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Physical Review A

Quantum interference in photonic lattices with defects

Stefano Longhi

Published Mar 18, 2011• 12 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Light trapping in photonic lattices at a linear defect shows interesting nonclassical behavior when probed by maximally path-entangled $N$-photon states (NOON states). In particular, photon coincidences of localized light at the defect oscillate at a spatial frequency that is $N$ times faster than the classical beating spatial frequency of the defect modes, resembling the $\ensuremath{\lambda}/N$ oscillations of NOON states encountered in Mach-Zehnder interferometry. Analytical results of quantum interference are presented for an exactly solvable tight-binding waveguide array.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.83.033821

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Light trapping in photonic lattices at a linear defect shows interesting nonclassical behavior when probed by maximally path-entangled NNN-photon states (NOON states). In particular, photon coincidences of localized light at the defect oscillate at a spatial frequency that is NNN times faster than the classical beating spatial frequency of the defect modes, resembling the \ensuremathλ/N\ensuremath{\lambda}/N\ensuremathλ/N oscillations of NOON states encountered in Mach-Zehnder interferometry. Analytical results of quantum interference are presented for an exactly solvable tight-binding waveguide array.
Classical and quantum interference of light propagating in arrays of coupled waveguides and undergoing multiband optical Bloch oscillations (BOs) with negligible Zener tunneling is theoretically investigated. In particular, it is shown that Mach-Zehnder-like interference effects spontaneously arise in multiband BOs owing to beam splitting and subsequent beam recombination occurring in one BO cycle. As a noteworthy example of quantum interference, we discuss the doubling of interference fringes in photon counting rates for a correlated photon pair undergoing two-band BOs, a phenomenon analogous to the manifestation of the de Broglie wavelength of an entangled biphoton state observed in quantum Mach-Zehnder interferometry.
We study the quantum correlation of path-entangled states of two photons in coupled one-dimensional waveguide arrays with lattice defects. Both off-diagonal and diagonal defects are considered, which show different effects on the quantum correlation of path-entangled two-photon states. Two-photon bunching or anti-bunching effects can be observed and controlled. The two photons are found to have a tendency to bunch at the side lobes with a repulsive off-diagonal defect, and the path-entanglement of the input two-photon state can be preserved during the propagation. We also found that defect modes may play an important role on the two-photon correlation of path-entangled states in the waveguide arrays. Due to the quantum interference effect, intriguing evolution dynamics of the two-photon correlation matrix elements with oscillation frequencies being either twice of or the same as that of a classical light wave, depending on the position of the correlation matrix element, is observed. Our results show that it is possible to manipulate the two-photon correlation properties of path-entangled states in waveguide arrays with lattice defects.
Pairs of 826.8-nm correlated photons, generated by parametrically down-converting 413.4-nm krypton-ion laser light, are directed into a single Mach-Zehnder interferometer such that each photon of the pair enters a different input port. The rate of coincidence at the two output ports displays oscillations (as the path-length difference is swept) with a spatial period equal to the 413-nm wavelength of the pump photons, and with a visibility of 62% when the path-length difference exceeds the coherence length of the individual photon beams. This unequivocally demonstrates the nonclassical and entangled nature of the two-photon state.
A quantum theory of light propagation in two optical channel waveguides tunneling coupled to a common continuum of modes (such as those of a slab waveguide) is presented, and classical and quantum interference effects are investigated. For classical light, the photonic system realizes an optical analog of coherent population trapping in the continuum encountered in atomic physics, where destructive interference between different light leakage channels leads to the appearance of a trapped state embedded in the continuum. For nonclassical light, two-photon interference effects are predicted, such as the tendency of photon pairs to bunch when decaying into the continuum.
Interference effects of photon pairs propagating through two-dimensional lattices of evanescently coupled waveguides are theoretically analyzed for input states of independent and path-entangled photons. Their correlation unveils characteristic Hong-Ou-Mandel interferences as well as more complex phenomena unique to these structures. Furthermore, purely classical states of light are used to simulate these quantum interferences in intensity correlation experiments. The results suggest that waveguide arrays can be employed as convenient devices for manipulating quantum states of light.
Quantum interference and quantum correlation, as two main features of quantum optics, play an essential role in quantum information applications, such as multi-particle quantum walk and boson sampling. While many experimental demonstrations have been done in one-dimensional waveguide arrays, it remains unexplored in higher dimensions due to tight requirement of manipulating and detecting photons in large-scale. Here, we experimentally observe non-classical correlation of two identical photons in a fully coupled two-dimensional structure, i.e. photonic lattice manufactured by three-dimensional femtosecond laser writing. Photon interference consists of 36 Hong-Ou-Mandel interference and 9 bunching. The overlap between measured and simulated distribution is up to 0.890 ± 0.001. Clear photon correlation is observed in the two-dimensional photonic lattice. Combining with controllably engineered disorder, our results open new perspectives towards large-scale implementation of quantum simulation on integrated photonic chips.