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EPJ Web of Conferences

Non-linear Frequency Conversion Waveguides for Quantum Technology

James C. Gates, Noelia Palomar Davidson, Matthew P. D’Souza, Goronwy L. Tawy, Glenn M. Churchill, Paolo L. Mennea, Peter Iveson, Peter G. R. Smith, Corin B. E. Gawith

Published Jan 1, 2024• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

This talk will describe the fabrication of periodically poled lithium niobate non-linear waveguides for the emerging quantum technology industry. It will address the challenges of optical engineering high-efficiency frequency conversion devices for the field and their application.
DOI
10.1051/epjconf/202430702032

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Lithium niobate is a versatile material for both classical and quantum photonics, recognized for its outstanding electro-optic and nonlinear optical properties. Through a process known as poling, periodic ferroelectric crystal domains can be engineered to enable quasi-phase-matched frequency conversion, efficient modulation, and the generation of quantum light sources. The emergence of lithium niobate on insulator technology has further enhanced its suitability for scalable integrated photonics, offering ultra-low optical losses and strong light confinement while retaining the material's inherent advantages. Here, the techniques used to fabricate and characterize periodically poled lithium niobate are reviewed. Key developments are discussed, offering insights into the future of domain engineering of lithium niobate.
The quantum nature of light at the single photon level allows for unique applications that classical physics neither predicts nor describes. Most notably, appropriate conditions may cause the states of photons with indistinguishable properties to become entangled, enabling novel approaches to quantum computation, secure communications, and metrology. \n \nAny operational quantum information network transporting entangled-photon states must establish a high-fidelity link between its distant nodes despite the inherent fragility of entangled states. However, the lack of a universal operating wavelength for all optical devices makes this a substantial challenge. Telecommunication fibers, entangled photon pair sources, quantum optical memories, and quantum repeaters all function in disparate spectral windows dictated by the properties of the materials used to fabricate them. Quantum frequency conversion (QFC), the single-photon limit of nonlinear parametric sum and difference frequency generation in optics, offers a bridge between spectral regions with full preservation of quantum state character, including entanglement. \n \nPeriodically poled optical waveguides in ferroelectric crystals are versatile tools in nonlinear optics. Confining the nonlinear interaction to a waveguide greatly enhances its efficiency compared to bulk optics. Periodic poling, the process of periodically inverting the domains of a ferroelectric medium using a strong electric field, enables a variety of quasi-phase matching configurations to engineer a desired nonlinear interaction. \n \nThis work concentrates on the design, development, fabrication, and characterization of a titanium-diffused periodically poled lithium niobate (Ti:PPLN) waveguide device. This device is designed to execute single-step quantum frequency conversion from 369.5nm to 1550nm in order to facilitate a quantum state transfer between standard fiber telecommunication wavelengths and an atomic quantum memory system employing trapped ytterbium ions. \n \nThe creation of phase matching conditions for such an extreme distance in frequency demands precise control of high magnitude electric fields on the single-micron scale. As the first demonstration of its kind in Ti:PPLN, the development of these devices included novel improvements to existing fabrication methods, improving the state-of-the-art of precision, quality, and yield for poling of ferroelectric crystals.
Entanglement is the hallmark of quantum mechanics. Quantum entanglement -- putting two or more identical particles into a non-factorable state -- has been leveraged for applications ranging from quantum computation and encryption to high-precision metrology. Entanglement is a practical engineering resource and a tool for sidestepping certain limitations of classical measurement and communication. Engineered nonlinear optical waveguides are an enabling technology for generating entangled photon pairs and manipulating the state of single photons. This dissertation reports on: i) frequency conversion of single photons from the mid-infrared to 843nm as a tool for incorporating quantum memories in quantum networks, ii) the design, fabrication, and test of a prototype broadband source of polarization and frequency entangled photons; and iii) a roadmap for further investigations of this source, including applications in quantum interferometry and high-precision optical metrology. \n \nThe devices presented herein are quasi-phase-matched lithium niobate waveguides. Lithium niobate is a second-order nonlinear optical material and can mediate optical energy conversion to different wavelengths. This nonlinear effect is the basis of both quantum frequency conversion and entangled photon generation, and is enhanced by i) confining light in waveguides to increase conversion efficiency, and ii) quasi-phase matching, a technique for engineering the second-order nonlinear response by locally altering the direction of a material's polarization vector. Waveguides are formed by diffusing titanium into a lithium niobate wafer. Quasi-phase matching is achieved by electric field poling, with multiple stages of process development and optimization to fabricate the delicate structures necessary for broadband entangled photon generation. \n \nThe results presented herein update and optimize past fabrication techniques, demonstrate novel optical devices, and propose future avenues for device development. Quantum frequency conversion from 1848nm to 843nm is demonstrated for the first time, with >75% single-photon conversion efficiency. A new electric field poling methodology is presented, combining elements from multiple historical techniques with a new fast-feedback control system. This poling technique is used to fabricate the first chirped-and-apodized Type-II quasi-phase-matched structures in titanium-diffused lithium niobate waveguides, culminating in a measured phasematching spectrum that is predominantly Gaussian (R^2 = 0.80), nearly eight times broader than the unchirped spectrum, and agrees well with simulations.
Global quantum communication can provide information theoretical security worldwide and thus is one ultimate goal for the field of quantum information. One of the main challenge toward this goal is the frequency mismatch. In this talk, I shall briefly introduce Periodically Poled Lithium Niobate (PPLN) waveguide based frequency conversion and its applications, including up-conversion single photon detector, measurement device independent quantum key distribution (QKD), long distance free space QKD and telecomband interface for cold atom quantum memory.