminous at the same time makes our source unique compared to existing photon-entanglement sources and is therefore of high practical significance in quantum information experiments.
Summary form only given. Up to this point, photon-entanglement sources suffered from the compromise of being either compact or efficient, but not both at the same time [1-6]. Our new concept of creating entanglement [7] combines most of the advantages of the various existing schemes. The setup offers high coupling efficiencies due to its collinear design and is still as compact and simplistic as a BBO source [1], requiring only one crystal with uniform poling periodicity, pumped from only one direction.Periodic poling of a nonlinear crystal allows for a positive energy transfer from the pump (p) field to signal (s) and idler (i). The required poling periodicity to support a given process kp - ks - kt requires an alternation of the effective nonlinear coefficient deff in integer multiples of a certain grating length, the poling periodicity A = 2πμ/Δk, where m is an odd integer and Δk = kp - ks - kt is the momentum-difference vector. Note that Δk can be both positive and negative. Our source relies on the fact that one periodically poled crystal with grating period A, pumped with a given laser frequency, can provide phase-matching for two downconversion processes simultaneously: one with a positive momentum-difference vector Δk and one whose Δk is of same magnitude but opposite sign. Careful design of the experimental setup allows for generation of two orthogonally polarised pairs which are interchangeable in wavelength. This results in a polarisation- and frequency-entangled state.
Entangled photon sources are essential for quantum information applications, including quantum computation, quantum communication, and quantum metrology. Periodically poled (PP) crystals are commonly used to generate bright photon sources through quasi-phase matching. However, fabricating uniform micron-scale periodic structures poses significant technical difficulties, typically limiting the crystal thickness to less than a millimeter. Here, we adopt non-critical phase matching to produce a robust and bright polarization-entangled photon source based on a bulk KTP crystal located in a Sagnac interferometer. This method is tolerant to variations in pump incidence angles and temperature, and theoretically offers about a 2.5-fold brightness enhancement compared to quasi-phase matching at a specific wavelength. Additionally, the absence of periodic poling allows for a larger crystal cross-section. Using a bulk KTP crystal without a PP structure, we experimentally produce the four Bell states with a brightness of 25.1 kHz/mW at a wavelength of 1079 nm, achieving purity, concurrence, and fidelity values close to 0.99. We believe our scheme will serve as a key building block for scalable and practical photonic quantum information applications.
We propose a scheme for the generation of counterpropagating polarization-entangled photon pairs from a dual-periodically-poled crystal. Compared with the usual forward-wave-type source, this source, in the backward-wave way, has a much narrower bandwidth. With a 2-cm-long bulk crystal, the bandwidths of the example sources are estimated to be 3.6 GHz, and the spectral brightnesses are more than 100 pairs/(s GHz mW). Two concurrent quasi-phase-matched spontaneous parametric down-conversion processes in a single crystal enable our source to be compact and stable. This scheme does not rely on any state projection and applies to both degenerate and nondegenerate cases, facilitating applications of the entangled photons.
Entanglement enables many promising applications in quantum technology. Devising alternative generation methods and harnessing entanglement are prerequisites for practical applications. Here, we realize a distinct polarization-entangled source by simultaneously achieving type-0 and type-I backward quasiphase matching (BQPM) through spontaneous parametric down-conversion in a single bulk crystal, which is different from all previous entangled-source configurations. Pumping the crystal with a single polarized beam generates a nonmaximally polarization-entangled state, which can be further projected to a maximal Bell state with a pair of Brewster windows. Hong-Ou-Mandel interference experiments are done on polarization-degenerate photon pairs for both type-0 and type-I BQPM processes for the first time. The emitted photons in both processes have a bandwidth as narrow as 15.7 GHz. The high quality of this source is characterized by various methods. The rather simple configuration, narrow bandwidth, and high entanglement quality make the source very promising for many quantum information tasks.
We demonstrate a broadband entangled photon source based on a single-pass, type-0 phase-matched, non-collinear spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) process. By spatially multiplexing the intrinsically random transverse momentum states of biphotons emitted in an annular spatial distribution from a single-frequency-pumped, 2-mm-long periodically poled KTP crystal, we generate polarization-entangled pair photons with a spectral bandwidth of ∼130 nm centered at 810 nm. The negligible group-velocity mismatch of the co-polarized near-degenerate photons in single-pass and low birefringence of standard optical components preserves indistinguishability across the broadband emission without phase compensation, enabling high-quality polarization entanglement over the entire emission bandwidth. The source achieves a brightness of 0.57 Mpairs/s/mW and a two-photon coherence length of 6.97 μm, while exhibiting an interference visibility exceeding 95%, a Bell–CHSH parameter of 2.526 ± 0.005 that remains stable over 12 h of continuous operation and violates the Bell inequality by more than 100 standard deviations, and a state fidelity of 96.3%. The generic scheme providing the broadest bandwidth entangled biphotons at 810 nm, to our knowledge, can readily be used for other wavelengths as required for multiparty quantum networks and quantum sensing applications.
We demonstrate a broadband entangled photon source based on a single-pass, type-0 phase-matched, non-collinear spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) process. By spatially multiplexing the intrinsically random transverse momentum states of biphotons emitted in an annular spatial distribution from a single-frequency-pumped, 2-mm-long periodically poled KTP crystal, we generate polarization-entangled pair photons with a spectral bandwidth of ∼130 nm centered at 810 nm. The negligible group-velocity mismatch of the co-polarized near-degenerate photons in single-pass and low birefringence of standard optical components preserves indistinguishability across the broadband emission without phase compensation, enabling high-quality polarization entanglement over the entire emission bandwidth. The source achieves a brightness of 0.57 Mpairs/s/mW and a two-photon coherence length of 6.97 μm, while exhibiting an interference visibility exceeding 95%, a Bell–CHSH parameter of 2.526 ± 0.005 that remains stable over 12 h of continuous operation and violates the Bell inequality by more than 100 standard deviations, and a state fidelity of 96.3%. The generic scheme providing the broadest bandwidth entangled biphotons at 810 nm, to our knowledge, can readily be used for other wavelengths as required for multiparty quantum networks and quantum sensing applications.