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arXiv:2305.16045 · Physical Review Applied

Plug-and-Play Measurement of Chromatic Dispersion by Means of Two-Photon Interferometry

Romain Dalidet, Anthony Martin, Mattis Riesner, Sidi-Ely Ahmedou, Romain Dauliat, Baptiste M. Leconte, Guillaume Walter, Grégory Sauder, Jean-Christophe Delagnes, Guy Millot, Philippe Roy, Raphaël Jamier, Sébastien Tanzilli, Laurent Labonté

Published Aug 10, 2023• 4 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Since the first proof-of-principle experiments 25 years ago, quantum metrology has matured from fundamental concepts to versatile and powerful tools in a large variety of research branches, such as gravitational-wave detection, atomic clocks, plasmonic sensing, and magnetometry. At the same time, two-photon interferometry, which underpins the possibility of entanglement to probe optical materials with unprecedented levels of precision and accuracy, holds the promise to stand at the heart of innovative functional quantum sensing systems. We report a quantum based method for measuring the frequency dependence of the velocity in a transparent medium, i.e., chromatic dispersion (CD). This technique, using energy-time-entangled photons, allows straightforward access to CD value from the visibility of two-photon fringes recorded in a free-evolution regime. In addition, our quantum approach features all the advantages of classical measurement techniques, i.e., flexibility and accuracy, all in a plug-and-play system.

DOI
10.1103/physrevapplied.20.024026

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Since the first proof-of-principle experiments 25 years ago, quantum metrology has matured from fundamental concepts to versatile and powerful tools in a large variety of research branches, such as gravitational-wave detection, atomic clocks, plasmonic sensing, and magnetometry. At the same time, two-photon interferometry, which underpins the possibility of entanglement to probe optical materials with unprecedented levels of precision and accuracy, holds the promise to stand at the heart of innovative functional quantum sensing systems. We report a quantum based method for measuring the frequency dependence of the velocity in a transparent medium, i.e., chromatic dispersion (CD). This technique, using energy-time-entangled photons, allows straightforward access to CD value from the visibility of two-photon fringes recorded in a free-evolution regime. In addition, our quantum approach features all the advantages of classical measurement techniques, i.e., flexibility and accuracy, all in a plug-and-play system.
Quantum optical metrology enables phase sensitive measurements with a resolution beyond the classical Heisenberg limit. Here, we demonstrate a novel quantum metrology scheme for entanglement-enhanced chromatic dispersion (CD) measurements in short fibres and samples. Besides the expected doubled phase sensitivity, exploiting energy-time and path entanglement allows eliminating the major inconveniences of classical measurements based on white light interferometry (WLI). Our experimental procedure is significantly faster compared to the classical counterpart, and entanglement permits to further exploit a more simplified fitting function. Using these advantages, we measure CD in a 1 m long standard telecom fibre (Corning SMF28e) with an accuracy on top of the state-of-the-art, i.e. with an 1.7 times improved accuracy compared to the classical strategy.
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In this presentation, we will introduce the quantum equivalent of white-light interferometry. However, instead of a classical light source with thermal or poissonian statistics, we use energy-time entangled photon pairs. This provides one with several important advantages, which are highly relevant for high-accuracy measurements of chromatic dispersion: 1.) The interferometer does not have to be balanced, which improves the set-up time, especially when comparing different fibres. 2.) Two data fitting parameters are cancelling out, which reduces systematic errors significantly. 3.) The wavelength at which dispersion is measured is not extracted from the data, but is rather inferred with arbitrary precision using a wavemeter or an atomic reference. 4.) Twice as many interference fringes are observed for the same spectral bandwidth, allowing to measure dispersion in standard telecom fibres down to about 3 cm with a 140 nm bandwidth source. After introducing the concept and highlighting the quantum advantages, we will demonstrate the performance of the quantum approach by comparing it to the best state-of-the-art approaches. Statistical analysis is performed by 2 times 100 measurements using either technique. In terms of precision, the quantum (classical) approach achieves a 1-sigmal precision of 21 fs/nm/km (51 fs/nm/km). In addition, the classical approach presents a systematic error of 12 fs/nm/km, which is unlikely to occur using the quantum approach, as the related fitting parameters cancel out automatically. In summary, we believe that combining fundamental and conceptual advantages enabled by quantum optics is a promising approach for the future development of applications requiring precise and accurate measurements.
White-light interferometry is one of today's most precise tools for determining the properties of optical materials. Its achievable precision and accuracy are typically limited by systematic errors due to a high number of interdependent data-fitting parameters. Here, we introduce spectrally resolved quantum white-light interferometry as a novel tool for optical property measurements, notably, chromatic dispersion in optical fibres. By exploiting both spectral and photon-number correlations of energy-time entangled photon pairs, the number of fitting parameters is significantly reduced, which eliminates systematic errors and leads to an absolute determination of the material parameter. By comparing the quantum method to state-of-the-art approaches, we demonstrate the quantum advantage of 2.4 times better measurement precision, despite requiring 62 times fewer photons. The improved results are due to conceptual advantages enabled by quantum optics, which are likely to define new standards in experimental methods for characterising optical materials.
Quantum physics holds promise to revolutionise a number of technologies by enabling performance beyond what is feasible with classical resources, such as secure communications, precision measurement and high-speed simulation and computation. To realise this, quantum information must be encoded into one of the physical degrees of freedom of light. The time-frequency (TF) domain provides a infinite-dimensional space which is naturally compatible with integrated optical platforms. Additionally, future quantum networks will require coherent coupling of quantum systems that do not necessarily exhibit TF mode overlap. The ability to generate, coherently control and measure a variety of TF states of quantum light is therefore a necessary step towards implementing optical quantum technologies. Developing the building blocks for future optical quantum applications calls for an assortment of methods for measuring the properties of TF states of quantum light. Whilst much progress has been made towards this goal recently, deficiencies with existing methods remain. Efficient spectrally-resolved detection away from the telecoms wavelength range and a robust approach to single-photon state characterisation that is sensitive to the spectral phase have so far proven challenging. Additionally, accessing quantum advantages requires measurements that are sensitive to the nonclassical correlations that can exist between separate subsystems. However, until now a flexible approach to determining the full quantum state of systems of multiple time/frequency entangled photons has been lacking. Here we develop a toolbox of techniques for the measurement of TF quantum states of light for few-photon systems, and apply these to the task of precision measurement. Firstly, we propose, construct and demonstrate efficient single-photon spectrometers based on dispersive time-to-frequency mapping, using chirped fibre Bragg gratings to apply the necessary group delay dispersion. We use two such devices operating in coincidence to realise a full phase-sensitive reconstruction of the TF state of a single photon, by spectrally resolving the output of a nonclassical interference process with an external reference. We also demonstrate a complementary, optical reference-free method. This characterisation tool, an implementation of electro-optic spectral shearing interferometry with coincident spectrally-resolved single-photon detection, melds techniques from ultrafast metrology and quantum optics. We proceed to demonstrate the flexibility of this device by reconstructing a wide range of test pulses generated with a pulse shaper. By implementing this technique in conjunction with spectrally-resolved detection of a second photon, we realise complete characterisation of the TF wave function of a spectrally-entangled broadband photon pair. This method is robust to a wide range of inputs and is generalisable to spectrally mixed states and across a wide range of wavelengths, including to spectrally non-degenerate photon pairs. To demonstrate, we generate an entangled photon pair with controllable TF entanglement and perform a full reconstruction. Lastly, we present a new technique for using TF entangled photon pairs to realise quantum-enhanced measurement of a time delay in a quantum channel in the presence of environmental noise. This scheme is based on entanglement-enhanced rejection of background light. A simple experiment demonstrating the feasibility of such a measurement is presented.