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Journal of the Optical Society of America B

Comparison of photon counting and analog techniques for the measurement of photon pair generation in a PPLN waveguide

Stefania Castelletto, Ivo Pietro Degiovanni, Valentina Schettini, Tommaso Del Rosso, Giancarlo Margheri, Leonardo Papi, Stefano Sottini

Published Dec 11, 2007• 4 citations

Abstract

We present two independent measurements of the photon pairs production efficiency (PPPE) at 1572 nm, generated in a noncommercial periodically poled lithium-niobate waveguide fabricated in our laboratory. The first measurement, referred to as "direct" measurement, is performed at the photon-counting level (light power at the level of a few picowatts), exploiting a typical coincidence detection technique and a dedicated statistical model. In this case the measured PPPE is (4.1±1.1)1011 pairs/(s W). The same parameter was estimated independently by a well-established "indirect" measurement, based on a difference frequency generation experiment (typical light power level of a few microwatts). This other measurement yields (5.0±2.4)1011 pairs/(s W). Despite the large uncertainty of this second measurement, we observe that the two results are in good agreement even considering only the lower uncertainty value. To our knowledge, it is the first realization of a comparison between these two measurement techniques, working at so different light levels.

DOI: 10.1364/josab.25.000007

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We present two independent measurements of the photon pairs production efficiency (PPPE) at 1572 nm, generated in a noncommercial periodically poled lithium-niobate waveguide fabricated in our laboratory. The first measurement, referred to as "direct" measurement, is performed at the photon-counting level (light power at the level of a few picowatts), exploiting a typical coincidence detection technique and a dedicated statistical model. In this case the measured PPPE is (4.1±1.1)1011 pairs/(s W). The same parameter was estimated independently by a well-established "indirect" measurement, based on a difference frequency generation experiment (typical light power level of a few microwatts). This other measurement yields (5.0±2.4)1011 pairs/(s W). Despite the large uncertainty of this second measurement, we observe that the two results are in good agreement even considering only the lower uncertainty value. To our knowledge, it is the first realization of a comparison between these two measurement techniques, working at so different light levels.

In this paper we measure the efficiency of photon pair production from parametric downconversion at the photon counting level, generated in a laboratory prototype of PPLN waveguide at 1572 nm. The aim is to enhance the brightness of an heralded single photon source and to improve compactness for quantum communication applications, namely quantum key distribution. We observed a maximum of the conversion efficiency corresponding to 7.9 106 photon pairs/s for a pump power of 28 μW. This value is compared with the measured pairs production in a classical experiment of difference frequency generation, realized with the same sample by analogue classical detection. We highlight the advantages of using the waveguide versus a bulk PPLN for such applications and we foresee further possible improvements by adopting waveguide in a single photon level experimental setup.

Mandel dip measurement was performed at 1550 nm using photon pairs created via spontaneous parametric down conversion in two separately located periodically poled lithium niobate waveguides. A visibility of 77.6% was obtained in fourfold coincidence counting. We experimentally clarified that the simultaneous generation of three pairs (one pair created in one waveguide and two pairs created in another waveguide) is the main source of accidental coincidence counts. Propagation loss before mixing two photons at a beamsplitter for observing photon bunching plays an important role in the determination of visibility. A large loss improves visibility, but also reduces the number of fourfold coincidence counts.

We report on a new kind of correlated photon-pair source based on a waveguide integrated on a Periodically Poled Lithium Niobate substrate. Using a pump laser of a few micro-Watts at 657 nm, we generate degenerate photon-pairs at 1314 nm. Detecting about 1500 coincidences per second, we can infer a conversion rate of 10-6 pairs per pump photon, which is four orders of magnitude higher than that obtained with previous bulk sources. These results are very promising for the realization of sources for quantum communication and quantum metrology experiments requiring a high signal-to-noise ratio or working with more than one photon-pair at a time.

A new kind of correlated photon-pair source based on a waveguide integrated on a periodically poled lithium niobate substrate is reported. Using a pump laser of a few µW at 657 nm, photon-pairs are generated/degenerated at 1314 nm. Detecting ~1500 coincidences per second, a conversion rate of 10-6 pairs per pump photon can be inferred, which is four orders of magnitude higher than that obtained with previous bulk sources. These results are very promising for the realisation of sources for quantum communication and quantum metrology experiments requiring a high signal-to-noise ratio or working with more than one photon-pair at a time.