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New Journal of Physics

Towards a periodic deterministic source of arbitrary single-photon states

Evan R. Jeffrey, Nicholas A. Peters, Paul G. Kwiat

Published Jul 30, 2004• 118 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We present an experimentally feasible scheme to create single photons deterministically out of a non-deterministic spontaneous parametric downconversion source. We give an efficiency analysis of obtaining exactly one photon in the output. Furthermore, we experimentally demonstrate a way to control the purity of an output photon using a partial measurement of a polarization-entangled photon pair, a partial implementation of remote state preparation. When combined, these two techniques could allow on-demand preparation of single photons in arbitrary states.

DOI
10.1088/1367-2630/6/1/100

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We present an experimentally feasible scheme to create single photons deterministically out of a non-deterministic spontaneous parametric downconversion source. We give an efficiency analysis of obtaining exactly one photon in the output. Furthermore, we experimentally demonstrate a way to control the purity of an output photon using a partial measurement of a polarization-entangled photon pair, a partial implementation of remote state preparation. When combined, these two techniques could allow on-demand preparation of single photons in arbitrary states.
A source of single photons allows secure quantum key distribution, in addition, to being a critical resource for linear optics quantum computing. We describe our progress on deterministically creating single photons from spontaneous parametric downconversion, an extension of the Pittman, Jacobs and Franson scheme [Phys. Rev A, v66, 042303 (2002)]. Their idea was to conditionally prepare single photons by measuring one member of a spontaneously emitted photon pair and storing the remaining conditionally prepared photon until a predetermined time, when it would be "deterministically" released from storage. Our approach attempts to improve upon this by recycling the pump pulse in order to decrease the possibility of multiple-pair generation, while maintaining a high probability of producing a single pair. Many of the challenges we discuss are central to other quantum information technologies, including the need for low-loss optical storage, switching and detection, and fast feed-forward control.
Quantum repeaters are the most promising approach for distributing entanglement over long distances. Recent approaches to develop quantum repeaters involve the use of deterministic entangled photon pair sources. On the other hand heralded entangled photon pair sources have been proposed independently both with parametric down conversion source and single photon sources. We modify the latter scheme to implement it as an on demand entangled photon pair source and analyse its performance considering inefficient detectors, inefficient quantum memories and inefficient single photon sources. We conclude that with the current state of art, generation of high fidelity deterministic entangled photon pairs is possible with moderate efficiency. We then compare the results to the deterministic entangled photon pair source obtainable using parametric down conversion source and conclude that the single photon scheme described in this thesis is more practical for such an implementation.
By using a partial polarizer to apply a generalized polarization measurement to one photon of a polarization entangled pair, we remotely prepare single photons in arbitrary polarization qubits. Specifically, we are able to produce a range of states of any desired degree of mixedness or purity, over (and within) the entire Poincare sphere, with a typical fidelity exceeding 99.5%. Moreover, by using non-degenerate entangled pairs as a resource, we can prepare states in multiple wavelengths. Finally, we discuss the states remotely preparable given a particular two-qubit resource state.
In an experiment reported recently (Mosley et al 2008 Phys. Rev. Lett. 100 133601), we demonstrated that, through group velocity matched parametric downconversion, heralded single photons can be generated in pure quantum states without spectral filtering. The technique relies on factorable photon pair production, initially developed theoretically in the strict collinear regime; focusing—required in any experimental implementation—can ruin this factorability. Here, we present the numerical model used to design our single photon sources and minimize spectral correlations in the light of such experimental considerations. Furthermore, we show that the results of our model are in good agreement with measurements made on the photon pairs and give a detailed description of the exact requirements for constructing this type of source.
Efficiently creating optical quantum states, both simple (e.g., pure single-photon states) and complex (e.g., polarization-entangled but spectrally unentangled photon pairs), remains an experimental challenge. We report on a novel method that allows for efficiently preparing certain classes of states: by weakly driving repeated downconversion in a cavity, we can pseudo-deterministically add photons to a state, preparing Fock states of definite photon number. We discuss expected performance and experimental limitations, including the difficulty of creating pure photons at a high rate. Additionally, we report on our progress in engineering high-rate spatio-spectrally unentangled downconversion, a key technology for optical quantum information processing, and propose a novel 4-photon experimental scheme to test the intrinsic indistinguishability of the photons from this source.