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Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics

Single-Photon Statistics Generated by Narrow-Band Cavity-Enhanced Parametric Down-Conversion

Matthias Scholz, Lars Koch, Oliver J. Benson

Published Jan 1, 2009• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We present a single-photon source based on cavity-enhanced parametric down-conversion with < 3 MHz linewidth and a brightness of 14000 counts/(s×mW×MHz). Measuring heralded single-photon statistics, we achieved a 100-fold suppression of two-photon events compared to a Poissonian source.
DOI
10.1364/iqec.2009.ithj1

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Narrow-band single photons represent an important resource for quantum memories due to their efficient interaction with atomic resonances. In this Letter, we report on the generation of photons with 3 MHz linewidth by cavity-enhanced parametric down-conversion and demonstrate direct proof of their single-photon character by detection of heralding idler photons. Compared to a Poissonian source, a suppression of higher-order photon numbers by nearly 2 orders of magnitude could be achieved. Moreover, the brightness of our source exceeds previous realizations by more than a factor of 100.
Narrow-band single photons represent an important resource for quantum memories due to their efficient interaction with atomic resonances. In this paper, we report on the generation of photons with 3 MHz linewidth by cavity-enhanced parametric down-conversion and demonstrate direct proof of their single-photon character by detection of heralding idler photons. Compared to a Poissonian source, a suppression of higher-order photon numbers by nearly two orders of magnitude could be achieved. Moreover, the brightness of our source exceeds previous realizations by more than a factor of 100.
Using cavity-enhanced non-degenerate parametric down-conversion, we have built a frequency tunable source of heralded single photons with a narrow bandwidth of 8 MHz, making it compatible with atomic quantum memories. The photon state is 70% pure single photon as characterized by a tomographic measurement and reconstruction of the quantum state, revealing a clearly negative Wigner function. Furthermore, it has a spectral brightness of ~1,500 photons/s per MHz bandwidth, making it one of the brightest single photon sources available. We also investigate the correlation function of the down-converted fields using a combination of two very distinct detection methods; photon counting and homodyne measurement.
This paper presents an experiment on single-photon spectrum generation using an optical parametric oscillator device with cavity-enhanced parametric down-conversion. A PPKTP crystal inside a cavity far below threshold is pumped in order to create signal-idler photon pairs. Triple-resonance of pump, signal, and idler fields are achieved using a compensating KTP crystal. Long-term stability, ultra-high brightness (14000 biphotons/s per mW), and MHz signal bandwidth behind a single-mode fiber on the cesium D1 line (894.3 nm) are attained by locking the cavity length of the pump via the Hansch-Couillaud method. The spectral width of the parametric fluorescence is also derived using the signal-to-idler cross-correlation measurements, and has been found to be < 3 MHz.
Cavity-enhanced spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) can be used to implement heralded single-photon sources with narrow bandwidth down to tens of megahertz, thus compatible with atom-based quantum memories. In this work, we propose and study the cavities that are either singly resonant at the frequency of only one of the generated photons or doubly resonant at the frequency of one generated photon and for the pump field. We derive analytical expressions for the generation rate and the spectral brightness as a function of the main structure parameters. Our analysis shows that by exploiting counterpropagating SPDC inside a cavity with properly designed distributed Bragg reflectors, pure narrow-band heralded single photons can be generated. In particular, when a pulsed pump illuminates a 1-mm-long singly resonant cavity, the bandwidth of the resonant and the nonresonant photons will be 120 MHz and 5.7 GHz, respectively, with heralded single-photon purity as high as 0.993. Due to its small absorption probability inside the cavity, the heralding efficiency can approach unity if the nonresonant partner is used as a heralded single photon. Finally, we also show that continuous-wave excitation of a 1-cm-long cavity resonant for the pump and copropagating fields can provide photon pairs in a narrow bandwidth of 10 MHz with spectral brightness as high as $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{6}$ $({\text{s}\phantom{\rule{4.pt}{0ex}}\text{mW}\phantom{\rule{4.pt}{0ex}}\text{MHz})}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. This source can efficiently couple with quantum memories and can find applications in quantum information processing and communication.