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Journal of Atmospheric and Environmental Optics

Investigation of Mid-Infrared Radiance Calibration Based on Parametric Amplification

Kai Li

Published Jan 1, 2010• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

The principle,the method and the experimental system of mid-infrared radiance calibration based on parametric amplification technique were introduced.The equation between different polarization source and its photons per mode was deduced.A high power CW laser stabilized at 532 nm was used to pump a LiNbO_3 nonlinear crystal,producing two correlated-photons whose wavelengths were 632.8 nm and 3.34μm,respectively.The under-calibrated blackbody at 3.34μm was injected along the direction of the infrared down-converted photons.With the high relativity of the VIS-IR photon pairs,through the measurement of the visible down-converted photons at 632.8 nm,the radiance of the blackbody source at 3.34μm can be calibrated and 1.53%relative standard uncertainty was reported.

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The principle,the method and the experimental system of mid-infrared radiance calibration based on parametric amplification technique were introduced.The equation between different polarization source and its photons per mode was deduced.A high power CW laser stabilized at 532 nm was used to pump a LiNbO_3 nonlinear crystal,producing two correlated-photons whose wavelengths were 632.8 nm and 3.34μm,respectively.The under-calibrated blackbody at 3.34μm was injected along the direction of the infrared down-converted photons.With the high relativity of the VIS-IR photon pairs,through the measurement of the visible down-converted photons at 632.8 nm,the radiance of the blackbody source at 3.34μm can be calibrated and 1.53%relative standard uncertainty was reported.
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.
Infrared (IR) spectroscopy and imaging are important tools in metrology, including material analysis, sensing and characterization. Although conventional methods of IR metrology are available, they face challenges related to the high cost and low efficiency of IR light sources and photodetectors. These challenges can be addressed by circumventing the need for IR-range components using tools and techniques of quantum optics. In this thesis, we describe a technique for IR measurements, which requires using only accessible light sources and detectors operating in the visible range. Our technique is based on the nonlinear interference of correlated photon pairs generated via spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC). In SPDC, a photon from the pump laser generates a pair of correlated photons within a nonlinear crystal. One photon of the pair can be generated in the visible range, and the other in the IR range. Two identical nonlinear crystals pumped by the same laser form the nonlinear interferometer, where interference of the visible SPDC photons can be observed. The interference pattern of the visible photons depends on amplitudes and phases of the IR photons, which are used to probe the properties of the medium under study. Hence, by observing the interference of the visible photons we infer the IR properties of the media, without direct measurements of IR light. We applied the nonlinear interference method to realize the IR spectroscopy, IR optical coherence tomography (OCT), IR imaging and IR polarimetry. In the IR spectroscopy experiment, we simultaneously and independently measured both refractive index and absorption coefficient of various samples in the IR range, while only detecting photons in the visible range. In IR OCT and IR imaging schemes, we measured the reflectivity of the interfaces of the sample, performed 3D raster and wide field imaging through opaque (in the visible range) materials. In the IR polarimetry, we measured the birefringence of the samples. We studied glass, organic polymer, Silicon and CO2 gas, but our method can be applied to a broad variety of samples. Our method is widely tunable and has high precision and accuracy over mid-IR wavelengths. This work paves the way for further practical adoption of the method in the field of IR metrology, without the need for IR grade detectors and sources.
Abstract The nonlinear process of spontaneous parametric down-conversion in the silver-gallium-sulfide crystal can generate highly non-degenerate photon pairs in near-infrared and mid-infrared spectral ranges. In this work, we demonstrate and characterize the tunable mid-infrared photon source in silver-gallium-sulfide. By angle tuning the phase matching condition of the nonlinear crystal, we can tune the wavelength of the generated photons in mid-infrared from 5.661 to 10.885 μm (from 1766 to 919 cm −1 ), while the correlated photons in the near-infrared are from 747.1 to 702.6 nm. The phase matching curve and the frequency-angular spectrum of mid-infrared photons were experimentally validated by measuring the properties of near-infrared photons. The brightness of the photon pair source was found to be (29.2± 1.1) MHzmW\frac{\text{MHz}}{\text{mW}}mWMHz​ in the low-gain regime, exceeding the values reported in previous studies using silver-gallium-sulfide crystals. The wide tunability of the photon source in the mid-infrared range is important for hyperspectral imaging and sensing, and it is of significant interest for biomedical, chemical, and environmental applications.
We report an experimental demonstration of wavelength variable generation and detection of photon pairs in the visible and mid-infrared (MIR) regions over a wide spectral range of 2–5 µm via spontaneous parametric downconversion. Despite the recent increase in interest in such a photon-pair source, there have been few detailed evaluations of emitted photons generated via the downconversion process in the low gain regime, due to the lack of suitable single-photon detectors. By changing the angle of the nonlinear crystal, we continuously tune the phase-matching condition and generate photon pairs as signal photons in the wavelength range of 600–965 nm and idler photons in the wavelength range of 1186–4694 nm. We evaluate the generated photon pairs using single and coincidence counts by superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors up to a wavelength of 2 µm and detect the intensity using an InSb detector with a lock-in detection system up to 5 µm. From this analysis, a pair generation rate of 10 5 s − 1 per mW of pump power is experimentally obtained for this wavelength range. This work provides a basis for the realization of applications such as heralded MIR single-photon sources, infrared imaging, and infrared spectroscopy based on quantum technologies in the MIR region.
A new calibration method of detectors can be realized by using correlated photons generated in spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) effect of nonlinear crystal.An absolute calibration system of detector quantum efficiency is performed.And its principle and experimental setup are introduced.A continuouswave (CW) ultraviolet (351 nm), diode-pumped, frequency-doubled, and solid-state laser is used to pump BBO crystal.The quantum efficiencies of the photomultiplier at 633, 702, and 789 nm are measured respectively.The coincidence peaks are observed using coincidence circuit.Some measurement factors including the filter bandwidth of trigger channel, the detector position alignment and polarization of the pump light are analyzed.The uncertainties of this calibration method are also analyzed, and the relative uncertainties of total calibration are less than 5.8%.The accuracy of this method could be improved in the future.
Mid-infrared quantum light sources hold broad application prospects in fields such as gas sensing and infrared thermal imaging. However, currently used mid-infrared quantum entangled light sources primarily rely on bulk periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) crystals, which limits brightness and integration. This paper proposes a theoretical scheme based on lithium niobate thin films, in which 1556.9 nm pumping is used to generate entangled photon pairs with a central wavelength of 3113.8 nm. By optimizing the waveguide structure and periodic polarization design, type-II phase matching and group velocity matching are achieved. This enables transverse electric (TE)-polarized pump input to be down converted to generate photon pairs with TE and transverse magnetic (TM) polarizations. Furthermore, by combining a domain arrangement algorithm used for the customized design of polarization direction in PPLN waveguides, precise phase matching is achieved, resulting in a quantum light source with a purity as high as 0.999 and a brightness of 6.18×106\times 10^6×106 cps/mW, which is three orders of magnitude higher than that of the bulk PPLN crystal source. This study provides a promising solution for realizing high-brightness, high-purity on-chip quantum light sources in the mid-infrared band.