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Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE

Hybrid integration for spatially multiplexed single-photon generation

Thomas Meany, Lutfi Arif Ngah, Matthew J. Collins, Alex S. Clark, Robert J. Williams, Benjamin J. Eggleton, Michael J. Steel, Michael J. Withford, Olivier Alibart, Sébastien Tanzilli

Published Feb 19, 2014• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We discuss the hybrid integration of multiple components for the production of telecom band single photon sources. We implement four, on-chip, waveguide channels capable of producing four spatially separated collinear pairs of single photons. Using laser inscribed waveguide circuits and point-by-point bre Bragg gratings (FBG), we interface, separate and lter generated photon pairs. We propose using fast switches to actively route multiple heralded single photons to a single output producing an enhanced rate while maintaining a xed noise level.

DOI
10.1117/12.2055265

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We discuss the hybrid integration of multiple components for the production of telecom band single photon sources. We implement four, on-chip, waveguide channels capable of producing four spatially separated collinear pairs of single photons. Using laser inscribed waveguide circuits and point-by-point bre Bragg gratings (FBG), we interface, separate and lter generated photon pairs. We propose using fast switches to actively route multiple heralded single photons to a single output producing an enhanced rate while maintaining a xed noise level.
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A key resource for quantum optics experiments is an on-demand source of single and multiple photon states at telecommunication wavelengths. This letter presents a her- alded single photon source based on a hybrid technology approach, combining high efficiency periodically poled lithium niobate waveguides, low-loss laser inscribed circuits, and fast (>1 MHz) fibre coupled electro-optic switches. Hybrid inter- facing different platforms is a promising route to exploiting the advantages of existing technology and has permitted the demonstration of the multiplexing of four identical sources of single photons to one output. Since this is an integrated tech- nology, it provides scalability and can immediately leverage any improvements in transmission, detection and photon production efficiencies.
Abstract A key resource for quantum optics experiments is an on‐demand source of single and multiple photon states at telecommunication wavelengths. This letter presents a heralded single photon source based on a hybrid technology approach, combining high efficiency periodically poled lithium niobate waveguides, low‐loss laser inscribed circuits, and fast (>1 MHz) fibre coupled electro‐optic switches. Hybrid interfacing different platforms is a promising route to exploiting the advantages of existing technology and has permitted the demonstration of the multiplexing of four identical sources of single photons to one output. Since this is an integrated technology, it provides scalability and can immediately leverage any improvements in transmission, detection and photon production efficiencies.
Recent progress in the field of quantum information processing has highlighted the prospects of using integrated optical devices for quantum applications. Integrated quantum photonics offers several advantages compared to free-space setups. Not only the miniaturization, which dramatically reduces the size of the building blocks and allows imprinting or cascading several functions on a single substrate, but also the possibility to reproduce the same photonic circuit many times on the same chip. For instance, this has been exploited to spatially multiplex heralded single-photon, leading to an increase of the single-photon emission rate at constant noise level. More strikingly, one can think of combining, on-chip, several synchronised single photon sources towards engineering large photon-number entangled states. Despite this attractive potential, only few examples of spatial mul- tiplexing have been reported in the literature due to the technological challenge related to fabrication processes. On one hand, lithium nio- bate (LN) is very suitable for quantum integrated photonics since it shows both optic-optic and electro-optic non-linearities, as well as the possibility to integrate low-loss waveguides. However, several parallel and/or cascaded optical functions require various lithographic steps leading to reduced yields. On the other hand, femto-second laser direct-writing (FLDW) technique on glass-type substrates, allows fast fabrication of low-loss waveguide circuits requiring no lithographic masks nor chemical exchange. However, no efficient non-linear processes are available in SiO2 waveguides for photon-pair generation. We discuss here an integrated photonic chip able to generate photon-number states which consists of three photonic chips fabricated on either LN for photon generation or on SiO2 substrates for photon manipulation purposes. Our approach takes advantage of the best features of both worlds.
Quantum networks based on wavelength-multiplexed entanglement enable parallel distribution of quantum correlations, increasing channel capacity for secure communication and distributed quantum information processing. However, broadband integrated sources capable of generating multipartite entanglement beyond photon pairs remain scarce. Here we report on-chip generation of telecom-band four-photon entanglement in a periodically poled thin-film lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) waveguide. Type-0 spontaneous parametric down-conversion provides a phase-matching bandwidth exceeding 200 nm, enabling spectrally separable generation of multi-photon entanglement across the telecom band. The generated photons are encoded in time bins for robust fiber compatibility, and a coherent interface enabling reversible conversion between time-bin and polarization degrees of freedom allows complete quantum state tomography. We measure two-photon entanglement with a brightness of 6.7 MHz/mW/nm and a fidelity of 0.874±0.0020.874 \pm 0.0020.874±0.002. At a pump power of 0.08 mW, the four-photon state exhibits a fourfold coincidence rate of 1 Hz and a fidelity of 0.74±0.010.74 \pm 0.010.74±0.01, representing a threefold improvement over previous integrated platforms. Our results establish LNOI as a scalable platform for broadband multi-photon entanglement and provide a practical route toward dense wavelength-multiplexed quantum networks.