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International Conference on Transparent Optical Networks

Nonlinear Optical Signal Processing and Generation of Quantum States using Intermodal Four-wave Mixing

Karsten K. Rottwitt, Mario A. Usuga Castaneda, Erik Nicolai Christensen, Jesper B. Christensen, Jacob G. Koefoed

Published Jul 1, 2018• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

The strong interest in space-division multiplexing of classical communication signals has resulted in development of optical fibers that support propagation of multiple modes. This has paved the way for progress in signal processing using multiple modes and four-wave mixing between these. More specifically, careful design and knowledge of optical properties of individual modes enables phase matching in four-wave mixing that is otherwise not possible with single-mode fibers. This enables signal processing using four-wave mixing between higher-order modes for e.g. frequency conversion over a wide bandwidth. In addition, processing and creation of quantum states has also been demonstrated using four-wave mixing, including generation of photon pairs. In this work we review recent progress in signal processing and generation of quantum states using four-wave mixing.

DOI
10.1109/icton.2018.8473759

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The strong interest in space-division multiplexing of classical communication signals has resulted in development of optical fibers that support propagation of multiple modes. This has paved the way for progress in signal processing using multiple modes and four-wave mixing between these. More specifically, careful design and knowledge of optical properties of individual modes enables phase matching in four-wave mixing that is otherwise not possible with single-mode fibers. This enables signal processing using four-wave mixing between higher-order modes for e.g. frequency conversion over a wide bandwidth. In addition, processing and creation of quantum states has also been demonstrated using four-wave mixing, including generation of photon pairs. In this work we review recent progress in signal processing and generation of quantum states using four-wave mixing.
Being able to generate and process quantum states are essential functionalities in quantum communication. Examples of the processing include conversion of the wavelength of quantum states or modification of their temporal shape. The combined use of four-wave mixing and higher order modes in optical fibers has enabled such functionalities. The use of intermodal four-wave mixing among higher order modes, enable frequency conversion over a wavelength bandwidth, large enough to avoid spontaneous Raman scattering, which is otherwise detrimental for quantum communication. The process of intermodal four-wave mixing furthermore has the advantage that the same process may be used to generate single photon states. We review recent results on the use of intermodal four-wave mixing in optical multi-mode fibers for quantum information science and show a theoretical/numerical model that may be used to predict the performance of quantum state processing devices based on four-wave mixing.
Four-wave mixing in optical fibers has been proven to have many applications within processing of classical optical signals. In addition, recent developments in multimode fibers have made it possible to achieve the necessary phase-matching for efficient four-wave mixing over a very wide bandwidth. Thus, the combination of multimode fiber optics and four-wave mixing is very attractive for various applications. This is especially the case for applications in quantum communication, for example in photon-pair generation. This is the subject of this work, where we discuss the impact of fluctuations in core radius on the quality of the heralded single-photon states and demonstrate experimental results of intermodal spontaneous four-wave mixing for photon-pair generation.
The authors consider, experimentally and theoretically, the quantum frequency translation (i.e., noiseless conversion) of quantum states of light, including single-photon states. This process is useful for allowing quantum optical systems (atoms, ions, cavities, fibers, detectors) operating at different wavelengths to communicate with each other. The authors recently developed the process of frequency translation in optical fiber through use of the Bragg scattering four-wave mixing process. The high nonlinearity and the ability to control dispersion in photonic crystal fiber (PCF) enable efficient translation between nearby photon channels within the visible to-near-infrared spectral range, useful in quantum networks. This offers an important advantage compared with frequency translation using second-order nonlinear optical crystals, which limits the translation process to widely separated frequencies only.
The stagnating increase in data transmission capacity in optical communication systems combined with the ever growing demand of transmission bandwidth is leading to an impending capacity crunch, referring to the point in time after which the available bandwidth of the individual user starts to decrease. To postpone this point in time, existing technologies in terms of data transmission through optical fibers must be optimized and new degrees of freedom must be introduced to continue the exponential increase in available bandwidth; space-division multiplexing is believed to be the strongest candidate for another degree of freedom in transmission fibers. This thesis is two-fold: firstly, starting at Maxwell’s equations and basic principles of quantum mechanics, a semi-classical model of the noise properties of fiber optical parametric amplifiers and frequency converters is presented. The model accounts for multiple effects present in nonlinear fibers such as four-wave mixing, Raman scattering, distributed loss, and dispersion, and it is valid in the depleted pump regime. After validating the model against well-known results of quantum models, the model is used to predict the impacts of Raman noise, loss, and pump depletion on the noise properties of parametric frequency conversion and phase-insensitive and phase-sensitive parametric amplification. An important part of realizing space-division multiplexing is the ability of optical signal processing so the second part of this thesis addresses few-mode Raman fiber amplifiers and parametric amplifiers and frequency converters. A model of weak random linear mode coupling in the pump of a two-mode distributed Raman fiber amplifier is presented and it is shown that an amplification noise figure induced by mode coupling increases with the degree of mode coupling and that this tendency increases as the pump depletes. Also, a very low mode-dependent gain of 0.25 dB per 10 dB gain is experimentally demonstrated in a two-mode distributed Raman fiber amplifier by exciting the pump in a combination of two modes. A comprehensive model of four-wave mixing in two-mode fibers acvi counting for six simultaneous processes is derived, and the conversion efficiency from signal to idler in the four-wave mixing processes of phase conjugation and Bragg scattering in two two-mode fibers with different phase matching properties are experimentally investigated. A conversion efficiency of > −2.70 dB is demonstrated for Bragg scattering in the conversion of a signal in the LP01-mode to the idler in the LP11-mode; the signal-to-idler separation is ∼ 25 nm. Good qualitative agreement between experiments and theory is found for both processes in both fibers.
In this dissertation, multimode optical fibers (MMFs) have been studied as a robust and practical platform for nonlinear optics and quantum optics applications, where by experimental investigations and theoretical calculations we present the quantum and nonlinear virtue of MMFs as a versatile tool for future applications. Our investigations can be summarized in three parts: At first, we have investigated stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in a long MMF, where more than 20 orders of cascaded Raman peaks have been generated. Observation of beam clean-up despite the highly multimode nature of the fiber and such strong nonlinear interaction despite the large fiber core size are distinguishable results of our work. Next, we have studied four-wave mixing (FWM) via intermodal phase-matching in both step-index and graded-index MMFs (GIMFs). A rigorous and general approach in the theoretical study is presented where some of the commonly used, yet inaccurate approximations are avoided. Experimentally, FWM side-bands with minimal contamination from SRS, and residual pump photons have been generated from quantum vacuum and amplified more than 11 orders of magnitude. Finally, in the last part of this dissertation, we have done a theoretical study of photon-pair generation in a multimode optical fiber (both step-index and GIMF) via intermodal-FWM as a source of state-engineered photon-pairs.