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Optics Express

Photon number squeezing in repeated parametric downconversion with ancillary photon-number measurements

Boris L. Glebov, Jingyun Fan, Alan L. Migdall

Published Aug 15, 2014• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We present a realistic numerical simulation of a source of number-squeezed photon states employing a cavity-based parametric downconversion (PDC) process. A cavity containing the PDC medium is pumped repeatedly. The cavity recycles only one of the PDC output modes, allowing it to be amplified with each subsequent pump pulse. A photon number resolved (PNR) measurement is made on the other PDC output mode following each pump pulse. Once the PNR measurements indicate that the target number of photons has accumulated in the cavity, the pumping is stopped and the resulting photon state is released. The photon number uncertainty in the resulting state is ~3 dB below that of a mean-equivalent coherent state and furthermore the probability of generating the target photon number is similarly increased.

DOI
10.1364/oe.22.020358

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We present a realistic numerical simulation of a source of number-squeezed photon states employing a cavity-based parametric downconversion (PDC) process. A cavity containing the PDC medium is pumped repeatedly. The cavity recycles only one of the PDC output modes, allowing it to be amplified with each subsequent pump pulse. A photon number resolved (PNR) measurement is made on the other PDC output mode following each pump pulse. Once the PNR measurements indicate that the target number of photons has accumulated in the cavity, the pumping is stopped and the resulting photon state is released. The photon number uncertainty in the resulting state is ~3 dB below that of a mean-equivalent coherent state and furthermore the probability of generating the target photon number is similarly increased.
The authors propose a realizable scheme for an arbitrary photon-number state on-demand source based on parametric downconversion in a doubly resonant photonic cavity. The signal-wavelength resonance serves as storage for signal photons and the idler-wavelength resonance generates time separation between exiting idler photons, enabling photon-number-resolving detection. The counting of idler photons indicates the desired signal photon-number state, which can be released from the cavity on demand. They analyze the statistics of photon-number states generation and estimate the maximal repetition rates. Performance of the monolithic cavity for signal-storage and idler time spacing is limited, however, by external devices, namely, the long recovery time of existing single-photon detectors.
Squeezed light has evolved into a powerful tool for quantum technology, ranging from quantum-enhanced sensing and quantum-state engineering based on partial postselection techniques.The pulsed generation of squeezed light is of particular interest, as it can provide accurate time stamps and a physically defined temporal mode, which are highly preferred in complex communication networks and large-scale information processing.However, the multimode feature of pulsed squeezing limits the purity of the output state, negatively impacting its application in quantum technology.Previous demonstrations and analysis of pulsed squeezing focus on single-pass configurations and synchronously pumped free-space cavities.In this paper, we propose a different approach to generate pulsed squeezing with high temporal purity, where a parametric down-conversion process in integrated photonic cavities is pumped by a single-pass pulse.We show that the effective mode number of the output pulsed squeezing approaches unity.Such a high-purity squeezed light can be realized with broad parameters and a low pump power, providing a robust approach to generating large-scale quantum resources.
We analyze the generation rates and preparation fidelities of photon triplet states in pulsed cascaded parametric down-conversion (PDC) under realistic experimental circumstances. As a model system, we assume a monolithically integrated device with negligible interface loss between the two consecutive PDC stages. We model the secondary down-conversion process in terms of a lossy channel and provide a detailed analysis of noise contributions. Taking variable pump powers into account, we estimate the impact of higher-order photon contributions and conversion processes on the achievable coincidence probabilities. At mean photon numbers of ⟨m⟩∼0.25\langle m\rangle\sim0.25⟨m⟩∼0.25 photons per pulse behind the first PDC stage, we expect around 4.04.04.0 genuine photon triplets per hour. Additionally, we discuss fundamental limitations of our model system as well as feasible improvements to the detectable photon triplet rate.
A parametric down-conversion source interfering on a beam splitter can be described as both a source of entangled N00N-states or a source of independent, and thus uncorrelated squeezers. The disparity between these outcomes can be attributed to whether one takes a standard discrete- or continuous-variable approach to describing the system. More precisely, this difference in output is due to the types of measurements involved and the way in which the data is processed, as both setups are identical, clearly identical states are produced. Here we take a hybrid approach to describe the state, which is generated by parametric down-conversion as input state, and investigate the measurements of the output ports of the interferometer using photon number resolved detection. We show that the output of this interference is separable in the photon number picture and demonstrate the worth of photon-number correlation measures for the characterization of squeezed light sources for hybrid applications like Gaussian boson-sampling.
Parametric down-conversion (PDC) is one of the most widely used methods to create pure single-photon states for quantum information applications. However, little attention has been paid to higher-order photon components in the PDC process, yet these ultimately limit the prospects of generating single photons of high quality. In this paper we investigate the impact of higher-order photon components and multiple frequency modes on the heralding rates and single-photon fidelities. This enables us to determine the limits of PDC sources for single-photon generation. Our results show that a perfectly single-mode PDC source in conjunction with a photon-number-resolving detector is ultimately capable of creating single-photon Fock states with unit fidelity and a maximal state creation probability of 25%. Hence, an array of 17 switched sources is required to build a deterministic ($>999999%$ emission probability) pure single-photon source.