We experimentally demonstrate two-photon absorption (TPA) with broadband down-converted light (squeezed vacuum). Although incoherent and exhibiting the statistics of a thermal noise, broadband down-converted light can induce TPA with the same sharp temporal behavior as femtosecond pulses, while exhibiting the high spectral resolution of the narrowband pump laser. Using pulse-shaping methods, we coherently control TPA in Rubidium, demonstrating spectral and temporal resolutions that are 3-5 orders of magnitude below the actual bandwidth and temporal duration of the light itself. Such properties can be exploited in various applications such as spread-spectrum optical communications, tomography and nonlinear microscopy.
We present the design and experimental proof of principle of a low threshold optical parametric oscillator (OPO) that continuously oscillates over a large bandwidth allowed by phase matching. The large oscillation bandwidth is achieved with a selective two-photon loss that suppresses the inherent mode competition, which tends to narrow the bandwidth in conventional OPOs. Our design performs pairwise mode-locking of many frequency pairs, in direct equivalence to passive mode-locking of ultrashort pulsed lasers. The ability to obtain high powers of continuous \textit{and} broadband down-converte…
We investigate the up-conversion process of broadband light from parametric down-conversion (PDC), focusing on the spatio-temporal spectral properties of the sum-frequency generated (SFG) radiation. We demonstrate that the incoherent component of the SFG spectrum is characterized by a skewed cigar-shaped geometry in space-time due to the compensation of spatial walk-off and group-velocity mismatch between the fundamental and the generated SFG fields. The results are illustrated both by a theoretical modeling of the optical system and by experimental measurements.
When two-photon interactions are induced by down-converted light with a bandwidth that exceeds the pump bandwidth, they can obtain a behavior that is pulse-like temporally, yet spectrally narrow. At low photon fluxes this behavior reflects the time and energy entanglement between the down-converted photons. However, two-photon interactions such as two-photon absorption (TPA) and sum-frequency generation (SFG) can exhibit such a behavior even at high power levels, as long as the final state (i.e. the atomic level in TPA, or the generated light in SFG) is narrowband enough. This behavior does no…
The coherence properties of broadband down converted light are investigated theoretically and experimentally in both the classical and quantum mechanical frameworks. Although broadband down converted light is one-photon incoherent noise, it possesses unique two-photon coherence. Thus, for performing two-photon processes, down-converted light is equivalent to coherent ultrashort pulses in some aspects and to coherent CW laser radiation in others. This equivalence is theoretically established and experimentally demonstrated in the classical, high-power regime. Two applications that take advantag…
We experimentally demonstrate sum-frequency generation (SFG) with entangled photon-pairs, generating as many as 40,000 SFG photons per second, visible even to the naked eye. The nonclassical nature of the interaction is exhibited by a linear intensity-dependence of the nonlinear process. The key element in our scheme is the generation of an ultrahigh flux of entangled photons while maintaining their nonclassical properties. This is made possible by generating the down-converted photons as broadband as possible, orders of magnitude wider than the pump. This approach is readily applicable for ot…
The absorption of a single photon that excites a quantum system from a low to a high energy level is an elementary process of light-matter interaction, and a route towards realizing pure single-photon absorption has both fundamental and practical implications in quantum technology. Due to nonlinear optical effects, however, the probability of pure single-photon absorption is usually very low, which is particularly pertinent in the case of strong ultrafast laser pulses with broad bandwidth. Here we demonstrate theoretically a counterintuitive coherent single-photon absorption scheme by eliminat…
We demonstrate magnetometry by detection of the spin state of high-density nitrogen-vacancy ensembles in diamond using optical absorption at 1042 nm. With this technique, measurement contrast, and collection efficiency can approach unity, leading to an increase in magnetic sensitivity compared to the more common method of collecting red fluorescence. Working at 75 K with a sensor with effective volume $50 \times 50 \times 300$ microns^3, we project photon shot-noise limited sensitivity of 5 pT in one second of acquisition and bandwidth from dc to a few megahertz. Operation in a gradiometer con…
We present an analytical quantum theoretic model for non-resonant molecular two-photon absorption (TPA) of broadband, spectrally multi-mode squeezed vacuum, including low-gain (isolated entangled photon pairs or EPP) and high-gain (bright squeezed vacuum or BSV) regimes. The results are relevant to the potential use of entangled-light TPA as a spectroscopic and imaging method. We treat the scenario that the exciting light is spatially single-mode and is non-resonant with all intermediate molecular states. In the case of high gain, we find that in the case that the linewidth of the final molecu…
In this work, we report on the preparation of an ultra-broadband continuously-tunable, highly polarization-entangled photon-pair source covering the C+L telecom bands using a single type-II phase-matched bulk PPKTP crystal. Over 60 nm turning band of the down-converted photons is achieved experimentally. The broad tuning ability is due to operating near an extended phase match point in this crystal. The S parameter value of CHSH inequality is in the range between 2.60+/-0.04 (minimum) and 2.72+/-0.07 (maximum), which clearly demonstrates the high entanglement of the source over the whole tunab…
A proposal for fast-switching broadband frequency-shifting technology making use of frequency conversion in a nonlinear crystal is set forth, whereby the shifting is imparted to the converted photons by creating a bank of frequency-displaced pump modes that can be selected by a photonic switch and directed to the nonlinear crystal. Proof-of-principle results show that the expected frequency-shifting operation can be achieved. Even though the dimensions of the currently employed crystal and significant excess loss in the experimental setup prevented conversion of single-photon-level inputs, tho…
In this paper, we study two-photon interference of broadband chaotic light in a Michelson interferometer with two-photon-absorption detector. The theoretical analysis is based on two-photon interference and Feynman path integral theory. The two-photon coherence matrix is introduced to calculate the second-order interference pattern with polarizations being taken into account. Our study shows that the polarization is another dimension, as well as time and space, to tune the interference pattern in the two-photon interference process. It can act as a switch to manipulate the interference process…
Numerous molecules exhibit unique absorption bands in the fingerprint infrared (IR) region, allowing chemical identification and detection. This makes IR spectroscopy an essential tool in biomedical diagnostics, sensing, and material characterization. However, measurements in the IR range are challenging due to the relatively poor performance, need for cryogenic cooling, and high cost of IR light sources and photodetectors. Here, we demonstrate that the mid-IR fingerprints of the sample can be revealed from measurements in the near-IR range using conventional silicon photodetectors. Our approa…
We suggest graphene and a two-dimensional (2D) Weyl semimetal (WSM) as 2D materials for the realization of a broadband coherent perfect absorber (CPA) respecting overall PT-symmetry. We also demonstrate the conditions for mutually equal amplitudes and phases of the left and right incoming waves to realize a CPA. 2D materials in our system play the role to enhance the absorption rate of a CPA once the appropriate parameters are inserted in the system. We show that a 2D WSM is more effective than graphene in obtaining the optimal conditions. We display the behavior of each parameter governing th…
