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arXiv:1902.06464 · Journal of the Optical Society of America B

Upconversion single-photon detectors based on integrated periodically poled lithium niobate waveguides [Invited]

Fei Ma, Longyue Liang, Jiu-Peng Chen, Yang Gao, Ming-Yang Zheng, Xiu-Ping Xie, Hong Liu, Qiang Zhang, Jian-Wei Pan

Published Aug 7, 2018• 25 citations

Abstract

We demonstrate upconversion single-photon detectors based on integrated periodically poled lithium niobate waveguides that incorporate two mode filters and a directional coupler. The two mode filters are optimized for the fiber-waveguide coupling efficiencies for 1550 and 1950 nm, respectively, while the directional coupler plays the role of wavelength combiner, making the overall system portable and low cost. The two wavelengths pump each other in our detection system. We achieve detection efficiencies of 28% for 1550 nm and 27% for 1950 nm, respectively. This scheme provides an efficient integrated single-photon detection method for any two well-separated spectral bands in the whole low-loss range of lithium niobate waveguides.

DOI: 10.1364/josab.35.002096

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We demonstrate upconversion single-photon detectors based on integrated periodically poled lithium niobate waveguides that incorporate two mode filters and a directional coupler. The two mode filters are optimized for the fiber-waveguide coupling efficiencies for 1550 and 1950 nm, respectively, while the directional coupler plays the role of wavelength combiner, making the overall system portable and low cost. The two wavelengths pump each other in our detection system. We achieve detection efficiencies of 28% for 1550 nm and 27% for 1950 nm, respectively. This scheme provides an efficient integrated single-photon detection method for any two well-separated spectral bands in the whole low-loss range of lithium niobate waveguides.

We demonstrate upconversion-assisted single-photon detection for the 1.55-μm telecommunications band based on a periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) waveguide pumped by a monolithic PPLN optical parametric oscillator. We achieve an internal conversion efficiency of 86%, which results in an overall system detection efficiency of 37%, with excess noise as low as 10(3) counts s(-1). We measure the dark count rate versus the upconversion pump-signal frequency separation and find the results to be consistent with noise photon generation by spontaneous anti-Stokes Raman scattering. These results enable detailed design guidelines for the development of low-noise quantum frequency conversion systems, which will be an important component of fiber-optic quantum networks.

We demonstrate 1500 nm band single-photon detection with low dark-count noise and a potentially high efficiency, which may allow long distance and high-bit-rate quantum key distribution. By developing frequency upconversion devices based on periodically poled lithium niobate waveguides, which are specifically designed to use a pump wavelength longer than that of communication-band photons, we completely eliminate the dark-count noise caused by parasitic nonlinear processes in the waveguide. We observed an internal conversion efficiency as high as 40% and demonstrated scaling down to the single photon level while maintaining a background dark-count rate of 10(2)s(-1).

We introduce a simple approach for a tunable upconversion detector. This scheme is relevant for both single photon detection or anywhere where low light levels at telecom wavelengths need to be detected with a high degree of temporal resolution or where high count rates are desired. A system combining a periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide for the nonlinear wavelength conversion and a low jitter silicon avalanche photodiode is used in conjunction with a tunable pump source. We report more than a tenfold increase in the detectable bandwidth using this tuning scheme.

Based on the technique of periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide, up-conversion single-photon detection at 1.064-μm is demonstrated. We have achieved a system photon detection efficiency of 32.5% with a very low noise count rate of 45 counts per second by pumping with a 1.55-μm-band single frequency laser using the long-wavelength pumping technique and exploiting volume Bragg grating as a narrow band filter. Replacing the volume Bragg grating with a combination of adequate dielectric filters, a detection efficiency of up to 38% with a noise count rate of 700 counts per second is achieved, making the overall system stable and practical. The up-conversion single-photon detector operating at 1.064 μm can be a promising robust counter and find usage in many fields.

High-performance single-photon detectors (SPDs) at 1550-nm band are critical for fiber-based quantum communications. Among many types of SPDs, the up-conversion SPDs based on periodically poled lithium niobate waveguides are of great interest. Combined with a strong pump laser, the telecom single-photons are converted into short wavelength ones and detected by silicon-based SPDs. However, due to the difficulty of precise controlling waveguide profile, the direct coupling between a single-mode fiber and the waveguide is not efficient. Here by utilizing fiber taper with proper diameter, optimal mode-matching is achieved and coupling efficiency up to 93% is measured. With an optimized design, a system detection efficiency of 36% and noise counting rate of 90 cps are realized. The maximum detection efficiency is characterized as 40% with a noise counting rate of 200 cps. Numerical simulation results indicate that our device can significantly improve the performance of QKD and extend the communication distance longer than 200 km.