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Quantum 2.0 Conference and Exhibition

Mid-IR and Telecom Bands Interconnection through Direct Generation of Quantum Correlated Photons: an Integrated Silicon Photonics route

Abhishek Pandey, Deepak Jain, Catherine Baskiotis

Published Jan 1, 2024• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We propose a Silicon-On-Insulator waveguide for Four-Wave Mixing conversion of two pump photons at 2260 nm into a correlated photon pair with signal wavelength in the mid-IR band and idler wavelength in the C-band.
DOI
10.1364/quantum.2024.qw3a.12

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Journal of Lightwave Technology•Jul 5, 2022•12 citations
Sources of quantum correlated photons pairs bridging the 3um-4um Mid-infrared (MIR) band and Telecom/Near-Infrared/Visible band are of high importance for quantum technologies. Spontaneous Parametric Down Conversion is generally used for realizing such sources, but requires costly implementation platforms with reduced versatility. Here, we explore the potentialities of Spontaneous Four-Wave Mixing (SFWM) in all-solid Silicon On Insulator (SOI) waveguides thanks to an experimentally validated model and propose designs ensuring the production of correlated photon pairs bridging the 3um-4um Mid-infrared band and Telecom C-band. Choosing a pump with a wavelength in the range 2100nm-2210nm and a pulse duration of 5ps, we quantitatively performed simulations targeting a probability of photon pair generation per pulse of 0.05, and we found realistic conditions of utilization (2cm-length straight waveguides, intra-modal Four Wave Mixing with the fundamental TE00 mode) with a pump peak power in between 9.2mW and 32mW. A first design (wCOM) reaches a signal wavelength as high as 3.905um, which is situated in an atmospheric transparency window, while maintaining an idler in the Telecom C-band, making it of high interest for atmospheric Quantum Key Distribution. Two other designs wCH4 and wNO2 aim precise CH4 and NO2 gas sensing with a signal wavelength of 3265nm and 3461nm respectively. In terms of signal/idler wavelength separation, wCOM attains the value of 2364nm which is well above the current record of ~1125nm obtained in quantum regime with SFWM in all-solid SOI waveguides.
.We experimentally study the generation of correlated pairs of photons through four-wave mixing (FWM) in embedded silicon waveguides. The waveguides, which are designed to exhibit anomalous group-velocity dispersion at wavelengths near 1555 nm, allow phase matched FWM and thus efficient pair-wise generation of non-degenerate signal and idler photons. Photon counting measurements yield a coincidence-to-accidental ratio (CAR) of around 25 for a signal (idler) photon production rate of about 0.05 per pulse. We characterize the variation in CAR as a function of pump power and pump-to-sideband wavelength detuning. These measurements represent a first step towards the development of tools for quantum information processing which are based on CMOS-compatible, silicon-on-insulator technology.
In this talk, I will discuss two applications of nonlinear quantum photonics in silicon nanowires: correlated photon pair sources and a single-photon wavelength converter. Correlated photon pairs can be generated in a nonlinear silicon waveguide through the spontaneous four-wave mixing (SFWM) process, where two photons from a bright pump laser are annihilated, and a two photons are spontaneously created at different wavelengths (the signal and idler). However, indistinguishable photon pairs are of particular interest for two-photon interference experiments, meaning that the signal and idler should have the same wavelength and be entirely identical to each other. Indistinguishable pairs can be generated with the SFWM process. where two pump lasers create a degenerate signal and idler at the frequency mid-way between them. Since the two photons are indistinguishable, it is not trivial to divide them into separate waveguides so as to manipulate them individually. I will present recent results concerning a silicon quantum splitter, where degenerate pairs are created in a ring resonator which is pumped in both directions. The ring is coupled to a sagnac loop interferometer, which combines the two directions at a 50 : 50 coupler. Here, a quantum interference effect (reverse-Hong Ou Mandel interference) splits the photons to two output waveguides. This device is ultra-compact and the use of a sagnac loop means that the phase is automatically set correctly for the interference. I will also discuss progress on single photon wavelength conversion in silicon nanowires using the four-wave mixing Bragg scattering (FWMBS) process. Here, two intense pump beams are used to modulate a weak signal, causing it to shift to the idler by the frequency difference between the pumps. In principle, this can allow coherent, noiseless frequency conversion of single photon signals. Fig. 1(b) shows output spectra from a 6mm silicon nanowire when the frequency shift is varied 100 GHz to 400 GHz. Multiple peaks are visible, corresponding to up-conversion and down-conversion of the input signal.
We demonstrate theoretically the direct (filter-free) generation of spectrally uncorrelated photon pairs, and consequently high-purity heralded single photons at telecommunication wavelengths, in SOI (silicon-on-insulator) nanowaveguides via spontaneous four-wave mixing (SFWM). The inherent strong waveguide dispersion in such high-index contrast structures is employed for discrete-band phase-matching in order to suppress the pair spectral correlations, and to produce photons in the fundamental spatial mode for easy in-out coupling to single-mode optical fibers. Additionally, by optimizing the source parameters like waveguide length, dispersion and pump bandwidth, the group-velocity of generated photons is also engineered to further eliminate spectral correlations. Extensive numerical mode simulations for various waveguide widths are used to design intrinsically pure photon sources via joint spectral amplitude (JSA) engineering. Purity$>9595% is shown to be achievable in a silica-clad SOI waveguide with a cross-section 220 × 600 nm95^{2}fortypicalvaluesoflengthandpumpbandwidth.Thewavelengthoftheseheraldedsinglephotonscanbetunedintherangeof1266–1363nm(for typical values of length and pump bandwidth. The wavelength of these heralded single photons can be tuned in the range of 1266–1363 nm (fortypicalvaluesoflengthandpumpbandwidth.Thewavelengthoftheseheraldedsinglephotonscanbetunedintherangeof1266–1363nm(\sim$O-band) by varying the pump wavelength. Considering the high accuracy provided by silicon nanofabrication techniques, the feasibility of generating single photons across the wavelength range 1333–1425 nm (E-band) and 1437–1510 nm (S-band) for slightly different waveguide widths (625 nm & 650 nm) is also demonstrated. These filter-free integrated photon sources could be important for large-scale linear optical quantum computation (LOQC) and long-distance fiber-optic quantum key distribution (QKD) networks.