Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Optics Letters

Real-time spectral characterization of a photon pair source using a chirped supercontinuum seed

Jennifer Erskine, Duncan G. England, Connor Kupchak, Benjamin Sussman

Published Feb 13, 2018• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Photon pair sources have wide ranging applications in a variety of quantum photonic experiments and protocols. Many of these protocols require well controlled spectral correlations between the two output photons. However, due to low cross-sections, measuring the joint spectral properties of photon pair sources has historically been a challenging and time-consuming task. Here, we present an approach for the real-time measurement of the joint spectral properties of a fiber-based four wave mixing source. We seed the four wave mixing process using a broadband chirped pulse, studying the stimulated process to extract information regarding the spontaneous process. In addition, we compare stimulated emission measurements with the spontaneous process to confirm the technique's validity. Joint spectral measurements have taken many hours historically and several minutes with recent techniques. Here, measurements have been demonstrated in 5-30 s depending on resolution, offering substantial improvement. Additional benefits of this approach include flexible resolution, large measurement bandwidth, and reduced experimental overhead.

DOI
10.1364/ol.43.000907

Related papers

Real-time spectral characterization of a photon pair source using a chirped supercontinuum seed

Jennifer Erskine, Duncan G. England, Connor Kupchak +1 more

We perform joint spectral intensity measurements by studying stimulated four wave mixing in a birefringent fiber photon pair source. Seeding the process with a chirped supercontinuum beam, measurements are acquired in as little as 5 s.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics•Jan 1, 2018•0 citations

Characterization and Modification of Fiber-based Photon Pair Sources

Jennifer Erskine

Non-classical light sources are a fundamental building block of quantum photonic technologies. As these photonic technologies require higher numbers of sources and more specific source properties, it becomes increasingly important to characterize and manipulate these sources effectively. This thesis consists of three main projects, all relating to non-classical sources of light. First, we present a method for the rapid measurement of the joint spectral intensity of fiber-based photon pair sources. This method extends the concept of Stimulated Emission Tomography, using a chirped, broadband seed beam to stimulate the four wave mixing interaction. The use of the broadband seed, generated through supercontinuum generation, allows for measurements on the few second timescale and requires only a single pump laser to achieve high resolution joint spectra. In the second project, we use this characterization tool to test a variety of different fiber-based photon pair sources. We use three different modification approaches (bending, squeezing, and tapering) to induce changes in the joint spectral properties of the photon pair sources. We show that each of these modifications has some impact on the joint spectra measured. The resulting joint spectra are very complex, highlighting the importance of performing measurements rather than relying on calculations alone. Lastly, we demonstrate a fast switch for the manipulation of single photons. The switch uses the optical Kerr effect to rotate the polarization state of single photons at ultrafast timescales. The implementation of this switch is experimentally straightforward, using a commercial, single mode fiber as the Kerr medium and nJ level pump powers. We operate at an 80 MHz repetition rate and measure 97% switching efficiency, picosecond level switching speed, and approximately 800:1 signal to noise ratio from the operation.

•Nov 14, 2018•0 citations

Fast and highly resolved capture of the joint spectral density of photon pairs

Bin Fang, Offir Cohen, Marco Liscidini +2 more

Controlling the spatial and spectral–temporal properties of photon pairs produced in artificially structured materials is fundamental to the realization of numerous photonic quantum information applications. Tailoring the joint spectral properties of photon pairs is of particular importance for applications relying on time–energy entanglement, high-visibility interference, and heralding. Yet measuring the joint spectral properties is a time-consuming task requiring coincidence counting, typically resulting in low-resolution spectra with a poor signal-to-noise ratio. In this work we capture the joint spectral correlations of photon pairs that would be produced in optical fibers with unprecedented speed, resolution, and signal-to-noise ratio, using a scheme based on stimulated four-wave mixing. We also illustrate that this technique can be used in engineering joint spectral correlations, making it a powerful tool for studying quantum states.

Optica•Oct 28, 2014•103 citations

Joint spectral characterization of photon-pair sources

Kevin Zielnicki, Karina Garay-Palmett, Daniel Cruz-Delgado +6 more

The ability to determine the joint spectral properties of photon pairs produced by the processes of spontaneous parametric downconversion (SPDC) and spontaneous four-wave mixing (SFWM) is crucial for guaranteeing the usability of heralded single photons and polarization-entangled pairs for multi-photon protocols. In this paper, we compare six different techniques that yield either a characterization of the joint spectral intensity or of the closely related purity of heralded single photons. These six techniques include: (i) scanning monochromator measurements, (ii) a variant of Fourier transform spectroscopy designed to extract the desired information exploiting a resource-optimized technique, (iii) dispersive fibre spectroscopy, (iv) stimulated-emission-based measurement, (v) measurement of the second-order correlation function g(2) for one of the two photons, and (vi) two-source Hong–Ou–Mandel interferometry. We discuss the relative performance of these techniques for the specific cases of a SPDC source designed to be factorable and SFWM sources of varying purity, and compare the techniques’ relative advantages and disadvantages.

arXiv:1801.01195•Journal of Modern Optics•Feb 23, 2018•143 citations

Bi-photon spectral correlation measurements from a silicon nanowire in the quantum and classical regimes

Iman Jizan, L. G. Helt, Chunle Xiong +7 more

The growing requirement for photon pairs with specific spectral correlations in quantum optics experiments has created a demand for fast, high resolution and accurate source characterisation. A promising tool for such characterisation uses classical stimulated processes, in which an additional seed laser stimulates photon generation yielding much higher count rates, as recently demonstrated for a χ(2) integrated source in A. Eckstein et al. Laser Photon. Rev. 8, L76 (2014). In this work we extend these results to χ(3) integrated sources, directly measuring for the first time the relation between spectral correlation measurements via stimulated and spontaneous four wave mixing in an integrated optical waveguide, a silicon nanowire. We directly confirm the speed-up due to higher count rates and demonstrate that this allows additional resolution to be gained when compared to traditional coincidence measurements without any increase in measurement time. As the pump pulse duration can influence the degree of spectral correlation, all of our measurements are taken for two different pump pulse widths. This allows us to confirm that the classical stimulated process correctly captures the degree of spectral correlation regardless of pump pulse duration, and cements its place as an essential characterisation method for the development of future quantum integrated devices.

arXiv:1412.0809•Scientific Reports•Jul 28, 2015•37 citations

Spectral characterization of photon-pair sources via classical sum-frequency generation

Fumihiro Kaneda, Jo Oikawa, Masahiro Yabuno +5 more

Tailoring spectral properties of photon pairs is of great importance for optical quantum information and measurement applications. High-resolution spectral measurement is a key technique for engineering spectral properties of photons, making them ideal for various quantum applications. Here we demonstrate spectral measurements and optimization of frequency-entangled photon pairs produced via spontaneous parametric downconversion (SPDC), utilizing frequency-resolved sum-frequency generation (SFG), the reverse process of SPDC. A joint phase-matching spectrum of a nonlinear crystal around 1580 nm is captured with a 40 pm resolution and a > 40 dB signal-to-noise ratio, which is significantly improved compared to traditional frequency-resolved coincidence measurements. Moreover, our scheme is applicable to collinear degenerate sources whose characterization is difficult with previously demonstrated stimulated difference frequency generation (DFG). We also illustrate that the observed phase-matching function is useful for finding an optimal pump spectrum to maximize the spectral indistinguishability of SPDC photons. We expect that our precise spectral characterization technique will be useful tool for characterizing and tailoring SPDC sources for a wide range of optical quantum applications.

arXiv:2010.07678•Optics Express•Nov 30, 2020•14 citations
Photon pair sources have wide ranging applications in a variety of quantum photonic experiments and protocols. Many of these protocols require well controlled spectral correlations between the two output photons. However, due to low cross-sections, measuring the joint spectral properties of photon pair sources has historically been a challenging and time-consuming task. Here, we present an approach for the real-time measurement of the joint spectral properties of a fiber-based four wave mixing source. We seed the four wave mixing process using a broadband chirped pulse, studying the stimulated process to extract information regarding the spontaneous process. In addition, we compare stimulated emission measurements with the spontaneous process to confirm the technique's validity. Joint spectral measurements have taken many hours historically and several minutes with recent techniques. Here, measurements have been demonstrated in 5-30 s depending on resolution, offering substantial improvement. Additional benefits of this approach include flexible resolution, large measurement bandwidth, and reduced experimental overhead.
Non-classical light sources are a fundamental building block of quantum photonic technologies. As these photonic technologies require higher numbers of sources and more specific source properties, it becomes increasingly important to characterize and manipulate these sources effectively. This thesis consists of three main projects, all relating to non-classical sources of light. First, we present a method for the rapid measurement of the joint spectral intensity of fiber-based photon pair sources. This method extends the concept of Stimulated Emission Tomography, using a chirped, broadband seed beam to stimulate the four wave mixing interaction. The use of the broadband seed, generated through supercontinuum generation, allows for measurements on the few second timescale and requires only a single pump laser to achieve high resolution joint spectra. In the second project, we use this characterization tool to test a variety of different fiber-based photon pair sources. We use three different modification approaches (bending, squeezing, and tapering) to induce changes in the joint spectral properties of the photon pair sources. We show that each of these modifications has some impact on the joint spectra measured. The resulting joint spectra are very complex, highlighting the importance of performing measurements rather than relying on calculations alone. Lastly, we demonstrate a fast switch for the manipulation of single photons. The switch uses the optical Kerr effect to rotate the polarization state of single photons at ultrafast timescales. The implementation of this switch is experimentally straightforward, using a commercial, single mode fiber as the Kerr medium and nJ level pump powers. We operate at an 80 MHz repetition rate and measure 97% switching efficiency, picosecond level switching speed, and approximately 800:1 signal to noise ratio from the operation.
Controlling the spatial and spectral–temporal properties of photon pairs produced in artificially structured materials is fundamental to the realization of numerous photonic quantum information applications. Tailoring the joint spectral properties of photon pairs is of particular importance for applications relying on time–energy entanglement, high-visibility interference, and heralding. Yet measuring the joint spectral properties is a time-consuming task requiring coincidence counting, typically resulting in low-resolution spectra with a poor signal-to-noise ratio. In this work we capture the joint spectral correlations of photon pairs that would be produced in optical fibers with unprecedented speed, resolution, and signal-to-noise ratio, using a scheme based on stimulated four-wave mixing. We also illustrate that this technique can be used in engineering joint spectral correlations, making it a powerful tool for studying quantum states.
The ability to determine the joint spectral properties of photon pairs produced by the processes of spontaneous parametric downconversion (SPDC) and spontaneous four-wave mixing (SFWM) is crucial for guaranteeing the usability of heralded single photons and polarization-entangled pairs for multi-photon protocols. In this paper, we compare six different techniques that yield either a characterization of the joint spectral intensity or of the closely related purity of heralded single photons. These six techniques include: (i) scanning monochromator measurements, (ii) a variant of Fourier transform spectroscopy designed to extract the desired information exploiting a resource-optimized technique, (iii) dispersive fibre spectroscopy, (iv) stimulated-emission-based measurement, (v) measurement of the second-order correlation function g(2) for one of the two photons, and (vi) two-source Hong–Ou–Mandel interferometry. We discuss the relative performance of these techniques for the specific cases of a SPDC source designed to be factorable and SFWM sources of varying purity, and compare the techniques’ relative advantages and disadvantages.
The growing requirement for photon pairs with specific spectral correlations in quantum optics experiments has created a demand for fast, high resolution and accurate source characterisation. A promising tool for such characterisation uses classical stimulated processes, in which an additional seed laser stimulates photon generation yielding much higher count rates, as recently demonstrated for a χ(2) integrated source in A. Eckstein et al. Laser Photon. Rev. 8, L76 (2014). In this work we extend these results to χ(3) integrated sources, directly measuring for the first time the relation between spectral correlation measurements via stimulated and spontaneous four wave mixing in an integrated optical waveguide, a silicon nanowire. We directly confirm the speed-up due to higher count rates and demonstrate that this allows additional resolution to be gained when compared to traditional coincidence measurements without any increase in measurement time. As the pump pulse duration can influence the degree of spectral correlation, all of our measurements are taken for two different pump pulse widths. This allows us to confirm that the classical stimulated process correctly captures the degree of spectral correlation regardless of pump pulse duration, and cements its place as an essential characterisation method for the development of future quantum integrated devices.
Tailoring spectral properties of photon pairs is of great importance for optical quantum information and measurement applications. High-resolution spectral measurement is a key technique for engineering spectral properties of photons, making them ideal for various quantum applications. Here we demonstrate spectral measurements and optimization of frequency-entangled photon pairs produced via spontaneous parametric downconversion (SPDC), utilizing frequency-resolved sum-frequency generation (SFG), the reverse process of SPDC. A joint phase-matching spectrum of a nonlinear crystal around 1580 nm is captured with a 40 pm resolution and a > 40 dB signal-to-noise ratio, which is significantly improved compared to traditional frequency-resolved coincidence measurements. Moreover, our scheme is applicable to collinear degenerate sources whose characterization is difficult with previously demonstrated stimulated difference frequency generation (DFG). We also illustrate that the observed phase-matching function is useful for finding an optimal pump spectrum to maximize the spectral indistinguishability of SPDC photons. We expect that our precise spectral characterization technique will be useful tool for characterizing and tailoring SPDC sources for a wide range of optical quantum applications.