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Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE

Teaching quantum mechanics with the Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer

Armendariz Gustavo P, Jorge Cravioto-Lagos, Víctor Velázquez, M. Grether, Enrique López‐Moreno, Enrique J. Galvez

Published Jul 17, 2014• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer is an optical device which allows us to prove experimentally the quantum nature of light via the quantum amplitude superposition of two indistinguishable photons. We have implemented this experiment as an advanced undergraduate laboratory experience. We were able to overcome well known difficulties with this experiment using recently reported techniques by Thomas et al. [Rev. Sci. Instr. 80, 036101 (2009), ].

DOI
10.1117/12.2070280

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The Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer is an optical device which allows us to prove experimentally the quantum nature of light via the quantum amplitude superposition of two indistinguishable photons. We have implemented this experiment as an advanced undergraduate laboratory experience. We were able to overcome well known difficulties with this experiment using recently reported techniques by Thomas et al. [Rev. Sci. Instr. 80, 036101 (2009), ].
The Hong–Ou–Mandel interference experiment is a fundamental demonstration of nonclassical interference and a basis for many investigations of quantum information. This experiment involves the interference of two photons reaching a symmetric beamsplitter. When the photons are made indistinguishable in all possible ways, an interference of quantum amplitudes results in both photons always leaving the same beamsplitter output port. Thus, a scan of distinguishable parameters, such as the arrival time difference of the photons reaching the beamsplitter, produces a dip in the coincidences measured at the outputs of the beamsplitter. The main challenge for its implementation as an undergraduate laboratory is the alignment of the photon paths at the beamsplitter. We overcome this difficulty by using a pre-aligned commercial fiber-coupled beamsplitter. In addition, we use waveplates to vary the distinguishability of the photons by their state of polarization. We present a theoretical description at the introductory quantum mechanics level of the two types of experiments, plus a discussion of the apparatus alignment and list of parts needed.
Abstract We present a simple setup allowing undergraduate students to reproduce the Hong–Ou–Mandel experiment during a half-day labwork session and observe the coalescence of two indistinguishable photons merging on a balanced beamsplitter. This two-photon interference effect, fundamentally related to the bosonic character of the photons, is commonly used in the fields of quantum communication and computing to test the indistinguishability of two single-photon wavepackets. The setup makes use of very few optical elements and requires little alignement that can be performed by students themselves. It allows them to gather essential experimental skills related to parametric crystals, fibre optics and single-photon detection, and to transpose abstract concepts of quantum physics to a hands-on experiment in the lab.
Hong–Ou–Mandel (HOM) interference is a quantum optics laboratory experiment that has recently become more accessible to undergraduate students. The experiment consists of two identical photons simultaneously entering a nonpolarizing beamsplitter, where the photon wavefunctions interfere. As a result, the photon pair exits from the same beamsplitter output, whereas classically, the two photons are equally likely to exit from the two different outputs. This effect is demonstrated by observation of a dip in coincidence counts measured between the two beamsplitter outputs. Due to the precision needed to achieve photon indistinguishability, the setup and alignment of this experiment is often considered to be too difficult and time consuming to be appropriate for the undergraduate instructional laboratory. Here, we present an alternative optical-fiber-based apparatus that gives a consistently reproducible experiment. In our approach, quantum interference occurs within a fused-fiber coupler, instead of within a traditional beamsplitter. We use a commercially available fiber-coupled biphoton source that requires minimal alignment and increases the interference coherence length. In addition, our biphoton source provides direct temperature-based control of the frequency degeneracy of the photon pairs, allowing students to investigate physical properties of HOM interference such as coherence length and interference visibility. Through use of standard optomechanical parts, combined with the commercially available fiber-integrated biphoton source, our apparatus is positioned midway between a completely built-from-scratch and a pre-aligned setup, making it ideal for the advanced instructional laboratory.