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International Journal of Quantum Information

Unconventional photon blockade in two coupled Kerr nonlinear cavities at resonance

Li-Yuan Xue, Yang Shao, Yan-Zhe Song, Zi-ying Su, Biao‐Liang Ye, Yan-Hui Zhou

Published Feb 19, 2026• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

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.

DOI
10.1142/s0219749926500097

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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.
In the recent publications [Phys. Rev. A 92,023838 (2015)], the unconventional photon blockade are studied in a two-mode-second-order-nonlinear system with nonlinear coupling between the low frequency and high frequency modes. In this paper, we study the unconventional photon blockade in a three-mode system with weakly coupled nonlinear cavities via χ(2)χ^{(2)}χ(2) nonlinearity. By solving the master equation in the steady-state limit and calculating the zero-delay time second-order correlation function, we obtain the conditions of strong photon antibunching in the low frequency mode. The numerical result are compared with the analytical results, the results show that they are in complete agreement. By the analysis of numerical solutions, we find that this scheme is not sensitive to the change of decay rates and the reservoir temperature, and the three-mode drives make the system have more adjustable parameters, both of which increases the possibility of experimental implementation.
In this paper, we show that photon blockade can be observed in a system with weak Kerr nonlinearities. The system consists of two spatially overlapping single-mode semiconductor cavities with tunable one- and two-photon tunneling. We find that both conventional and unconventional single-photon blockades are controllable by manipulating the phase in the hopping regardless of the weakness of nonlinearity. We refer to the photon blockade with weak nonlinearities as an unconventional photon blockade. The unconventional photon blockade effect originates from the destructive interference between different paths from the ground state to two-photon states. We analytically derive the exact optimal conditions for strong antibunching, which are in good agreement with those obtained by numerical simulations. The optimal parameters for photon blockade are derived. Based on these parameters, the semiconductor cavity systems can be used as a single-photon source in regimes of both weak and strong nonlinearities.
This work investigates photon blockade control in a hybrid quantum system containing a Kerr-nonlinear cavity coupled to an optical parametric amplifier (OPA). The dynamics are governed by a master equation derived from an effective Hamiltonian that includes cavity decay. To obtain analytical solutions, the system's quantum state is expanded in the Fock basis up to the two-photon level. Solving the steady-state Schrodinger equation yields probability amplitudes and the analytical conditions for optimal photon blockade. Results confirm that photon blockade is achievable with suitable parameters. Excellent agreement is found between the analytical solutions and numerical simulations for the steady-state, equal-time second-order correlation function, validating both the analytical method and the blockade effect. Numerically, the average intracavity photon number increases significantly under resonance, providing a theoretical pathway for enhancing single-photon source brightness. Furthermore, the driving phase is shown to regulate the optimal blockade region: it shifts the parabolic region within the two-dimensional parameter space of driving strength and OPA nonlinearity and can even reverse its opening direction. The influence of Kerr nonlinearity is also examined. Photon blockade remains robust across a wide range of Kerr strengths. Physical analysis attributes the effect to destructive quantum interference between two distinct excitation pathways that suppress two-photon states. While Kerr nonlinearity shifts the system's energy levels, it does not disrupt this interference mechanism, explaining the effect's stability over a broad parameter range.
Abstract Unconventional photon blockade (UPB) is an important quantum phenomenon that relies on the quantum interference effect. Here, we propose coupling an optical parametric amplifier (OPA) to a Kerr nonlinear single-mode cavity in a two-photon dissipation environment, enabling strong photon antibunching based on the UPB mechanism. The optimal conditions for achieving UPB are first derived analytically. The results are subsequently compared with the second-order correlation function derived from numerical simulations, and excellent agreement is observed. The findings show that UPB is enhanced without significantly reducing the mean photon number. This further demonstrates that the width of the UPB occurrence window increases with increasing OPA coefficient and driving laser intensity. Finally, theoretical analysis reveals the physical mechanism of UPB, showing that the Kerr medium is not the dominant factor for UPB generation in this system. Thus, our work offers valuable theoretical guidance for precisely controlling UPB and optimizing single-photon source performance.