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Optics Express

Accessing the spectrum of a single-photon by the Hong-Ou-Mandel interference

Lifeng Duan, Aojie Xu, Lirong Wang, Yun Zhang

Published Jan 5, 2024• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

We present and experimentally demonstrate a method for determining the spectral characterization of a single-photon state. This technique is based on the Hong-Ou-Mandel interference between a well-defined weak coherent state and a measured single-photon state. We estimate the spectrum of the single-photon state by fitting the measured interference dip with proposed model and least square method. Our method is particularly useful for characterising spectral property the single-photon state. It opens a way for robust and efficient on-line monitoring the single-photon emitters.

DOI
10.1364/oe.510983

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The European Physical Journal Special Topics•Apr 26, 2021•6 citations
We present and experimentally demonstrate a method for determining the spectral characterization of a single-photon state. This technique is based on the Hong-Ou-Mandel interference between a well-defined weak coherent state and a measured single-photon state. We estimate the spectrum of the single-photon state by fitting the measured interference dip with proposed model and least square method. Our method is particularly useful for characterising spectral property the single-photon state. It opens a way for robust and efficient on-line monitoring the single-photon emitters.
We demonstrate a method for determining the spectral purity of single photons. The technique is based on the Hong–Ou–Mandel (HOM) interference between a single-photon state and a suitably prepared coherent field. We show that the temporal width of the HOM dip is related not only to the reciprocal of the spectral width but also to the underlying quantum coherence. Therefore, by measuring the width of both the HOM dip and the spectrum, one can directly quantify the degree of spectral purity. The distinct advantage of our proposal is that it obviates the need for perfect mode matching, since it does not rely on the visibility of the interference. Our method is particularly useful for characterizing the purity of heralded single-photon states.
Characterizing the temporal-spectral profile of single photons is essential for quantum information protocol utilizing temporal mode for encoding. Based on the phase retrieval algorithm, we present a method to reconstruct the phase spectrum difference between two wave packets from their Hong-Ou-Mandel dip, and intensity spectra. Our confirmatory experiment with weak coherent wave packets demonstrated the accuracy of the reconstructed phase spectrum difference to within plus or minus 0.1 rad. This method is generalizable to the measurement of unknown single-photon wave packets with the aid of a reference wave packet, requiring only the collection of one-dimensional data, which simplifies and expedites the process.
Abstract In our laboratory, we employ two biphoton sources for quantum key distribution. The first is based on cw parametric down-conversion of photons at 404 nm in PPKTP waveguide chips, while the second is based on the pulsed parametric down-conversion of 775 nm photons in PPLN waveguides. The spectral characterization is important for the determination of certain side-channel attacks. A Hong-Ou-Mandel experiment employing the first photon source revealed a complex structure of the common Hong-Ou-Mandel dip. By measuring the spectra of the single photons at 808 nm, we were able to associate these structures to the superposition of different transverse modes of the pump photons in our waveguide chips. The pulsed source was characterized by means of single-photon spectra measured by a sensitive spectrum analyzer as well as dispersion-based measurements. Finally, we also describe Hong-Ou-Mandel experiments using the photons from the second source.