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Japanese Journal of Applied Physics

Recent progress in single-photon and entangled-photon generation and applications

Shigeki Takeuchi

Published Feb 12, 2014• 66 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Quantum information science has recently attracted a lot of attention. Its applications include secure communication, quantum computation, quantum simulation, and quantum metrology. In these applications, photons are one of the most important physical quanta for their tolerance to decoherence. In this manuscript, we review the recent progress in single-photon/entangled-photon emitters and their applications: heralded single-photon sources using parametric downconversion and their application to quantum key distribution, highly indistinguishable heralded single-photon sources, fiber-coupled solid-state single-photon sources, and ultrabroadband-frequency entanglement generation.

DOI
10.7567/jjap.53.030101

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Quantum information science has recently attracted a lot of attention. Its applications include secure communication, quantum computation, quantum simulation, and quantum metrology. In these applications, photons are one of the most important physical quanta for their tolerance to decoherence. In this manuscript, we review the recent progress in single-photon/entangled-photon emitters and their applications: heralded single-photon sources using parametric downconversion and their application to quantum key distribution, highly indistinguishable heralded single-photon sources, fiber-coupled solid-state single-photon sources, and ultrabroadband-frequency entanglement generation.
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A key element in the quickly developing science of photonic quantum information processing is quantum light sources. These sources are crucial for applications in quantum computing, quantum cryptography, and quantum communication because they can produce both single photons and entangled photon pairs. The efficiency, scalability, and performance of quantum light sources have been greatly enhanced by recent developments in four-wave mixing, spontaneous parametric down-conversion, and quantum dot technology. the most recent advancements in constructed quantum light sources, emphasizing how they help solve important problems including coherence, indistinguishability, and integration with current photonic systems. We explore how these sources can improve the fidelity and reliability of quantum circuits and how they could transform fault-tolerant quantum computing and secure communication networks in the future. In order to further the practical application of quantum technologies, the study also suggests potential paths for combining quantum light sources with scalable photonic systems.
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Quantum information science has been attracting significant attention recently. It harnesses the intrinsic nature of quantum mechanics such as quantum superposition, the uncertainty principle, and quantum entanglement to realize novel functions. Recently, quantum metrology is emerging as another appealing application of quantum information science. In this talk, we will report our recent progresses on the development of novel quantum entangled-photon sources and application to quantum measurements.
We present two types of photon sources designed for secure quantum communication, e.g. for quantum cryptography. Both types are based on the creation of photon pairs by spontaneous parametric downconversion in nonlinear crystals. The first is a heralded single photon source and the second is a source of polarization-entangled photon pairs. For the heralded single photon source the detection of one of the photons of a downconversion pair is used as a trigger to announce the presence of the other: the single photon. The source is characterized by a highly sub-Poisson photon number statistics making it very suitable for use in quantum cryptography protocols using single photonic qubits to create correlated information between a sender and a receiver. The entanglement source instead uses the inherent non-classical correlations between entangled qubits. We also present a hybrid-encoding where the sender uses polarization to encode information while the receiver uses time-bins. Both sources create photons with highly non-degenerate wavelengths of 810 nm and 1550 nm, taking advantage of the efficient detectors at near-infrared and the low transmission loss of optical fibers at telecommunication wavelengths.
Abstract Single photon sources are key components for quantum technologies such as quantum communication, computing and metrology. A key challenge towards the realization of global quantum networks are transmission losses in optical fibers. Therefore, single photon sources are required to emit at the low-loss telecom wavelength bands. However, an ideal telecom wavelength single photon source has yet to be discovered. Here, we review the recent progress in realizing such sources. We start with single photon emission based on atomic ensembles and spontaneous parametric down conversion, and then focus on solid-state emitters including semiconductor quantum dots, defects in silicon carbide and carbon nanotubes. In conclusion, some state-of-the-art applications are highlighted.