Abstract
Ultrafast quantum optics with time-frequency entangled photons is at the forefront
of progress towards future quantum technologies. However, to unravel the time domain structure
of entangled photons and exploit fully their rich dimensionality, a single-photon detector with
sub-picosecond temporal resolution is required. Here, we present ultrafast single-photon detection
using an optical Kerr gate composed of a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) placed inside a Sagnac
interferometer. A near-rectangle temporal waveform of a heralded single-photon generated via
spontaneous parametric down-conversion is measured with temporal resolution as high as 224 ± 9
fs. The large nonlinearity and long effective interaction length of the PCF enables maximum
detection efficiency to be achieved with only 30.5 mW gating pulse average power, demonstrating
an order-of-magnitude improvement compared to optical gating with sum-frequency generation.
Also, we discuss the trade-off relationship between detection efficiency and temporal resolution.
of progress towards future quantum technologies. However, to unravel the time domain structure
of entangled photons and exploit fully their rich dimensionality, a single-photon detector with
sub-picosecond temporal resolution is required. Here, we present ultrafast single-photon detection
using an optical Kerr gate composed of a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) placed inside a Sagnac
interferometer. A near-rectangle temporal waveform of a heralded single-photon generated via
spontaneous parametric down-conversion is measured with temporal resolution as high as 224 ± 9
fs. The large nonlinearity and long effective interaction length of the PCF enables maximum
detection efficiency to be achieved with only 30.5 mW gating pulse average power, demonstrating
an order-of-magnitude improvement compared to optical gating with sum-frequency generation.
Also, we discuss the trade-off relationship between detection efficiency and temporal resolution.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 4999-5007 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Optics Express |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 14 Feb 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Funding. Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (JPMXS0118069242); Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JP18H05245); National Natural Science Foundation of China (11704290, 12074299, 91836102); Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council UK National Quantum Technology Hub in Quantum Computing and Simulation (EP/T001062/1).
Publisher Copyright:
Journal © 2022
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics