Single photon sources in the infrared

John Rarity, Stephen C. Kitson, Paul R. Tapster

Chen-Tao Zhang, Xiao-Tao Shi, Wen-Xin Zhu +3 more

The single-photon source in mid-infrared (MIR) band is very important for the next generation of quantum sensing, quantum communication and quantum imaging. At present, the commonly used method of generating MIR single-photon source is based on the spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC) process in the periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) crystal. However, the spectral purity of single-photon source based on the ordinary PPLN is not high, specifically, its maximum value is only about 0.82, which affects the fidelity of quantum information processing scheme. In this paper, 4000 polarized domains in a 30-mm-long LN crystal are customized by using the domain design theory. The sidelobes in the phase matching function are eliminated, and the Gaussian distribution is obtained. The calculated spectral purity of the single-photon source can reach 0.99, and its tunable range is 2.7–3.3 μm. The customized poled lithium niobate (CPLN) is expected to provide a single-photon source with excellent performance for the study of quantum information in the MIR band.

Heping Zeng, Guang Wu, E Wu +4 more

Tim Schröder, Ping Jiang, Friedemann Gädeke +5 more

Further improvement of infrared single photon sources is a major challenge for future implementations of quantum information and quantum communication applications. In this paper, we give further insight into a recently presented, conceptually novel method for the generation of single photons.1 The method is of particular interest for spectral domains where stable room temperature single photon sources are not available. For example, this is the presently the case for the near-infrared. This wavelength regime is important for data transfer over long distances where optical losses in fibers are minimal. The presented method is based on the following idea. The fundamental key requirement for single photon generation is the generation of a single excitation in an optically active system. It is not the presence of a single quantum system. The presented method is applied to realize a stable, non-blinking, room temperature infrared single photon source by converting visible single photons from a defect center in diamond to the near infrared. For the presented implementation, the theoretical conversion efficiency was estimated to be 26 %. In a first prove of principle experiment, a conversion efficiency of 0.1 % was achieved.

Matthew T. Rakher

Masaya Arahata, Yu Mukai, Bo Cao +3 more

Visible-infrared photon pair sources working in broadband mid-infrared region are useful for applications such as heralded mid-infrared single photon sources. Here, we demonstrate experimentally a wavelength variable visible-infrared photon pair source in the mid-infrared region over a wide spectral range of 2 to 5 μm. By changing the angle of the nonlinear crystal in the source, the observed wavelengths of the signal photons change from 600 to 965 nm, corresponding to the idler wavelengths in 1186-4694 nm.