We report on the triggered generation of indistinguishable photons by solid-state single-photon sources in two separate cryogenic laser scanning microscopes. Organic fluorescent molecules were used as emitters and investigated by means of high resolution laser spectroscopy. Continuous-wave photon correlation measurements on individual molecules proved the isolation of single quantum systems. By using frequency selective pulsed excitation of the molecule and efficient spectral filtering of its emission, we produced triggered Fourier-limited single photons. In a further step, local electric fields were applied to match the emission wavelengths of two different molecules via Stark effect. Identical single photons are indispensible for the realization of various quantum information processing schemes proposed. The solid-state approach presented here prepares the way towards the integration of multiple bright sources of single photons on a single chip.
We demonstrate two-photon interference using two remote single molecules as bright solid-state sources of indistinguishable photons. By varying the transition frequency and spectral width of one molecule, we tune and explore the effect of photon distinguishability. We discuss future improvements on the brightness of single-photon beams, their integration by large numbers on chips, and the extension of our experimental scheme to coupling and entanglement of distant molecules.
By using the zero-phonon line emission of an individual organic molecule, we realized a source of indistinguishable single photons in the near infrared. A Hong-Ou-Mandel interference experiment is performed and a two-photon coalescence probability of higher than 50% at 2 K is obtained. The contribution of the temperature-dependent dephasing processes to the two-photon interference contrast is studied. We show that the molecule delivers nearly ideal indistinguishable single photons at the lowest temperatures when the dephasing is nearly lifetime limited. This source is used to generate post-sel…
We report the results of coincidence counting experiments at the output of a Michelson interferometer using the zero-phonon-line emission of a single molecule at $1.4 K$. Under continuous wave excitation, we observe the absence of coincidence counts as an indication of two-photon interference. This corresponds to the observation of Hong-Ou-Mandel correlations and proves the suitability of the zero-phonon-line emission of single molecules for applications in linear optics quantum computation.
We report a two-photon interference experiment in which the detected photons have very different properties. The interference is observed even when no effort is made to mask the distinguishing features before the photons are detected. The results can only be explained in terms of indistinguishable two-photon amplitudes.
We describe a new scheme to fully control the joint spectrum of paired photons generated in spontaneous parametric down-conversion. We show the capability of this method to generate frequency-uncorrelated photon pairs that are pure and indistinguishable, and whose bandwidth can be readily tuned. Importantly, the scheme we propose here can be implemented in any nonlinear crystal and frequency band of interest.
We report on the generation of indistinguishable photon pairs at telecom wavelengths based on a type-II parametric down conversion process in a periodically poled potassium titanyl phosphate (PPKTP) crystal. The phase matching, pump laser characteristics and coupling geometry are optimised to obtain spectrally uncorrelated photons with high coupling efficiencies. Four photons are generated by a counter- propagating pump in the same crystal and anlysed via two photon interference experiments between photons from each pair source as well as joint spectral and g^(2) measurements. We obtain a spec…
The symmetrization postulate asserts that the state of particular species of particles can only be of one permutation symmetry type: symmetric for bosons and antisymmetric for fermions. We report some experimental results showing that pairs of photons indistinguishable by all degrees of freedom can exhibit not only a bosonic behavior, as expected for photons, but also a surprisingly sharp fermionic behavior under specific conditions.
We present a mechanism to produce indistinguishable single-photon pulses on demand from an optical cavity. The sequences of two laser pulses generate, at the two Raman transitions of a four-level atom, the same cavity-mode photons without repumping of the atom between photon generations. Photons are emitted from the cavity with near-unit efficiency in well-defined temporal modes of identical shapes controlled by the laser fields. The second order correlation function reveals the single-photon nature of the proposed source. A realistic setup for the experimental implementation is presented.
We demonstrate quantum interference between photons generated by the radiative decay processes of excitons that are bound to isolated fluorine donor impurities in ZnSe/ZnMgSe quantum-well nanostructures. The ability to generate single photons from these devices is confirmed by auto-correlation experiments, and indistinguishability of single photons from two independent devices is confirmed via a Hong-Ou-Mandel dip. These results indicate that donor impurities in appropriately engineered semiconductor structures can portray atom-like homogeneity and coherence properties, potentially enabling sc…
Single-photon sources play a key role in photonic quantum technologies. Semiconductor quantum dots can emit indistinguishable single photons under resonant excitation. However, the resonance fluorescence technique typically requires cross-polarization filtering which causes a loss of the unpolarized quantum dot emission by 50%. To solve this problem, we demonstrate a method to generate indistinguishable single photons with optically controlled polarization by two laser pulses off-resonant with neutral exciton states. This scheme is realized by exciting the quantum dot to the biexciton state an…
Photon-photon interactions are an essential requirement of quantum photonic information processing. One way to generate these interactions is to utilize an atom strongly coupled to an optical cavity. This system exhibits the photon blockade effect which enables single photon switching and creation of non-classical light. But the nonlinear effects enabled by this system suffer from a fundamental time-bandwidth constraint. For the the simple case of splitting an input pulse of two indistinguishable photons, this constraint imposes a limit on the efficiency of routing photons to different output …
Thought experiments involving gases and pistons, such as Maxwell's demon and Gibbs' mixing, are central to our understanding of thermodynamics. Here we present a quantum thermodynamic thought experiment in which the energy transfer from two photonic gases to a piston membrane grows quadratically with the number of photons for indistinguishable gases, while linearly for distinguishable gases. This signature of Bosonic bunching may be observed in optomechanical experiments, highlighting the potential of these systems for the realisation of thermodynamic thought experiments in the quantum realm.
Single molecules in solid-state matrices have been proposed as sources of single-photon Fock states back 20 years ago. Their success in quantum optics and in many other research fields stems from the simple recipes used in the preparation of samples, with hundreds of nominally identical and isolated molecules. Main challenges as of today for their application in photonic quantum technologies are the optimization of light extraction and the on-demand emission of indistinguishable photons. We here present Hong-Ou-Mandel experiments with photons emitted by a single molecule of dibenzoterrylene in…
We demonstrate a high-brightness source of pairs of indistinguishable photons based on a type-II phase-matched doubly-resonant optical parametric oscillator operated far below threshold. The cavity-enhanced down-conversion output of a PPKTP crystal is coupled into two single-mode fibers with a mode coupling efficiency of 58%. The high degree of indistinguishability between the photons of a pair is demonstrated by a Hong-Ou-Mandel interference visibility of higher than 90% without any filtering at an instantaneous coincidence rate of 450 000 pairs/s per mW of pump power per nm of down-conversio…
It is a fundamental challenge in quantum optics to deterministically generate indistinguishable single photons through non-deterministic nonlinear optical processes, due to the intrinsic coupling of single- and multi-photon generation probabilities in these processes. Actively multiplexing photons generated in many temporal modes can decouple these probabilities, but key issues are to minimize resource requirements to allow scalability, and to ensure indistinguishability of the generated photons. We demonstrate the multiplexing of photons from four temporal modes solely using fiber-integrated …
On-demand single-photon sources emitting pure and indistinguishable photons at the telecommunication wavelength are a critical asset towards the deployment of fiber-based quantum networks. Indeed, single photons may serve as flying qubits, allowing communication of quantum information over long distances. Self-assembled InAs quantum dots embedded in GaAs constitute an excellent nearly deterministic source of high quality single photons, but the vast majority of sources operate in the 900-950 nm wavelength range, precluding their adoption in a quantum network. Here, we present a quantum frequen…
Realization of quantum optical circuits is at the heart of quantum photonic information processing. A long-standing obstacle however has been the absence of a platform of single photon sources (SPSs) that simultaneously satisfies the following required characteristics: spatially ordered SPS arrays that produce, on-demand, highly pure, and indistinguishable single photons with sufficiently uniform emission characteristics across the array, needed for controlled interference between photons from distinct sources to enable functional quantum optical networks. Here we report on such a platform of …
Quantum systems combining indistinguishable photon generation and spin-based quantum information processing are essential for remote quantum applications and networking. However, identification of suitable systems in scalable platforms remains a challenge. Here, we investigate the silicon vacancy centre in silicon carbide and demonstrate controlled emission of indistinguishable and distinguishable photons via coherent spin manipulation. Using strong off-resonant excitation and collecting photons from the ultra-stable zero-phonon line optical transitions, we show a two-photon interference contr…
We demonstrate a straightforward implementation of a push-button like single-photon source which is based on a strongly coupled atom-cavity system. The device operates intermittently for periods of up to 100 microseconds, with single-photon repetition rates of 1.0 MHz and an efficiency of 60 %. Atoms are loaded into the cavity using an atomic fountain, with the upper turning point near the cavity's mode centre. This ensures long interaction times without any disturbances induced by trapping potentials. The latter is the key to reaching deterministic efficiencies as high as obtained in probabal…
We propose an application of quantum temporal imaging to restoring the indistinguishability of the signal and the idler photons produced in type-II spontaneous parametric down-conversion with a pulsed broadband pump. It is known that in this case, the signal and the idler photons have different spectral and temporal properties. This effect deteriorates their indistinguishability and the visibility of the Hong-Ou-Mandel interference, respectively. We demonstrate that inserting a time lens in one arm of the interferometer and choosing properly its magnification factor restores perfect indistingu…
We describe the generation of atom-resonant indistinguishable photon pairs using nonlinear optical techniques, their spectral purification using atomic filters, characterization using multi-photon interference, and application to quantum-enhanced sensing with atoms. Using either type-I or type-II cavity-enhanced spontaneous parametric down-conversion, we generate pairs of photons in the resonant modes of optical cavities with linewidths comparable to the 6 MHz natural linewidth of the D$_1$ line of atomic rubidium. The cavities and pump lasers are tuned so that emission occurs in a mode or a p…
Trapped atomic ions embedded in optical cavities are a promising platform to enable long-distance quantum networks and their most far-reaching applications. Here we achieve and analyze photon indistinguishability in a telecom-converted ion-cavity system. First, two-photon interference of cavity photons at their ion-resonant wavelength is observed and found to reach the limits set by spontaneous emission. Second, this limit is shown to be preserved after a two-step frequency conversion replicating a distributed scenario, in which the cavity photons are converted to the telecom C band and then b…
We generate indistinguishable photons from a semiconductor diode containing a InAs/GaAs quantum dot. Using an all-electrical technique to populate and control a single-photon emitting state we filter-out dephasing by Stark-shifting the emission energy on timescales below the dephasing time of the state. Mixing consecutive photons on a beam-splitter we observe two-photon interference with a visibility of 64%.
We demonstrate purely resonant continuous-wave optical laser excitation to coherently prepare an excitonic state of a single semiconductor quantum dot (QDs) inside a high quality pillar microcavity. As a direct proof of QD resonance fluorescence, the evolution from a single emission line to the characteristic Mollow triplet10 is observed under increasing pump power. By controlled utilization of weak coupling between the emitter and the fundamental cavity mode through Purcell-enhancement of the radiative decay, a strong suppression of pure dephasing is achieved, which reflects in close to Fouri…
Measurement-based quantum communication relies on the availability of highly entangled multi-photon cluster states. The inbuilt redundancy in the cluster allows communication between remote nodes using repeated local measurements, compensating for photon losses and probabilistic Bell-measurements. For feasible applications, the cluster generation should be fast, deterministic, and its photons - indistinguishable. We present a novel source based on a semiconductor quantum-dot device. The dot confines a heavy-hole, precessing in a finely tuned external weak magnetic field while periodically exci…
Optimization of two-photon excitation by indistinguishable photons in a three-level atom
Institute of Physics, Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Informatics, Nicolaus Copernicus University（尼古拉·哥白尼大学物理、天文学与信息学院物理研究所）；Institute of Advanced Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University（尼古拉·哥白尼大学高等研究院）；Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, University of Gdańsk（格但斯克大学数学、物理与信息学院理论物理与天体物理研究所）
We propose the superfluid to Mott-insulator quantum phase transition in an array of exciton-polariton traps can be utilized for massive parallel generation of indistinguishable single photons. By means of analytical and numerical methods, the device operations and system properties are studied using realistic experimental parameters. Such a deterministic, fault-tolerant, massive parallel generation may open up a new perspective in photonic quantum information processing.
The cascade-emitted biphotons generated from the alkali metal atomic ensembles are an excellent entanglement resource which enables long-distance quantum communication. The communication of quantum information between distant locations can be realized by utilizing the low-loss telecom bandwidth in the upper transition of the cascaded photons in a fiber-based quantum network. Meanwhile, the infrared photon from the lower transition of this highly directional and frequency-correlated biphoton can be created under the four-wave mixing process and can be stored locally as a collective spin wave. H…
The development of scalable sources of non-classical light is fundamental to unlock the technological potential of quantum photonics\cite{Kimble:Nat2008}. Among the systems under investigation, semiconductor quantum dots are currently emerging as near-optimal sources of indistinguishable single photons. However, their performances as sources of entangled-photon pairs are in comparison still modest. Experiments on conventional Stranski-Krastanow InGaAs quantum dots have reported non-optimal levels of entanglement and indistinguishability of the emitted photons. For applications such as entangle…
We investigate how distinguishability of a "noise" particle degrades interference of the "signal" particle. The signal, represented by an equatorial state of a photonic qubit, is mixed with noise, represented by another photonic qubit, via linear coupling on the beam splitter. We report on the degradation of the "signal" photon interference depending on the degree of indistinguishability between "signal" and "noise" photon. When the photons are principally completely distinguishable but technically indistinguishable the visibility drops to the value 1/sqrt(2). As the photons become more indist…
The generation of high-fidelity polarization-entangled photon pairs, to date, has been demonstrated on specific spatial modes or over relatively narrow apertures. We put forward and demonstrate an experimental scheme to extend the temporal and spatial indistinguishability of polarization-entangled photons over wide emission angles, which can be applied to cover the whole SPDC cone. Over such wide angular extent, while the time-delay map is almost flat which renders the conventional compensation via a birefringent element an appropriate approach, the relative-phase map -- verified as a quadrati…
An on-demand source of indistinguishable and entangled photon pairs is a fundamental component for different quantum information applications such as optical quantum computing, quantum repeaters, quantum teleportation and quantum communication. Parametric down-conversion and four-wave mixing sources of entangled photons have shown high degrees of entanglement and indistinguishability but the probabilistic nature of their generation process also creates zero or multiple photon pairs following a Poissonian distribution. This limits their use in complex algorithms where many qubits and gate opera…
A reliable source of identical (indistinguishable) photons is a prerequisite for exploiting interference effects, which is a necessary component for linear optical based quantum computing, and applications thereof such as Boson sampling. Generally speaking, the degree of distinguishability will determine the efficacy of the particular approach, for example by limiting the fidelity of constructed resource states, or reducing the complexity of an optical circuits output distribution. It is therefore of great practical relevance to engineer heralded sources of highly pure and indistinguishable ph…
Applying high power continuous-wave resonant s-shell excitation to a single self-assembled In- GaAs quantum dot, we demonstrate the generation of post-selected single-indistinguishable photons from the Mollow triplet sidebands. A sophisticated spatial filtering technique based on a double Michelson interferometer enabled us to separate the spectrally close lying individual Mollow components and perform almost background free two-photon interference measurements. Showing high consistency with the results of an independent determination of the emission coherence of 250 +/- 30 ps, our analysis re…
A semiconductor quantum dot can generate highly coherent and indistinguishable single photons. However, intrinsic semiconductor dephasing mechanisms can reduce the visibility of two-photon interference. For an electron in a quantum dot, a fundamental dephasing process is the hyperfine interaction with the nuclear spin bath. Here we directly probe the consequence of the fluctuating nuclear spins on the elastic and inelastic scattered photon spectra from a resident electron in a single dot. We find the nuclear spin fluctuations lead to detuned Raman scattered photons which are distinguishable fr…
Sources of quantum light, in particular correlated photon pairs that are indistinguishable in all degrees of freedom, are the fundamental resource that enables continuous-variable quantum computation and paradigms such as Gaussian boson sampling. Nanophotonic systems offer a scalable platform for implementing sources of indistinguishable correlated photon pairs. However, such sources have so far relied on the use of a single component, such as a single waveguide or a ring resonator, which offers limited ability to tune the spectral and temporal correlations between photons. Here, we demonstrat…
We demonstrate that silicon-vacancy (SiV) centers in diamond can be used to efficiently generate coherent optical photons with excellent spectral properties. We show that these features are due to the inversion symmetry associated with SiV centers, and demonstrate generation of indistinguishable single photons from separate emitters in a Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interference experiment.Prospects for realizing efficient quantum network nodes using SiV centers are discussed.
A key ingredient for quantum photonic technologies is an on-demand source of indistinguishable single photons. State-of-the-art indistinguishable single-photon sources typically employ resonant excitation pulses with fixed repetition rates, creating a string of single photons with predetermined arrival times. However, in future applications, an independent electronic signal from a larger quantum circuit or network will trigger the generation of an indistinguishable photon. Further, operating the photon source up to the limit imposed by its lifetime is desirable. Here, we report on the applicat…
Reliable single photon sources constitute the basis of schemes for quantum communication and measurement based quantum computing. Solid state single photon sources based on quantum dots are convenient and versatile but the electronic transitions that generate the photons are subject to interactions with lattice vibrations. Using a microscopic model of electron-phonon interactions and a quantum master equation, we here examine phonon-induced decoherence and assess its impact on the rate of production, and indistinguishability, of single photons emitted from an optically driven quantum dot syste…
In this letter, we present a detailed, all optical study of the influence of different excitation schemes on the indistinguishability of single photons from a single InAs quantum dot. For this study, we measure the Hong-Ou-Mandel interference of consecutive photons from the spontaneous emission of an InAs quantum dot state under various excitation schemes and different excitation conditions and give a comparison.
The boson sampler proposed by Aaronson and Arkhipov is a non-universal quantum computer, which can serve as evidence against the extended Church-Turing thesis. It samples the probability distribution at the output of linear unitary optical network, with indistinguishable single photons at the input. Four experimental groups have already tested their small-scale prototypes with up to four photons. The boson sampler with few dozens of single photons is believed to be hard to simulate on a classical computer. For scalability of a realistic boson sampler with current technology it is necessary to …
The quantum statistics of particles is determined by both the spins and the indistinguishability of quantum states. Here we studied the quantum statistics of partially distinguishable photons by defining the multi-photon indistinguishability. The photon bunching co-efficient was formulated based on the properties of permutation symmetry, and a modified Bose--Einstein statistics was presented with an indistinguishability induced photon bunching effect. Moreover, the statistical transition of the photon state was studied for partially distinguishable photons, and the results shows the that indis…
Photon-mediated interactions between atomic systems can arise via coupling to a common electromagnetic mode or by quantum interference. Here, we probe the role of coherence in cooperative emission arising from two distant but indistinguishable solid-state emitters because of path erasure. The primary signature of cooperative emission, the emergence of "bunching" at zero delay in an intensity correlation experiment, is used to characterise the indistinguishability of the emitters, their dephasing, and the degree of correlation in the joint system that can be coherently controlled. In a stark de…
Narrowband single photons that couple well to atomic ensembles could prove essential for future quantum networks, but the efficient generation of such photons remains an outstanding challenge. We realize a spatially-multiplexed heralded source of single photons that are inherently compatible with the commonly employed D2 line of rubidium. Our source is based on four-wave mixing in hot rubidium vapor, requiring no laser cooling or optical cavities, and generates single photons with high rate and low noise. We use Hong-Ou-Mandel interference to verify the indistinguishability of the photons gene…
