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Physical Review Letters

Universal Photon Blockade

Y. H. Zhou, Tong Liu, Qi-Ping Su, Xingyuan Zhang, Qi‐Cheng Wu, Dong‐Xu Chen, Zhi‐Cheng Shi, H. Z. Shen, Chui‐Ping Yang

Published May 5, 2025• 49 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Photon blockades are traditionally classified into conventional and unconventional types, depending on distinct physical mechanisms. Regarding the cavity decay rate κ, the conventional photon blockade takes place under strong nonlinearity condition (g>κ), whereas the unconventional photon blockade occurs in the regime of weak nonlinearity (g<κ). We here propose how to derive an optimal condition for photon blockade utilizing a two-photon Jaynes-Cummings model. Under this condition, the equal-time second-order correlation function reaches its minimum, leading to photon antibunching in both conventional and unconventional photon blockade regimes (g>κ and g<κ), even in g∼κ. This characteristic is termed universal photon blockade. By comparing it with the conventional and the unconventional photon blockades in the weak-driving limit, the advantages of universal photon blockade are revealed. Our proposal paves an avenue towards the future study of photon blockades and has potential applications in generating antibunched photons.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.134.183601

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Photon blockades are traditionally classified into conventional and unconventional types, depending on distinct physical mechanisms. Regarding the cavity decay rate κ, the conventional photon blockade takes place under strong nonlinearity condition (g>κ), whereas the unconventional photon blockade occurs in the regime of weak nonlinearity (g<κ). We here propose how to derive an optimal condition for photon blockade utilizing a two-photon Jaynes-Cummings model. Under this condition, the equal-time second-order correlation function reaches its minimum, leading to photon antibunching in both conventional and unconventional photon blockade regimes (g>κ and g<κ), even in g∼κ. This characteristic is termed universal photon blockade. By comparing it with the conventional and the unconventional photon blockades in the weak-driving limit, the advantages of universal photon blockade are revealed. Our proposal paves an avenue towards the future study of photon blockades and has potential applications in generating antibunched photons.
Photon blockade (PB) is generally classified into conventional and unconventional types based on their distinct physical mechanisms. Recent studies have aimed to bridge the two regimes to realize a universal photon blockade (universal PB) that combines their respective advantages. Here, we propose a scheme for achieving universal PB based on second-order nonlinearity. The second-order nonlinear coupling between two cavity modes mediates the fundamental interaction, while an optical parametric amplifier embedded in one cavity introduces additional quantum interference pathways. We analytically derive the optimal conditions for universal PB, and the analytical results show excellent agreement with numerical simulations. By comparing universal PB with conventional PB, we highlight its unique performance advantages: the scheme operates effectively in both strong and weak coupling regimes, relaxes experimental constraints, and achieves an ultra-low equal-time second-order correlation function g (2) (0) down to 10 −7 , while maintaining a moderate mean photon number N a ∼ 10 −2 . This work provides a feasible and tunable platform for realizing high-purity single-photon sources and exploring quantum statistical properties in nonlinear cavity systems.
This study systematically investigates unconventional photon blockade in two coupled Kerr nonlinear cavities at resonance. By solving the master equation in the steady-state limit and calculating the equal-time second-order correlation function, the photon antibunching effect within the nonlinear regime is revealed. Through analytical derivations, four sets of optimal antibunching conditions are obtained and validated through numerical simulations, unveiling new characteristics of photon blockade. Furthermore, the influence of system parameters on photon blockade is discussed, providing valuable theoretical support for optimizing the design and implementation of single-photon sources.
The photon blockade based on weak nonlinearities is called the unconventional photon blockade. The study of the unconventional photon blockade in recent decades has mainly focused on the ${\ensuremath{\chi}}^{(3)}$ Kerr nonlinearity. In this paper, we study the photon blockade in two weakly coupled nonlinear cavities via ${\ensuremath{\chi}}^{(2)}$ nonlinearity, where ${\ensuremath{\chi}}^{(2)}$ mediates the conversion of a single photon in the cavity with high frequency into two photons with low frequency in another cavity. When the two cavity modes are driven simultaneously, our calculations show that the strong photon antibunching can be obtained in the cavity. The optimal condition for strong antibunching is found by analytic calculations and numerical simulations, and discussions of the optimal condition are presented. The differences between the present scheme and that with ${\ensuremath{\chi}}^{(3)}$ nonlinearity are discussed. This scheme is not sensitive to the change of decay rates, which makes the experimental realization easy.
The photon blockade phenomenon, a promising tool for realizing efficient single-photon sources, is the central focus of our work. We study this phenomenon within the context of the multimode extension of the Jaynes-Cummings model, incorporating two-photon dissipation and external coherent driving. Operating in the weak-driving regime, we confine our analysis to the two-excitation sector of the Hilbert space, initially exploring the single-mode case and then focusing on the corresponding multimode problem. Our study calculates the second-order correlation function (both numerically and analytically) for zero- and nonzero time delays in single- and multimode cases, to pinpoint and validate the conditions that lead to conventional and unconventional photon blockade. Our zero delay findings reveal that photon antibunching is comparable in both cases; however, the multimode case offers a greater degree of control and applicability. Furthermore, for non-zero delay operation, we find that when one of the multiple modes is set at the optimal conventional photon blockade conditions, the behavior of the curve mimics the single-mode problem with an overall slower rate of reaching the g(2)(τ)=1g^{(2)}(τ)=1g(2)(τ)=1 value. These results highlight the practical implications of our findings for building useful single-photon sources.
We explore a method for achieving photon blockade (PB) through a two-photon Jaynes-Cummings (JC) model that includes both cavity and atom drivings. Analytical expressions for the steady state are derived to calculate photon-number distribution and correlation functions. Based on this analysis, we establish the theoretical conditions required for generating PB by controlling both drivings and propose a scheme to identify conventional photon blockade (CPB) and unconventional photon blockade (UPB) by analyzing the second- and third-order correlation functions. We validate our findings through numerical simulations conducted in an artificial atom system. We discuss two cases, one in which the transition frequency of the two-level atom is in two-photon resonance with the cavity frequency and the other in which it is off-resonance. We observe a significant interplay between CPB and UPB effects in the resonant case. In the off-resonance case, we demonstrate that UPB can be achieved by manipulating the strengths of atom driving and cavity driving to satisfy a specific relationship while meeting the requirements for optimal detuning relations. This work provides essential insights into controlling the PB effect using the two-photon JC model with both the atom and cavity drivings.
Abstract We have investigated the unconventional photon blockade (UPB) in a hybrid system consisting of a Jaynes–Cummings model nonlinearly coupled with two other modes via a three-wave mixing interaction, operating in the weak coupling regime (compared with the decay rates of the system). We present both analytical and numerical results, obtained by solving the Schrödinger equation and the quantum master equation, respectively. The results show that the numerical simulations agree well with the analytical predictions and that the UPB effect would occur in this hybrid system both in the cavity-driven and atom-driven conditions. Under both driving conditions, the hybrid system could exhibit superior performance over the Jaynes–Cummings model under the same driving condition, i.e. achieve a stronger photon blockade effect. The influences of driving strength and coupling coefficient on photon blockade effect have also been discussed. Our finding may have potential applications in single-photon sources design.