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Journal of the Optical Society of America A

Improved photon-pair generation from transition-metal dichalcogenide monolayers embedded in one-dimensional photonic crystals

Tiecheng Wang

Published Mar 22, 2018• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We have theoretically investigated photon-pair generation from transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) monolayers embedded in photonic crystals (PCs) by a rigorous quantum model of spontaneous parametric downconversion. The mean number of output photon pairs and the signal-field energy spectrum have been elaborated. Two different structures are studied: one is a monolayer WS2 embedded in the defective PC, and the other is a stack of WS2 layers in the dielectric multilayer structure. It is clearly shown that an obvious improvement of the generation rate of the correlated photon pairs from the monolayer WS2 can be realized in these two structures, and the enhancement can reach as much as 14 orders of magnitude. Such an effective improvement utilizes the improved field localization at the defect state or the band-edge state, the propagation of photons in the PCs, and coherent superposition; similar phenomena can occur for other TMDC monolayers. These phenomena are very beneficial for the design of optical devices.

DOI
10.1364/josaa.35.000616

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We have theoretically investigated photon-pair generation from transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) monolayers embedded in photonic crystals (PCs) by a rigorous quantum model of spontaneous parametric downconversion. The mean number of output photon pairs and the signal-field energy spectrum have been elaborated. Two different structures are studied: one is a monolayer WS2 embedded in the defective PC, and the other is a stack of WS2 layers in the dielectric multilayer structure. It is clearly shown that an obvious improvement of the generation rate of the correlated photon pairs from the monolayer WS2 can be realized in these two structures, and the enhancement can reach as much as 14 orders of magnitude. Such an effective improvement utilizes the improved field localization at the defect state or the band-edge state, the propagation of photons in the PCs, and coherent superposition; similar phenomena can occur for other TMDC monolayers. These phenomena are very beneficial for the design of optical devices.
Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) thinned-down to the monolayer level allow the realisation of very broad-band, phase-matching free nonlinear devices. A particularly interesting application would be the generation of entangled photon-pairs, which form the backbone of many recent implementations in quantum optics. However, the limited absolute efficiency of monolayers has so far only allowed seeded parametric amplification [1], experimental evidence for the generation of entangled photon-pairs through spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) remained elusive up to now [2]. A promising route for the realization of broad-band photon-pair sources in van der Waals materials are moderately thicker, yet still phase-matching free layer stacks with preserved noncentrosymmetry [3], [4]. Here, we close the gap of a missing entangled photon-pair source in TMDCs and demonstrate, for the first time to our knowledge, pair generation via SPDC in 3R-MoS2.
Entangled photons are the fundamental resource in quantum information processing. How to produce them efficiently has always been a matter of concern. Here we propose a new way to produce correlated photons efficiently from monolayer WS2 based on bound states in the continuum (BICs). The BICs of radiation modes in the monolayer WS2 are realized by designing the photonic crystal slab-WS2-slab structure. The generation efficiency of correlated photon pairs from such a structure has been studied by using a rigorous quantum model of spontaneous parametric down-conversion with the plane wave expansion method. It is found that the generation efficiency of correlated photon pairs is greatly improved if the signal and idler fields are located at the BICs determined by the inverse scattering matrix of the structure. This is in contrast to the parametric down-conversion process for the enhanced generation of nonlinear waves if the pump field is located at the BICs determined by the scattering matrix of the structure. The generation rate of the correlated photon pairs can be improved by 7 orders of magnitude in some designed structures. The generated quantum signals are sensitive to the wavelength and exhibit narrowed relative line width, which is very beneficial for quantum information processing.
We study the process of spontaneous parametric downconversion in a one-dimensional defective quadratic nonlinear photonic crystal. It is shown that the strong confinements of both the pump and signal waves around the defective layer result in a giant enhancement of the entangled photon-pair generation. An enhancement factor as high as 3.4×106 is obtained in our defective structure based on the dual-localized modes. Furthermore, the linewidth of the downconverted fields is only 0.1 nm. Such a photonic crystal structure can be applied as a highly efficient source of entangled photon pairs for highly integrated all-optical circuits.
The generation efficiency of correlated photon pairs from a positive-negative index material heterostructure has been investigated by using a rigorous quantum model of spontaneous parametric down-conversion. The mean number of output photon pairs and the signal-field energy spectrum have been calculated. It is shown that the strong confinements of both the pump and signal fields around the resonance state result in a giant enhancement of the correlated photon-pair generation. The generation rate of the correlated photon pair can be improved by several orders of magnitude in the present structure in comparison with those in the corresponding conventional resonant cavity. This means that the present structure can be applied as a highly efficient potential source for entangled photon pairs.
Nonlinear metal-dielectric layered structures are shown to be able to efficiently generate entangled photon pairs using spontaneous parametric down-conversion. Increase of electric-field amplitudes in these structures enhanced by the presence of metal layers is sufficient to compensate for losses inside thin metal layers. As an example, photon pairs emitted from a structure composed of alternating nonlinear dielectric GaN layers and metal Ag layers are analyzed in spectral, temporal, as well as spatial domains. Also, correlations and entanglement between two photons in a pair are determined. Very narrow photon-pair spectra together with strong directionality of photon-pair emission are observed making the photons suitable for photon-atom interactions. Highly enhanced electric-field amplitudes provide high photon-pair generation efficiencies.
Abstract To date, quantum communication widely relies on attenuated lasers for secret key generation. In future quantum networks fundamental limitations resulting from their probabilistic photon distribution must be overcome by using deterministic quantum light sources. Confined excitons in monolayers of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) constitute a novel type of emitter for quantum light generation. These atomically-thin solid-state sources show appealing prospects for large-scale and low-cost device integration, meeting the demands of quantum information technologies. Here, we pioneer the practical suitability of TMDC devices in quantum communication. We employ a WSe2 monolayer single-photon source to emulate the BB84 protocol in a quantum key distribution (QKD) setup and achieve raw key rates of up to 66.95 kHz and antibunching values down to 0.034 - a performance competitive with QKD experiments using semiconductor quantum dots or color centers in diamond. Our work opens the route towards wider applications of quantum information technologies using TMDC single-photon sources.