We demonstrate a high brightness (∼2.36 × 10 5 pairs/s/mW) polarization-entangled photon-pair source at 800-nm via spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) in a 3-cm long type-II ppKTP crystal pumped unidirectionally in a single-pass geometry. A high coincidences-to-accidentals ratio (CAR ∼ 1200) depicted by our source indicates a strong temporal correlation between the generated photon pairs. This correlated photon source is tunable from collinear to non-collinear emission of the photons and over a range of signal/idler wavelengths ∼8 − 9 nm corresponding to a temperature range of 20–60°C. We measure a quantum state fidelity F >95% with the singlet entangled state | ψ − ⟩=12(| H V ⟩−| V H ⟩) along with a violation of the CHSH-Bell’s inequality by ∼485 standard deviations ( S = 2.68 ± 0.0014).
Abstract Tightly focused Bessel beams exhibit significantly higher intensity and non-diffractive three-dimensional micro-scale features compared to conventional fundamental Gaussian beams under the same optical power. These unique characteristics make Bessel beams particularly advantageous for enhancing photon pair generation in periodically poled nonlinear crystals. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate a compact pumping system using an asymmetric convex-convex lens and a plano-convex lens to generate Bessel beams. A broadband continuous-wave (CW) laser diode with a full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of
0.54 (nm) 0.54 ( n m ) is used to pump a periodically poled potassium titanyl phosphate (PPKTP) crystal configured in a type-II phase-matched dual-path Sagnac loop. Our setup achieves a record-high coincidence-to-single-photon (CSP) ratio of 25% for type-II phase-matched spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) processes using broadband laser diodes. The degenerate polarization-entangled photon pair source, operating at
810 (nm) 810 ( n m ) , demonstrates exceptional performance metrics, including a brightness of
9.3 (kcps/mW) 9.3 ( k c p s / m W ) and a coincidences-to-accidentals ratio (CAR) of approximately 1091. Furthermore, the entanglement quality is verified through high visibility measurements: 99.2% in the horizontal/vertical (H/V) basis and 94.3% in the diagonal/ anti-diagonal (D/A) basis. In a Bell inequality test, we achieve an S value of
(2.7±0.04) ( 2.7 ± 0.04 ) , corresponding to a state fidelity of 0.95. In comparison, the Gaussian-pumped configuration yields a CSP ratio of 11.27%, a brightness of
4.46 (kcps/mW) 4.46 ( k c p s / m W ) , and a CAR of approximately 500. Measured polarization visibilities are 99.1% in the H/V basis and 96.7% in the diagonal (±45 ∘ ) basis, with a Bell parameter of
S=2.6±0.03 S = 2.6 ± 0.03 . These comparative results underscore the substantial advantages of utilizing Bessel beams for high-performance entangled photon pair generation.
We present a simple but highly efficient source of polarization-entangled photons based on spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) in bulk periodically poled potassium titanyl phosphate crystals (PPKTP) pumped by a 405 nm laser diode. Utilizing one of the highest available nonlinear coefficients in a non-degenerate, collinear type-0 phase-matching configuration, we generate polarization entanglement via the crossed-crystal scheme and detect 0.64 million photon pair events/s/mW, while maintaining an overlap fidelity with the ideal Bell state of 0.98 at a pump power of 0.025 mW.