Biphoton Frequency-Correlations Engineering and Measurement with a Semiconductor Microcavity

Guillaume Boucher

Published Mar 9, 2016• 0 citations

Abstract

This work is focused on the engineering and characterization of the frequency-time properties of photon pairs generated with a semiconductor source. This device emits photons propagating in opposite directions at telecom wavelengths using spontaneous parametric down-conversion at room temperature. A microcavity integrated in the source allows the resonance of the transverse pump beam, enhancing the efficiency of the nonlinear interaction. We give a theoretical description of the down-conversion process in the source and we show how the spatial and spectral properties of the pump beam impact the properties of the photons, in particular their degree of entanglement in frequency allowing a versatile engineering. The variety of states that can be produced is illustrated using the Joint Spectral Amplitude. Two techniques allowing the characterization of the Joint Spectral Intensity have been implemented. The first one is a single photon spectrograph. The second one, based on the stimulation of the down-conversion process showed a dramatic improvement in terms of resolution and integration time. Both techniques allowed the demonstration of the frequency correlation engineering by varying the waist and curvature radius of the pump beam. Examples of more exotic states and a technique to characterize their chronocyclic Wigner function are theoretically investigated. The relationship between time-frequency properties and degree of entanglement in polarization of the biphoton is also explored.

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