Quantum plasmonics presents a new insight into quantum photonic science and technology. The unique properties of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) provide immense potential for quantum control of light in ultracompact systems. The quantum behavior of SPPs should be described by corresponding SPP states, which have attracted a lot of investigative interest recently. In this work, we focus on the interaction of single quanta of SPPs. The generation of a squeezed SPP state through parametric down conversion (PDC) is investigated. Due to intrinsic loss of an SPP, this system deviates from those based on traditional bulk optics. Unlike the previous negative image, it is surprising to find that the role of loss is partly positive. As an illustration, the squeezing process of an SPP in a hybrid plasmonic waveguide system is calculated and shown. The degree of squeezing could reach above 7 dB with a propagation length of only about 12 μm in a single path. Moreover, the spectrum of squeezing has a band of 481.7 THz. It is a valuable advantage to keep a high squeezing degree in such a wide band, which is hard to realize in bulk systems. In addition, the tolerance of the system to loss is also shown to be good. The plasmonic system exhibits an attractive advantage in constructing integrated quantum circuits.
Quantum plasmonics presents a new insight into quantum photonic science and technology. The unique properties of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) provide immense potential for quantum control of light in ultracompact systems. The quantum behavior of SPPs should be described by corresponding SPP states, which have attracted a lot of investigative interest recently. In this work, we focus on the interaction of single quanta of SPPs. The generation of a squeezed SPP state through parametric down conversion (PDC) is investigated. Due to intrinsic loss of an SPP, this system deviates from those based on traditional bulk optics. Unlike the previous negative image, it is surprising to find that the role of loss is partly positive. As an illustration, the squeezing process of an SPP in a hybrid plasmonic waveguide system is calculated and shown. The degree of squeezing could reach above 7 dB with a propagation length of only about 12 μm in a single path. Moreover, the spectrum of squeezing has a band of 481.7 THz. It is a valuable advantage to keep a high squeezing degree in such a wide band, which is hard to realize in bulk systems. In addition, the tolerance of the system to loss is also shown to be good. The plasmonic system exhibits an attractive advantage in constructing integrated quantum circuits.
Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) result from collective oscillations of free electrons coupled to an electromagnetic field at a plane interface between a metal and a dielectric medium. As photons, SPPs can be considered either as waves or as bosonic particles [1] and they can experience striking quantum interferences such as Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) effect [2]. We use in this paper a plasmonic platform (Fig.1) that can convert photons into plasmons, and separate or recombine them on a plasmonic beamsplitter [3]. Single SPPs are excited using single photons created by parametric down conversion into a periodically-poled KTP crystal. The platform is placed in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer in order to vary the path difference between SPPs before impinging on the beamsplitter. The setup allows us to revisit quantum optics experiments using SPP as carriers of the quantum of energy. Using the same device, we can test the wave-particle duality, two-particle (HOM) interference and non-local control of single plasmon interference using the entanglement between a photon and a SPP [4]. In the case of the HOM experiment, we demonstrate that the losses can be used as a new degree of freedom [5]. Playing with the dephasing between transmission and reflection coefficient of the beamsplitter, we can observe a peak instead of the usually expected dip in the HOM interference (Fig.2), i.e. an anti-coalescence effect of SPP. In this talk, we will introduce the plasmonic device main features as well as the different quantum plasmonics experiments that have been performed thanks to the SPP beamsplitter. These results are essential to understand the SPP quantum behavior or to develop hybrid plasmon-photon systems for potential future applications in quantum communication mediated by SPP. [1] JM Elson and R.H. Ritchie, Phys. Rev. B 4, 4129 (1971) [2] J.S. Fakonas et al., Nat. Phot. 8, 317 (2014) [3] M.C. Dheur et al. , Sc. Advances 2, e151574 (2016) [4] M.C. Dheur et al. ArXiv 1610.07493, B. Vest et al. ArXiv 1610.07479 [5] S. Barnett et al., Phys. Rev. A 57, 2134 (1998) Fig.1: Plasmonic platform used for the quantum optics experiment (B). It consists in two SPP launchers (A), a plasmonic beamsplitter, and two slits to convert SPP to photons in the glass substrate. The plasmonic interference can thus be probed using single photon counting modules. Fig2: HOM experiment on a lossy plasmonic beamsplitter, whose complex amplitude reflection and transmission factors are denoted r and t respectively. The usual HOM dip is observed when r = it (left), a peak in the coincidence rate is shown when r = t.
In this paper, we study a dielectric under a squeezed vacuum state, a thermal field and a normal vacuum state. The dielectric atoms are considered to be in a three-level lambda type configuration, where a weak probe field induces and generates surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) at the silver and dielectric interface. Therefore, to get deeper insights into the dispersion and absorption spectra, the propagation length as well as the skin depth, we investigate the coherence of the system. Hence, we demonstrate thatthe strong laser used to couple the intermediate level to the upper excited state, has a drastic effect on the generated SPPs wavelength at the interface. Additionally, the system properties are fully controlled by the average photon number, the thermal field, the normal vacuum and the squeezed vacuum state. Finally, in an attempt to elaborate a straightforward technique that manipulates the Lsp ( surface plasmon length ) distance we control the system by simultaneously tuning the phase and the control field in a very specific detuning region. This might be of interest to the engineering of miniature nano-photonic devices and circuits where the sub-wavelength property is required.
This thesis investigates properties of quantum states of light while travelling as surface plasmon polaritons in plasmonic waveguides and structures. The bosonic nature of SPPs has been shown in previous work by performing a Hong-Ou-Mandel interference experiment with a plasmonic scattering-based beam splitter. Here, we show the same interference with a higher statistical power thanks to an improved set-up. A visibility of 59 ± 1 % is obtained in the two-photon interference, clearly breaking the classical limit of 50 %. The importance of the phase-relations between the different modes in the beam splitter is experimentally probed. The output state of the interference is then further analyzed by a quantum state tomography set-up. This makes it possible to quantify the entanglement generated in the interference. As the interference happens in the plasmonic beam splitter, this shows, to our knowledge for the first time, entanglement generated in a plasmonic structure. Together with the recent results in terms of entanglement and coherence preservation of SPPs, this clearly shows the potential of quantum plasmonic devices. To move into the realm of applications, we also investigate theoretically the enhancements in sensitivity quantum states of light can deliver for plasmonic sensing. It is shown that despite the losses, quantum metrology techniques can be useful in an interferometer with plasmonic waveguides. Considering the strengths and successes of plasmonic sensing techniques in a wide range of fields, we envision that entangled and squeezed states of light will become a new route to push the limits in sensitivity.
Light-matter interactions underlie many quantum technologies, yet whether quasiparticles formed from such interactions preserve the full quantum state of light remains unresolved. Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), a class of polaritons formed by interacting photons with free-electron oscillations at metal-dielectric interfaces, are prime candidates to explore this question. Here we demonstrate quantum interference between single photons and SPPs using an Au-SiNx integrated photonic-plasmonic device. Our results reveal that SPPs retain the indistinguishability of their excitation photons, establishing SPP as a viable quantum information carrier and opening a potential route toward photonic-plasmonic quantum circuitry.
Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are collective excitations of free electrons propagating along a metal-dielectric interface. Although some basic quantum properties of SPPs, such as the preservation of entanglement, the wave-particle duality of a single plasmon, the quantum interference of two plasmons, and the verification of entanglement generation, have been shown, more advanced quantum information protocols have yet to be demonstrated with SPPs. Here, we experimentally realize quantum state teleportation between single photons and SPPs. To achieve this, we use polarization-entangled photon pairs, coherent photon-plasmon-photon conversion on a metallic subwavelength hole array, complete Bell-state measurements and an active feed-forward technique. The results of both quantum state and quantum process tomography confirm the quantum nature of the SPP mediated teleportation. An average state fidelity of [Formula: see text] and a process fidelity of [Formula: see text], which are well above the classical limit, are achieved. Our work shows that SPPs may be useful for realizing complex quantum protocols in a photonic-plasmonic hybrid quantum network.
Plasmonics offers sub-diffraction confinement of light, which affords enhanced coupling to emitter systems (e.g.quantum dots).This feature makes possible a range of on-chip quantum photonic components -most notably single-photon sources and switches.This potential use of plasmonics, along with the nonlinearity provided by emitter systems, opens up quantum plasmonics as a viable route to realising quantum information processing.In this setting, the excitation of single surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) on waveguides via single photons and the confirmation of single-photon states upon output is an important goal.In the work reported here, plasmonic waveguides were experimentally probed with single photons.A measurement of the secondorder quantum coherence function yielded a value of g (2) (0) = 0.160 ± 0.002.A value less than 0.5 is indicative of single-excitation states.Furthermore, to confirm successful SPP excitation, the transverse-magnetic mode restriction and exponential decay of SPPs were verified.Having firmly established the ability to probe plasmonic waveguides in the classical and quantum regimes, quantum random number generation was implemented using a plasmonic beam splitter.The random bit sequences produced passed the NIST Statisitical Test Suite once post-processed to correct for a slightly asymmetric beamsplitter.