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Optics Express

Asymmetric synchronous single-photon blockade induced by parametric interactions

Shiyan Li, Nan Wang, Ai‐Dong Zhu, Lin Yu

Published Aug 28, 2025• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

We propose a scheme to achieve asymmetric synchronous photon blockade (PB) in a system composed of two optical cavities coupled through a nonlinear crystal. By regulating the input direction of the pump light, either single-cavity PB or two-cavity synchronous PB can be selectively realized based on the incidence direction. This asymmetry arises from parametric up- and down-conversion processes induced by the pump light incoming from opposite directions. The delayed correlation function further demonstrates the high temporal resolution of the synchronized single photons generated in both cavities. This scheme enables flexible control over different types of PB by simply tuning the pump direction, without any modifications to system components. Moreover, the two-cavity synchronous PB mechanism provides an efficient approach for single-photon heralding, holding the potential to surmount the commonly encountered issue of low collection efficiency in probabilistic single-photon sources.

DOI
10.1364/oe.573431

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We propose a scheme to achieve asymmetric synchronous photon blockade (PB) in a system composed of two optical cavities coupled through a nonlinear crystal. By regulating the input direction of the pump light, either single-cavity PB or two-cavity synchronous PB can be selectively realized based on the incidence direction. This asymmetry arises from parametric up- and down-conversion processes induced by the pump light incoming from opposite directions. The delayed correlation function further demonstrates the high temporal resolution of the synchronized single photons generated in both cavities. This scheme enables flexible control over different types of PB by simply tuning the pump direction, without any modifications to system components. Moreover, the two-cavity synchronous PB mechanism provides an efficient approach for single-photon heralding, holding the potential to surmount the commonly encountered issue of low collection efficiency in probabilistic single-photon sources.
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.
We propose a scheme to generate and manipulate nonreciprocal photon blockade effect in an asymmetrical Fabry-P\'erot cavity, which consists of a single two-level atom and a second-order nonlinear medium. By utilizing the intrinsic spatial asymmetry of cavity and applying a parametric amplification pumping laser to the nonlinear medium, we can realize direction-dependent single-photon and two-photon blockade effects. For nonreciprocal single-photon blockade, our proposal is robust across a wide range of parameters, such as the cavity or atomic detuning, coupling strength, and atomic decay. Within similar parameter ranges, nonreciprocal two-photon blockade can be achieved and modulated by finely adjusting the parametric amplification pumping. Our project offers a feasible access to generating high-quality and tunable nonreciprocal single- or two-photon sources and paves a new avenue for investigating the nonreciprocity of photon quantum statistical properties.
We propose a scheme to realize tunable and strong nonreciprocal photon blockade (PB) in an asymmetric Fabry-Pérot cavity. The setup consists of a single-mode optical cavity trapping a two-level atom, with the cavity coherently driven by a laser and the atom pumped by an auxiliary control field of the same frequency. By engineering quantum interference between multiple excitation pathways by adjusting the amplitude and relative phase of the control laser, we identify two distinct optimal control conditions that enable directional suppression of two-photon states. Under optimal control conditions, strong nonreciprocal PB is achieved, with a nonreciprocal ratio exceeding 30 dB over a broad operational bandwidth. The proposed protocol requires only standard coherent laser sources and is compatible with current cavity QED experimental setups, offering a practical and scalable platform for nonreciprocal quantum photonics.
We propose an experimental scheme to implement a strong photon blockade with a single quantum dot coupled to a nanocavity. The photon blockade effect can be tremendously enhanced by driving the cavity and the quantum dot simultaneously with two classical laser fields. This enhancement of photon blockade is ascribed to the quantum interference effect to avoid two-photon excitation of the cavity field. Comparing with Jaynes-Cummings model, the second-order correlation function at zero time delay g((2))(0) in our scheme can be reduced by two orders of magnitude and the system sustains a large intracavity photon number. A red (blue) cavity-light detuning asymmetry for photon quantum statistics with bunching or antibunching characteristics is also observed. The photon blockade effect has a controllable flexibility by tuning the relative phase between the two pumping laser fields and the Rabi coupling strength between the quantum dot and the pumping field. Moreover, the photon blockade scheme based on quantum interference mechanism does not require a strong coupling strength between the cavity and the quantum dot, even with the pure dephasing of the system. This simple proposal provides an effective way for potential applications in solid state quantum computation and quantum information processing.
Abstract Quantum information processing, a key component of quantum information science, has attracted considerable attention. Its realization requires physical platforms and resources, among which optical systems and single-photon sources based on photon blockade (PB) have been widely employed. Here we investigate PB behaviors in a coupled optical cavity system driven by both single- and two-photon fields. The optimal conditions for PB are obtained with respect to the two-photon driving strength and cavity-laser detuning via analytical calculations. Using these optimal solutions, we show that a significant PB effect is achievable even with weak Kerr nonlinearity, and confirm that this behavior corresponds to unconventional PB (UPB) through a comparison of the second- and third-order correlation functions. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that UPB can be enhanced by two-photon dissipation. These results provide theoretical strategies for enhancing UPB, and offer insight into its fundamental mechanism.
Photon blockade (PB) is a quantum effect in strongly nonlinear systems where a single photon prevents the system from being excited to a higher level, generating anti-bunched light fields. It enables the generation of single-photon sources for quantum information processing. Conventional photon blockade (CPB) leverages strong nonlinear interactions to generate an anharmonic energy spectrum. Unconventional photon blockade (UPB) utilizes destructive quantum interference between excitation pathways. Recently, environmentally induced photon blockade (EPB) has emerged as a novel approach, exploiting two-photon absorption (TPA) to realize photon blockade. In this work, we combine UPB and EPB together, considering the TPA effect in the optical parametric amplifier (OPA), thereby achieving a more stable PB with stronger suppression of multi-photon states.