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arXiv:quant-ph/0205140 · Physical Review A

Tailoring single-photon and multiphoton probabilities of a single-photon on-demand source

Alan L. Migdall, David A. Branning, Stefania Castelletto

Published Nov 13, 2002• 309 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

As typically implemented, single-photon sources cannot be made to produce single photons with high probability, while simultaneously suppressing the probability of yielding two or more photons. Because of this, single-photon sources cannot really produce single photons on demand. We describe a multiplexed system that allows the probabilities of producing one and more photons to be adjusted independently, enabling a much better approximation of a source of single photons on demand.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.66.053805

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As currently implemented, single-photon sources cannot be made to produce single photons with high probability, while simultaneously suppressing the probability of yielding two or more photons. Because of this, single photon sources cannot really produce single photons on demand. We describe a multiplexed system that allows the probabilities of producing one and more photons to be adjusted independently, enabling a much better approximation of a source of single photons on demand. The scheme uses a heralded photon source based on parametric downconversion, but by effectively breaking the trigger detector area into multiple regions, we are able to extract more information about a heralded photon than is possible with a conventional arrangement. This scheme allows photons to be produced along with a quantitative ``certification'' that they are single photons. Some of the single-photon certifications can be significantly better than what is possible with conventional downconversion sources (using a unified trigger detector region), as well as being better than faint laser sources. With such a source of more tightly certified single photons, it should be possible to improve the maximum secure bit rate possible over a quantum cryptographic link. We present an analysis of the relative merits of this method over the conventional arrangement.
We present an analysis of a multiplexed downconversion system designed to pro-duce a single-photon on-demand source, by a multiple delay line trigger, yielding a single-photon certification of the produced photons. We discuss theoretically a simple implementation of the system together with initial experimental results. The advent of photon-based quantum cryptography, communication and computation schemes1–4 is increasing the need for light sources that pro-duce individual photons; as unwanted additional photons can render quantum cryptographic links insecure and degrade quantum-computation efficiencies.5 More specifically, it would be useful to have these photons created in response to an external trigger, or even to have them arrive repetitively at a fixed, but selectable rate. As currently implemented, single-photon sources cannot be made to produce single photons with high probability, while simultane-ously suppressing the probability of yielding two or more photons. Because of this fact, single photon sources cannot really produce single photons on demand. We have previously described a multiplexed parametric downcon-
Current sources of heralded single photons based on nonlinear optics operate in a probabilistic manner. In order to build quantum-enhanced devices based around the use of single photons, compact, turn-key and deterministic sources are required. A possible solution is to multiplex a number of sources to increase the single-photon generation probability and in so doing reducing the waiting time to deliver large numbers of photons simultaneously, from independent sources. Previously it has been shown that, in the ideal case, 17 multiplexed sources allow deterministic generation of heralded single photons [Christ and Silberhorn, Phys. Rev. A 85, 023829 (2012)]. Here we extend this analysis to include undesirable effects of detector inefficiency and photon loss on a number of multiplexed sources using a variety of different detectors for heralding. We compare these systems for fixed signal-to-noise ratio to allow a direct comparison of performance for real- world heralded single photon sources.