Quantum entanglement is the most representative feature of quantum mechanics to classical mechanics. It is the delocalization, non-classical strong correlation among multiple quantum system. It has been developed for nearly one hundred years and a lot of methods of production and applications have been proposed. Aiming at the generation mode of quantum entanglement, this study presents two general preparation methods of quantum entanglement sources, including spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) and the preparation of quantum entanglement sources based on the four-wave mixing (FWM) effect. The principle, advantages and disadvantages of quantum entanglement sources are analyzed respectively. Finally, the research and application direction of the preparation method of quantum entanglement source are prospected. With the ability of preparation of quantum entanglement source, the application of quantum entanglement developed quickly, (e.g., quantum teleportation, entanglement swapping, quantum key distribution and quantum dense coding in the area of communication), and other area such as quantum computer, quantum imaging, quantum ranging and quantum clock synchronization. These results shed light on guiding further exploration of entanglement fabrication.
Quantum entanglement is the most representative feature of quantum mechanics to classical mechanics. It is the delocalization, non-classical strong correlation among multiple quantum system. It has been developed for nearly one hundred years and a lot of methods of production and applications have been proposed. Aiming at the generation mode of quantum entanglement, this study presents two general preparation methods of quantum entanglement sources, including spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) and the preparation of quantum entanglement sources based on the four-wave mixing (FWM) effect. The principle, advantages and disadvantages of quantum entanglement sources are analyzed respectively. Finally, the research and application direction of the preparation method of quantum entanglement source are prospected. With the ability of preparation of quantum entanglement source, the application of quantum entanglement developed quickly, (e.g., quantum teleportation, entanglement swapping, quantum key distribution and quantum dense coding in the area of communication), and other area such as quantum computer, quantum imaging, quantum ranging and quantum clock synchronization. These results shed light on guiding further exploration of entanglement fabrication.
This thesis deals with the production of entangled photons using spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC). We start with a short overview of some important theoretical concepts. First we provide a brief reminder of the theory of entanglement. We then discuss how the state of quantum systems can be determined using quantum state tomography. We also explain SPDC, the physical process which we use to produce entangled photons. Finally, we give an overview of the methods which have been used to produce entangled photons in the past, both for two- and three-photon entanglement. \n \nThe first experiment is the design of an efficient source of entangled photon pairs based on a polarizing Sagnac interferometer configuration. With this configuration, we can use quasi-phasematched materials which allow for higher efficiencies than standard bulk nonlinear materials. The source is pumped by a low-power continuous-wave laser diode, and produces degenerate photon pairs at 809nm. It has a spectral brightness of 87,500 pairs/(s mW nm), and the fidelity of the produced quantum states with a Bell state is 98.9%. The source is used for experiments in quantum key distribution, cluster state quantum computing, remote state preparation, state discrimination, and entanglement-enhanced classical communication. \n \nThe second experiment discussed in this thesis is the generation of photon triplets using cascaded SPDC. In this experiment, a primary SPDC source is pumped with a low-power, continuous-wave laser diode, producing photon pairs. Single photons from these pairs serve as the pump for a second down-conversion, resulting in photon triplets. This is the first demonstration of the direct production of photon triplets, and the first observation of SPDC at the single photon level. This method could potentially be used to produce entangled photon triplets without post-selection, and as a source of triggered Bell pairs.
Based on the characteristics of superposition, entanglement, non-locality and non-clonality of quantum mechanics, quantum information science can break through the physical limits of classical information and open up a new information processing function different from classical electromagnetic application methods. Due to the advantages of high-energy single photon in practical applications, the research and application of optical quantum information technology dominates the development of current quantum information technology. However, the free-space transmission of light waves is greatly affected by weather conditions and atmospheric particles. Comparing with other wave bands, classical microwave signal shows good penetration ability when transmitting in free space. By introducing quantum mechanics, microwave signal also exhibits non-classical merits. As quantum microwave signal inherits both classical transmission performance and quantum non-classical features, it can be utilized as a significant signal source for diverse applications in microwave domain, such as quantum communication, quantum navigation and quantum radar, which are based on quantum technologies in large scale and dynamic free space transmission. There are three main experimental platforms on which quantum microwave is studied and produced. They are cavity quantum electrodynamics(C-QED) system, circuit quantum electrodynamics(c-QED) system, and cavity electro-opto-mechanical(EOM) system, involving with several nonlinear effects such as Kerr effect, Casimir effect, three-wave mixing, etc. In this paper, the setups of these platforms and the preparation principles are introduced. Meanwhile, the preparation principles and methods of microwave single photon, entangled microwave photons, squeezed microwave fields and entangled microwave fields are summarized and analyzed in detail from three aspects. The present status of experimental progress in the relevant fields are summarized and listed as well. Besides, key problems in the application of quantum navigation in free space utilizing quantum microwave are probed. Among them, the most pressing ones are preparation ability, decoherence in transmission and detection of entangled quantum microwave signals, which are also discussed and analyzed in this paper. Finally, we look forward to the future development of quantum microwave technology. It mainly consists of manufacturing microwave detectors with high efficiency, designing thermal photon filters, and developing suitable antennas. We hope that this study can provide useful reference for scholars who are engaged in or interested in research related to quantum microwave technologies.
One of the most surprising consequences of quantum mechanics is the entanglement of two or more distance particles. Even though there are still questions regarding the fundamental issues of quantum theory, quantum entanglement has started to play important roles in practical engineering applications such as quantum information processing, quantum metrology, quantum imaging and quantum lithography. Two-photon states have been the most popular entangled states in fundamental and applied research. Using spontaneous parametric down conversion as an example, this review introduces the concept of biphoton wavepacket and emphasizes the very different physics associated with the entangled two-photon system (pure state) and with the `individual' subsystems (statistical mixture). Experimental approaches for Bell state preparation, pumped by continous wave and ultrashort pulse are discussed.
A key element in the quickly developing science of photonic quantum information processing is quantum light sources. These sources are crucial for applications in quantum computing, quantum cryptography, and quantum communication because they can produce both single photons and entangled photon pairs. The efficiency, scalability, and performance of quantum light sources have been greatly enhanced by recent developments in four-wave mixing, spontaneous parametric down-conversion, and quantum dot technology. the most recent advancements in constructed quantum light sources, emphasizing how they help solve important problems including coherence, indistinguishability, and integration with current photonic systems. We explore how these sources can improve the fidelity and reliability of quantum circuits and how they could transform fault-tolerant quantum computing and secure communication networks in the future. In order to further the practical application of quantum technologies, the study also suggests potential paths for combining quantum light sources with scalable photonic systems.
Entangled photons are a crucial resource for linear optical quantum communication and quantum computation. Besides the remarkable progress of photon state engineering using atomic memories (Kimble (2008); Yuan et al. (2008)) the majority of current experiments is based on the production of photon pairs in the process of spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC), where the entangled photon pair is concluded from post-selection of randomly occurring coincidences. Here we present new insights into the heralded generation of photon states (Barz et al. (2010); Wagenknecht et al. (2010)) that are maximally entangled in polarization (Schrodinger (1935)) with linear optics and standard photon detection from SPDC (Kwiat et al. (1995)). We utilize the down-conversion state corresponding to the generation of three pairs of photons, where the coincident detection of four auxiliary photons unambiguously heralds the successful preparation of the entangled state (Śliwa & Banaszek (2003)). This controlled generation of entangled photon states is a significant step towards the applicability of a linear optics quantum network (Nielsen & Chuang (2000)), in particular for entanglement distribution (Bennett et al. (1996)), entanglement swapping (Kaltenbaek et al. (2009); Pan et al. (1998)), quantum teleportation (Bouwmeester et al. (1997)), quantum cryptography (Bennett & Brassard (1984); Ekert (1991); Jennewein et al. (2000)) and scalable approaches towards photonics-based quantum computing schemes (Browne & Rudolph (2004); Gottesman & Chuang (1999); Knill et al. (2001)).
The generation of entangled photons by spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) or spontaneous four-wave mixing (SFWM) attracted enormous interest in the field of quantum optics. Depending on applications, entangled photon sources prioritize either bandwidth (e.g. for quantum imaging) or brightness (e.g. for quantum key distribution). Layered materials offer unique advantages for both. They have already been used to realize thinnest SPDC sources [1], which, like other layered materials such as transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) [2], offer nearly unlimited bandwidth thanks to relaxed phase-matching constraints. Further, their easy integration on photonic platforms is promising for bright on-chip entangled photon sources. In this context, SPDC-based solutions are limited by phase-matching, whereas SFWM would be an almost phase-matching-free process, as pump, idler, and signal photons can be generated at similar wavelengths, thus propagating at the same group velocity in integrated devices. Moreover, exploiting excitonic resonances could enhance FWM even more. However, to date, experiments with resonant FWM in TMDs have been limited to signals in the visible [3], which is unsuitable for integrated photonics and telecom systems due to reabsorption during propagation in the photonic device.