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Photonics Research

Generating heralded single photons with a switchable orbital angular momentum mode

Shan Zhang, Shikang Li, Xue Feng, Kaiyu Cui, Fang Liu, Wei Zhang, Yidong Huang

Published Jul 20, 2021• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The orbital angular momentum (OAM) carried by photons defines an infinitely dimensional discrete Hilbert space. With OAM modes, high-dimensional quantum states can be achieved for quantum communication and cryptography. Here we demonstrate a heralded single-photon source with a switchable OAM mode, which consists of a heralded single-photon source and an integrated OAM emitter as the mode converter. As the first step, the heralded single-photon source is based on the dispersion-shifted fiber. In this work, the OAM mode (quantized by topological charge l ) carried by the heralded single photon (at fixed wavelength of 1555.75 nm) can be switched within the range of l = 3 – 7 while the mode purity is more than 80%.

DOI
10.1364/prj.432035

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The orbital angular momentum (OAM) carried by photons defines an infinitely dimensional discrete Hilbert space. With OAM modes, high-dimensional quantum states can be achieved for quantum communication and cryptography. Here we demonstrate a heralded single-photon source with a switchable OAM mode, which consists of a heralded single-photon source and an integrated OAM emitter as the mode converter. As the first step, the heralded single-photon source is based on the dispersion-shifted fiber. In this work, the OAM mode (quantized by topological charge l ) carried by the heralded single photon (at fixed wavelength of 1555.75 nm) can be switched within the range of l = 3 – 7 while the mode purity is more than 80%.
Abstract In quantum optics, orbital angular momentum (OAM) is very promising to achieve high-dimensional quantum states due to the nature of infinite and discrete eigenvalues, which is quantized by the topological charge of l. Here, a heralded single-photon source with switchable OAM modes is proposed and demonstrated on silicon chip. At room-temperature, the heralded single photons with 11 OAM modes (l=2~6, -6~-1) have been successfully generated and switched through thermo-optical effect. We believe that such an integrated quantum source with multiple OAM modes and operating at room-temperature would provide a practical platform for high-dimensional quantum information processing. Moreover, our proposed architecture can also be extended to other material systems to further improve the performance of OAM quantum source.
Orbital angular momentum (OAM) of photons provides a promising approach to enhance the capacity, robustness, and functionality of quantum communication systems in optical fibers. With many twist states available, OAM enables high-dimensional encoding, significantly increasing data rates and noise tolerance. This review explores sources, channels, and system architectures for OAM-based quantum communication in fibers. It compares free-space and integrated emitters, discussing in-fiber pair generation and mode conversion pathways that produce fiber-ready single photons and entangled states. For the channels, it details design principles and trade-offs for step-index and ring-core fibers that minimize intermodal coupling and reviews milestones in kilometer-scale single-photon transmission and high-dimensional entanglement transport. On the system side, the review examines coupling, multiplexing, and detection techniques—including mode (de)multiplexers, lanterns, and programmable sorters—and discusses transmission-matrix-based control methods to mitigate dispersion and bending effects. The review concludes with practical guidance and open challenges, such as improving mode selectivity and stability under real-world conditions; developing compact, efficient detectors for many modes; and integrating co-designed error correction schemes. These directions aim to bridge laboratory demonstrations with the deployment of scalable, high-dimensional fiber networks that harness OAM to significantly boost capacity, resilience, and functionality.
Quantum technologies, if scaled into a high-dimensional Hilbert space, can dramatically enhance connection capabilities with supporting higher bit rates and ultrasecure information transfer. Twisted single photons, carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) as an unbounded dimension, could address the growing demand for high-dimensional quantum information encoding and transmission. By hybrid integration of two-dimensional semiconductor WSe_{2} with a spin-orbit-coupled microring resonator, we demonstrate an integrated tunable twisted single photon source with the ability to precisely define and switch between highly pure spin-OAM states. Our results feature a single photon purity of g^{(2)}(0)∼0.13 with a cavity-enhanced quantum yield of 76% and a high OAM mode purity up to 96.9%. Moreover, the demonstrated quantum-chiral control can also enable new quantum functionality such as single photon routing for efficient quantum information processing on chip.
A heralded single-photon source (HSPS) with competitive single-photon purity and indistinguishability has become an essential resource for photonic quantum information processing. Here we propose a theoretical regime to enhance heralded single-photon generation by multiplexing the degree of freedom of orbital angular momentum (OAM) of down-converted entangled photon pairs emitted from a nonlinear crystal. Experimentally, a proof-of-principle experiment is performed through multiplexing three OAM modes. We achieve a 4747%47 enhancement in the single-photon rate. A second-order autocorrelation function g(2)(0)<0.5{g}^{(2)}(0)<0.5g(2)(0)<0.5 ensures our multiplexed heralded single photons with good single-photon purity. We further indicate that an OAM-multiplexed HSPS with high quality can be constructed by generating higher-dimensional entangled states and sorting them with high efficiency in OAM space. Our method may approach a good HSPS with the deterministic property.
Light-carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) has great potential in enhancing the information channel capacity in both classical and quantum optical communications. Long distance optical communication requires the wavelengths of light are situated in the low-loss communication windows, but most quantum memories currently being developed for use in a quantum repeater work at different wavelengths, so a quantum interface to bridge the wavelength gap is necessary. So far, such an interface for OAM-carried light has not been realized yet. Here, we report the first experimental realization of a quantum interface for a heralded single photon carrying OAM using a nonlinear crystal in an optical cavity. The spatial structures of input and output photons exhibit strong similarity. More importantly, single-photon coherence is preserved during up-conversion as demonstrated.