Universal photonic quantum gates assisted by ancilla diamond nitrogen-vacancy centers coupled to resonators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Hai-Rui; Long, Gui Lu

2015-03-01

We propose two compact, economic, and scalable schemes for implementing optical controlled-phase-flip and controlled-controlled-phase-flip gates by using the input-output process of a single-sided cavity strongly coupled to a single nitrogen-vacancy-center defect in diamond. Additional photonic qubits, necessary for procedures based on the parity-check measurement or controlled-path and merging gates, are not employed in our schemes. In the controlled-path gate, the paths of the target photon are conditionally controlled by the control photon, and these two paths can be merged back into one by using a merging gate. Only one half-wave plate is employed in our scheme for the controlled-phase-flip gate. Compared with the conventional synthesis procedures for constructing a controlled-controlled-phase-flip gate, the cost of which is two controlled-path gates and two merging gates, or six controlled-not gates, our scheme is more compact and simpler. Our schemes could be performed with a high fidelity and high efficiency with current achievable experimental techniques.

Photon collider: a four-channel autoguider solution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hygelund, John C.; Haynes, Rachel; Burleson, Ben; Fulton, Benjamin J.

2010-07-01

The "Photon Collider" uses a compact array of four off axis autoguider cameras positioned with independent filtering and focus. The photon collider is two way symmetric and robustly mounted with the off axis light crossing the science field which allows the compact single frame construction to have extremely small relative deflections between guide and science CCDs. The photon collider provides four independent guiding signals with a total of 15 square arc minutes of sky coverage. These signals allow for simultaneous altitude, azimuth, field rotation and focus guiding. Guide cameras read out without exposure overhead increasing the tracking cadence. The independent focus allows the photon collider to maintain in focus guide stars when the main science camera is taking defocused exposures as well as track for telescope focus changes. Independent filters allow auto guiding in the science camera wavelength bandpass. The four cameras are controlled with a custom web services interface from a single Linux based industrial PC, and the autoguider mechanism and telemetry is built around a uCLinux based Analog Devices BlackFin embedded microprocessor. Off axis light is corrected with a custom meniscus correcting lens. Guide CCDs are cooled with ethylene glycol with an advanced leak detection system. The photon collider was built for use on Las Cumbres Observatory's 2 meter Faulks telescopes and currently used to guide the alt-az mount.

High-Efficiency Plug-and-Play Source of Heralded Single Photons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montaut, Nicola; Sansoni, Linda; Meyer-Scott, Evan; Ricken, Raimund; Quiring, Viktor; Herrmann, Harald; Silberhorn, Christine

2017-08-01

Reliable generation of single photons is of key importance for fundamental physical experiments and to demonstrate quantum protocols. Waveguide-based photon-pair sources have shown great promise in this regard due to their large spectral tunability, high generation rates, and long temporal coherence of the photon wave packet. However, integrating such sources with fiber-optic networks often results in a strong degradation of performance. We answer this challenge by presenting an alignment-free source of photon pairs in the telecommunications band that maintains heralding efficiency >50 % even after fiber pigtailing, photon separation, and pump suppression. The source combines this outstanding performance in heralding efficiency with a compact, stable, and easy-to-use "plug-and-play" package: one simply connects a laser to the input and detectors to the output, and the source is ready to use. This high performance can be achieved even outside the lab without the need for alignment which makes the source extremely useful for any experiment or demonstration needing heralded single photons.

Method and apparatus for measuring lung density by Compton backscattering

DOEpatents

Loo, B.W.; Goulding, F.S.

1988-03-11

The density of the lung of a patient suffering from pulmonary edema is monitored by irradiating the lung by a single collimated beam of monochromatic photons and measuring the energies of photons compton back-scattered from the lung by a single high-resolution, high-purity germanium detector. A compact system geometry and a unique data extraction scheme are utilized to minimize systematic errors due to the presence of the chestwall and multiple scattering. 11 figs., 1 tab.

Multichannel photonic Hilbert transformers based on complex modulated integrated Bragg gratings.

PubMed

Cheng, Rui; Chrostowski, Lukas

2018-03-01

Multichannel photonic Hilbert transformers (MPHTs) are reported. The devices are based on single compact spiral integrated Bragg gratings on silicon with coupling coefficients precisely modulated by the phase of each grating period. MPHTs with up to nine wavelength channels and a single-channel bandwidth of up to ∼625  GHz are achieved. The potential of the devices for multichannel single-sideband signal generation is suggested. The work offers a new possibility of utilizing wavelength as an extra degree of freedom in designing radio-frequency photonic signal processors. Such multichannel processors are expected to possess improved capacities and a potential to greatly benefit current widespread wavelength division multiplexed systems.

Integrated four-channel all-fiber up-conversion single-photon-detector with adjustable efficiency and dark count.

PubMed

Zheng, Ming-Yang; Shentu, Guo-Liang; Ma, Fei; Zhou, Fei; Zhang, Hai-Ting; Dai, Yun-Qi; Xie, Xiuping; Zhang, Qiang; Pan, Jian-Wei

2016-09-01

Up-conversion single photon detector (UCSPD) has been widely used in many research fields including quantum key distribution, lidar, optical time domain reflectrometry, and deep space communication. For the first time in laboratory, we have developed an integrated four-channel all-fiber UCSPD which can work in both free-running and gate modes. This compact module can satisfy different experimental demands with adjustable detection efficiency and dark count. We have characterized the key parameters of the UCSPD system.

Double-clad photonic crystal fiber coupler for compact nonlinear optical microscopy imaging.

PubMed

Fu, Ling; Gu, Min

2006-05-15

A 1 x 2 double-clad photonic crystal fiber coupler is fabricated by the fused tapered method, showing a low excess loss of 1.1 dB and a splitting ratio of 97/3 over the entire visible and near-infrared wavelength range. In addition to the property of splitting the laser power, the double-clad feature of the coupler facilitates the separation of a near-infrared single-mode beam from a visible multimode beam, which is ideal for nonlinear optical microscopy imaging. In conjunction with a gradient-index lens, this coupler is used to construct a miniaturized microscope based on two-photon fluorescence and second-harmonic generation. Three-dimensional nonlinear optical images demonstrate potential applications of the coupler to compact all-fiber and nonlinear optical microscopy and endoscopy.

Polarization anisotropy in fiber-optic second harmonic generation microscopy.

PubMed

Fu, Ling; Gu, Min

2008-03-31

We report the investigation and implementation of a compact second harmonic generation microscope that uses a single-mode fiber coupler and a double-clad photonic crystal fiber. Second harmonic polarization anisotropy through the fiber-optic microscope systems is quantitatively measured with KTP microcrystals, fish scale and rat tail tendon. It is demonstrated that the polarized second harmonic signals can be excited and collected through the single-mode fiber coupler to analyze the molecular orientations of structural proteins. It has been discovered that a double-clad photonic crystal fiber can preserve the linear polarization in the core, although a depolarization effect is observed in the inner cladding region. The feasibility of polarization anisotropy measurements in fiber-optic second harmonic generation microscopy will benefit the in vivo study of collagen-related diseases with a compact imaging probe.

Compact photonic crystal fiber refractometer based on modal interference

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wong, Wei Chang; Chan, Chi Chiu; Tou, Zhi Qiang; Chen, Li Han; Leong, Kam Chew

2011-05-01

A compact photonic crystal fiber (PCF) refractometer based on modal interference has been proposed by the use of commercial fusion splicer to collapse the holes of PCF to form a Mach Zehnder interferometer by splitting the fundamental core mode into cladding and core modes in the PCF. Collapsed of holes was done at the interface between the single mode fiber and PCF, and the PCF's end. The shift of the interference fringes was measured when the sensor was placed into different refractive index liquid. High linear sensitivity of 253.13nm/RIU with resolution of 3.950×10-5RIU was obtained.

Hybrid microfiber-lithium-niobate nanowaveguide structures as high-purity heralded single-photon sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Main, Philip; Mosley, Peter J.; Ding, Wei; Zhang, Lijian; Gorbach, Andrey V.

2016-12-01

We propose a compact, fiber-integrated architecture for photon-pair generation by parametric downconversion with unprecedented flexibility in the properties of the photons produced. Our approach is based on a thin-film lithium niobate nanowaveguide, evanescently coupled to a tapered silica microfiber. We demonstrate how controllable mode hybridization between the fiber and waveguide yields control over the joint spectrum of the photon pairs. We also investigate how independent engineering of the linear and nonlinear properties of the structure can be achieved through the addition of a tapered, proton-exchanged layer to the waveguide. This allows further refinement of the joint spectrum through custom profiling of the effective nonlinearity, drastically improving the purity of the heralded photons. We give details of a source design capable of generating heralded single photons in the telecom wavelength range with purity of at least 0.95, and we provide a feasible fabrication methodology.

Crosstalk-free operation of multielement superconducting nanowire single-photon detector array integrated with single-flux-quantum circuit in a 0.1 W Gifford-McMahon cryocooler.

PubMed

Yamashita, Taro; Miki, Shigehito; Terai, Hirotaka; Makise, Kazumasa; Wang, Zhen

2012-07-15

We demonstrate the successful operation of a multielement superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SSPD) array integrated with a single-flux-quantum (SFQ) readout circuit in a compact 0.1 W Gifford-McMahon cryocooler. A time-resolved readout technique, where output signals from each element enter the SFQ readout circuit with finite time intervals, revealed crosstalk-free operation of the four-element SSPD array connected with the SFQ readout circuit. The timing jitter and the system detection efficiency were measured to be 50 ps and 11.4%, respectively, which were comparable to the performance of practical single-pixel SSPD systems.

Time-to-digital converter card for multichannel time-resolved single-photon counting applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tamborini, Davide; Portaluppi, Davide; Tisa, Simone; Tosi, Alberto

2015-03-01

We present a high performance Time-to-Digital Converter (TDC) card that provides 10 ps timing resolution and 20 ps (rms) timing precision with a programmable full-scale-range from 160 ns to 10 μs. Differential Non-Linearity (DNL) is better than 1.3% LSB (rms) and Integral Non-Linearity (INL) is 5 ps rms. Thanks to the low power consumption (400 mW) and the compact size (78 mm x 28 mm x 10 mm), this card is the building block for developing compact multichannel time-resolved instrumentation for Time-Correlated Single-Photon Counting (TCSPC). The TDC-card outputs the time measurement results together with the rates of START and STOP signals and the number of valid TDC conversions. These additional information are needed by many TCSPC-based applications, such as: Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging (FLIM), Time-of-Flight (TOF) ranging measurements, time-resolved Positron Emission Tomography (PET), single-molecule spectroscopy, Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS), Diffuse Optical Tomography (DOT), Optical Time-Domain Reflectometry (OTDR), quantum optics, etc.

Heralded quantum repeater based on the scattering of photons off single emitters using parametric down-conversion source.

PubMed

Song, Guo-Zhu; Wu, Fang-Zhou; Zhang, Mei; Yang, Guo-Jian

2016-06-28

Quantum repeater is the key element in quantum communication and quantum information processing. Here, we investigate the possibility of achieving a heralded quantum repeater based on the scattering of photons off single emitters in one-dimensional waveguides. We design the compact quantum circuits for nonlocal entanglement generation, entanglement swapping, and entanglement purification, and discuss the feasibility of our protocols with current experimental technology. In our scheme, we use a parametric down-conversion source instead of ideal single-photon sources to realize the heralded quantum repeater. Moreover, our protocols can turn faulty events into the detection of photon polarization, and the fidelity can reach 100% in principle. Our scheme is attractive and scalable, since it can be realized with artificial solid-state quantum systems. With developed experimental technique on controlling emitter-waveguide systems, the repeater may be very useful in long-distance quantum communication.

Heralded quantum repeater based on the scattering of photons off single emitters using parametric down-conversion source

PubMed Central

Song, Guo-Zhu; Wu, Fang-Zhou; Zhang, Mei; Yang, Guo-Jian

2016-01-01

Quantum repeater is the key element in quantum communication and quantum information processing. Here, we investigate the possibility of achieving a heralded quantum repeater based on the scattering of photons off single emitters in one-dimensional waveguides. We design the compact quantum circuits for nonlocal entanglement generation, entanglement swapping, and entanglement purification, and discuss the feasibility of our protocols with current experimental technology. In our scheme, we use a parametric down-conversion source instead of ideal single-photon sources to realize the heralded quantum repeater. Moreover, our protocols can turn faulty events into the detection of photon polarization, and the fidelity can reach 100% in principle. Our scheme is attractive and scalable, since it can be realized with artificial solid-state quantum systems. With developed experimental technique on controlling emitter-waveguide systems, the repeater may be very useful in long-distance quantum communication. PMID:27350159

Three-color Sagnac source of polarization-entangled photon pairs.

PubMed

Hentschel, Michael; Hübel, Hannes; Poppe, Andreas; Zeilinger, Anton

2009-12-07

We demonstrate a compact and stable source of polarization-entangled pairs of photons, one at 810 nm wavelength for high detection efficiency and the other at 1550 nm for long-distance fiber communication networks. Due to a novel Sagnac-based design of the interferometer no active stabilization is needed. Using only one 30 mm ppKTP bulk crystal the source produces photons with a spectral brightness of 1.13 x 10(6) pairs/s/mW/THz with an entanglement fidelity of 98.2%. Both photons are single-mode fiber coupled and ready to be used in quantum key distribution (QKD) or transmission of photonic quantum states over large distances.

When quantum optics meets topology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amo, Alberto

2018-02-01

Routing photons at the micrometer scale remains one of the greatest challenges of integrated quantum optics. The main difficulty is the scattering losses at bends and splitters in the photonic circuit. Current approaches imply elaborate designs, quite sensitive to fabrication details (1). Inspired by the physics underlying the one-way transport of electrons in topological insulators, on page 666 of this issue, Barik et al. (2) report a topological photonic crystal in which single photons are emitted and routed through bends with negligible loss. The marriage between quantum optics and topology promises new opportunities for compact quantum optics gating and manipulation.

Detection of single nano-defects in photonic crystals between crossed polarizers.

PubMed

Grepstad, Jon Olav; Kaspar, Peter; Johansen, Ib-Rune; Solgaard, Olav; Sudbø, Aasmund

2013-12-16

We investigate, by simulations and experiments, the light scattering of small particles trapped in photonic crystal membranes supporting guided resonance modes. Our results show that, due to amplified Rayleigh small particle scattering, such membranes can be utilized to make a sensor that can detect single nano-particles. We have designed a biomolecule sensor that uses cross-polarized excitation and detection for increased sensitivity. Estimated using Rayleigh scattering theory and simulation results, the current fabricated sensor has a detection limit of 26 nm, corresponding to the size of a single virus. The sensor can potentially be made both cheap and compact, to facilitate use at point-of-care.

Mid-Infrared Photonic Devices Fabricated by Ultrafast Laser Inscription

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-07-01

active and passive photonic devices in single crystal, ceramic and glass substrates. This range of devices span applications such as: astrophysics [16...waveguide has been published this year in Applied Physics Letters. Reference: Macdonald, J.R., et al., Compact mid-infrared Cr:ZnSe channel...waveguide laser. Applied Physics Letters, 2013. 102(16): p. 161110. High efficiency circular cladding WG laser The initial demonstration of square double

Torsion sensing setup based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer with photonics crystal fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pacheco-Chacon, Eliana I.; Gallegos-Arellano, E.; Sierra-Hernandez, Juan M.; Rojas-Laguna, Roberto; Estudillo-Ayala, Julian M.; Hernandez, Emmanuel; Jauregui-Vazquez, D.; Hernandez-Garcia, J. C.

2017-02-01

A torsion experimental sensing setup based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) with photonics crystal fiber is presented. The MZI was fabricated by fusion splicing a piece of photonic crystal fiber (PCF) between two segments of a single-mode fiber (SMF). Here, a spectral MZI fringe shifting is induced by applying torsion over the SMF-PCF-SMF. As a result a torsion sensitivity of 35.79 pm/ and a high visibility of 10 dB were achieved. Finally, it is shown that the sensing arrangement is compact and robust.

Photonic-crystal diplexers for terahertz-wave applications.

PubMed

Yata, Masahiro; Fujita, Masayuki; Nagatsuma, Tadao

2016-04-04

A compact diplexer is designed using a silicon photonic-crystal directional coupler of length comparable to the incident wavelength. The diplexer theoretically and experimentally exhibits a cross state bandwidth as broad as 2% of the operation frequency, with over 40-dB isolation between the cross and bar ports. We also demonstrate 1.5-Gbit/s frequency-division communication in the 0.32- and 0.33-THz bands using a single-wavelength-sized diplexer, and discuss the transmission bandwidth. Our study demonstrates the potential for application of photonic crystals as terahertz-wave integration platforms.

The supercontinuum laser as a flexible source for quasi-steady state and time resolved fluorescence studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fenske, Roger; Näther, Dirk U.; Dennis, Richard B.; Smith, S. Desmond

2010-02-01

Commercial Fluorescence Lifetime Spectrometers have long suffered from the lack of a simple, compact and relatively inexpensive broad spectral band light source that can be flexibly employed for both quasi-steady state and time resolved measurements (using Time Correlated Single Photon Counting [TCSPC]). This paper reports the integration of an optically pumped photonic crystal fibre, supercontinuum source1 (Fianium model SC400PP) as a light source in Fluorescence Lifetime Spectrometers (Edinburgh Instruments FLS920 and Lifespec II), with single photon counting detectors (micro-channel plate photomultiplier and a near-infrared photomultiplier) covering the UV to NIR range. An innovative method of spectral selection of the supercontinuum source involving wedge interference filters is also discussed.

Nano-displacement sensor based on photonic crystal fiber modal interferometer.

PubMed

Dash, Jitendra Narayan; Jha, Rajan; Villatoro, Joel; Dass, Sumit

2015-02-15

A stable nano-displacement sensor based on large mode area photonic crystal fiber (PCF) modal interferometer is presented. The compact setup requires simple splicing of a small piece of PCF with a single mode fiber (SMF). The excitation and recombination of modes is carried out in a single splice. The use of a reflecting target creates an extra cavity that discretizes the interference pattern of the mode interferometer, boosting the displacement resolution to nanometer level. The proposed modal interferometric based displacement sensor is highly stable and shows sensitivity of 32  pm/nm.

Modal and polarization qubits in Ti:LiNbO3 photonic circuits for a universal quantum logic gate.

PubMed

Saleh, Mohammed F; Di Giuseppe, Giovanni; Saleh, Bahaa E A; Teich, Malvin Carl

2010-09-13

Lithium niobate photonic circuits have the salutary property of permitting the generation, transmission, and processing of photons to be accommodated on a single chip. Compact photonic circuits such as these, with multiple components integrated on a single chip, are crucial for efficiently implementing quantum information processing schemes.We present a set of basic transformations that are useful for manipulating modal qubits in Ti:LiNbO(3) photonic quantum circuits. These include the mode analyzer, a device that separates the even and odd components of a state into two separate spatial paths; the mode rotator, which rotates the state by an angle in mode space; and modal Pauli spin operators that effect related operations. We also describe the design of a deterministic, two-qubit, single-photon, CNOT gate, a key element in certain sets of universal quantum logic gates. It is implemented as a Ti:LiNbO(3) photonic quantum circuit in which the polarization and mode number of a single photon serve as the control and target qubits, respectively. It is shown that the effects of dispersion in the CNOT circuit can be mitigated by augmenting it with an additional path. The performance of all of these components are confirmed by numerical simulations. The implementation of these transformations relies on selective and controllable power coupling among single- and two-mode waveguides, as well as the polarization sensitivity of the Pockels coefficients in LiNbO(3).

Multipli-Entangled Photons from a Spontaneous Parametric Down-Conversion Source

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-01-01

Alsing, Corey J. Peters (AFRL/RITA); Enrique J. Galvez ( Colgate University, Hamilton, NY) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER QIS0 5e. TASK NUMBER PR 5f...and Enrique J. Galvez Colgate University, Hamilton, NY (USA) 1. ABSTRACT In this work, we discuss a novel compact source that generates six...single pair of entangled photons per pass in conventional SPDC-based sources. We first describe the experimental testbed used for evaluation and

Scheme for generating distillation-favorable continuous-variable entanglement via three concurrent parametric down-conversions in a single χ⁽²⁾ nonlinear photonic crystal.

PubMed

Gong, Yan-Xiao; Zhang, ShengLi; Xu, P; Zhu, S N

2016-03-21

We propose to generate a single-mode-squeezing two-mode squeezed vacuum state via a single χ⁽²⁾ nonlinear photonic crystal. The state is favorable for existing Gaussian entanglement distillation schemes, since local squeezing operations can enhance the final entanglement and the success probability. The crystal is designed for enabling three concurrent quasi-phase-matching parametric-down conversions, and hence relieves the auxiliary on-line bi-side local squeezing operations. The compact source opens up a way for continuous-variable quantum technologies and could find more potential applications in future large-scale quantum networks.

Development of compact particle detectors for space based instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barner, Lindsey; Grove, Andrew; Mohler, Jacob; Sisson, Caleb; Roth, Alex; Kryemadhi, Abaz

2017-01-01

The Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) are new photon-detectors which have been increasingly used in particle physics. Their small size, good single photon resolution, simple readout, and immunity to magnetic fields offers benefits compared to traditional photomultipliers. LYSO and CeBr3 crystals are relatively new scintillators with high stopping power, very good light yield and fast decay time. The response of these detectors to low energy gamma rays will be presented. NASA Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium.

Single frequency free-running low noise compact extended-cavity semiconductor laser at high power level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garnache, Arnaud; Myara, Mikhaël.; Laurain, A.; Bouchier, Aude; Perez, J. P.; Signoret, P.; Sagnes, I.; Romanini, D.

2017-11-01

We present a highly coherent semiconductor laser device formed by a ½-VCSEL structure and an external concave mirror in a millimetre high finesse stable cavity. The quantum well structure is diode-pumped by a commercial single mode GaAs laser diode system. This free running low noise tunable single-frequency laser exhibits >50mW output power in a low divergent circular TEM00 beam with a spectral linewidth below 1kHz and a relative intensity noise close to the quantum limit. This approach ensures, with a compact design, homogeneous gain behaviour and a sufficiently long photon lifetime to reach the oscillation-relaxation-free class-A regime, with a cut off frequency around 10MHz.

Electro-mechanical control of an on-chip optical beam splitter containing an embedded quantum emitter.

PubMed

Bishop, Z K; Foster, A P; Royall, B; Bentham, C; Clarke, E; Skolnick, M S; Wilson, L R

2018-05-01

We demonstrate electro-mechanical control of an on-chip GaAs optical beam splitter containing a quantum dot single-photon source. The beam splitter consists of two nanobeam waveguides, which form a directional coupler (DC). The splitting ratio of the DC is controlled by varying the out-of-plane separation of the two waveguides using electromechanical actuation. We reversibly tune the beam splitter between an initial state, with emission into both output arms, and a final state with photons emitted into a single output arm. The device represents a compact and scalable tuning approach for use in III-V semiconductor integrated quantum optical circuits.

Highly Compact Circulators in Square-Lattice Photonic Crystal Waveguides

PubMed Central

Jin, Xin; Ouyang, Zhengbiao; Wang, Qiong; Lin, Mi; Wen, Guohua; Wang, Jingjing

2014-01-01

We propose, demonstrate and investigate highly compact circulators with ultra-low insertion loss in square-lattice- square-rod-photonic-crystal waveguides. Only a single magneto- optical square rod is required to be inserted into the cross center of waveguides, making the structure very compact and ultra efficient. The square rods around the center defect rod are replaced by several right-angled-triangle rods, reducing the insertion loss further and promoting the isolations as well. By choosing a linear-dispersion region and considering the mode patterns in the square magneto-optical rod, the operating mechanism of the circulator is analyzed. By applying the finite-element method together with the Nelder-Mead optimization method, an extremely low insertion loss of 0.02 dB for the transmitted wave and ultra high isolation of 46 dB∼48 dB for the isolated port are obtained. The idea presented can be applied to build circulators in different wavebands, e.g., microwave or Tera-Hertz. PMID:25415417

Highly compact circulators in square-lattice photonic crystal waveguides.

PubMed

Jin, Xin; Ouyang, Zhengbiao; Wang, Qiong; Lin, Mi; Wen, Guohua; Wang, Jingjing

2014-01-01

We propose, demonstrate and investigate highly compact circulators with ultra-low insertion loss in square-lattice- square-rod-photonic-crystal waveguides. Only a single magneto- optical square rod is required to be inserted into the cross center of waveguides, making the structure very compact and ultra efficient. The square rods around the center defect rod are replaced by several right-angled-triangle rods, reducing the insertion loss further and promoting the isolations as well. By choosing a linear-dispersion region and considering the mode patterns in the square magneto-optical rod, the operating mechanism of the circulator is analyzed. By applying the finite-element method together with the Nelder-Mead optimization method, an extremely low insertion loss of 0.02 dB for the transmitted wave and ultra high isolation of 46 dB∼48 dB for the isolated port are obtained. The idea presented can be applied to build circulators in different wavebands, e.g., microwave or Tera-Hertz.

Atomic clouds as spectrally selective and tunable delay lines for single photons from quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wildmann, Johannes S.; Trotta, Rinaldo; Martín-Sánchez, Javier; Zallo, Eugenio; O'Steen, Mark; Schmidt, Oliver G.; Rastelli, Armando

2015-12-01

We demonstrate a compact, spectrally selective, and tunable delay line for single photons emitted by quantum dots. This is achieved by fine-tuning the wavelength of the optical transitions of such "artificial atoms" into a spectral window in which a cloud of natural atoms behaves as a slow-light medium. By employing the ground-state fine-structure-split exciton confined in an InGaAs/GaAs quantum dot as a source of single photons at different frequencies and the hyperfine-structure-split D1 transition of Cs-vapors as a tunable delay medium, we achieve a differential delay of up 2.4 ns on a 7.5-cm-long path for photons that are only 60 μ eV (14.5 GHz) apart. To quantitatively explain the experimental data, we develop a theoretical model that accounts for both the inhomogeneous broadening of the quantum-dot emission lines and the Doppler broadening of the atomic lines. The concept we proposed here may be used to implement time-reordering operations aimed at erasing the "which-path" information that deteriorates entangled-photon emission from excitons with finite fine-structure splitting.

Photonic crystal nanocavity assisted rejection ratio tunable notch microwave photonic filter

PubMed Central

Long, Yun; Xia, Jinsong; Zhang, Yong; Dong, Jianji; Wang, Jian

2017-01-01

Driven by the increasing demand on handing microwave signals with compact device, low power consumption, high efficiency and high reliability, it is highly desired to generate, distribute, and process microwave signals using photonic integrated circuits. Silicon photonics offers a promising platform facilitating ultracompact microwave photonic signal processing assisted by silicon nanophotonic devices. In this paper, we propose, theoretically analyze and experimentally demonstrate a simple scheme to realize ultracompact rejection ratio tunable notch microwave photonic filter (MPF) based on a silicon photonic crystal (PhC) nanocavity with fixed extinction ratio. Using a conventional modulation scheme with only a single phase modulator (PM), the rejection ratio of the presented MPF can be tuned from about 10 dB to beyond 60 dB. Moreover, the central frequency tunable operation in the high rejection ratio region is also demonstrated in the experiment. PMID:28067332

Photonic crystal nanocavity assisted rejection ratio tunable notch microwave photonic filter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Long, Yun; Xia, Jinsong; Zhang, Yong; Dong, Jianji; Wang, Jian

2017-01-01

Driven by the increasing demand on handing microwave signals with compact device, low power consumption, high efficiency and high reliability, it is highly desired to generate, distribute, and process microwave signals using photonic integrated circuits. Silicon photonics offers a promising platform facilitating ultracompact microwave photonic signal processing assisted by silicon nanophotonic devices. In this paper, we propose, theoretically analyze and experimentally demonstrate a simple scheme to realize ultracompact rejection ratio tunable notch microwave photonic filter (MPF) based on a silicon photonic crystal (PhC) nanocavity with fixed extinction ratio. Using a conventional modulation scheme with only a single phase modulator (PM), the rejection ratio of the presented MPF can be tuned from about 10 dB to beyond 60 dB. Moreover, the central frequency tunable operation in the high rejection ratio region is also demonstrated in the experiment.

Photonic crystal nanocavity assisted rejection ratio tunable notch microwave photonic filter.

PubMed

Long, Yun; Xia, Jinsong; Zhang, Yong; Dong, Jianji; Wang, Jian

2017-01-09

Driven by the increasing demand on handing microwave signals with compact device, low power consumption, high efficiency and high reliability, it is highly desired to generate, distribute, and process microwave signals using photonic integrated circuits. Silicon photonics offers a promising platform facilitating ultracompact microwave photonic signal processing assisted by silicon nanophotonic devices. In this paper, we propose, theoretically analyze and experimentally demonstrate a simple scheme to realize ultracompact rejection ratio tunable notch microwave photonic filter (MPF) based on a silicon photonic crystal (PhC) nanocavity with fixed extinction ratio. Using a conventional modulation scheme with only a single phase modulator (PM), the rejection ratio of the presented MPF can be tuned from about 10 dB to beyond 60 dB. Moreover, the central frequency tunable operation in the high rejection ratio region is also demonstrated in the experiment.

GRay: A Massively Parallel GPU-based Code for Ray Tracing in Relativistic Spacetimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chan, Chi-kwan; Psaltis, Dimitrios; Özel, Feryal

2013-11-01

We introduce GRay, a massively parallel integrator designed to trace the trajectories of billions of photons in a curved spacetime. This graphics-processing-unit (GPU)-based integrator employs the stream processing paradigm, is implemented in CUDA C/C++, and runs on nVidia graphics cards. The peak performance of GRay using single-precision floating-point arithmetic on a single GPU exceeds 300 GFLOP (or 1 ns per photon per time step). For a realistic problem, where the peak performance cannot be reached, GRay is two orders of magnitude faster than existing central-processing-unit-based ray-tracing codes. This performance enhancement allows more effective searches of large parameter spaces when comparing theoretical predictions of images, spectra, and light curves from the vicinities of compact objects to observations. GRay can also perform on-the-fly ray tracing within general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic algorithms that simulate accretion flows around compact objects. Making use of this algorithm, we calculate the properties of the shadows of Kerr black holes and the photon rings that surround them. We also provide accurate fitting formulae of their dependencies on black hole spin and observer inclination, which can be used to interpret upcoming observations of the black holes at the center of the Milky Way, as well as M87, with the Event Horizon Telescope.

Realization of reliable solid-state quantum memory for photonic polarization qubit.

PubMed

Zhou, Zong-Quan; Lin, Wei-Bin; Yang, Ming; Li, Chuan-Feng; Guo, Guang-Can

2012-05-11

Faithfully storing an unknown quantum light state is essential to advanced quantum communication and distributed quantum computation applications. The required quantum memory must have high fidelity to improve the performance of a quantum network. Here we report the reversible transfer of photonic polarization states into collective atomic excitation in a compact solid-state device. The quantum memory is based on an atomic frequency comb (AFC) in rare-earth ion-doped crystals. We obtain up to 0.999 process fidelity for the storage and retrieval process of single-photon-level coherent pulse. This reliable quantum memory is a crucial step toward quantum networks based on solid-state devices.

Time-resolved single-photon detection module based on silicon photomultiplier: A novel building block for time-correlated measurement systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinenghi, E.; Di Sieno, L.; Contini, D.; Sanzaro, M.; Pifferi, A.; Dalla Mora, A.

2016-07-01

We present the design and preliminary characterization of the first detection module based on Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) tailored for single-photon timing applications. The aim of this work is to demonstrate, thanks to the design of a suitable module, the possibility to easily exploit SiPM in many applications as an interesting detector featuring large active area, similarly to photomultipliers tubes, but keeping the advantages of solid state detectors (high quantum efficiency, low cost, compactness, robustness, low bias voltage, and insensitiveness to magnetic field). The module integrates a cooled SiPM with a total photosensitive area of 1 mm2 together with the suitable avalanche signal read-out circuit, the signal conditioning, the biasing electronics, and a Peltier cooler driver for thermal stabilization. It is able to extract the single-photon timing information with resolution better than 100 ps full-width at half maximum. We verified the effective stabilization in response to external thermal perturbations, thus proving the complete insensitivity of the module to environment temperature variations, which represents a fundamental parameter to profitably use the instrument for real-field applications. We also characterized the single-photon timing resolution, the background noise due to both primary dark count generation and afterpulsing, the single-photon detection efficiency, and the instrument response function shape. The proposed module can become a reliable and cost-effective building block for time-correlated single-photon counting instruments in applications requiring high collection capability of isotropic light and detection efficiency (e.g., fluorescence decay measurements or time-domain diffuse optics systems).

Electro-mechanical control of an on-chip optical beam splitter containing an embedded quantum emitter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bishop, Z. K.; Foster, A. P.; Royall, B.; Bentham, C.; Clarke, E.; Skolnick, M. S.; Wilson, L. R.

2018-05-01

We demonstrate electro-mechanical control of an on-chip GaAs optical beam splitter containing a quantum dot single-photon source. The beam splitter consists of two nanobeam waveguides, which form a directional coupler (DC). The splitting ratio of the DC is controlled by varying the out-of-plane separation of the two waveguides using electro-mechanical actuation. We reversibly tune the beam splitter between an initial state, with emission into both output arms, and a final state with photons emitted into a single output arm. The device represents a compact and scalable tuning approach for use in III-V semiconductor integrated quantum optical circuits.

Switchable multi-wavelength fiber ring laser based on a compact in-fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer with photonic crystal fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, W. G.; Lou, S. Q.; Feng, S. C.; Wang, L. W.; Li, H. L.; Guo, T. Y.; Jian, S. S.

2009-11-01

Switchable multi-wavelength fiber ring laser with an in-fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer incorporated into the ring cavity serving as wavelength-selective filter at room temperature is demonstrated. The filter is formed by splicing a section of few-mode photonic crystal fiber (PCF) and two segments of single mode fiber (SMF) with the air-holes on the both sides of PCF intentionally collapsed in the vicinity of the splices. By adjusting the states of the polarization controller (PC) appropriately, the laser can be switched among the stable single-, dual- and triple-wavelength lasing operations by exploiting polarization hole burning (PHB) effect.

Loss reduction in silicon nanophotonic waveguide micro-bends through etch profile improvement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Selvaraja, Shankar Kumar; Bogaerts, Wim; Van Thourhout, Dries

2011-04-01

Single mode silicon photonic wire waveguides allow low-loss sharp micro-bends, which enables compact photonic devices and circuits. The circuit compactness is achieved at the cost of loss induced by micro-bends, which can seriously affect the device performance. The bend loss strongly depends on the bend radius, polarization, waveguide dimension and profile. In this paper, we present the effect of waveguide profile on the bend loss. We present waveguide profile improvement with optimized etch chemistry and the role of etch chemistry in adapting the etch profile of silicon is investigated. We experimentally demonstrate that by making the waveguide sidewalls vertical, the bend loss can be reduced up to 25% without affecting the propagation loss of the photonic wires. The bend loss of a 2 μm bend has been reduced from 0.039dB/90° bend to 0.028dB/90° bend by changing the sidewall angle from 81° to 90°, respectively. The propagation loss of 2.7 ± 0.1dB/cm and 3 ± 0.09dB/cm was observed for sloped and vertical photonic wires respectively was obtained.

Operating single quantum emitters with a compact Stirling cryocooler

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schlehahn, A.; Krüger, L.; Gschrey, M.

2015-01-15

The development of an easy-to-operate light source emitting single photons has become a major driving force in the emerging field of quantum information technology. Here, we report on the application of a compact and user-friendly Stirling cryocooler in the field of nanophotonics. The Stirling cryocooler is used to operate a single quantum emitter constituted of a semiconductor quantum dot (QD) at a base temperature below 30 K. Proper vibration decoupling of the cryocooler and its surrounding enables free-space micro-photoluminescence spectroscopy to identify and analyze different charge-carrier states within a single quantum dot. As an exemplary application in quantum optics, wemore » perform a Hanbury-Brown and Twiss experiment demonstrating a strong suppression of multi-photon emission events with g{sup (2)}(0) < 0.04 from this Stirling-cooled single quantum emitter under continuous wave excitation. Comparative experiments performed on the same quantum dot in a liquid helium (LHe)-flow cryostat show almost identical values of g{sup (2)}(0) for both configurations at a given temperature. The results of this proof of principle experiment demonstrate that low-vibration Stirling cryocoolers that have so far been considered exotic to the field of nanophotonics are an attractive alternative to expensive closed-cycle cryostats or LHe-flow cryostats, which could pave the way for the development of high-quality table-top non-classical light sources.« less

Operating single quantum emitters with a compact Stirling cryocooler.

PubMed

Schlehahn, A; Krüger, L; Gschrey, M; Schulze, J-H; Rodt, S; Strittmatter, A; Heindel, T; Reitzenstein, S

2015-01-01

The development of an easy-to-operate light source emitting single photons has become a major driving force in the emerging field of quantum information technology. Here, we report on the application of a compact and user-friendly Stirling cryocooler in the field of nanophotonics. The Stirling cryocooler is used to operate a single quantum emitter constituted of a semiconductor quantum dot (QD) at a base temperature below 30 K. Proper vibration decoupling of the cryocooler and its surrounding enables free-space micro-photoluminescence spectroscopy to identify and analyze different charge-carrier states within a single quantum dot. As an exemplary application in quantum optics, we perform a Hanbury-Brown and Twiss experiment demonstrating a strong suppression of multi-photon emission events with g((2))(0) < 0.04 from this Stirling-cooled single quantum emitter under continuous wave excitation. Comparative experiments performed on the same quantum dot in a liquid helium (LHe)-flow cryostat show almost identical values of g((2))(0) for both configurations at a given temperature. The results of this proof of principle experiment demonstrate that low-vibration Stirling cryocoolers that have so far been considered exotic to the field of nanophotonics are an attractive alternative to expensive closed-cycle cryostats or LHe-flow cryostats, which could pave the way for the development of high-quality table-top non-classical light sources.

Development of a compact laser-based single photon ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tonokura, Kenichi; Kanno, Nozomu; Yamamoto, Yukio; Yamada, Hiroyuki

2010-02-01

We have developed a compact, laser-based, single photon ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer (SPI-TOF-MS) for on-line monitoring of trace organic species. To obtain the mass spectrum, we use a nearly fragmentation-free SPI technique with 10.5 eV (118 nm) vacuum ultraviolet laser pulses generated by frequency tripling of the third harmonic of an Nd:YAG laser. The instrument can be operated in a linear TOF-MS mode or a reflectron TOF-MS mode in the coaxial design. We designed ion optics to optimize detection sensitivity and mass resolution. For data acquisition, the instrument is controlled using LabVIEW control software. The total power requirement for the vacuum unit, control electronics unit, ion optics, and detection system is approximately 100 W. We achieve a detection limit of parts per billion by volume (ppbv) for on-line trace analysis of several organic compounds. A mass resolution of 800 at about 100 amu is obtained for reflectron TOF-MS mode in a 0.35 m long instrument. The application of on-line monitoring of diesel engine exhaust was demonstrated.

Dual-wavelength laser with topological charge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Haohai; Xu, Miaomiao; Zhao, Yongguang; Wang, Yicheng; Han, Shuo; Zhang, Huaijin; Wang, Zhengping; Wang, Jiyang

2013-09-01

We demonstrate the simultaneous oscillation of different photons with equal orbital angular momentum in solid-state lasers for the first time to our knowledge. Single tunable Hermite-Gaussian (HG0,n) (0 ≤ n ≤ 7) laser modes with dual wavelength were generated using an isotropic cavity. With a mode-converter, the corresponding Laguerre-Gaussian (LG0,n) laser modes were obtained. The oscillating laser modes have two types of photons at the wavelengths of 1077 and 1081 nm and equal orbital angular momentum of nħ per photon. These results identify the possibility of simultaneous oscillation of different photons with equal and controllable orbital angular momentum. It can be proposed that this laser should have promising applications in many fields based on its compact structure, tunable orbital angular momentum, and simultaneous oscillation of different photons with equal orbital angular momentum.

Two-photon photoemission from a copper cathode in an Χ-band photoinjector

DOE PAGES

Li, H.; Limborg-Deprey, C.; Adolphsen, C.; ...

2016-02-24

This study presents two-photon photoemission from a copper cathode in an X-band photoinjector. We experimentally verified that the electron bunch charge from photoemission out of a copper cathode scales with laser intensity (I) square for 400 nm wavelength photons. We compare this two-photon photoemission process with the single photon process at 266 nm. Despite the high reflectivity (R) of the copper surface for 400 nm photons (R=0.48) and higher thermal energy of photoelectrons (two-photon at 200 nm) compared to 266 nm photoelectrons, the quantum efficiency of the two-photon photoemission process (400 nm) exceeds the single-photon process (266 nm) when themore » incident laser intensity is above 300 GW/cm 2. At the same laser pulse energy (E) and other experimental conditions, emitted charge scales inversely with the laser pulse duration. A thermal emittance of 2.7 mm-mrad per mm root mean square (rms) was measured on our cathode which exceeds by sixty percent larger compared to the theoretical predictions, but this discrepancy is similar to previous experimental thermal emittance on copper cathodes with 266 nm photons. The damage of the cathode surface of our first-generation X-band gun from both rf breakdowns and laser impacts mostly explains this result. Using a 400 nm laser can substantially simplify the photoinjector system, and make it an alternative solution for compact pulsed electron sources.« less

Free-space quantum key distribution with a high generation rate potassium titanyl phosphate waveguide photon-pair source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilson, Jeffrey D.; Chaffee, Dalton W.; Wilson, Nathaniel C.; Lekki, John D.; Tokars, Roger P.; Pouch, John J.; Roberts, Tony D.; Battle, Philip R.; Floyd, Bertram; Lind, Alexander J.; Cavin, John D.; Helmick, Spencer R.

2016-09-01

A high generation rate photon-pair source using a dual element periodically-poled potassium titanyl phosphate (PP KTP) waveguide is described. The fully integrated photon-pair source consists of a 1064-nm pump diode laser, fiber-coupled to a dual element waveguide within which a pair of 1064-nm photons are up-converted to a single 532-nm photon in the first stage. In the second stage, the 532-nm photon is down-converted to an entangled photon-pair at 800 nm and 1600 nm which are fiber-coupled at the waveguide output. The photon-pair source features a high pair generation rate, a compact power-efficient package, and continuous wave (CW) or pulsed operation. This is a significant step towards the long term goal of developing sources for high-rate Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) to enable Earth-space secure communications. Characterization and test results are presented. Details and preliminary results of a laboratory free space QKD experiment with the B92 protocol are also presented.

Free-Space Quantum Key Distribution with a High Generation Rate Potassium Titanyl Phosphate Waveguide Photon-Pair Source

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, Jeffrey D.; Chaffee, Dalton W.; Wilson, Nathaniel C.; Lekki, John D.; Tokars, Roger P.; Pouch, John J.; Roberts, Tony D.; Battle, Philip; Floyd, Bertram M.; Lind, Alexander J.;

Crab Cavity and Cryomodule Prototype Development for the Advanced Photon Source

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, H; Ciovati, G; Clemens, W A

2011-03-01

We review the single-cell, superconducting crab cavity designs for the short-pulse x-ray (SPX) project at the Advanced Photon Source (APS). The 'on-cell' waveguide scheme is expected to have a more margin for the impedance budget of the APS storage ring, as well as offering a more compact design compared with the original design consisting of a low order mode damping waveguide on the beam pipe. We will report recent fabrication progress, cavity test performance on original and alternate prototypes, and concept designs and analysis for various cryomodule components.

All-optical differential equation solver with constant-coefficient tunable based on a single microring resonator.

PubMed

Yang, Ting; Dong, Jianji; Lu, Liangjun; Zhou, Linjie; Zheng, Aoling; Zhang, Xinliang; Chen, Jianping

2014-07-04

Photonic integrated circuits for photonic computing open up the possibility for the realization of ultrahigh-speed and ultra wide-band signal processing with compact size and low power consumption. Differential equations model and govern fundamental physical phenomena and engineering systems in virtually any field of science and engineering, such as temperature diffusion processes, physical problems of motion subject to acceleration inputs and frictional forces, and the response of different resistor-capacitor circuits, etc. In this study, we experimentally demonstrate a feasible integrated scheme to solve first-order linear ordinary differential equation with constant-coefficient tunable based on a single silicon microring resonator. Besides, we analyze the impact of the chirp and pulse-width of input signals on the computing deviation. This device can be compatible with the electronic technology (typically complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology), which may motivate the development of integrated photonic circuits for optical computing.

All-optical differential equation solver with constant-coefficient tunable based on a single microring resonator

PubMed Central

Yang, Ting; Dong, Jianji; Lu, Liangjun; Zhou, Linjie; Zheng, Aoling; Zhang, Xinliang; Chen, Jianping

2014-01-01

Photonic integrated circuits for photonic computing open up the possibility for the realization of ultrahigh-speed and ultra wide-band signal processing with compact size and low power consumption. Differential equations model and govern fundamental physical phenomena and engineering systems in virtually any field of science and engineering, such as temperature diffusion processes, physical problems of motion subject to acceleration inputs and frictional forces, and the response of different resistor-capacitor circuits, etc. In this study, we experimentally demonstrate a feasible integrated scheme to solve first-order linear ordinary differential equation with constant-coefficient tunable based on a single silicon microring resonator. Besides, we analyze the impact of the chirp and pulse-width of input signals on the computing deviation. This device can be compatible with the electronic technology (typically complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology), which may motivate the development of integrated photonic circuits for optical computing. PMID:24993440

A compact and versatile tender X-ray single-shot spectrometer for online XFEL diagnostics.

PubMed

Rehanek, Jens; Milne, Christopher J; Szlachetko, Jakub; Czapla-Masztafiak, Joanna; Schneider, Jörg; Huthwelker, Thomas; Borca, Camelia N; Wetter, Reto; Patthey, Luc; Juranić, Pavle

2018-01-01

One of the remaining challenges for accurate photon diagnostics at X-ray free-electron lasers (FELs) is the shot-to-shot, non-destructive, high-resolution characterization of the FEL pulse spectrum at photon energies between 2 keV and 4 keV, the so-called tender X-ray range. Here, a spectrometer setup is reported, based on the von Hamos geometry and using elastic scattering as a fingerprint of the FEL-generated spectrum. It is capable of pulse-to-pulse measurement of the spectrum with an energy resolution (ΔE/E) of 10 -4 , within a bandwidth of 2%. The Tender X-ray Single-Shot Spectrometer (TXS) will grant to experimental scientists the freedom to measure the spectrum in a single-shot measurement, keeping the transmitted beam undisturbed. It will enable single-shot reconstructions for easier and faster data analysis.

Coupled resonator optical waveguides based on silicon-on-insulator photonic wires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xia, Fengnian; Sekaric, Lidija; O'Boyle, Martin; Vlasov, Yurii

2006-07-01

Coupled resonator optical waveguides (CROWs) comprised of up to 16 racetrack resonators based on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) photonic wires were fabricated and characterized. The optical properties of the CROWs were simulated using measured single resonator parameters based on a matrix approach. The group delay property of CROWs was also analyzed. The SOI based CROWs consisting of multiple resonators have extremely small footprints and can find applications in optical filtering, dispersion compensation, and optical buffering. Moreover, such CROW structure is a promising candidate for exploration of low light level nonlinear optics due to its resonant nature and compact mode size (˜0.1μm2) in photonic wire.

Photonic-assisted microwave signal multiplication and modulation using a silicon Mach–Zehnder modulator

PubMed Central

Long, Yun; Zhou, Linjie; Wang, Jian

2016-01-01

Photonic generation of microwave signal is obviously attractive for many prominent advantages, such as large bandwidth, low loss, and immunity to electromagnetic interference. Based on a single integrated silicon Mach–Zehnder modulator (MZM), we propose and experimentally demonstrate a simple and compact photonic scheme to enable frequency-multiplicated microwave signal. Using the fabricated integrated MZM, we also demonstrate the feasibility of microwave amplitude-shift keying (ASK) modulation based on integrated photonic approach. In proof-of-concept experiments, 2-GHz frequency-doubled microwave signal is generated using a 1-GHz driving signal. 750-MHz/1-GHz frequency-tripled/quadrupled microwave signals are obtained with a driving signal of 250 MHz. In addition, a 50-Mb/s binary amplitude coded 1-GHz microwave signal is also successfully generated. PMID:26832305

Photon Counting System for High-Sensitivity Detection of Bioluminescence at Optical Fiber End.

PubMed

Iinuma, Masataka; Kadoya, Yutaka; Kuroda, Akio

2016-01-01

The technique of photon counting is widely used for various fields and also applicable to a high-sensitivity detection of luminescence. Thanks to recent development of single photon detectors with avalanche photodiodes (APDs), the photon counting system with an optical fiber has become powerful for a detection of bioluminescence at an optical fiber end, because it allows us to fully use the merits of compactness, simple operation, highly quantum efficiency of the APD detectors. This optical fiber-based system also has a possibility of improving the sensitivity to a local detection of Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) by high-sensitivity detection of the bioluminescence. In this chapter, we are introducing a basic concept of the optical fiber-based system and explaining how to construct and use this system.

Time-resolved single-photon detection module based on silicon photomultiplier: A novel building block for time-correlated measurement systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Martinenghi, E., E-mail: edoardo.martinenghi@polimi.it; Di Sieno, L.; Contini, D.

2016-07-15

We present the design and preliminary characterization of the first detection module based on Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) tailored for single-photon timing applications. The aim of this work is to demonstrate, thanks to the design of a suitable module, the possibility to easily exploit SiPM in many applications as an interesting detector featuring large active area, similarly to photomultipliers tubes, but keeping the advantages of solid state detectors (high quantum efficiency, low cost, compactness, robustness, low bias voltage, and insensitiveness to magnetic field). The module integrates a cooled SiPM with a total photosensitive area of 1 mm{sup 2} together with themore » suitable avalanche signal read-out circuit, the signal conditioning, the biasing electronics, and a Peltier cooler driver for thermal stabilization. It is able to extract the single-photon timing information with resolution better than 100 ps full-width at half maximum. We verified the effective stabilization in response to external thermal perturbations, thus proving the complete insensitivity of the module to environment temperature variations, which represents a fundamental parameter to profitably use the instrument for real-field applications. We also characterized the single-photon timing resolution, the background noise due to both primary dark count generation and afterpulsing, the single-photon detection efficiency, and the instrument response function shape. The proposed module can become a reliable and cost-effective building block for time-correlated single-photon counting instruments in applications requiring high collection capability of isotropic light and detection efficiency (e.g., fluorescence decay measurements or time-domain diffuse optics systems).« less

GRay: A MASSIVELY PARALLEL GPU-BASED CODE FOR RAY TRACING IN RELATIVISTIC SPACETIMES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chan, Chi-kwan; Psaltis, Dimitrios; Özel, Feryal

We introduce GRay, a massively parallel integrator designed to trace the trajectories of billions of photons in a curved spacetime. This graphics-processing-unit (GPU)-based integrator employs the stream processing paradigm, is implemented in CUDA C/C++, and runs on nVidia graphics cards. The peak performance of GRay using single-precision floating-point arithmetic on a single GPU exceeds 300 GFLOP (or 1 ns per photon per time step). For a realistic problem, where the peak performance cannot be reached, GRay is two orders of magnitude faster than existing central-processing-unit-based ray-tracing codes. This performance enhancement allows more effective searches of large parameter spaces when comparingmore » theoretical predictions of images, spectra, and light curves from the vicinities of compact objects to observations. GRay can also perform on-the-fly ray tracing within general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic algorithms that simulate accretion flows around compact objects. Making use of this algorithm, we calculate the properties of the shadows of Kerr black holes and the photon rings that surround them. We also provide accurate fitting formulae of their dependencies on black hole spin and observer inclination, which can be used to interpret upcoming observations of the black holes at the center of the Milky Way, as well as M87, with the Event Horizon Telescope.« less

Real-time computational photon-counting LiDAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edgar, Matthew; Johnson, Steven; Phillips, David; Padgett, Miles

2018-03-01

The availability of compact, low-cost, and high-speed MEMS-based spatial light modulators has generated widespread interest in alternative sampling strategies for imaging systems utilizing single-pixel detectors. The development of compressed sensing schemes for real-time computational imaging may have promising commercial applications for high-performance detectors, where the availability of focal plane arrays is expensive or otherwise limited. We discuss the research and development of a prototype light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system via direct time of flight, which utilizes a single high-sensitivity photon-counting detector and fast-timing electronics to recover millimeter accuracy three-dimensional images in real time. The development of low-cost real time computational LiDAR systems could have importance for applications in security, defense, and autonomous vehicles.

Compact scanning transmission x-ray microscope at the photon factory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Takeichi, Yasuo, E-mail: yasuo.takeichi@kek.jp; Inami, Nobuhito; Ono, Kanta

We report the design and performance of a compact scanning transmission X-ray microscope developed at the Photon Factory. Piezo-driven linear stages are used as coarse stages of the microscope to realize excellent compactness, mobility, and vibrational and thermal stability. An X-ray beam with an intensity of ∼10{sup 7} photons/s was focused to a diameter of ∼40 nm at the sample. At the soft X-ray undulator beamline used with the microscope, a wide range of photon energies (250–1600 eV) is available. The microscope has been used to research energy materials and in environmental sciences.

Pulsed Sagnac polarization-entangled photon source with a PPKTP crystal at telecom wavelength.

PubMed

Jin, Rui-Bo; Shimizu, Ryosuke; Wakui, Kentaro; Fujiwara, Mikio; Yamashita, Taro; Miki, Shigehito; Terai, Hirotaka; Wang, Zhen; Sasaki, Masahide

2014-05-19

We demonstrate pulsed polarization-entangled photons generated from a periodically poled KTiOPO(4) (PPKTP) crystal in a Sagnac interferometer configuration at telecom wavelength. Since the group-velocity-matching (GVM) condition is satisfied, the intrinsic spectral purity of the photons is much higher than in the previous scheme at around 800 nm wavelength. The combination of a Sagnac interferometer and the GVM-PPKTP crystal makes our entangled source compact, stable, highly entangled, spectrally pure and ultra-bright. The photons were detected by two superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) with detection efficiencies of 70% and 68% at dark counts of less than 1 kcps. We achieved fidelities of 0.981 ± 0.0002 for |ψ(-)〉 and 0.980 ± 0.001 for |ψ(+)〉 respectively. This GVM-PPKTP-Sagnac scheme is directly applicable to quantum communication experiments at telecom wavelength, especially in free space.

Fluorescence lifetime imaging system with nm-resolution and single-molecule sensitivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wahl, Michael; Rahn, Hans-Juergen; Ortmann, Uwe; Erdmann, Rainer; Boehmer, Martin; Enderlein, Joerg

2002-03-01

Fluorescence lifetime measurement of organic fluorophores is a powerful tool for distinguishing molecules of interest from background or other species. This is of interest in sensitive analysis and Single Molecule Detection (SMD). A demand in many applications is to provide 2-D imaging together with lifetime information. The method of choice is then Time-Correlated Single Photon Counting (TCSPC). We have devloped a compact system on a single PC board that can perform TCSPC at high throughput, while synchronously driving a piezo scanner holding the immobilized sample. The system allows count rates up to 3 MHz and a resolution down to 30 ps. An overall Instrument Response Function down to 300ps is achieved with inexpensive detectors and diode lasers. The board is designed for the PCI bus, permitting high throughput without loss of counts. It is reconfigurable to operate in different modes. The Time-Tagged Time-Resolved (TTTR) mode permits the recording of all photon events with a real-time tag allowing data analysis with unlimited flexibility. We use the Time-Tag clock for an external piezo scanner that moves the sample. As the clock source is common for scanning and tagging, the individual photons can be matched to pixels. Demonstrating the capablities of the system we studied single molecule solutions. Lifetime imaging can be performed at high resolution with as few as 100 photons per pixel.

Toward a compact fibered squeezing parametric source.

PubMed

Brieussel, Alexandre; Ott, Konstantin; Joos, Maxime; Treps, Nicolas; Fabre, Claude

2018-03-15

In this work, we investigate three different compact fibered systems generating vacuum squeezing that involve optical cavities limited by the end surface of a fiber and by a curved mirror and containing a thin parametric crystal. These systems have the advantage to couple squeezed states directly to a fiber, allowing the user to benefit from the flexibility of fibers in the use of squeezing. Three types of fibers are investigated: standard single-mode fibers, photonic-crystal large-mode-area single-mode fibers, and short multimode fibers taped to a single-mode fiber. The observed squeezing is modest (-0.56  dB, -0.9  dB, -1  dB), but these experiments open the way for miniaturized squeezing devices that could be a very interesting advantage in scaling up quantum systems for quantum processing, opening new perspectives in the domain of integrated quantum optics.

Photonic crystal fiber Fabry-Perot interferometers with high-reflectance internal mirrors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Rong; Hou, Yuanbin; Sun, Wei

2015-06-01

We demonstrated an in-line micro fiber-optic Fabry-Perot interferometer with an air cavity which was created by multi-step fusion splicing a muti-mode photonic crystal fiber (MPCF) to a standard single mode fiber (SMF). The fringe visibility of the interference pattern was up to 20 dB by reshaping the air cavity. Experimental results showed that such a device could be used as a highly sensitive strain sensor with the sensitivity of 4.5 pm/μɛ. Moreover, it offered some other outstanding advantages, such as the extremely compact structure, easy fabrication, low cost, and high accuracy.

Adapting a compact confocal microscope system to a two-photon excitation fluorescence imaging architecture.

PubMed

Diaspro, A; Corosu, M; Ramoino, P; Robello, M

1999-11-01

Within the framework of a national National Institute of Physics of Matter (INFM) project, we have realised a two-photon excitation (TPE) fluorescence microscope based on a new generation commercial confocal scanning head. The core of the architecture is a mode-locked Ti:Sapphire laser (Tsunami 3960, Spectra Physics Inc., Mountain View, CA) pumped by a high-power (5 W, 532 nm) laser (Millennia V, Spectra Physics Inc.) and an ultracompact confocal scanning head, Nikon PCM2000 (Nikon Instruments, Florence, Italy) using a single-pinhole design. Three-dimensional point-spread function has been measured to define spatial resolution performances. The TPE microscope has been used with a wide range of excitable fluorescent molecules (DAPI, Fura-2, Indo-1, DiOC(6)(3), fluoresceine, Texas red) covering a single photon spectral range from UV to green. An example is reported on 3D imaging of the helical structure of the sperm head of the Octopus Eledone cirrhosa labelled with an UV excitable dye, i.e., DAPI. The system can be easily switched for operating both in conventional and two-photon mode. Copyright 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

All-fiber mode-locked laser via short single-wall carbon nanotubes interacting with evanescent wave in photonic crystal fiber.

PubMed

Li, Yujia; Gao, Lei; Huang, Wei; Gao, Cong; Liu, Min; Zhu, Tao

2016-10-03

We report an all-fiber passively mode-locked laser based on a saturable absorber fabricated by filling short single-wall carbon nanotubes into cladding holes of grapefruit-type photonic crystal fiber. The single-wall carbon nanotube is insensitive to polarization of light for its one-dimensional structure, which suppresses the polarization dependence loss. Carbon nanotubes interact with photonic crystal fiber with ultra-weak evanescent field, which enhances the damage threshold of the saturable absorber and improves the operating stability. In our experiment, conventional soliton with a pulse duration of 1.003 ps and center wavelength of 1566.36 nm under a pump power of 240 mW is generated in a compact erbium-doped fiber laser cavity with net anomalous dispersion of -0.4102 ps². The signal to noise ratio of the fundamental frequency component is ~80 dB. The maximum average output power of the mode-locked laser reaches 9.56 mW under a pump power of 360 mW. The output power can be further improved by a higher pump power.

Dual-color single-mode lasing in axially coupled organic nanowire resonators

PubMed Central

Zhang, Chunhuan; Zou, Chang-Ling; Dong, Haiyun; Yan, Yongli; Yao, Jiannian; Zhao, Yong Sheng

2017-01-01

Miniaturized lasers with multicolor output and high spectral purity are of crucial importance for yielding more compact and more versatile photonic devices. However, multicolor lasers usually operate in multimode, which largely restricts their practical applications due to the lack of an effective mode selection mechanism that is simultaneously applicable to multiple wavebands. We propose a mutual mode selection strategy to realize dual-color single-mode lasing in axially coupled cavities constructed from two distinct organic self-assembled single-crystal nanowires. The unique mode selection mechanism in the heterogeneously coupled nanowires was elucidated experimentally and theoretically. With each individual nanowire functioning as both the laser source and the mode filter for the other nanowire, dual-color single-mode lasing was successfully achieved in the axially coupled heterogeneous nanowire resonators. Furthermore, the heterogeneously coupled resonators provided multiple nanoscale output ports for delivering coherent signals with different colors, which could greatly contribute to increasing the integration level of functional photonic devices. These results advance the fundamental understanding of the lasing modulation in coupled cavity systems and offer a promising route to building multifunctional nanoscale lasers for high-level practical photonic integrations. PMID:28785731

High-voltage integrated active quenching circuit for single photon count rate up to 80 Mcounts/s.

PubMed

Acconcia, Giulia; Rech, Ivan; Gulinatti, Angelo; Ghioni, Massimo

2016-08-08

Single photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) have been subject to a fast improvement in recent years. In particular, custom technologies specifically developed to fabricate SPAD devices give the designer the freedom to pursue the best detector performance required by applications. A significant breakthrough in this field is represented by the recent introduction of a red enhanced SPAD (RE-SPAD) technology, capable of attaining a good photon detection efficiency in the near infrared range (e.g. 40% at a wavelength of 800 nm) while maintaining a remarkable timing resolution of about 100ps full width at half maximum. Being planar, the RE-SPAD custom technology opened the way to the development of SPAD arrays particularly suited for demanding applications in the field of life sciences. However, to achieve such excellent performance custom SPAD detectors must be operated with an external active quenching circuit (AQC) designed on purpose. Next steps toward the development of compact and practical multichannel systems will require a new generation of monolithically integrated AQC arrays. In this paper we present a new, fully integrated AQC fabricated in a high-voltage 0.18 µm CMOS technology able to provide quenching pulses up to 50 Volts with fast leading and trailing edges. Although specifically designed for optimal operation of RE-SPAD devices, the new AQC is quite versatile: it can be used with any SPAD detector, regardless its fabrication technology, reaching remarkable count rates up to 80 Mcounts/s and generating a photon detection pulse with a timing jitter as low as 119 ps full width at half maximum. The compact design of our circuit has been specifically laid out to make this IC a suitable building block for monolithically integrated AQC arrays.

Integrated ultrasonic particle positioning and low excitation light fluorescence imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernassau, A. L.; Al-Rawhani, M.; Beeley, J.; Cumming, D. R. S.

2013-12-01

A compact hybrid system has been developed to position and detect fluorescent micro-particles by combining a Single Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) imager with an acoustic manipulator. The detector comprises a SPAD array, light-emitting diode (LED), lenses, and optical filters. The acoustic device is formed of multiple transducers surrounding an octagonal cavity. By stimulating pairs of transducers simultaneously, an acoustic landscape is created causing fluorescent micro-particles to agglomerate into lines. The fluorescent pattern is excited by a low power LED and detected by the SPAD imager. Our technique combines particle manipulation and visualization in a compact, low power, portable setup.

Two-photon microscopy and spectroscopy based on a compact confocal scanning head

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diaspro, Alberto; Chirico, Giberto; Federici, Federico; Cannone, Fabio; Beretta, Sabrina; Robello, Mauro; Olivini, Francesca; Ramoino, Paola

2001-07-01

We have combined a confocal laser scanning head modified for TPE (two-photon excitation) microscopy with some spectroscopic modules to study single molecules and molecular aggregates. The behavior of the TPE microscope unit has been characterized by means of point spread function measurements and of the demonstration of its micropatterning abilities. One-photon and two-photon mode can be simply accomplished by switching from a mono-mode optical fiber (one-photon) coupled to conventional laser sources to an optical module that allows IR laser beam (two- photon/TPE) delivery to the confocal laser scanning head. We have then described the characterization of the two-photon microscope for spectroscopic applications: fluorescence correlation, lifetime and fluorescence polarization anisotropy measurements. We describe the measurement of the response of the two-photon microscope to the light polarization and discuss fluorescence polarization anisotropy measurements on Rhodamine 6G as a function of the viscosity and on a globular protein, the Beta-lactoglobulin B labeled with Alexa 532 at very high dilutions. The average rotational and translational diffusion coefficients measured with fluorescence polarization anisotropy and fluorescence correlation methods are in good agreement with the protein size, therefore validating the use of the microscope for two-photon spectroscopy on biomolecules.

Thin-film magnetless Faraday rotators for compact heterogeneous integrated optical isolators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karki, Dolendra; Stenger, Vincent; Pollick, Andrea; Levy, Miguel

2017-06-01

This report describes the fabrication, characterization, and transfer of ultra-compact thin-film magnetless Faraday rotators to silicon photonic substrates. Thin films of magnetization latching bismuth-substituted rare-earth iron garnets were produced from commercially available materials by mechanical lapping, dice polishing, and crystal-ion-slicing. Eleven- μ m -thick films were shown to retain the 45 ° Faraday rotation of the bulk material to within 2 ° at 1.55 μ m wavelength without re-poling. Anti-reflection coated films evince 0.09 dB insertion loses and better than -20 dB extinction ratios. Lower extinction ratios than the bulk are ascribed to multimode propagation. Significantly larger extinction ratios are predicted for single-mode waveguides. Faraday rotation, extinction ratios, and insertion loss tests on He-ion implanted slab waveguides of the same material yielded similar results. The work culminated with bond alignment and transfer of 7 μ m -thick crystal-ion-sliced 50 × 480 μ m 2 films onto silicon photonic substrates.

Controlling the spectrum of photons generated on a silicon nanophotonic chip

PubMed Central

Kumar, Ranjeet; Ong, Jun Rong; Savanier, Marc; Mookherjea, Shayan

2014-01-01

Directly modulated semiconductor lasers are widely used, compact light sources in optical communications. Semiconductors can also be used to generate nonclassical light; in fact, CMOS-compatible silicon chips can be used to generate pairs of single photons at room temperature. Unlike the classical laser, the photon-pair source requires control over a two-dimensional joint spectral intensity (JSI) and it is not possible to process the photons separately, as this could destroy the entanglement. Here we design a photon-pair source, consisting of planar lightwave components fabricated using CMOS-compatible lithography in silicon, which has the capability to vary the JSI. By controlling either the optical pump wavelength, or the temperature of the chip, we demonstrate the ability to select different JSIs, with a large variation in the Schmidt number. Such control can benefit high-dimensional communications where detector-timing constraints can be relaxed by realizing a large Schmidt number in a small frequency range. PMID:25410792

Ultracompact bottom-up photonic crystal lasers on silicon-on-insulator.

PubMed

Lee, Wook-Jae; Kim, Hyunseok; You, Jong-Bum; Huffaker, Diana L

2017-08-25

Compact on-chip light sources lie at the heart of practical nanophotonic devices since chip-scale photonic circuits have been regarded as the next generation computing tools. In this work, we demonstrate room-temperature lasing in 7 × 7 InGaAs/InGaP core-shell nanopillar array photonic crystals with an ultracompact footprint of 2300 × 2300 nm 2 , which are monolithically grown on silicon-on-insulator substrates. A strong lateral confinement is achieved by a photonic band-edge mode, which is leading to a strong light-matter interaction in the 7 × 7 nanopillar array, and by choosing an appropriate thickness of a silicon-on-insulator layer the band-edge mode can be trapped vertically in the nanopillars. The nanopillar array band-edge lasers exhibit single-mode operation, where the mode frequency is sensitive to the diameter of the nanopillars. Our demonstration represents an important first step towards developing practical and monolithic III-V photonic components on a silicon platform.

Compact quasi-monoenergetic photon sources from laser-plasma accelerators for nuclear detection and characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geddes, Cameron G. R.; Rykovanov, Sergey; Matlis, Nicholas H.; Steinke, Sven; Vay, Jean-Luc; Esarey, Eric H.; Ludewigt, Bernhard; Nakamura, Kei; Quiter, Brian J.; Schroeder, Carl B.; Toth, Csaba; Leemans, Wim P.

2015-05-01

Near-monoenergetic photon sources at MeV energies offer improved sensitivity at greatly reduced dose for active interrogation, and new capabilities in treaty verification, nondestructive assay of spent nuclear fuel and emergency response. Thomson (also referred to as Compton) scattering sources are an established method to produce appropriate photon beams. Applications are however restricted by the size of the required high-energy electron linac, scattering (photon production) system, and shielding for disposal of the high energy electron beam. Laser-plasma accelerators (LPAs) produce GeV electron beams in centimeters, using the plasma wave driven by the radiation pressure of an intense laser. Recent LPA experiments are presented which have greatly improved beam quality and efficiency, rendering them appropriate for compact high-quality photon sources based on Thomson scattering. Designs for MeV photon sources utilizing the unique properties of LPAs are presented. It is shown that control of the scattering laser, including plasma guiding, can increase photon production efficiency. This reduces scattering laser size and/or electron beam current requirements to scale compatible with the LPA. Lastly, the plasma structure can decelerate the electron beam after photon production, reducing the size of shielding required for beam disposal. Together, these techniques provide a path to a compact photon source system.

Er:Yb phosphate glass laser with nonlinear absorber for phase-sensitive optical time domain reflectometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhirnov, A. A.; Pnev, A. B.; Svelto, C.; Norgia, M.; Pesatori, A.; Galzerano, G.; Laporta, P.; Shelestov, D. A.; Karasik, V. E.

2017-11-01

A novel laser for phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry (Φ-OTDR) is presented. The advantages of a compact solid-state laser are listed, current problems are shown. Experiments with a microchip single-optical-element laser, from setup construction to usage in Φ-OTDR system, are presented. New laser scheme with two-photon intracavity absorber is suggested and its advantages are described.

Single photon laser altimeter simulator and statistical signal processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vacek, Michael; Prochazka, Ivan

2013-05-01

Spaceborne altimeters are common instruments onboard the deep space rendezvous spacecrafts. They provide range and topographic measurements critical in spacecraft navigation. Simultaneously, the receiver part may be utilized for Earth-to-satellite link, one way time transfer, and precise optical radiometry. The main advantage of single photon counting approach is the ability of processing signals with very low signal-to-noise ratio eliminating the need of large telescopes and high power laser source. Extremely small, rugged and compact microchip lasers can be employed. The major limiting factor, on the other hand, is the acquisition time needed to gather sufficient volume of data in repetitive measurements in order to process and evaluate the data appropriately. Statistical signal processing is adopted to detect signals with average strength much lower than one photon per measurement. A comprehensive simulator design and range signal processing algorithm are presented to identify a mission specific altimeter configuration. Typical mission scenarios (celestial body surface landing and topographical mapping) are simulated and evaluated. The high interest and promising single photon altimeter applications are low-orbit (˜10 km) and low-radial velocity (several m/s) topographical mapping (asteroids, Phobos and Deimos) and landing altimetry (˜10 km) where range evaluation repetition rates of ˜100 Hz and 0.1 m precision may be achieved. Moon landing and asteroid Itokawa topographical mapping scenario simulations are discussed in more detail.

Thermooptic two-mode interference device for reconfigurable quantum optic circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahu, Partha Pratim

2018-06-01

Reconfigurable large-scale integrated quantum optic circuits require compact component having capability of accurate manipulation of quantum entanglement for quantum communication and information processing applications. Here, a thermooptic two-mode interference coupler has been introduced as a compact component for generation of reconfigurable complex multi-photons quantum interference. Both theoretical and experimental approaches are used for the demonstration of two-photon and four-photon quantum entanglement manipulated with thermooptic phase change in TMI region. Our results demonstrate complex multi-photon quantum interference with high fabrication tolerance and quantum fidelity in smaller dimension than previous thermooptic Mach-Zehnder implementations.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Oda, H., E-mail: h-oda@photon.chitose.ac.jp; Yamanaka, A.; Ozaki, N.

The development of small sized laser operating above room temperature is important in the realization of optical integrated circuits. Recently, micro-lasers consisting of photonic crystals (PhCs) and whispering gallery mode cavities have been demonstrated. Optically pumped laser devices could be easily designed using photonic crystal-slab waveguides (PhC-WGs) with an air-bridge type structure. In this study, we observe lasing at 1.3μm from two-photon pumped InAs-quantum-dots embedded GaAs PhC-WGs above room temperature. This type of compact laser shows promise as a new light source in ultra-compact photonics integrated circuits.

On-chip photonic particle sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Robin; Ma, Danhao; Agarwal, Anu; Anthony, Brian

2018-02-01

We propose an on-chip photonic particle sensor design that can perform particle sizing and counting for various environmental applications. The sensor is based on micro photonic ring resonators that are able to detect the presence of the free space particles through the interaction with their evanescent electric field tail. The sensor can characterize a wide range of the particle size ranging from a few nano meters to micron ( 1 micron). The photonic platform offers high sensitivity, compactness, fast response of the device. Further, FDTD simulations are performed to analyze different particle-light interactions. Such a compact and portable platform, packaged with integrated photonic circuit provides a useful sensing modality in space shuttle and environmental applications.

Multiphoton microscopy system with a compact fiber-based femtosecond-pulse laser and handheld probe

PubMed Central

Liu, Gangjun; Kieu, Khanh; Wise, Frank W.; Chen, Zhongping

2012-01-01

We report on the development of a compact multiphoton microscopy (MPM) system that integrates a compact and robust fiber laser with a miniature probe. The all normal dispersion fiber femtosecond laser has a central wavelength of 1.06 μm, pulse width of 125 fs and average power of more than 1 W. A double cladding photonic crystal fiber was used to deliver the excitation beam and to collect the two-photon signal. The hand-held probe included galvanometer-based mirror scanners, relay lenses and a focusing lens. The packaged probe had a diameter of 16 mm. Second harmonic generation (SHG) images and two-photon excited fluorescence (TPEF) images of biological tissues were demonstrated using the system. MPM images of different biological tissues acquired by the compact system which integrates an FBFP laser, an DCPCF and a miniature handheld probe. PMID:20635426

Towards co-packaging of photonics and microelectronics in existing manufacturing facilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Janta-Polczynski, Alexander; Cyr, Elaine; Bougie, Jerome; Drouin, Alain; Langlois, Richard; Childers, Darrell; Takenobu, Shotaro; Taira, Yoichi; Lichoulas, Ted W.; Kamlapurkar, Swetha; Engelmann, Sebastian; Fortier, Paul; Boyer, Nicolas; Barwicz, Tymon

2018-02-01

The impact of integrated photonics on optical interconnects is currently muted by challenges in photonic packaging and in the dense integration of photonic modules with microelectronic components on printed circuit boards. Single mode optics requires tight alignment tolerance for optical coupling and maintaining this alignment in a cost-efficient package can be challenging during thermal excursions arising from downstream microelectronic assembly processes. In addition, the form factor of typical fiber connectors is incompatible with the dense module integration expected on printed circuit boards. We have implemented novel approaches to interfacing photonic chips to standard optical fibers. These leverage standard high throughput microelectronic assembly tooling and self-alignment techniques resulting in photonic packaging that is scalable in manufacturing volume and in the number of optical IOs per chip. In addition, using dense optical fiber connectors with space-efficient latching of fiber patch cables results in compact module size and efficient board integration, bringing the optics closer to the logic chip to alleviate bandwidth bottlenecks. This packaging direction is also well suited for embedding optics in multi-chip modules, including both photonic and microelectronic chips. We discuss the challenges and rewards in this type of configuration such as thermal management and signal integrity.

Compact 3D photonic crystals sensing platform with 45 degree angle polished fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Yuqing; Chen, Lu; Zhu, Jiali; Ni, Haibin; Xia, Wei; Wang, Ming

2017-07-01

Three dimensional photonic crystals are a kind of promising sensing materials in biology and chemistry. A compact structure, consists of planner colloidal crystals and 45 degree angle polished fiber, is proposed as a platform for accurate, fast, reliable three dimensional photonic crystals sensing in practice. This structure show advantages in compact size for integration and it is ease for large scale manufacture. Reflectivity of the 45 degree angle polished surface with and without a layer of Ag film are simulated by FDTD simulation. Refractive index sensing properties as well as mode distribution of this structure consists of both polystyrene opal and silica inverse opal film is investigated, and an experimental demonstration of silica inverse opal film is performed, which shows a sensitivity of 733 nm/RIU. Different kinds of three dimensional photonic crystals can also be applied in this structure for particular purpose.

Highly selective and compact tunable MOEMS photonic crystal Fabry-Perot filter.

PubMed

Boutami, S; Ben Bakir, B; Leclercq, J-L; Letartre, X; Rojo-Romeo, P; Garrigues, M; Viktorovitch, P; Sagnes, I; Legratiet, L; Strassner, M

2006-04-17

The authors report a compact and highly selective tunable filter using a Fabry-Perot resonator combining a bottom micromachined 3-pair-InP/air-gap Bragg reflector with a top photonic crystal slab mirror. It is based on the coupling between radiated vertical cavity modes and waveguided modes of the photonic crystal. The full-width at half maximum (FWHM) of the resonance, as measured by microreflectivity experiments, is close to 1.5nm (around 1.55 microm). The presence of the photonic crystal slab mirror results in a very compact resonator, with a limited number of layers. The demonstrator was tuned over a 20nm range for a 4V tuning voltage, the FWHM being kept below 2.5nm. Bending of membranes is a critical issue, and better results (FWHM=0.5nm) should be obtained on the same structure if this technological point is fixed.

Photonic crystal fiber technology for compact fiber-delivered high-power ultrafast fiber lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Triches, Marco; Michieletto, Mattia; Johansen, Mette M.; Jakobsen, Christian; Olesen, Anders S.; Papior, Sidsel R.; Kristensen, Torben; Bondue, Magalie; Weirich, Johannes; Alkeskjold, Thomas T.

2018-02-01

Photonic crystal fiber (PCF) technology has radically impacted the scientific and industrial ultrafast laser market. Reducing platform dimensions are important to decrease cost and footprint while maintaining high optical efficiency. We present our recent work on short 85 μm core ROD-type fiber amplifiers that maintain single-mode performance and excellent beam quality. Robust long-term performance at 100 W average power and 250 kW peak power in 20 ps pulses at 1030 nm wavelength is presented, exceeding 500 h with stable performance in terms of both polarization and power. In addition, we present our recent results on hollow-core ultrafast fiber delivery maintaining high beam quality and polarization purity.

A photon-counting photodiode array detector for far ultraviolet (FUV) astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartig, G. F.; Moos, H. W.; Pembroke, R.; Bowers, C.

1982-01-01

A compact, stable, single-stage intensified photodiode array detector designed for photon-counting, far ultraviolet astronomy applications employs a saturable, 'C'-type MCP (Galileo S. MCP 25-25) to produce high gain pulses with a narrowly peaked pulse height distribution. The P-20 output phosphor exhibits a very short decay time, due to the high current density of the electron pulses. This intensifier is being coupled to a self-scanning linear photodiode array which has a fiber optic input window which allows direct, rigid mechanical coupling with minimal light loss. The array was scanned at a 250 KHz pixel rate. The detector exhibits more than adequate signal-to-noise ratio for pulse counting and event location.

A compact high resolution flat panel PET detector based on the new 4-side buttable MPPC for biomedical applications.

PubMed

Wang, Qiang; Wen, Jie; Ravindranath, Bosky; O'Sullivan, Andrew W; Catherall, David; Li, Ke; Wei, Shouyi; Komarov, Sergey; Tai, Yuan-Chuan

2015-09-11

Compact high-resolution panel detectors using virtual pinhole (VP) PET geometry can be inserted into existing clinical or pre-clinical PET systems to improve regional spatial resolution and sensitivity. Here we describe a compact panel PET detector built using the new Though Silicon Via (TSV) multi-pixel photon counters (MPPC) detector. This insert provides high spatial resolution and good timing performance for multiple bio-medical applications. Because the TSV MPPC design eliminates wire bonding and has a package dimension which is very close to the MPPC's active area, it is 4-side buttable. The custom designed MPPC array (based on Hamamatsu S12641-PA-50(x)) used in the prototype is composed of 4 × 4 TSV-MPPC cells with a 4.46 mm pitch in both directions. The detector module has 16 × 16 lutetium yttrium oxyorthosilicate (LYSO) crystal array, with each crystal measuring 0.92 × 0.92 × 3 mm 3 with 1.0 mm pitch. The outer diameter of the detector block is 16.8 × 16.8 mm 2 . Thirty-two such blocks will be arranged in a 4 × 8 array with 1 mm gaps to form a panel detector with detection area around 7 cm × 14 cm in the full-size detector. The flood histogram acquired with Ge-68 source showed excellent crystal separation capability with all 256 crystals clearly resolved. The detector module's mean, standard deviation, minimum (best) and maximum (worst) energy resolution were 10.19%, +/-0.68%, 8.36% and 13.45% FWHM, respectively. The measured coincidence time resolution between the block detector and a fast reference detector (around 200 ps single photon timing resolution) was 0.95 ns. When tested with Siemens Cardinal electronics the performance of the detector blocks remain consistent. These results demonstrate that the TSV-MPPC is a promising photon sensor for use in a flat panel PET insert composed of many high resolution compact detector modules.

Nonlinear photonic metasurfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Guixin; Zhang, Shuang; Zentgraf, Thomas

2017-03-01

Compared with conventional optical elements, 2D photonic metasurfaces, consisting of arrays of antennas with subwavelength thickness (the 'meta-atoms'), enable the manipulation of light-matter interactions on more compact platforms. The use of metasurfaces with spatially varying arrangements of meta-atoms that have subwavelength lateral resolution allows control of the polarization, phase and amplitude of light. Many exotic phenomena have been successfully demonstrated in linear optics; however, to meet the growing demand for the integration of more functionalities into a single optoelectronic circuit, the tailorable nonlinear optical properties of metasurfaces will also need to be exploited. In this Review, we discuss the design of nonlinear photonic metasurfaces — in particular, the criteria for choosing the materials and symmetries of the meta-atoms — for the realization of nonlinear optical chirality, nonlinear geometric Berry phase and nonlinear wavefront engineering. Finally, we survey the application of nonlinear photonic metasurfaces in optical switching and modulation, and we conclude with an outlook on their use for terahertz nonlinear optics and quantum information processing.

Photon-Number-Resolving Transition-Edge Sensors for the Metrology of Quantum Light Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmidt, M.; von Helversen, M.; López, M.; Gericke, F.; Schlottmann, E.; Heindel, T.; Kück, S.; Reitzenstein, S.; Beyer, J.

2018-05-01

Low-temperature photon-number-resolving detectors allow for direct access to the photon number distribution of quantum light sources and can thus be exploited to explore the photon statistics, e.g., solid-state-based non-classical light sources. In this work, we report on the setup and calibration of a detection system based on fiber-coupled tungsten transition-edge sensors (W-TESs). Our stand-alone system comprises two W-TESs, read out by two 2-stage-SQUID current sensors, operated in a compact detector unit that is integrated in an adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator. Fast low-noise analog amplifiers and digitizers are used for signal acquisition. The detection efficiency of the single-mode fiber-coupled detector system in the spectral region of interest (850-950 nm) is determined to be larger than 87 %. The presented detector system opens up new routes in the characterization of quantum light sources for quantum information, quantum-enhanced sensing and quantum metrology.

MONICA: A Compact, Portable Dual Gamma Camera System for Mouse Whole-Body Imaging

PubMed Central

Xi, Wenze; Seidel, Jurgen; Karkareka, John W.; Pohida, Thomas J.; Milenic, Diane E.; Proffitt, James; Majewski, Stan; Weisenberger, Andrew G.; Green, Michael V.; Choyke, Peter L.

2009-01-01

Introduction We describe a compact, portable dual-gamma camera system (named “MONICA” for MObile Nuclear Imaging CAmeras) for visualizing and analyzing the whole-body biodistribution of putative diagnostic and therapeutic single photon emitting radiotracers in animals the size of mice. Methods Two identical, miniature pixelated NaI(Tl) gamma cameras were fabricated and installed “looking up” through the tabletop of a compact portable cart. Mice are placed directly on the tabletop for imaging. Camera imaging performance was evaluated with phantoms and field performance was evaluated in a weeklong In-111 imaging study performed in a mouse tumor xenograft model. Results Tc-99m performance measurements, using a photopeak energy window of 140 keV ± 10%, yielded the following results: spatial resolution (FWHM at 1-cm), 2.2-mm; sensitivity, 149 cps/MBq (5.5 cps/μCi); energy resolution (FWHM), 10.8%; count rate linearity (count rate vs. activity), r2 = 0.99 for 0–185 MBq (0–5 mCi) in the field-of-view (FOV); spatial uniformity, < 3% count rate variation across the FOV. Tumor and whole-body distributions of the In-111 agent were well visualized in all animals in 5-minute images acquired throughout the 168-hour study period. Conclusion Performance measurements indicate that MONICA is well suited to whole-body single photon mouse imaging. The field study suggests that inter-device communications and user-oriented interfaces included in the MONICA design facilitate use of the system in practice. We believe that MONICA may be particularly useful early in the (cancer) drug development cycle where basic whole-body biodistribution data can direct future development of the agent under study and where logistical factors, e.g. limited imaging space, portability, and, potentially, cost are important. PMID:20346864

Progress towards the development of a source of entangled photons for Space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fedrizzi, Alessandro; Jennewein, Thomas; Ursin, Rupert; Zeilinger, Anton

2007-03-01

Quantum entanglement offers exciting applications like quantum computing, quantum teleportation and quantum cryptography. Ground based quantum communication schemes in optical fibres however are limited to a distance of the order of ˜100 km. In order to extend this limit to a global scale we are working on the realization of an entanglement-based quantum communication transceiver for space deployment. Here we report on a compact, extremely bright source for polarization entangled photons meeting the scientific requirements for a potential space to ground optical link. The pair production rate exceeds 4*10̂6 pairs/s at just 20mW of laser diode pump power. Furthermore, we will present the results of various experiments proving the feasibility of quantum information in space, including a weak coherent pulse single-photon downlink from a LEO satellite and the distribution of entanglement over a 144km free space link, using ESAs optical ground station.

Multimodal nonlinear microscope based on a compact fiber-format laser source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crisafi, Francesco; Kumar, Vikas; Perri, Antonio; Marangoni, Marco; Cerullo, Giulio; Polli, Dario

2018-01-01

We present a multimodal non-linear optical (NLO) laser-scanning microscope, based on a compact fiber-format excitation laser and integrating coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS), stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) and two-photon-excitation fluorescence (TPEF) on a single platform. We demonstrate its capabilities in simultaneously acquiring CARS and SRS images of a blend of 6-μm poly(methyl methacrylate) beads and 3-μm polystyrene beads. We then apply it to visualize cell walls and chloroplast of an unprocessed fresh leaf of Elodea aquatic plant via SRS and TPEF modalities, respectively. The presented NLO microscope, developed in house using off-the-shelf components, offers full accessibility to the optical path and ensures its easy re-configurability and flexibility.

Efficient high-harmonic generation from a stable and compact ultrafast Yb-fiber laser producing 100 μJ, 350 fs pulses based on bendable photonic crystal fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feehan, James S.; Price, Jonathan H. V.; Butcher, Thomas J.; Brocklesby, William S.; Frey, Jeremy G.; Richardson, David J.

2017-01-01

The development of an Yb3+-fiber-based chirped-pulse amplification system and the performance in the generation of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation by high-harmonic generation is reported. The fiber laser produced 100 μJ, 350 fs output pulses with diffraction-limited beam quality at a repetition rate of 16.7 kHz. The system used commercial single-mode, polarization maintaining fiber technology. This included a 40 μm core, easily packaged, bendable final amplifier fiber in order to enable a compact system, to reduce cost, and provide reliable and environmentally stable long-term performance. The system enabled the generation of 0.4 μW of EUV at wavelengths between 27 and 80 nm with a peak at 45 nm using xenon gas. The EUV flux of 1011 photons per second for a driving field power of 1.67 W represents state-of-the-art generation efficiency for single-fiber amplifier CPA systems, corresponding to a maximum calculated energy conversion efficiency of 2.4 × 10-7 from the infrared to the EUV. The potential for high average power operation at increased repetition rates and further suggested technical improvements are discussed. Future applications could include coherent diffractive imaging in the EUV, and high-harmonic spectroscopy.

Design of compact long-period gratings imprinted in optimized photonic crystal fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seraji, F. E.; Chehreghani Anzabi, L.; Farsinezhad, S.

2009-10-01

To imprint a long-period grating (LPG) in a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) with an optimum response, first the parameters of the PCF should be optimized. In this paper, by using a semi-analytical enhanced improved vectorial effective index method, the optimized PCF parameters are determined by dividing the single-mode operation of the PCF into two regions in terms of air-hole spacing Λ ( Λ>3 μm and Λ≤3 μm). For each region appropriate expressions are suggested to evaluate the PCF parameters. By calculating the effective refractive index difference between the optimized core and cladding of the PCF under a phase-matching condition, the optimum grating period in terms of the PCF parameters is obtained.

Photon counting photodiode array detector for far ultraviolet (FUV) astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartig, G. F.; Moos, H. W.; Pembroke, R.; Bowers, C.

1982-01-01

A compact, stable, single-stage intensified photodiode array detector designed for photon-counting, far ultraviolet astronomy applications employs a saturable, 'C'-type MCP (Galileo S. MCP 25-25) to produce high gain pulses with a narrowly peaked pulse height distribution. The P-20 output phosphor exhibits a very short decay time, due to the high current density of the electron pulses. This intensifier is being coupled to a self-scanning linear photodiode array which has a fiber optic input window which allows direct, rigid mechanical coupling with minimal light loss. The array was scanned at a 250 KHz pixel rate. The detector exhibits more than adequate signal-to-noise ratio for pulse counting and event location. Previously announced in STAR as N82-19118

EDITORIAL: Progress in quantum technology: one photon at a time Progress in quantum technology: one photon at a time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demming, Anna

2012-07-01

Technological developments sparked by quantum mechanics and wave-particle duality are still gaining ground over a hundred years after the theories were devised. While the impact of the theories in fundamental research, philosophy and even art and literature is widely appreciated, the implications in device innovations continue to breed potential. Applications inspired by these concepts include quantum computation and quantum cryptography protocols based on single photons, among many others. In this issue, researchers in Germany and the US report a step towards precisely triggered single-photon sources driven by surface acoustic waves (SAWs) [1]. The work brings technology based on quantum mechanics yet another step closer to practical device reality. Generation of single 'antibunched' photons has been one of the key challenges to progress in quantum information processing and communication. Researchers from Toshiba and Cambridge University in the UK recently reported what they described as 'the first electrically driven single-photon source capable of emitting indistinguishable photons' [2]. Single-photon sources have been reported previously [3]. However the approach demonstrated by Shields and colleagues allows electrical control, which is particularly useful for implementing in compact devices. The researchers used a layer of InAs quantum dots embedded in the intrinsic region of a p-i-n diode to demonstrate interference between single photons. They also present a complete theory based on the interference of photons with a Lorentzian spectrum, which they compare with both continuous-wave and pulsed experiments. The application of SAWs in achieving precisely triggered single-photon sources develops the work of researchers in Germany in the late 1990s [4]. Surface acoustic waves travel like sound waves, but are characterized by an amplitude that typically decays exponentially with depth into the substrate. As Rocke and colleagues demonstrated, they can be used to dissociate an optically excited exciton and spatially separate the electron and hole, thereby increasing the radiative lifetime by orders of magnitude. The interesting behaviour of SAWs has led to studies towards a number of other applications including sensing [5-7], synthesis and nanoassembly [8]. For applications in single-photon sources, the electron-hole pairs are transported by the SAW to a quantum dot where they recombine emitting a single photon. However, so far various limiting factors in the system, such as the low quality of the quantum dots used leading to multiple-exciton recombinations, have hindered potential applications of the system as a single-photon source. Control over high-quality quantum-dot self-assembly is constantly improving. Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and Harvard University in the US report the ability to successfully position a small number of colloidal quantum dots to within less than 100 nm accuracy on metallic surfaces [9]. They use single-stranded DNA both to act as an anchor to the gold or silver substrates and to selectively bind to the quantum dots, allowing programmed assembly of quantum dots on plasmonic structures. More recently still, researchers in Germany have reported how they can controllably reduce the density of self-assembled InP quantum dots by cyclic deposition with growth interruptions [10]. The impressive control has great potential for quantum emitter use. In this issue, Völk, Krenner and colleagues use an alternative approach to demonstrate how they can improve the performance of single-photon sources using SAWs. They use an optimized system of isolated self-assembled quantum posts in a quantum-well structure and inject the carriers at a distance from the posts where recombination and emission take place [3]. The SAW dissociates the electron-hole pairs and transports them to the quantum posts, so the two carrier types arrive at the quantum post with a set time delay. Other approaches, such as Coulomb blockade ones, have struggled to achieve the sequential injection of the carriers

Low-loss compact multilayer silicon nitride platform for 3D photonic integrated circuits.

PubMed

Shang, Kuanping; Pathak, Shibnath; Guan, Binbin; Liu, Guangyao; Yoo, S J B

2015-08-10

We design, fabricate, and demonstrate a silicon nitride (Si(3)N(4)) multilayer platform optimized for low-loss and compact multilayer photonic integrated circuits. The designed platform, with 200 nm thick waveguide core and 700 nm interlayer gap, is compatible for active thermal tuning and applicable to realizing compact photonic devices such as arrayed waveguide gratings (AWGs). We achieve ultra-low loss vertical couplers with 0.01 dB coupling loss, multilayer crossing loss of 0.167 dB at 90° crossing angle, 50 μm bending radius, 100 × 2 μm(2) footprint, lateral misalignment tolerance up to 400 nm, and less than -52 dB interlayer crosstalk at 1550 nm wavelength. Based on the designed platform, we demonstrate a 27 × 32 × 2 multilayer star coupler.

Porous and Phase Change Nanomaterials For Photonic Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-08-28

two phase composite material can be considered as a single effective medium with a characteristic dielectric constant that is a weighted average of...reported that a phase transition could be trig- gered by electrical stimuli using a short current pulse to heat the material past the critical 12 29...in effective index, or phase ∆φ . When placed inside an optical cavity, such as an ultra-compact micro -ring resonator (R = 1.5 µm, Fig. 5.1.b), a short

Novel ultra-wideband (UWB) photonic generation through photodetection and cross-absorption modulation in a single electroabsorption modulator.

PubMed

Wu, Tsu-Hsiu; Wu, Jui-pin; Chiu, Yi-Jen

2010-02-15

We propose and demonstrate, by proof of concept, a novel method of ultra-wide band (UWB) photonic generation using photodetection and cross-absorption modulation (XAM) of multiple quantum wells (MQW) in a single short-terminated electroabsorption modulator (SEAM). As an optical pump pulse excite the MQWs of SEAM waveguide, the probe light pulse with the same polarity can be generated through XAM, simultaneously creating photocurrent pulse propagating along the waveguide. Using the short termination of SEAM accompanied by the delayed microwave line, the photocurrent pulse can be reversed in polarity and re-modulated the waveguide, forming a monocycle UWB optical pulse. An 89 ps cycle of monocycle pulse with 114% fractional bandwidth is obtained, where the electrical power spectrum centered at 4 GHz of frequency ranges from 0.1 GHz to 8 GHz for -10 dB drops. Meanwhile, the generation processing is also confirmed by observing the same cycle of monocycle electrical pulse from the photodetection of SEAM. The whole optical processing is performed inside a compact semiconductor device, suggesting the optoelectronic integration template has a potential for the application of UWB photonic generation.

Compact FEL-driven inverse compton scattering gamma-ray source

DOE PAGES

Placidi, M.; Di Mitri, Simone; Pellegrini, C.; ...

2017-02-28

Many research and applications areas require photon sources capable of producing gamma-ray beams in the multi-MeV energy range with reasonably high fluxes and compact footprints. Besides industrial, nuclear physics and security applications, a considerable interest comes from the possibility to assess the state of conservation of cultural assets like statues, columns etc., via visualization and analysis techniques using high energy photon beams. Computed Tomography scans, widely adopted in medicine at lower photon energies, presently provide high quality three-dimensional imaging in industry and museums. We explore the feasibility of a compact source of quasi-monochromatic, multi-MeV gamma-rays based on Inverse Compton Scatteringmore » (ICS) from a high intensity ultra-violet (UV) beam generated in a free-electron laser by the electron beam itself. This scheme introduces a stronger relationship between the energy of the scattered photons and that of the electron beam, resulting in a device much more compact than a classic ICS for a given scattered energy. As a result, the same electron beam is used to produce gamma-rays in the 10–20 MeV range and UV radiation in the 10–15 eV range, in a ~4 × 22 m 2 footprint system.« less

Compact FEL-driven inverse compton scattering gamma-ray source

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Placidi, M.; Di Mitri, Simone; Pellegrini, C.

Many research and applications areas require photon sources capable of producing gamma-ray beams in the multi-MeV energy range with reasonably high fluxes and compact footprints. Besides industrial, nuclear physics and security applications, a considerable interest comes from the possibility to assess the state of conservation of cultural assets like statues, columns etc., via visualization and analysis techniques using high energy photon beams. Computed Tomography scans, widely adopted in medicine at lower photon energies, presently provide high quality three-dimensional imaging in industry and museums. We explore the feasibility of a compact source of quasi-monochromatic, multi-MeV gamma-rays based on Inverse Compton Scatteringmore » (ICS) from a high intensity ultra-violet (UV) beam generated in a free-electron laser by the electron beam itself. This scheme introduces a stronger relationship between the energy of the scattered photons and that of the electron beam, resulting in a device much more compact than a classic ICS for a given scattered energy. As a result, the same electron beam is used to produce gamma-rays in the 10–20 MeV range and UV radiation in the 10–15 eV range, in a ~4 × 22 m 2 footprint system.« less

Mesoscale Diffractive Photonics in Geosciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minin, I. V.; Minin, O. V.

2016-06-01

The scattered light by various dielectric particles in atmosphere give information about the type of molecules and particles and their location, which are important to definition of propagation limitations through atmospheric and space weather variations, crisis communications, etc. Although these investigations explain far field properties of disturbed radiations, the solution of the physical problem requires simulations of the interactions in near-field. It has been shown that strongly localized EM field near the surface of single dielectric particle may be form by non-spherical and non-symmetrical mesoscale particles both as in transmitting as in reflection mode. It was also shown that the main lobe is narrower in case of 3 cube chain than single cube in far field, but there are many side-scattering lobes. It was mentioned that unique advantages provided by mesoscale dielectric photonic crystal based particles with three spatial dimensions of arbitrary shape allow developing a new types of micro/nano-probes with subwavelength resolution for ultra compact spectrometer-free sensor for on board a spacecraft or a plane.

High-resolution single photon planar and spect imaging of brain and neck employing a system of two co-registered opposed gamma imaging heads

DOEpatents

Majewski, Stanislaw [Yorktown, VA; Proffitt, James [Newport News, VA

2011-12-06

A compact, mobile, dedicated SPECT brain imager that can be easily moved to the patient to provide in-situ imaging, especially when the patient cannot be moved to the Nuclear Medicine imaging center. As a result of the widespread availability of single photon labeled biomarkers, the SPECT brain imager can be used in many locations, including remote locations away from medical centers. The SPECT imager improves the detection of gamma emission from the patient's head and neck area with a large field of view. Two identical lightweight gamma imaging detector heads are mounted to a rotating gantry and precisely mechanically co-registered to each other at 180 degrees. A unique imaging algorithm combines the co-registered images from the detector heads and provides several SPECT tomographic reconstructions of the imaged object thereby improving the diagnostic quality especially in the case of imaging requiring higher spatial resolution and sensitivity at the same time.

Wavelength division multiplexed and double-port pumped time-bin entangled photon pair generation using Si ring resonator.

PubMed

Fujiwara, Mikio; Wakabayashi, Ryota; Sasaki, Masahide; Takeoka, Masahiro

2017-02-20

We report a wavelength division multiplexed time-bin entangled photon pair source in telecom wavelength using a 10 μm radius Si ring resonator. This compact resonator has two add ports and two drop ports. By pumping one add port by a continuous laser, we demonstrate an efficient generation of two-wavelength division multiplexed time-bin entangled photon pairs in the telecom C-band, which come out of one drop port, and are then split into the signal and idler photons via a wavelength filter. The resonator structure enhances four-wave mixing for pair generation. Moreover, we demonstrate the double-port pumping where two counter propagating pump lights are injected to generate entanglement from the two drop ports simultaneously. We successfully observe the highly entangled outputs from both two drop ports. Surprisingly, the count rate at each drop port is even increased by twice that of the single-port pumping. Possible mechanisms of this observation are discussed. Our technique allows for the efficient use of the Si ring resonator and widens its functionality for variety of applications.

Integrated waveguide Bragg gratings for microwave photonics signal processing.

PubMed

Burla, Maurizio; Cortés, Luis Romero; Li, Ming; Wang, Xu; Chrostowski, Lukas; Azaña, José

2013-10-21

Integrated Microwave photonics (IMWP) signal processing using Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years as an enabling technology for a number of functionalities not attainable by purely microwave solutions. In this context, integrated waveguide Bragg grating (WBG) devices constitute a particularly attractive approach thanks to their compactness and flexibility in producing arbitrarily defined amplitude and phase responses, by directly acting on coupling coefficient and perturbations of the grating profile. In this article, we review recent advances in the field of integrated WBGs applied to MWP, analyzing the advantages leveraged by an integrated realization. We provide a perspective on the exciting possibilities offered by the silicon photonics platform in the field of MWP, potentially enabling integration of highly-complex active and passive functionalities with high yield on a single chip, with a particular focus on the use of WBGs as basic building blocks for linear filtering operations. We demonstrate the versatility of WBG-based devices by proposing and experimentally demonstrating a novel, continuously-tunable, integrated true-time-delay (TTD) line based on a very simple dual phase-shifted WBG (DPS-WBG).

Single photon emitters in boron nitride: More than a supplementary material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koperski, M.; Nogajewski, K.; Potemski, M.

2018-03-01

We present comprehensive optical studies of recently discovered single photon sources in boron nitride, which appear in form of narrow lines emitting centres. Here, we aim to compactly characterise their basic optical properties, including the demonstration of several novel findings, in order to inspire discussion about their origin and utility. Initial inspection reveals the presence of narrow emission lines in boron nitride powder and exfoliated flakes of hexagonal boron nitride deposited on Si/SiO2 substrates. Generally rather stable, the boron nitride emitters constitute a good quality visible light source. However, as briefly discussed, certain specimens reveal a peculiar type of blinking effects, which are likely related to existence of meta-stable electronic states. More advanced characterisation of representative stable emitting centres uncovers a strong dependence of the emission intensity on the energy and polarisation of excitation. On this basis, we speculate that rather strict excitation selectivity is an important factor determining the character of the emission spectra, which allows the observation of single and well-isolated emitters. Finally, we investigate the properties of the emitting centres in varying external conditions. Quite surprisingly, it is found that the application of a magnetic field introduces no change in the emission spectra of boron nitride emitters. Further analysis of the impact of temperature on the emission spectra and the features seen in second-order correlation functions is used to provide an assessment of the potential functionality of boron nitride emitters as single photon sources capable of room temperature operation.

A compact high resolution flat panel PET detector based on the new 4-side buttable MPPC for biomedical applications

PubMed Central

Wang, Qiang; Wen, Jie; Ravindranath, Bosky; O’Sullivan, Andrew W.; Catherall, David; Li, Ke; Wei, Shouyi; Komarov, Sergey; Tai, Yuan-Chuan

2015-01-01

Compact high-resolution panel detectors using virtual pinhole (VP) PET geometry can be inserted into existing clinical or pre-clinical PET systems to improve regional spatial resolution and sensitivity. Here we describe a compact panel PET detector built using the new Though Silicon Via (TSV) multi-pixel photon counters (MPPC) detector. This insert provides high spatial resolution and good timing performance for multiple bio-medical applications. Because the TSV MPPC design eliminates wire bonding and has a package dimension which is very close to the MPPC’s active area, it is 4-side buttable. The custom designed MPPC array (based on Hamamatsu S12641-PA-50(x)) used in the prototype is composed of 4 × 4 TSV-MPPC cells with a 4.46 mm pitch in both directions. The detector module has 16 × 16 lutetium yttrium oxyorthosilicate (LYSO) crystal array, with each crystal measuring 0.92 × 0.92 × 3 mm3 with 1.0 mm pitch. The outer diameter of the detector block is 16.8 × 16.8 mm2. Thirty-two such blocks will be arranged in a 4 × 8 array with 1 mm gaps to form a panel detector with detection area around 7 cm × 14 cm in the full-size detector. The flood histogram acquired with Ge-68 source showed excellent crystal separation capability with all 256 crystals clearly resolved. The detector module’s mean, standard deviation, minimum (best) and maximum (worst) energy resolution were 10.19%, +/−0.68%, 8.36% and 13.45% FWHM, respectively. The measured coincidence time resolution between the block detector and a fast reference detector (around 200 ps single photon timing resolution) was 0.95 ns. When tested with Siemens Cardinal electronics the performance of the detector blocks remain consistent. These results demonstrate that the TSV-MPPC is a promising photon sensor for use in a flat panel PET insert composed of many high resolution compact detector modules. PMID:26085702

Narrow bandwidth Laser-Plasma Accelerator driven Thomson photon source development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geddes, C. G. R.; Tsai, H.-E.; Otero, G.; Liu, X.; van Tilborg, J.; Toth, Cs.; Vay, J.-L.; Lehe, R.; Schroeder, C. B.; Esarey, E.; Friedman, A.; Grote, D. P.; Leemans, W. P.

2017-10-01

Compact, high-quality photon sources at MeV energies can be provided by Thomson scattering of a laser from the electron beam of a Laser-Plasma Accelerator (LPA). Recent experiments and simulations demonstrate controllable LPAs in the energy range appropriate to MeV sources. Simulations indicate that high flux with narrow energy spread can be achieved via control of the scattering laser pulse shape and laser guiding, and that undesired background bremsstrahlung can be mitigated by plasma based deceleration of the electron beam after photon production. Construction of experiments and laser capabilities to combine these elements will be presented, along with initial operations, towards a compact photon source system. Work supported by US DOE NNSA DNN R&D and by Sc. HEP under contract DE-AC02-05CH11231.

Compact x-ray source based on burst-mode inverse Compton scattering at 100 kHz

DOE PAGES

Graves, W.  S.; Bessuille, J.; Brown, P.; ...

2014-12-01

A design for a compact x-ray light source (CXLS) with flux and brilliance orders of magnitude beyond existing laboratory scale sources is presented. The source is based on inverse Compton scattering of a high brightness electron bunch on a picosecond laser pulse. The accelerator is a novel high-efficiency standingwave linac and rf photoinjector powered by a single ultrastable rf transmitter at X-band rf frequency. The high efficiency permits operation at repetition rates up to 1 kHz, which is further boosted to 100 kHz by operating with trains of 100 bunches of 100 pC charge, each separated by 5 ns. Themore » entire accelerator is approximately 1 meter long and produces hard x rays tunable over a wide range of photon energies. The colliding laser is a Yb:YAG solid-state amplifier producing 1030 nm, 100 mJ pulses at the same 1 kHz repetition rate as the accelerator. The laser pulse is frequency-doubled and stored for many passes in a ringdown cavity to match the linac pulse structure. At a photon energy of 12.4 keV, the predicted x-ray flux is 5 × 10¹¹ photons/second in a 5% bandwidth and the brilliance is 2 × 10¹² photons/(sec mm² mrad² 0.1%) in pulses with rms pulse length of 490 fs. The nominal electron beam parameters are 18 MeV kinetic energy, 10 microamp average current, 0.5 microsecond macropulse length, resulting in average electron beam power of 180 W. Optimization of the x-ray output is presented along with design of the accelerator, laser, and x-ray optic components that are specific to the particular characteristics of the Compton scattered x-ray pulses.« less

Efficient Second Harmonic Generation in 3D Nonlinear Optical-Lattice-Like Cladding Waveguide Splitters by Femtosecond Laser Inscription

PubMed Central

Nie, Weijie; Jia, Yuechen; Vázquez de Aldana, Javier R.; Chen, Feng

2016-01-01

Integrated photonic devices with beam splitting function are intriguing for a broad range of photonic applications. Through optical-lattice-like cladding waveguide structures fabricated by direct femtosecond laser writing, the light propagation can be engineered via the track-confined refractive index profiles, achieving tailored output beam distributions. In this work, we report on the fabrication of 3D laser-written optical-lattice-like structures in a nonlinear KTP crystal to implement 1 × 4 beam splitting. Second harmonic generation (SHG) of green light through these nonlinear waveguide beam splitter structures provides the capability for the compact visible laser emitting devices. With Type II phase matching of the fundamental wavelength (@ 1064 nm) to second harmonic waves (@ 532 nm), the frequency doubling has been achieved through this three-dimensional beam splitter. Under 1064-nm continuous-wave fundamental-wavelength pump beam, guided-wave SHG at 532 nm are measured with the maximum power of 0.65 mW and 0.48 mW for waveguide splitters (0.67 mW and 0.51 mW for corresponding straight channel waveguides), corresponding to a SH conversion efficiency of approximately ~14.3%/W and 13.9%/W (11.2%/W, 11.3%/W for corresponding straight channel waveguides), respectively. This work paves a way to fabricate compact integrated nonlinear photonic devices in a single chip with beam dividing functions. PMID:26924255

Efficient Second Harmonic Generation in 3D Nonlinear Optical-Lattice-Like Cladding Waveguide Splitters by Femtosecond Laser Inscription.

PubMed

Nie, Weijie; Jia, Yuechen; Vázquez de Aldana, Javier R; Chen, Feng

2016-02-29

Integrated photonic devices with beam splitting function are intriguing for a broad range of photonic applications. Through optical-lattice-like cladding waveguide structures fabricated by direct femtosecond laser writing, the light propagation can be engineered via the track-confined refractive index profiles, achieving tailored output beam distributions. In this work, we report on the fabrication of 3D laser-written optical-lattice-like structures in a nonlinear KTP crystal to implement 1 × 4 beam splitting. Second harmonic generation (SHG) of green light through these nonlinear waveguide beam splitter structures provides the capability for the compact visible laser emitting devices. With Type II phase matching of the fundamental wavelength (@ 1064 nm) to second harmonic waves (@ 532 nm), the frequency doubling has been achieved through this three-dimensional beam splitter. Under 1064-nm continuous-wave fundamental-wavelength pump beam, guided-wave SHG at 532 nm are measured with the maximum power of 0.65 mW and 0.48 mW for waveguide splitters (0.67 mW and 0.51 mW for corresponding straight channel waveguides), corresponding to a SH conversion efficiency of approximately ~14.3%/W and 13.9%/W (11.2%/W, 11.3%/W for corresponding straight channel waveguides), respectively. This work paves a way to fabricate compact integrated nonlinear photonic devices in a single chip with beam dividing functions.

Universal quantum gates on electron-spin qubits with quantum dots inside single-side optical microcavities.

PubMed

Wei, Hai-Rui; Deng, Fu-Guo

2014-01-13

We present some compact quantum circuits for a deterministic quantum computing on electron-spin qubits assisted by quantum dots inside single-side optical microcavities, including the CNOT, Toffoli, and Fredkin gates. They are constructed by exploiting the giant optical Faraday rotation induced by a single-electron spin in a quantum dot inside a single-side optical microcavity as a result of cavity quantum electrodynamics. Our universal quantum gates have some advantages. First, all the gates are accomplished with a success probability of 100% in principle. Second, our schemes require no additional electron-spin qubits and they are achieved by some input-output processes of a single photon. Third, our circuits for these gates are simple and economic. Moreover, our devices for these gates work in both the weak coupling and the strong coupling regimes, and they are feasible in experiment.

Ultra-compact channel drop filter based on photonic crystal nanobeam cavities utilizing a resonant tunneling effect.

PubMed

Ge, Xiaochen; Shi, Yaocheng; He, Sailing

2014-12-15

The design, fabrication, and characterization of a compact photonic crystal nanobeam drop filter based on the tunneling effect of the degenerate modes are presented. The degeneracy was achieved by tuning the coupling distance between the nanobeam and input/output waveguides. The tunneling effect of degenerate resonances with different symmetries has been verified experimentally. Channel drop filters with an extinction ratio larger than 10 dB and a quality factor of ∼5000 have been experimentally demonstrated.

Design of a compact polarizing beam splitter based on a photonic crystal ring resonator with a triangular lattice.

PubMed

Yu, Tianbao; Huang, Jiehui; Liu, Nianhua; Yang, Jianyi; Liao, Qinghua; Jiang, Xiaoqing

2010-04-10

We propose and simulate a new kind of compact polarizing beam splitter (PBS) based on a photonic crystal ring resonator (PCRR) with complete photonic bandgaps. The two polarized states are separated far enough by resonant and nonresonant coupling between the waveguide modes and the microring modes. Some defect holes are utilized to control the beam propagation. The simulated results obtained by the finite-difference time-domain method show that high transmission (over 95%) is obtained and the polarization separation is realized with a length as short as 3.1 microm. The design of the proposed PBS can be flexible, thanks to the advantages of PCRRs.

Inline microring reflector for photonic applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Young Mo

The microring is a compact resonator that is used as a versatile building block in photonic circuits ranging from filters, modulators, logic gates, sensors, switches, multiplexers, and laser cavities. The Bragg grating is a periodic structure that allows the selection of a narrow bandwidth of spectrum for stable lasing operation. In this dissertation, we study analysis and simulations of a compact microring based reflector assembled by forming a Bragg grating into a loop. With the appropriate design, the microring resonance can precisely align with the reflection peak of the grating while all other peaks are suppressed by reflection nulls of the grating. The field buildup at the resonance effectively amplifies small reflection of the grating, thereby producing significant overall reflection from the ring, and it is possible to achieve a stable narrow linewidth compact laser by forming a single mode laser cavity. The device operation principle is studied from two distinct perspectives; the first looks at coupling of two contra-directional traveling waves within the ring whereas the second aspect investigates relative excitation of the two competing microring resonant modes. In the former method, we relate the steady state amplitudes of the two traveling waves to the reflection spectrum of the grating and solve for the reflection and transmission response for each wavelength of interest. In the latter approach, we expand the field in terms of the resonant modes of the ring cavity and derive transfer functions for reflection and transmission from the nearby mode frequencies. The angular periodicity of the reflective microring geometry allows us to effectively simulate the resonant modes from a computational domain of a single period grating when the continuity boundary condition is applied. We successfully predict the reflection and transmission response of a Si3N 4/SiO2 microring reflector using this method---otherwise too large to carry out full-wave simulation---and show that the prediction agrees very well with the measurement result.

Photonic Crystal Microchip Laser.

PubMed

Gailevicius, Darius; Koliadenko, Volodymyr; Purlys, Vytautas; Peckus, Martynas; Taranenko, Victor; Staliunas, Kestutis

2016-09-29

The microchip lasers, being very compact and efficient sources of coherent light, suffer from one serious drawback: low spatial quality of the beam strongly reducing the brightness of emitted radiation. Attempts to improve the beam quality, such as pump-beam guiding, external feedback, either strongly reduce the emission power, or drastically increase the size and complexity of the lasers. Here it is proposed that specially designed photonic crystal in the cavity of a microchip laser, can significantly improve the beam quality. Experiments show that a microchip laser, due to spatial filtering functionality of intracavity photonic crystal, improves the beam quality factor M 2 reducing it by a factor of 2, and increase the brightness of radiation by a factor of 3. This comprises a new kind of laser, the "photonic crystal microchip laser", a very compact and efficient light source emitting high spatial quality high brightness radiation.

Broad Redshifted Line as a Signature of Outflow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Titarchuk, Lev; Kazanas, Demos; Becker, Peter A.

2003-11-01

We formulate and solve the diffusion problem of line photon propagation in a bulk outflow from a compact object (black hole or neutron star) using a generic assumption regarding the distribution of line photons within the outflow. Thomson scattering of the line photons within the expanding flow leads to a decrease of their energy which is of first order in v/c, where v is the outflow velocity and c is the speed of light. We demonstrate that the emergent line profile is closely related to the time distribution of photons diffusing through the flow (the light curve) and consists of a broad redshifted feature. We analyzed the line profiles for the general case of outflow density distribution. We emphasize that the redshifted lines are intrinsic properties of the powerful outflow that are supposed to be in many compact objects.

Broad Red-Shifted Lines as a Signature of Outflow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kazanas, Demosthenes; Titarchuk, Lev; Becker, Peter A.

2004-07-01

We formulate and solve the diffusion problem of line photon propagation in a bulk outflow from a compact object (black hole or neutron star) using a generic assumption regarding the distribution of line photons within the outflow. Thomson scattering of the line photons within the expanding flow leads to a decrease of their energy which is of first order in v/c, where v is the outflow velocity and c the speed of light. We demonstrate that the emergent line profile is closely related to the time distribution of photons diffusing through the flow (the light curve) and consists of a broad redshifted feature. We analyzed the line profiles for the general case of outflow density distribution. We emphasize that the redshifted lines are intrinsic properties of the powerful outflow that are supposed to be in many compact objects.

Broad Red-Shifted Lines as a Signature of Outflows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Titarchuck, Lev; Kazanas, Demos; Becker, Peter A.

2006-02-01

We formulate and solve the diffusion problem of line photon propagation in a bulk outflow from a compact object (black hole or neutron star) using a generic assumption regarding the distribution of line photons within the outflow. Thomson scattering of the line photons within the expanding flow leads to a decrease of their energy which is of first order in υ/c, where υ the outflow velocity and c is the speed of light. We demonstrate that the emergent line profile is closely related to the time distribution of photons diffusing through the flow (the light curve) and consists of a broad redshifted feature. We analyzed the line profiles for the general case of outflow density distribution. We emphasize that the redshifted lines are intrinsic properties of the powerful outflow that are supposed to be in many compact objects.

Micro-pulse upconversion Doppler lidar for wind and visibility detection in the atmospheric boundary layer.

PubMed

Xia, Haiyun; Shangguan, Mingjia; Wang, Chong; Shentu, Guoliang; Qiu, Jiawei; Zhang, Qiang; Dou, Xiankang; Pan, Jianwei

2016-11-15

For the first time, to the best of our knowledge, a compact, eye-safe, and versatile direct detection Doppler lidar is developed using an upconversion single-photon detection method at 1.5 μm. An all-fiber and polarization maintaining architecture is realized to guarantee the high optical coupling efficiency and the robust stability. Using integrated-optic components, the conservation of etendue of the optical receiver is achieved by manufacturing a fiber-coupled periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide and an all-fiber Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI). The double-edge technique is implemented by using a convert single-channel FPI and a single upconversion detector, incorporating a time-division multiplexing method. The backscatter photons at 1548.1 nm are converted into 863 nm via mixing with a pump laser at 1950 nm. The relative error of the system is less than 0.1% over nine weeks. In experiments, atmospheric wind and visibility over 48 h are detected in the boundary layer. The lidar shows good agreement with the ultrasonic wind sensor, with a standard deviation of 1.04 m/s in speed and 12.3° in direction.

Second generation OH suppression filters using multicore fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haynes, R.; Birks, T. A.; Bland-Hawthorn, J.; Cruz, J. L.; Diez, A.; Ellis, S. C.; Haynes, D.; Krämer, R. G.; Mangan, B. J.; Min, S.; Murphy, D. F.; Nolte, S.; Olaya, J. C.; Thomas, J. U.; Trinh, C. Q.; Tünnermann, A.; Voigtländer, Christian

2012-09-01

Ground based near-infrared observations have long been plagued by poor sensitivity when compared to visible observations as a result of the bright narrow line emission from atmospheric OH molecules. The GNOSIS instrument recently commissioned at the Australian Astronomical Observatory uses Photonic Lanterns in combination with individually printed single mode fibre Bragg gratings to filter out the brightest OH-emission lines between 1.47 and 1.70μm. GNOSIS, reported in a separate paper in this conference, demonstrates excellent OH-suppression, providing very “clean” filtering of the lines. It represents a major step forward in the goal to improve the sensitivity of ground based near-infrared observation to that possible at visible wavelengths, however, the filter units are relatively bulky and costly to produce. The 2nd generation fibre OH-Suppression filters based on multicore fibres are currently under development. The development aims to produce high quality, cost effective, compact and robust OH-Suppression units in a single optical fibre with numerous isolated single mode cores that replicate the function and performance of the current generation of “conventional” photonic lantern based devices. In this paper we present the early results from the multicore fibre development and multicore fibre Bragg grating imprinting process.

Three-dimensional passive sensing photon counting for object classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yeom, Seokwon; Javidi, Bahram; Watson, Edward

2007-04-01

In this keynote address, we address three-dimensional (3D) distortion-tolerant object recognition using photon-counting integral imaging (II). A photon-counting linear discriminant analysis (LDA) is discussed for classification of photon-limited images. We develop a compact distortion-tolerant recognition system based on the multiple-perspective imaging of II. Experimental and simulation results have shown that a low level of photons is sufficient to classify out-of-plane rotated objects.

Distillation of photon entanglement using a plasmonic metamaterial

PubMed Central

Asano, Motoki; Bechu, Muriel; Tame, Mark; Kaya Özdemir, Şahin; Ikuta, Rikizo; Güney, Durdu Ö.; Yamamoto, Takashi; Yang, Lan; Wegener, Martin; Imoto, Nobuyuki

2015-01-01

Plasmonics is a rapidly emerging platform for quantum state engineering with the potential for building ultra-compact and hybrid optoelectronic devices. Recent experiments have shown that despite the presence of decoherence and loss, photon statistics and entanglement can be preserved in single plasmonic systems. This preserving ability should carry over to plasmonic metamaterials, whose properties are the result of many individual plasmonic systems acting collectively, and can be used to engineer optical states of light. Here, we report an experimental demonstration of quantum state filtering, also known as entanglement distillation, using a metamaterial. We show that the metamaterial can be used to distill highly entangled states from less entangled states. As the metamaterial can be integrated with other optical components this work opens up the intriguing possibility of incorporating plasmonic metamaterials in on-chip quantum state engineering tasks. PMID:26670790

Distillation of photon entanglement using a plasmonic metamaterial.

PubMed

Asano, Motoki; Bechu, Muriel; Tame, Mark; Kaya Özdemir, Şahin; Ikuta, Rikizo; Güney, Durdu Ö; Yamamoto, Takashi; Yang, Lan; Wegener, Martin; Imoto, Nobuyuki

2015-12-16

Plasmonics is a rapidly emerging platform for quantum state engineering with the potential for building ultra-compact and hybrid optoelectronic devices. Recent experiments have shown that despite the presence of decoherence and loss, photon statistics and entanglement can be preserved in single plasmonic systems. This preserving ability should carry over to plasmonic metamaterials, whose properties are the result of many individual plasmonic systems acting collectively, and can be used to engineer optical states of light. Here, we report an experimental demonstration of quantum state filtering, also known as entanglement distillation, using a metamaterial. We show that the metamaterial can be used to distill highly entangled states from less entangled states. As the metamaterial can be integrated with other optical components this work opens up the intriguing possibility of incorporating plasmonic metamaterials in on-chip quantum state engineering tasks.

Temperature sensor based on an isopropanol-sealed photonic crystal fiber in-line interferometer with enhanced refractive index sensitivity.

PubMed

Qiu, Sun-jie; Chen, Ye; Xu, Fei; Lu, Yan-qing

2012-03-01

We fabricate a simple, compact, and stable temperature sensor based on a liquid-sealed photonic crystal fiber (PCF) in-line nonpolarimetric modal interferometer. Different from other reported PCF devices, it does not need expensive polarimetric devices, and the liquid is sealed in one fiber. The device consists of a stub of isopropanol-filled PCF spliced between standard single-mode fibers. The temperature sensitivity (-166 pm/°C) increases over an order of magnitude compared with those of the previous sensors based on air-sealed PCF interferometers built via fusion splicing with the same mechanism. In addition, the refractive index sensitivity also increases. Higher temperature sensitivity can be realized by infiltrating some liquid having a higher thermo-optic coefficient into the microholes of the PCF. © 2012 Optical Society of America

Analysis of photonic spot profile converter and bridge structure on SOI platform for horizontal and vertical integration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Majumder, Saikat; Jha, Amit Kr.; Biswas, Aishik; Banerjee, Debasmita; Ganguly, Dipankar; Chakraborty, Rajib

2017-08-01

Horizontal spot size converter required for horizontal light coupling and vertical bridge structure required for vertical integration are designed on high index contrast SOI platform in order to form more compact integrated photonic circuits. Both the structures are based on the concept of multimode interference. The spot size converter can be realized by successive integration of multimode interference structures with reducing dimension on horizontal plane, whereas the optical bridge structure consists of a number of vertical multimode interference structure connected by single mode sections. The spot size converter can be modified to a spot profile converter when the final single mode waveguide is replaced by a slot waveguide. Analysis have shown that by using three multimode sections in a spot size converter, an Gaussian input having spot diameter of 2.51 μm can be converted to a spot diameter of 0.25 μm. If the output single mode section is replaced by a slot waveguide, this input profile can be converted to a flat top profile of width 50 nm. Similarly, vertical displacement of 8μm is possible by using a combination of two multimode sections and three single mode sections in the vertical bridge structure. The analyses of these two structures are carried out for both TE and TM modes at 1550 nm wavelength using the semi analytical matrix method which is simple and fast in computation time and memory. This work shows that the matrix method is equally applicable for analysis of horizontally as well as vertically integrated photonic circuit.

Note: a 4 ns hardware photon correlator based on a general-purpose field-programmable gate array development board implemented in a compact setup for fluorescence correlation spectroscopy.

PubMed

Kalinin, Stanislav; Kühnemuth, Ralf; Vardanyan, Hayk; Seidel, Claus A M

2012-09-01

We present a fast hardware photon correlator implemented in a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) combined with a compact confocal fluorescence setup. The correlator has two independent units with a time resolution of 4 ns while utilizing less than 15% of a low-end FPGA. The device directly accepts transistor-transistor logic (TTL) signals from two photon counting detectors and calculates two auto- or cross-correlation curves in real time. Test measurements demonstrate that the performance of our correlator is comparable with the current generation of commercial devices. The sensitivity of the optical setup is identical or even superior to current commercial devices. The FPGA design and the optical setup both allow for a straightforward extension to multi-color applications. This inexpensive and compact solution with a very good performance can serve as a versatile platform for uses in education, applied sciences, and basic research.

Note: A 4 ns hardware photon correlator based on a general-purpose field-programmable gate array development board implemented in a compact setup for fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalinin, Stanislav; Kühnemuth, Ralf; Vardanyan, Hayk; Seidel, Claus A. M.

2012-09-01

We present a fast hardware photon correlator implemented in a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) combined with a compact confocal fluorescence setup. The correlator has two independent units with a time resolution of 4 ns while utilizing less than 15% of a low-end FPGA. The device directly accepts transistor-transistor logic (TTL) signals from two photon counting detectors and calculates two auto- or cross-correlation curves in real time. Test measurements demonstrate that the performance of our correlator is comparable with the current generation of commercial devices. The sensitivity of the optical setup is identical or even superior to current commercial devices. The FPGA design and the optical setup both allow for a straightforward extension to multi-color applications. This inexpensive and compact solution with a very good performance can serve as a versatile platform for uses in education, applied sciences, and basic research.

Ultra compact spectrometer apparatus and method using photonic crystals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ting, David Z. (Inventor); Hill, Cory J. (Inventor); Bandara, Sumith V. (Inventor); Gunapala, Sarath D. (Inventor)

2009-01-01

The present invention is directed to methods of photonic crystal formation, and to methods and apparatus for using such photonic crystals, particularly in conjunction with detector arrays. Photonic crystal parameters and detector array parameters are compared to optimize the selection and orientation of a photonic crystal shape. A photonic crystal is operatively positioned relative to a plurality of light sensors. The light sensors can be separated by a pitch distance and positioned within one half of the pitch distance of an exit surface of the photonic crystals.

A current-assisted CMOS photonic sampler with two taps for fluorescence lifetime sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ingelberts, H.; Kuijk, M.

2016-04-01

Imaging based on fluorescence lifetime is becoming increasingly important in medical and biological applications. State-of- the-art fluorescence lifetime microscopes either use bulky and expensive gated image intensifiers coupled to a CCD or single-photon detectors in a slow scanning setup. Numerous attempts are being made to create compact, cost-effective all- CMOS imagers for fluorescence lifetime sensing. Single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) imagers can have very good timing resolution and noise characteristics but have low detection efficiency. Another approach is to use CMOS imagers based on demodulation detectors. These imagers can be either very fast or very efficient but it remains a challenge to combine both characteristics. Recently we developed the current-assisted photonic sampler (CAPS) to tackle these problems and in this work, we present a new CAPS with two detection taps that can sample a fluorescence decay in two time windows. In the case of mono-exponential decays, two windows provide enough information to resolve the lifetime. We built an electro-optical setup to characterize the detector and use it for fluorescence lifetime measurements. It consists of a supercontinuum pulsed laser source, an optical system to focus light into the detector and picosecond timing electronics. We describe the structure and operation of the two-tap CAPS and provide basic characterization of the speed performance at multiple wavelengths in the visible and near-infrared spectrum. We also record fluorescence decays of different visible and NIR fluorescent dyes and provide different methods to resolve the fluorescence lifetime.

High-power, high-repetition-rate performance characteristics of β-BaB₂O₄ for single-pass picosecond ultraviolet generation at 266 nm.

PubMed

Kumar, S Chaitanya; Casals, J Canals; Wei, Junxiong; Ebrahim-Zadeh, M

2015-10-19

We report a systematic study on the performance characteristics of a high-power, high-repetition-rate, picosecond ultraviolet (UV) source at 266 nm based on β-BaB2O4 (BBO). The source, based on single-pass fourth harmonic generation (FHG) of a compact Yb-fiber laser in a two-crystal spatial walk-off compensation scheme, generates up to 2.9 W of average power at 266 nm at a pulse repetition rate of ~80 MHz with a single-pass FHG efficiency of 35% from the green to UV. Detrimental issues such as thermal effects have been studied and confirmed by performing relevant measurements. Angular and temperature acceptance bandwidths in BBO for FHG to 266 nm are experimentally determined, indicating that the effective interaction length is limited by spatial walk-off and thermal gradients under high-power operation. The origin of dynamic color center formation due to two-photon absorption in BBO is investigated by measurements of intensity-dependent transmission at 266 nm. Using a suitable theoretical model, two-photon absorption coefficients as well as the color center densities have been estimated at different temperatures. The measurements show that the two-photon absorption coefficient in BBO at 266 nm is ~3.5 times lower at 200°C compared to that at room temperature. The long-term power stability as well as beam pointing stability is analyzed at different output power levels and focusing conditions. Using cylindrical optics, we have circularized the generated elliptic UV beam to a circularity of >90%. To our knowledge, this is the first time such high average powers and temperature-dependent two-photon absorption measurements at 266 nm are reported at repetition rates as high as ~80 MHz.

Ultrafast nonlinear optofluidics in selectively liquid-filled photonic crystal fibers.

PubMed

Vieweg, M; Gissibl, T; Pricking, S; Kuhlmey, B T; Wu, D C; Eggleton, B J; Giessen, H

2010-11-22

Selective filling of photonic crystal fibers with different media enables a plethora of possibilities in linear and nonlinear optics. Using two-photon direct-laser writing we demonstrate full flexibility of individual closing of holes and subsequent filling of photonic crystal fibers with highly nonlinear liquids. We experimentally demonstrate solitonic supercontinuum generation over 600 nm bandwidth using a compact femtosecond oscillator as pump source. Encapsulating our fibers at the ends we realize a compact ultrafast nonlinear optofluidic device. Our work is fundamentally important to the field of nonlinear optics as it provides a new platform for investigations of spatio-temporal nonlinear effects and underpins new applications in sensing and communications. Selective filling of different linear and nonlinear liquids, metals, gases, gain media, and liquid crystals into photonic crystal fibers will be the basis of new reconfigurable and versatile optical fiber devices with unprecedented performance. Control over both temporal and spatial dispersion as well as linear and nonlinear coupling will lead to the generation of spatial-temporal solitons, so-called optical bullets.

Active integrated filters for RF-photonic channelizers.

PubMed

El Nagdi, Amr; Liu, Ke; LaFave, Tim P; Hunt, Louis R; Ramakrishna, Viswanath; Dabkowski, Mieczyslaw; MacFarlane, Duncan L; Christensen, Marc P

2011-01-01

A theoretical study of RF-photonic channelizers using four architectures formed by active integrated filters with tunable gains is presented. The integrated filters are enabled by two- and four-port nano-photonic couplers (NPCs). Lossless and three individual manufacturing cases with high transmission, high reflection, and symmetric couplers are assumed in the work. NPCs behavior is dependent upon the phenomenon of frustrated total internal reflection. Experimentally, photonic channelizers are fabricated in one single semiconductor chip on multi-quantum well epitaxial InP wafers using conventional microelectronics processing techniques. A state space modeling approach is used to derive the transfer functions and analyze the stability of these filters. The ability of adapting using the gains is demonstrated. Our simulation results indicate that the characteristic bandpass and notch filter responses of each structure are the basis of channelizer architectures, and optical gain may be used to adjust filter parameters to obtain a desired frequency magnitude response, especially in the range of 1-5 GHz for the chip with a coupler separation of ∼9 mm. Preliminarily, the measurement of spectral response shows enhancement of quality factor by using higher optical gains. The present compact active filters on an InP-based integrated photonic circuit hold the potential for a variety of channelizer applications. Compared to a pure RF channelizer, photonic channelizers may perform both channelization and down-conversion in an optical domain.

Photonic crystal fibre enables short-wavelength two-photon laser scanning fluorescence microscopy with fura-2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McConnell, Gail; Riis, Erling

2004-10-01

We report on a novel and compact reliable laser source capable of short-wavelength two-photon laser scanning fluorescence microscopy based on soliton self-frequency shift effects in photonic crystal fibre. We demonstrate the function of the system by performing two-photon microscopy of smooth muscle cells and cardiac myocytes from the rat pulmonary vein and Chinese hamster ovary cells loaded with the fluorescent calcium indicator fura-2/AM.

Single fiber temperature probe configuration using anti-Stokes luminescence from Cr:GdAlO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eldridge, Jeffrey I.

2018-06-01

Single-photon excitation of anti-Stokes-shifted emission from a thermographic phosphor allows operation of a luminescence decay-based single fiber temperature probe with negligible interference from background fiber-generated Raman scattering. While single fiber probe configurations for luminescence-based fiber optic thermometers offer advantages of simple design, compactness, and superior emission light collection efficiency, their effective use has been limited by interference from Raman scattering in the fiber probe and excitation delivery fiber that produces distortion of the luminescence decay that follows the excitation pulse. The near elimination of interference by background fiber-generated Raman scattering was demonstrated by incorporating a Cr-doped GdAlO3 (Cr:GdAlO3) thermographic phosphor as the sensing element at the end of a single fiber luminescence decay-based thermometer and detecting anti-Stokes-shifted luminescence centered at 542 or 593 nm produced by 695 nm excitation. Measurements were performed using both silica (up to 1150 °C) and single-crystal YAG (up to 1200 °C) fiber-based thermometers. Selection of emission detection centered at 542 nm greatly benefited the YAG fiber probe measurements by practically eliminating detection of otherwise significant luminescence from Cr3+ impurities in the YAG fiber. For both the silica and YAG fiber probes, the relative benefit of adopting single-photon excitation of anti-Stokes-shifted luminescence was evaluated by comparison with results obtained by conventional 532 nm excitation of Stokes-shifted luminescence.

Crystalline metamaterials for topological properties at subwavelength scales

PubMed Central

Yves, Simon; Fleury, Romain; Berthelot, Thomas; Fink, Mathias; Lemoult, Fabrice; Lerosey, Geoffroy

2017-01-01

The exciting discovery of topological condensed matter systems has lately triggered a search for their photonic analogues, motivated by the possibility of robust backscattering-immune light transport. However, topological photonic phases have so far only been observed in photonic crystals and waveguide arrays, which are inherently physically wavelength scaled, hindering their application in compact subwavelength systems. In this letter, we tackle this problem by patterning the deep subwavelength resonant elements of metamaterials onto specific lattices, and create crystalline metamaterials that can develop complex nonlocal properties due to multiple scattering, despite their very subwavelength spatial scale that usually implies to disregard their structure. These spatially dispersive systems can support subwavelength topological phases, as we demonstrate at microwaves by direct field mapping. Our approach gives a straightforward tabletop platform for the study of photonic topological phases, and allows to envision applications benefiting the compactness of metamaterials and the amazing potential of topological insulators. PMID:28719573

Photonic Crystal Microchip Laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gailevicius, Darius; Koliadenko, Volodymyr; Purlys, Vytautas; Peckus, Martynas; Taranenko, Victor; Staliunas, Kestutis

2016-09-01

The microchip lasers, being very compact and efficient sources of coherent light, suffer from one serious drawback: low spatial quality of the beam strongly reducing the brightness of emitted radiation. Attempts to improve the beam quality, such as pump-beam guiding, external feedback, either strongly reduce the emission power, or drastically increase the size and complexity of the lasers. Here it is proposed that specially designed photonic crystal in the cavity of a microchip laser, can significantly improve the beam quality. Experiments show that a microchip laser, due to spatial filtering functionality of intracavity photonic crystal, improves the beam quality factor M2 reducing it by a factor of 2, and increase the brightness of radiation by a factor of 3. This comprises a new kind of laser, the “photonic crystal microchip laser”, a very compact and efficient light source emitting high spatial quality high brightness radiation.

Photonic Crystal Microchip Laser

PubMed Central

Gailevicius, Darius; Koliadenko, Volodymyr; Purlys, Vytautas; Peckus, Martynas; Taranenko, Victor; Staliunas, Kestutis

2016-01-01

The microchip lasers, being very compact and efficient sources of coherent light, suffer from one serious drawback: low spatial quality of the beam strongly reducing the brightness of emitted radiation. Attempts to improve the beam quality, such as pump-beam guiding, external feedback, either strongly reduce the emission power, or drastically increase the size and complexity of the lasers. Here it is proposed that specially designed photonic crystal in the cavity of a microchip laser, can significantly improve the beam quality. Experiments show that a microchip laser, due to spatial filtering functionality of intracavity photonic crystal, improves the beam quality factor M2 reducing it by a factor of 2, and increase the brightness of radiation by a factor of 3. This comprises a new kind of laser, the “photonic crystal microchip laser”, a very compact and efficient light source emitting high spatial quality high brightness radiation. PMID:27683066

Crystalline metamaterials for topological properties at subwavelength scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yves, Simon; Fleury, Romain; Berthelot, Thomas; Fink, Mathias; Lemoult, Fabrice; Lerosey, Geoffroy

2017-07-01

The exciting discovery of topological condensed matter systems has lately triggered a search for their photonic analogues, motivated by the possibility of robust backscattering-immune light transport. However, topological photonic phases have so far only been observed in photonic crystals and waveguide arrays, which are inherently physically wavelength scaled, hindering their application in compact subwavelength systems. In this letter, we tackle this problem by patterning the deep subwavelength resonant elements of metamaterials onto specific lattices, and create crystalline metamaterials that can develop complex nonlocal properties due to multiple scattering, despite their very subwavelength spatial scale that usually implies to disregard their structure. These spatially dispersive systems can support subwavelength topological phases, as we demonstrate at microwaves by direct field mapping. Our approach gives a straightforward tabletop platform for the study of photonic topological phases, and allows to envision applications benefiting the compactness of metamaterials and the amazing potential of topological insulators.

Novel Plasmonic Materials and Nanodevices for Integrated Quantum Photonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shalaginov, Mikhail Y.

Light-matter interaction is the foundation for numerous important quantum optical phenomena, which may be harnessed to build practical devices with higher efficiency and unprecedented functionality. Nanoscale engineering is seen as a fruitful avenue to significantly strengthen light-matter interaction and also make quantum optical systems ultra-compact, scalable, and energy efficient. This research focuses on color centers in diamond that share quantum properties with single atoms. These systems promise a path for the realization of practical quantum devices such as nanoscale sensors, single-photon sources, and quantum memories. In particular, we explored an intriguing methodology of utilizing nanophotonic structures, such as hyperbolic metamaterials, nanoantennae, and plasmonic waveguides, to improve the color centers performance. We observed enhancement in the color center's spontaneous emission rate, emission directionality, and cooperativity over a broad optical frequency range. Additionally, we studied the effect of plasmonic environments on the spin-readout sensitivity of color centers. The use of CMOS-compatible epitaxially grown plasmonic materials in the design of these nanophotonic structures promises a new level of performance for a variety of integrated room-temperature quantum devices based on diamond color centers.

A wideband photonic microwave phase shifter with 360-degree phase tunable range based on a DP-QPSK modulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yang

2018-03-01

A novel wideband photonic microwave phase shifter with 360-degree phase tunable range is proposed based on a single dual-polarization quadrature phase shift-keying (DP-QPSK) modulator. The two dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder modulators (DP-MZMs) in the DP-QPSK modulator are properly biased to serve as a carrier-suppressed single-sideband (CS-SSB) modulator and an optical phase shifter (OPS), respectively. The microwave signal is applied to the CS-SSB modulator, while a control direct-current (DC) voltage is applied to the OPS. The first-order optical sideband generated from the CS-SSB modulator and the phase tunable optical carrier from the OPS are combined and then detected in a photodetector, where a microwave signal is generated with its phase controlled by the DC voltage applied to the OPS. The proposed technique is theoretically analyzed and experimentally demonstrated. Microwave signals with a carrier frequency from 10 to 23 GHz are continuously phase shifted over 360-degree phase range. The proposed technique features very compact configuration, easy phase tuning and wide operation bandwidth.

Medipix2 based CdTe microprobe for dental imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vykydal, Z.; Fauler, A.; Fiederle, M.; Jakubek, J.; Svestkova, M.; Zwerger, A.

2011-12-01

Medical imaging devices and techniques are demanded to provide high resolution and low dose images of samples or patients. Hybrid semiconductor single photon counting devices together with suitable sensor materials and advanced techniques of image reconstruction fulfil these requirements. In particular cases such as the direct observation of dental implants also the size of the imaging device itself plays a critical role. This work presents the comparison of 2D radiographs of tooth provided by a standard commercial dental imaging system (Gendex 765DC X-ray tube with VisualiX scintillation detector) and two Medipix2 USB Lite detectors one equipped with a Si sensor (300 μm thick) and one with a CdTe sensor (1 mm thick). Single photon counting capability of the Medipix2 device allows virtually unlimited dynamic range of the images and thus increases the contrast significantly. The dimensions of the whole USB Lite device are only 15 mm × 60 mm of which 25% consists of the sensitive area. Detector of this compact size can be used directly inside the patients' mouth.

Design of a low-bending-loss large-mode-area photonic crystal fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Napierala, Marek; Beres-Pawlik, Elzbieta; Nasilowski, Tomasz; Mergo, Pawel; Berghmans, Francis; Thienpont, Hugo

2012-04-01

We present a design of a photonic crystal fiber for high power laser and amplifier applications. Our fiber comprises a core with a diameter larger than 60 μm and exhibits single mode operation when the fiber is bent around a 10 cm radius at a wavelength of 1064 nm. Single mode guidance is enforced by the high loss of higher order modes which exceeds 80 dB/m whereas the loss of the fundamental mode (FM) is lower than 0.03 dB/m. The fiber can therefore be considered as an active medium for compact high power fiber lasers and amplifiers with a nearly diffraction limited beam output. We also analyze our fiber in terms of tolerance to manufacturing imperfections. To do so we employ a statistical design methodology. This analysis reveals those crucial parameters of the fiber that have to be controlled precisely during the fabrication process not to deteriorate the fiber performance. Finally we show that the fiber can be fabricated according to our design and we present experimental results that confirm the expected fiber performance.

Generation of surface-wave microwave microplasmas in hollow-core photonic crystal fiber based on a split-ring resonator.

PubMed

Vial, Florian; Gadonna, Katell; Debord, Benoît; Delahaye, Frédéric; Amrani, Foued; Leroy, Olivier; Gérôme, Frédéric; Benabid, Fetah

2016-05-15

We report on a new and highly compact scheme for the generation and sustainment of microwave-driven plasmas inside the core of an inhibited coupling Kagome hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. The microwave plasma generator consists of a split-ring resonator that efficiently couples the microwave field into the gas-filled fiber. This coupling induces the concomitant generation of a microwave surface wave at the fiber core surround and a stable plasma column confined in the fiber core. The scheme allowed the generation of several centimeters long argon microplasma columns with a very low excitation power threshold. This result represents an important step toward highly compact plasma lasers or plasma-based photonic components.

Compact silicon photonic resonance-assisted variable optical attenuator

DOE PAGES

Wang, Xiaoxi; Aguinaldo, Ryan; Lentine, Anthony; ...

2016-11-17

Here, a two-part silicon photonic variable optical attenuator is demonstrated in a compact footprint which can provide a high extinction ratio at wavelengths between 1520 nm and 1620 nm. The device was made by following the conventional p-i-n waveguide section by a high-extinction-ratio second-order microring filter section. The rings provide additional on-off contrast by utilizing a thermal resonance shift, which harvested the heat dissipated by current injection in the p-i-n junction. Finally, we derive and discuss a simple thermal-resistance model in explanation of these effects.

Compact silicon photonic resonance-sssisted variable optical attenuator.

PubMed

Wang, Xiaoxi; Aguinaldo, Ryan; Lentine, Anthony; DeRose, Christopher; Starbuck, Andrew L; Trotter, Douglas; Pomerene, Andrew; Mookherjea, Shayan

2016-11-28

A two-part silicon photonic variable optical attenuator is demonstrated in a compact footprint which can provide a high extinction ratio at wavelengths between 1520 nm and 1620 nm. The device was made by following the conventional p-i-n waveguide section by a high-extinction-ratio second-order microring filter section. The rings provide additional on-off contrast by utilizing a thermal resonance shift, which harvested the heat dissipated by current injection in the p-i-n junction. We derive and discuss a simple thermal-resistance model in explanation of these effects.

Micro-Spec: A High Performance Compact Spectrometer for Submillimeter Astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hsieh, Wen-Ting; Moseley, Harvey; Stevenson, Thomas; Brown, Ari; Patel, Amil; U-Yen, Kongpop; Ehsan, Negar; Caltado, Giuseppe; Wollock, Edward

2012-01-01

We describe the micro-Spec, an extremely compact high performance spectrometer for the submillimeter and millimeter spectral ranges. We have designed a fully integrated submillimeter spectrometer based on superconducting microstrip technology and fabricated its critical elements. Using low loss transmission lines, we can produce a fully integrated high resolution submillimeter spectrometer on a single four inch Si wafer. A resolution of 500 can readily be achieved with standard fabrication tolerance, higher with phase trimming. All functions of the spectrometer are integrated - light is coupled to the micro strip circuit with a planar antenna, the spectra discrimination is achieved using a synthetic grating, orders are separated using a built-in planar filter, and the light is detected using photon counting Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKID). We will discus the design principle of the instrument, describe its technical advantages, and report the progress on the development of the instrument.

Mu-Spec: A High Performance Compact Spectrometer for Submillimeter Astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hsieh, Wen-Ting; Moseley, Harvey; Stevenson, Thomas; Brown, Ari; Patel, Amil; U-yen, Kongpop; Ehsan, Negar; Cataldo, Giuseppe; Wollack, Ed

2012-01-01

We describe the Mu-Spec, an extremely compact high performance spectrometer for the submillimeter and millimeter spectral ranges. We have designed a fully integrated submillimeter spectrometer based on superconducting microstrip technology and fabricated its critical elements. Using low loss transmission lines, we can produce a fully integrated high resolution submillimeter spectrometer on a single four inch Si wafer. A resolution of 500 can readily be achieved with standard fabrication tolerance, higher with phase trimming. All functions of the spectrometer are integrated - light is coupled to the microstrip circuit with a planar antenna, the spectra discrimination is achieved using a synthetic grating, orders are separated using a built-in planar filter, and the light is detected using photon counting Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKID). We will discus the design principle of the instrument, describe its technical advantages, and report the progress on the development of the instrument.

High-power VCSELs for smart munitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geske, Jon; MacDougal, Michael; Cole, Garrett; Snyder, Donald

2006-08-01

The next generation of low-cost smart munitions will be capable of autonomously detecting and identifying targets aided partly by the ability to image targets with compact and robust scanning rangefinder and LADAR capabilities. These imaging systems will utilize arrays of high performance, low-cost semiconductor diode lasers capable of achieving high peak powers in pulses ranging from 5 to 25 nanoseconds in duration. Aerius Photonics is developing high-power Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) to meet the needs of these smart munitions applications. The authors will report the results of Aerius' development program in which peak pulsed powers exceeding 60 Watts were demonstrated from single VCSEL emitters. These compact packaged emitters achieved pulse energies in excess of 1.5 micro-joules with multi kilo-hertz pulse repetition frequencies. The progress of the ongoing effort toward extending this performance to arrays of VCSEL emitters and toward further improving laser slope efficiency will be reported.

A single blue nanorod light emitting diode.

PubMed

Hou, Y; Bai, J; Smith, R; Wang, T

2016-05-20

We report a light emitting diode (LED) consisting of a single InGaN/GaN nanorod fabricated by a cost-effective top-down approach from a standard LED wafer. The device demonstrates high performance with a reduced quantum confined Stark effect compared with a standard planar counterpart fabricated from the same wafer, confirmed by optical and electrical characterization. Current density as high as 5414 A cm(-2) is achieved without significant damage to the device due to the high internal quantum efficiency. The efficiency droop is mainly ascribed to Auger recombination, which was studied by an ABC model. Our work provides a potential method for fabricating compact light sources for advanced photonic integrated circuits without involving expensive or time-consuming fabrication facilities.

Skeletal and body composition evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mazess, R. B.

1983-01-01

Research on radiation detectors for absorptiometry; analysis of errors affective single photon absorptiometry and development of instrumentation; analysis of errors affecting dual photon absorptiometry and development of instrumentation; comparison of skeletal measurements with other techniques; cooperation with NASA projects for skeletal evaluation in spaceflight (Experiment MO-78) and in laboratory studies with immobilized animals; studies of postmenopausal osteoporosis; organization of scientific meetings and workshops on absorptiometric measurement; and development of instrumentation for measurement of fluid shifts in the human body were performed. Instrumentation was developed that allows accurate and precise (2% error) measurements of mineral content in compact and trabecular bone and of the total skeleton. Instrumentation was also developed to measure fluid shifts in the extremities. Radiation exposure with those procedures is low (2-10 MREM). One hundred seventy three technical reports and one hundred and four published papers of studies from the University of Wisconsin Bone Mineral Lab are listed.

Highly birefringent elliptical core photonic crystal fiber for terahertz application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sultana, Jakeya; Islam, Md. Saiful; Faisal, Mohammad; Islam, Mohammad Rakibul; Ng, Brian W.-H.; Ebendorff-Heidepriem, Heike; Abbott, Derek

2018-01-01

We present a novel strategy for designing a highly birefringent photonic crystal fiber (PCF) with near zero flattened dispersion properties by applying elliptical air holes in the core area. The elliptical structure of the air holes in the porous-core region introduces asymmetry between x and y polarization modes, which consequently offers ultra-high birefringence. Also the compact geometry of the conventional hexagonal structure in the cladding confines most of the useful power. The optical properties including birefringence, dispersion, confinement loss, effective material loss (EML) and single modeness of the fiber are investigated using a full-vector finite element method. Simulation results show an ultra-high birefringence of 0 . 086 ultra-flattened near zero dispersion of 0 . 53 ± 0 . 07 ps/THz/cm in a broad frequency range. The practical implementation of the proposed fiber is feasible using existing fabrication technology and is applicable to the areas of terahertz sensing and polarization maintaining systems.

High-Definition Optical Velocimetry: A New Diagnostic Paradigm for Nuclear Security

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Daykin, E; Diaz, A; Gallegos, C

This slide-show describes work done to address the challenge of high-definition optical velocimetry with hundred(s) of high-fidelity velocity vs. time measurements. After a review of the historical context and a general technical description of how optical velocimetry, particularly photonic Doppler velocimetry, works, the innovation of multiplexed photonic Doppler velocimetry (MPDV) is described as implemented with commercially available telecom products and dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM). High amplification of small signals allows for laser-safe operations. The authors have evaluated and leveraged telecom components– optical amplifiers, wavelength multiplexers, and seed lasers–to provide an economical, compact and rugged approach to system architecture. Fouriermore » transform data analysis is seen to be robust and capable of discriminating simultaneous data traces recorded onto a single digitizer channel. The authors successfully fielded demonstration MPDV system on shock driven experiments.« less

Chip-integrated optical power limiter based on an all-passive micro-ring resonator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Siqi; Dong, Jianji; Zheng, Aoling; Zhang, Xinliang

2014-10-01

Recent progress in silicon nanophotonics has dramatically advanced the possible realization of large-scale on-chip optical interconnects integration. Adopting photons as information carriers can break the performance bottleneck of electronic integrated circuit such as serious thermal losses and poor process rates. However, in integrated photonics circuits, few reported work can impose an upper limit of optical power therefore prevent the optical device from harm caused by high power. In this study, we experimentally demonstrate a feasible integrated scheme based on a single all-passive micro-ring resonator to realize the optical power limitation which has a similar function of current limiting circuit in electronics. Besides, we analyze the performance of optical power limiter at various signal bit rates. The results show that the proposed device can limit the signal power effectively at a bit rate up to 20 Gbit/s without deteriorating the signal. Meanwhile, this ultra-compact silicon device can be completely compatible with the electronic technology (typically complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology), which may pave the way of very large scale integrated photonic circuits for all-optical information processors and artificial intelligence systems.

Direct frequency comb optical frequency standard based on two-photon transitions of thermal atoms

PubMed Central

Zhang, S. Y.; Wu, J. T.; Zhang, Y. L.; Leng, J. X.; Yang, W. P.; Zhang, Z. G.; Zhao, J. Y.

2015-01-01

Optical clocks have been the focus of science and technology research areas due to their capability to provide highest frequency accuracy and stability to date. Their superior frequency performance promises significant advances in the fields of fundamental research as well as practical applications including satellite-based navigation and ranging. In traditional optical clocks, ultrastable optical cavities, laser cooling and particle (atoms or a single ion) trapping techniques are employed to guarantee high stability and accuracy. However, on the other hand, they make optical clocks an entire optical tableful of equipment, and cannot work continuously for a long time; as a result, they restrict optical clocks used as very convenient and compact time-keeping clocks. In this article, we proposed, and experimentally demonstrated, a novel scheme of optical frequency standard based on comb-directly-excited atomic two-photon transitions. By taking advantage of the natural properties of the comb and two-photon transitions, this frequency standard achieves a simplified structure, high robustness as well as decent frequency stability, which promise widespread applications in various scenarios. PMID:26459877

Compact and portable multiline UV and visible Raman lasers in hydrogen-filled HC-PCF.

PubMed

Wang, Y Y; Couny, F; Light, P S; Mangan, B J; Benabid, F

2010-04-15

We report on the realization of compact UV visible multiline Raman lasers based on two types of hydrogen-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. The first, with a large pitch Kagome lattice structure, offers a broad spectral coverage from near IR through to the much sought after yellow, deep-blue and UV, whereas the other, based on photonic bandgap guidance, presents a pump conversion concentrated in the visible region. The high Raman efficiency achieved through these fibers allows for compact, portable diode-pumped solid-state lasers to be used as pumps. Each discrete component of this laser system exhibits a spectral density several orders of magnitude larger than what is achieved with supercontinuum sources and a narrow linewidth, making it an ideal candidate for forensics and biomedical applications.

Evanescent Properties of Optical Diffraction from 2-Dimensional Hexagonal Photonic Crystals and Their Sensor Applications.

PubMed

Liao, Yu-Yang; Chen, Yung-Tsan; Chen, Chien-Chun; Huang, Jian-Jang

2018-04-03

The sensitivity of traditional diffraction grating sensors is limited by the spatial resolution of the measurement setup. Thus, a large space is required to improve sensor performance. Here, we demonstrate a compact hexagonal photonic crystal (PhC) optical sensor with high sensitivity. PhCs are able to diffract optical beams to various angles in azimuthal space. The critical wavelength that satisfies the phase matching or becomes evanescent was used to benchmark the refractive index of a target analyte applied on a PhC sensor. Using a glucose solution as an example, our sensor demonstrated very high sensitivity and a low limit of detection. This shows that the diffraction mechanism of hexagonal photonic crystals can be used for sensors when compact size is a concern.

Compact Quantum Random Number Generator with Silicon Nanocrystals Light Emitting Device Coupled to a Silicon Photomultiplier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bisadi, Zahra; Acerbi, Fabio; Fontana, Giorgio; Zorzi, Nicola; Piemonte, Claudio; Pucker, Georg; Pavesi, Lorenzo

2018-02-01

A small-sized photonic quantum random number generator, easy to be implemented in small electronic devices for secure data encryption and other applications, is highly demanding nowadays. Here, we propose a compact configuration with Silicon nanocrystals large area light emitting device (LED) coupled to a Silicon photomultiplier to generate random numbers. The random number generation methodology is based on the photon arrival time and is robust against the non-idealities of the detector and the source of quantum entropy. The raw data show high quality of randomness and pass all the statistical tests in national institute of standards and technology tests (NIST) suite without a post-processing algorithm. The highest bit rate is 0.5 Mbps with the efficiency of 4 bits per detected photon.

Deep-tissue two-photon imaging in brain and peripheral nerve with a compact high-pulse energy ytterbium fiber laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fontaine, Arjun K.; Kirchner, Matthew S.; Caldwell, John H.; Weir, Richard F.; Gibson, Emily A.

2018-02-01

Two-photon microscopy is a powerful tool of current scientific research, allowing optical visualization of structures below the surface of tissues. This is of particular value in neuroscience, where optically accessing regions within the brain is critical for the continued advancement in understanding of neural circuits. However, two-photon imaging at significant depths have typically used Ti:Sapphire based amplifiers that are prohibitively expensive and bulky. In this study, we demonstrate deep tissue two-photon imaging using a compact, inexpensive, turnkey operated Ytterbium fiber laser (Y-Fi, KM Labs). The laser is based on all-normal dispersion (ANDi) that provides short pulse durations and high pulse energies. Depth measurements obtained in ex vivo mouse cortex exceed those obtainable with standard two-photon microscopes using Ti:Sapphire lasers. In addition to demonstrating the capability of deep-tissue imaging in the brain, we investigated imaging depth in highly-scattering white matter with measurements in sciatic nerve showing limited optical penetration of heavily myelinated nerve tissue relative to grey matter.

Light funneling from a photonic crystal laser cavity to a nano-antenna: overcoming the diffraction limit in optical energy transfer down to the nanoscale.

PubMed

Mivelle, Mathieu; Viktorovitch, Pierre; Baida, Fadi I; El Eter, Ali; Xie, Zhihua; Vo, Than-Phong; Atie, Elie; Burr, Geoffrey W; Nedeljkovic, Dusan; Rauch, Jean-Yves; Callard, Ségolène; Grosjean, Thierry

2014-06-16

We show that the near-field coupling between a photonic crystal microlaser and a nano-antenna can enable hybrid photonic systems that are both physically compact (free from bulky optics) and efficient at transferring optical energy into the nano-antenna. Up to 19% of the laser power from a micron-scale photonic crystal laser cavity is experimentally transferred to a bowtie aperture nano-antenna (BNA) whose area is 400-fold smaller than the overall emission area of the microlaser. Instead of a direct deposition of the nano-antenna onto the photonic crystal, it is fabricated at the apex of a fiber tip to be accurately placed in the microlaser near-field. Such light funneling within a hybrid structure provides a path for overcoming the diffraction limit in optical energy transfer to the nanoscale and should thus open promising avenues in the nanoscale enhancement and confinement of light in compact architectures, impacting applications such as biosensing, optical trapping, local heating, spectroscopy, and nanoimaging.

Experimental Setup and Commissioning of a Test Facility for Gain Evaluation of Microchannel-Plate Photomultipliers in High Magnetic Field at Jefferson Lab

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bringley, Eric; Cao, Tongtong; Ilieva, Yordonka; Nadel-Turonski, Pawel; Park, Kijun; Zorn, Carl

2014-09-01

At the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab) a research and development project for a Detector of Internally-Reflected Cherenkov light for the upcoming Electron Ion Collider is underway. One goal is the development of a compact readout camera that can operate in high magnetic fields. Small-size photon sensors, such as Microchannel-Plate Photomultipliers (MCP-PMT), are key components of the readout. Here we present our work to set up and commission a dedicated test facility at JLab where MCP-PMT gain is evaluated in magnetic fields of up to 5 T, and to develop a test procedure and analysis software to determine the gain. We operate the setup in a single-photon mode, where a light-emitting diode delivers photons to the sensor's photocathode. The PMT spectrum is measured with a flash Analog-to-Digital converter (fADC). We model the spectrum as a sum of an exponential background and a convolution of Poisson and Gaussian distributions of the pedestal and multiple photoelectron peaks, respectively. We determine the PMT's gain from the position of the single-photoelectron peak obtained by fitting the fADC spectrum to the model. Our gain uncertainty is <10%. The facility is now established and will have a long-lasting value for sensor tests and beyond-nuclear-physics applications.

Silicon technology compatible photonic molecules for compact optical signal processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barea, Luis A. M.; Vallini, Felipe; Jarschel, Paulo F.; Frateschi, Newton C.

2013-11-01

Photonic molecules (PMs) based on multiple inner coupled microring resonators allow to surpass the fundamental constraint between the total quality factor (QT), free spectral range (FSR), and resonator size. In this work, we use a PM that presents doublets and triplets resonance splitting, all with high QT. We demonstrate the use of the doublet splitting for 34.2 GHz signal extraction by filtering the sidebands of a modulated optical signal. We also demonstrate that very compact optical modulators operating 2.75 times beyond its resonator linewidth limit may be obtained using the PM triplet splitting, with separation of ˜55 GHz.

Recent progress in InP/polymer-based devices for telecom and data center applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kleinert, Moritz; Zhang, Ziyang; de Felipe, David; Zawadzki, Crispin; Maese Novo, Alejandro; Brinker, Walter; Möhrle, Martin; Keil, Norbert

2015-02-01

Recent progress on polymer-based photonic devices and hybrid photonic integration technology using InP-based active components is presented. High performance thermo-optic components, including compact polymer variable optical attenuators and switches are powerful tools to regulate and control the light flow in the optical backbone. Polymer arrayed waveguide gratings integrated with InP laser and detector arrays function as low-cost optical line terminals (OLTs) in the WDM-PON network. External cavity tunable lasers combined with C/L band thinfilm filter, on-chip U-groove and 45° mirrors construct a compact, bi-directional and color-less optical network unit (ONU). A tunable laser integrated with VOAs, TFEs and two 90° hybrids builds the optical front-end of a colorless, dual-polarization coherent receiver. Multicore polymer waveguides and multi-step 45°mirrors are demonstrated as bridging devices between the spatialdivision- multiplexing transmission technology using multi-core fibers and the conventional PLCbased photonic platforms, appealing to the fast development of dense 3D photonic integration.

Ultracompact photonic crystal polarization beam splitter based on multimode interference.

PubMed

Lu, Ming-Feng; Liao, Shan-Mei; Huang, Yang-Tung

2010-02-01

We propose a theoretical design for a compact photonic crystal (PC) polarization beam splitter (PBS) based on the multimode interference (MMI) effect. The size of a conventional MMI device designed by the self-imaging principle is not compact enough; therefore, we design a compact PC PBS based on the difference of the interference effect between TE and TM modes. Within the MMI coupler, the dependence of interference of modes on propagation distance is weak for a TE wave and strong for a TM wave; as a result, the length of the MMI section can be only seven lattice constants. Simulation results show that the insertion losses are 0.32 and 0.89 dB, and the extinction ratios are 14.4 and 17.5 dB for Port 1 (TE mode) and Port 2 (TM mode), respectively.

In vivo brain imaging using a portable 3.9 gram two-photon fluorescence microendoscope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flusberg, Benjamin A.; Jung, Juergen C.; Cocker, Eric D.; Anderson, Erik P.; Schnitzer, Mark J.

2005-09-01

We introduce a compact two-photon fluorescence microendoscope based on a compound gradient refractive index endoscope probe, a DC micromotor for remote adjustment of the image plane, and a flexible photonic bandgap fiber for near distortion-free delivery of ultrashort excitation pulses. The imaging head has a mass of only 3.9 g and provides micrometer-scale resolution. We used portable two-photon microendoscopy to visualize hippocampal blood vessels in the brains of live mice.

On-demand transfer of trapped photons on a chip.

PubMed

Konoike, Ryotaro; Nakagawa, Haruyuki; Nakadai, Masahiro; Asano, Takashi; Tanaka, Yoshinori; Noda, Susumu

2016-05-01

Photonic crystal nanocavities, which have modal volumes of the order of a cubic wavelength in the material, are of great interest as flexible platforms for manipulating photons. Recent developments in ultra-high quality factor nanocavities with long photon lifetimes have encouraged us to develop an ultra-compact and flexible photon manipulation technology where photons are trapped in networks of such nanocavities. The most fundamental requirement is the on-demand transfer of photons to and from the trapped states of arbitrary nanocavities. We experimentally demonstrate photon transfer between two nearly resonant nanocavities at arbitrary positions on a chip, triggered by the irradiation of a third nonresonant nanocavity using an optical control pulse. We obtain a high transfer efficiency of ~90% with a photon lifetime of ~200 ps.

Compact tunable silicon photonic differential-equation solver for general linear time-invariant systems.

PubMed

Wu, Jiayang; Cao, Pan; Hu, Xiaofeng; Jiang, Xinhong; Pan, Ting; Yang, Yuxing; Qiu, Ciyuan; Tremblay, Christine; Su, Yikai

2014-10-20

We propose and experimentally demonstrate an all-optical temporal differential-equation solver that can be used to solve ordinary differential equations (ODEs) characterizing general linear time-invariant (LTI) systems. The photonic device implemented by an add-drop microring resonator (MRR) with two tunable interferometric couplers is monolithically integrated on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer with a compact footprint of ~60 μm × 120 μm. By thermally tuning the phase shifts along the bus arms of the two interferometric couplers, the proposed device is capable of solving first-order ODEs with two variable coefficients. The operation principle is theoretically analyzed, and system testing of solving ODE with tunable coefficients is carried out for 10-Gb/s optical Gaussian-like pulses. The experimental results verify the effectiveness of the fabricated device as a tunable photonic ODE solver.

Effects of polarization mode dispersion on polarization-entangled photons generated via broadband pumped spontaneous parametric down-conversion

PubMed Central

Lim, Hyang-Tag; Hong, Kang-Hee; Kim, Yoon-Ho

2016-01-01

An inexpensive and compact frequency multi-mode diode laser enables a compact two-photon polarization entanglement source via the continuous wave broadband pumped spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) process. Entanglement degradation caused by polarization mode dispersion (PMD) is one of the critical issues in optical fiber-based polarization entanglement distribution. We theoretically and experimentally investigate how the initial entanglement is degraded when the two-photon polarization entangled state undergoes PMD. We report an effect of PMD unique to broadband pumped SPDC, equally applicable to pulsed pumping as well as cw broadband pumping, which is that the amount of the entanglement degradation is asymmetrical to the PMD introduced to each quantum channel. We believe that our results have important applications in long-distance distribution of polarization entanglement via optical fiber channels. PMID:27174100

Power-law X-ray and gamma-ray emission from relativistic thermal plasmas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zdziarski, A. A.

1985-01-01

A common characteristic of cosmic sources is power-law X-ray emission. Extragalactic sources of this type include compact components of active galactic nuclei (AGN). The present study is concerned with a theoretical model of such sources, taking into account the assumption that the power-law spectra are produced by repeated Compton scatterings of soft photons by relativistic thermal electrons. This is one of several possible physical mechanisms leading to the formation of a power-law spectrum. Attention is given to the Comptonization of soft photon sources, the rates of pair processes, the solution of the pair equilibrium equation, and the constraints on a soft photon source and an energy source. It is concluded that the compactness parameters L/R of most of the cosmic sources observed to date lie below the maximum luminosity curves considered.

A compact Acousto-Optic Lens for 2D and 3D femtosecond based 2-photon microscopy.

PubMed

Kirkby, Paul A; Srinivas Nadella, K M Naga; Silver, R Angus

2010-06-21

We describe a high speed 3D Acousto-Optic Lens Microscope (AOLM) for femtosecond 2-photon imaging. By optimizing the design of the 4 AO Deflectors (AODs) and by deriving new control algorithms, we have developed a compact spherical AOL with a low temporal dispersion that enables 2-photon imaging at 10-fold lower power than previously reported. We show that the AOLM can perform high speed 2D raster-scan imaging (>150 Hz) without scan rate dependent astigmatism. It can deflect and focus a laser beam in a 3D random access sequence at 30 kHz and has an extended focusing range (>137 mum; 40X 0.8NA objective). These features are likely to make the AOLM a useful tool for studying fast physiological processes distributed in 3D space.

BROADBAND JET EMISSION IN YOUNG AND POWERFUL RADIO SOURCES: THE CASE OF THE COMPACT STEEP SPECTRUM QUASAR 3C 186

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Migliori, Giulia; Siemiginowska, Aneta; Celotti, Annalisa, E-mail: migliori@cfa.harvard.edu

2012-04-20

We present the X-ray analysis of a deep ({approx}200 ks) Chandra observation of the compact steep spectrum radio-loud quasar 3C 186 (z = 1.06) and investigate the contribution of the unresolved radio jet to the total X-ray emission. The spectral analysis is not conclusive on the origin of the bulk of the X-ray emission. In order to examine the jet contribution to the X-ray flux, we model the quasar spectral energy distribution, adopting several scenarios for the jet emission. For the values of the main physical parameters favored by the observables, a dominant role of the jet emission in themore » X-ray band is ruled out when a single-zone (leptonic) scenario is adopted, even including the contribution of the external photon fields as seed photons for inverse Compton emission. We then consider a structured jet, with the blazar component that-although not directly visible in the X-ray band-provides an intense field of seed synchrotron photons Compton-scattered by electrons in a mildly relativistic knot. In this case, the whole X-ray emission can be accounted for if we assume a blazar luminosity within the range observed from flat spectrum radio quasars. The X-ray radiative efficiency of such a (structured) jet is intimately related to the presence of a complex velocity structure. The jet emission can provide a significant contribution in X-rays if it decelerates within the host galaxy on kiloparsec scales. We discuss the implications of this model in terms of jet dynamics and interaction with the ambient medium.« less

DNA-controlled assembly of a NaTl lattice structure from gold nanoparticles and protein nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cigler, Petr; Lytton-Jean, Abigail K. R.; Anderson, Daniel G.; Finn, M. G.; Park, Sung Yong

2010-11-01

The formation of diamond structures from tailorable building blocks is an important goal in colloidal crystallization because the non-compact diamond lattice is an essential component of photonic crystals for the visible-light range. However, designing nanoparticle systems that self-assemble into non-compact structures has proved difficult. Although several methods have been proposed, single-component nanoparticle assembly of a diamond structure has not been reported. Binary systems, in which at least one component is arranged in a diamond lattice, provide alternatives, but control of interparticle interactions is critical to this approach. DNA has been used for this purpose in a number of systems. Here we show the creation of a non-compact lattice by DNA-programmed crystallization using surface-modified Qβ phage capsid particles and gold nanoparticles, engineered to have similar effective radii. When combined with the proper connecting oligonucleotides, these components form NaTl-type colloidal crystalline structures containing interpenetrating organic and inorganic diamond lattices, as determined by small-angle X-ray scattering. DNA control of assembly is therefore shown to be compatible with particles possessing very different properties, as long as they are amenable to surface modification.

High-performance semiconductor quantum-dot single-photon sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Senellart, Pascale; Solomon, Glenn; White, Andrew

2017-11-01

Single photons are a fundamental element of most quantum optical technologies. The ideal single-photon source is an on-demand, deterministic, single-photon source delivering light pulses in a well-defined polarization and spatiotemporal mode, and containing exactly one photon. In addition, for many applications, there is a quantum advantage if the single photons are indistinguishable in all their degrees of freedom. Single-photon sources based on parametric down-conversion are currently used, and while excellent in many ways, scaling to large quantum optical systems remains challenging. In 2000, semiconductor quantum dots were shown to emit single photons, opening a path towards integrated single-photon sources. Here, we review the progress achieved in the past few years, and discuss remaining challenges. The latest quantum dot-based single-photon sources are edging closer to the ideal single-photon source, and have opened new possibilities for quantum technologies.

Quantum Communication with a High-Rate Entangled Photon Source

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, Nathaniel C.; Chaffee, Dalton W.; Lekki, John D.; Wilson, Jeffrey D.

2016-01-01

A high generation rate photon-pair source using a dual element periodically-poled potassium titanyl phosphate (PP KTP) waveguide is described. The photon-pair source features a high pair generation rate, a compact power-efficient package, and continuous wave (CW) or pulsed operation. Characterization and test results are presented. Details and preliminary results of a laboratory free-space QKD experiment with the B92 protocol are also presented.

Compact and Robust Refilling and Connectorization of Hollow Core Photonic Crystal Fiber Gas Reference Cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Poberezhskiy, Ilya Y.; Meras, Patrick; Chang, Daniel H.; Spiers, Gary D.

2007-01-01

This slide presentation reviews a method for refilling and connectorization of hollow core photonic crystal fiber gas reference cells. Thees hollow-core photonic crystal fiber allow optical propagation in air or vacuum and are for use as gas reference cell is proposed and demonstrated. It relies on torch-sealing a quartz filling tube connected to a mechanical splice between regular and hollow-core fibers.

Single photon source with individualized single photon certifications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Migdall, Alan L.; Branning, David A.; Castelletto, Stefania; Ware, M.

2002-12-01

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, 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.

A novel photonic crystal ring resonator configuration for add/drop filtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Juan; Liu, Hao; Ding, Yipeng; Wang, Yang

2018-07-01

A novel compact photonic crystal ring resonator (PCRR) configuration is proposed to realize high-efficiency waveguided add-drop filtering. Its wavelength selection and dropping-direction exchange functions are demonstrated numerically. The working mechanism of this nested dual-loop resonant cavity structure is analyzed in detail.

Compact tunable and reconfigurable microwave photonic filter for satellite payloads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santos, M. C.; Yoosefi, O.

2017-11-01

The trend towards the photonic processing of electrical signals at microwave frequencies for satellite payloads is increasing at a breathtaking pace, mainly spurred by prospects of wide electrical bandwidth operation, low mass and volume, reduced electrical noise levels, immunity to electromagnetic interferences and resistance to both temperature and radiation.

Compact and Robust Refilling and Connectorization of Hollow Core Photonic Crystal Fiber Gas Reference Cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Poberezhskiy, Ilya Y.; Meras, Patrick; Chang, Daniel H.; Spiers, Gary D.

2007-01-01

A simple method for evacuating, refilling and connectorizing hollow-core photonic crystal fiber for use asgas reference cell is proposed and demonstrated. It relies on torch-sealing a quartz filling tube connected to amechanical splice between regular and hollow-core fibers.

Tunable photonic cavities for in-situ spectroscopic trace gas detection

DOEpatents

Bond, Tiziana; Cole, Garrett; Goddard, Lynford

2012-11-13

Compact tunable optical cavities are provided for in-situ NIR spectroscopy. MEMS-tunable VCSEL platforms represents a solid foundation for a new class of compact, sensitive and fiber compatible sensors for fieldable, real-time, multiplexed gas detection systems. Detection limits for gases with NIR cross-sections such as O.sub.2, CH.sub.4, CO.sub.x and NO.sub.x have been predicted to approximately span from 10.sup.ths to 10s of parts per million. Exemplary oxygen detection design and a process for 760 nm continuously tunable VCSELS is provided. This technology enables in-situ self-calibrating platforms with adaptive monitoring by exploiting Photonic FPGAs.

A compact high-speed pnCCD camera for optical and x-ray applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ihle, Sebastian; Ordavo, Ivan; Bechteler, Alois; Hartmann, Robert; Holl, Peter; Liebel, Andreas; Meidinger, Norbert; Soltau, Heike; Strüder, Lothar; Weber, Udo

2012-07-01

We developed a camera with a 264 × 264 pixel pnCCD of 48 μm size (thickness 450 μm) for X-ray and optical applications. It has a high quantum efficiency and can be operated up to 400 / 1000 Hz (noise≍ 2:5 ° ENC / ≍4:0 ° ENC). High-speed astronomical observations can be performed with low light levels. Results of test measurements will be presented. The camera is well suitable for ground based preparation measurements for future X-ray missions. For X-ray single photons, the spatial position can be determined with significant sub-pixel resolution.

Continuous-variable quantum computing in optical time-frequency modes using quantum memories.

PubMed

Humphreys, Peter C; Kolthammer, W Steven; Nunn, Joshua; Barbieri, Marco; Datta, Animesh; Walmsley, Ian A

2014-09-26

We develop a scheme for time-frequency encoded continuous-variable cluster-state quantum computing using quantum memories. In particular, we propose a method to produce, manipulate, and measure two-dimensional cluster states in a single spatial mode by exploiting the intrinsic time-frequency selectivity of Raman quantum memories. Time-frequency encoding enables the scheme to be extremely compact, requiring a number of memories that are a linear function of only the number of different frequencies in which the computational state is encoded, independent of its temporal duration. We therefore show that quantum memories can be a powerful component for scalable photonic quantum information processing architectures.

Long-range surface plasmon polariton detection with a graphene photodetector.

PubMed

Ee, Ho-Seok; No, You-Shin; Kim, Jinhyung; Park, Hong-Gyu; Seo, Min-Kyo

2018-06-15

We present an integration of a single Ag nanowire (NW) with a graphene photodetector and demonstrate an efficient and compact detection of long-range surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). Atomically thin graphene provides an ideal platform to detect the evanescent electric field of SPPs extremely bound at the interface of the Ag NW and glass substrate. Scanning photocurrent microscopy directly visualizes a polarization-dependent excitation and detects the SPPs. The SPP detection responsivity is readily controlled up to ∼17  mA/W by the drain-source voltage. We believe that the graphene SPP detector will be a promising building block for highly integrated photonic and optoelectronic circuits.

Research on SOI-based micro-resonator devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Xi; Xu, Haihua; Hu, Yingtao; Zhou, Liang; Xiong, Kang; Li, Zhiyong; Li, Yuntao; Fan, Zhongchao; Han, Weihua; Yu, Yude; Yu, Jinzhong

2010-10-01

SOI (silicon-on-insulator)-based micro-resonator is the key building block of silicon photonics, which is considered as a promising solution to alleviate the bandwidth bottleneck of on-chip interconnects. Silicon-based sub-micron waveguide, microring and microdisk devices are investigated in Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The main progress in recent years is presented in this talk, such as high Q factor single mode microdisk filters, compact thirdorder microring filters with the through/drop port extinctions to be ~ 30/40 dB, fast microring electro-optical switches with the switch time of < 400 ps and crosstalk < -23 dB, and > 10 Gbit/s high speed microring modulators.

Efficient entanglement distribution over 200 kilometers.

PubMed

Dynes, J F; Takesue, H; Yuan, Z L; Sharpe, A W; Harada, K; Honjo, T; Kamada, H; Tadanaga, O; Nishida, Y; Asobe, M; Shields, A J

2009-07-06

Here we report the first demonstration of entanglement distribution over a record distance of 200 km which is of sufficient fidelity to realize secure communication. In contrast to previous entanglement distribution schemes, we use detection elements based on practical avalanche photodiodes (APDs) operating in a self-differencing mode. These APDs are low-cost, compact and easy to operate requiring only electrical cooling to achieve high single photon detection efficiency. The self-differencing APDs in combination with a reliable parametric down-conversion source demonstrate that entanglement distribution over ultra-long distances has become both possible and practical. Consequently the outlook is extremely promising for real world entanglement-based communication between distantly separated parties.

Ultra-compact and wide-spectrum-range thermo-optic switch based on silicon coupled photonic crystal microcavities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Xingyu, E-mail: xzhang@utexas.edu, E-mail: swapnajit.chakravarty@omegaoptics.com, E-mail: chenrt@austin.utexas.edu; Chung, Chi-Jui; Pan, Zeyu

2015-11-30

We design, fabricate, and experimentally demonstrate a compact thermo-optic gate switch comprising a 3.78 μm-long coupled L0-type photonic crystal microcavities on a silicon-on-insulator substrate. A nanohole is inserted in the center of each individual L0 photonic crystal microcavity. Coupling between identical microcavities gives rise to bonding and anti-bonding states of the coupled photonic molecules. The coupled photonic crystal microcavities are numerically simulated and experimentally verified with a 6 nm-wide flat-bottom resonance in its transmission spectrum, which enables wider operational spectrum range than microring resonators. An integrated micro-heater is in direct contact with the silicon core to efficiently drive the device. The thermo-opticmore » switch is measured with an optical extinction ratio of 20 dB, an on-off switching power of 18.2 mW, a thermo-optic tuning efficiency of 0.63 nm/mW, a rise time of 14.8 μs, and a fall time of 18.5 μs. The measured on-chip loss on the transmission band is as low as 1 dB.« less

Optimal Pulse Processing, Pile-Up Decomposition, and Applications of Silicon Drift Detectors at LCLS

DOE PAGES

Blaj, G.; Kenney, C. J.; Dragone, A.; ...

2017-10-11

Silicon drift detectors (SDDs) revolutionized spectroscopy in fields as diverse as geology and dentistry. For a subset of experiments at ultrafast, X-ray free-electron lasers (FELs), SDDs can make substantial contributions. Often the unknown spectrum is interesting, carrying science data, or the background measurement is useful to identify unexpected signals. Many measurements involve only several discrete photon energies known a priori, allowing single-event decomposition of pile-up and spectroscopic photon counting. We designed a pulse function and demonstrated that the signal amplitude (i.e., proportional to the detected energy and obtained from fitting with the pulse function), rise time, and pulse height aremore » interrelated, and at short peaking times, the pulse height and pulse area are not optimal estimators for detected energy; instead, the signal amplitude and rise time are obtained for each pulse by fitting, thus removing the need for pulse shaping. By avoiding pulse shaping, rise times of tens of nanoseconds resulted in reduced pulse pile-up and allowed decomposition of remaining pulse pile-up at photon separation times down to hundreds of nanoseconds while yielding time-of-arrival information with the precision of 10 ns. Waveform fitting yields simultaneously high energy resolution and high counting rates (two orders of magnitude higher than current digital pulse processors). At pulsed sources or high photon rates, photon pile-up still occurs. We showed that pile-up spectrum fitting is relatively simple and preferable to pile-up spectrum deconvolution. We then developed a photon pile-up statistical model for constant intensity sources, extended it to variable intensity sources (typical for FELs), and used it to fit a complex pileup spectrum. We subsequently developed a Bayesian pile-up decomposition method that allows decomposing pile-up of single events with up to six photons from six monochromatic lines with 99% accuracy. The usefulness of SDDs will continue into the X-ray FEL era of science. Their successors, the ePixS hybrid pixel detectors, already offer hundreds of pixels, each with a similar performance to an SDD, in a compact, robust and affordable package.« less

Optimal Pulse Processing, Pile-Up Decomposition, and Applications of Silicon Drift Detectors at LCLS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Blaj, G.; Kenney, C. J.; Dragone, A.

Silicon drift detectors (SDDs) revolutionized spectroscopy in fields as diverse as geology and dentistry. For a subset of experiments at ultrafast, X-ray free-electron lasers (FELs), SDDs can make substantial contributions. Often the unknown spectrum is interesting, carrying science data, or the background measurement is useful to identify unexpected signals. Many measurements involve only several discrete photon energies known a priori, allowing single-event decomposition of pile-up and spectroscopic photon counting. We designed a pulse function and demonstrated that the signal amplitude (i.e., proportional to the detected energy and obtained from fitting with the pulse function), rise time, and pulse height aremore » interrelated, and at short peaking times, the pulse height and pulse area are not optimal estimators for detected energy; instead, the signal amplitude and rise time are obtained for each pulse by fitting, thus removing the need for pulse shaping. By avoiding pulse shaping, rise times of tens of nanoseconds resulted in reduced pulse pile-up and allowed decomposition of remaining pulse pile-up at photon separation times down to hundreds of nanoseconds while yielding time-of-arrival information with the precision of 10 ns. Waveform fitting yields simultaneously high energy resolution and high counting rates (two orders of magnitude higher than current digital pulse processors). At pulsed sources or high photon rates, photon pile-up still occurs. We showed that pile-up spectrum fitting is relatively simple and preferable to pile-up spectrum deconvolution. We then developed a photon pile-up statistical model for constant intensity sources, extended it to variable intensity sources (typical for FELs), and used it to fit a complex pileup spectrum. We subsequently developed a Bayesian pile-up decomposition method that allows decomposing pile-up of single events with up to six photons from six monochromatic lines with 99% accuracy. The usefulness of SDDs will continue into the X-ray FEL era of science. Their successors, the ePixS hybrid pixel detectors, already offer hundreds of pixels, each with a similar performance to an SDD, in a compact, robust and affordable package.« less

Compact, multi-exposure speckle contrast optical spectroscopy (SCOS) device for measuring deep tissue blood flow

PubMed Central

Dragojević, Tanja; Hollmann, Joseph L.; Tamborini, Davide; Portaluppi, Davide; Buttafava, Mauro; Culver, Joseph P.; Villa, Federica; Durduran, Turgut

2017-01-01

Speckle contrast optical spectroscopy (SCOS) measures absolute blood flow in deep tissue, by taking advantage of multi-distance (previously reported in the literature) or multi-exposure (reported here) approach. This method promises to use inexpensive detectors to obtain good signal-to-noise ratio, but it has not yet been implemented in a suitable manner for a mass production. Here we present a new, compact, low power consumption, 32 by 2 single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) array that has no readout noise, low dead time and has high sensitivity in low light conditions, such as in vivo measurements. To demonstrate the capability to measure blood flow in deep tissue, healthy volunteers were measured, showing no significant differences from the diffuse correlation spectroscopy. In the future, this array can be miniaturized to a low-cost, robust, battery operated wireless device paving the way for measuring blood flow in a wide-range of applications from sport injury recovery and training to, on-field concussion detection to wearables. PMID:29359106

A Compact Mobile Ozone Lidar for Atmospheric Ozone and Aerosol Profiling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

De Young, Russell; Carrion, William; Pliutau, Denis

2014-01-01

A compact mobile differential absorption lidar (DIAL) system has been developed at NASA Langley Research Center to provide ozone, aerosol and cloud atmospheric measurements in a mobile trailer for ground-based atmospheric ozone air quality campaigns. This lidar is integrated into the Tropospheric Ozone Lidar Network (TOLNet) currently made up of four other ozone lidars across the country. The lidar system consists of a UV and green laser transmitter, a telescope and an optical signal receiver with associated Licel photon counting and analog channels. The laser transmitter consist of a Q-switched Nd:YLF inter-cavity doubled laser pumping a Ce:LiCAF tunable UV laser with all the associated power and lidar control support units on a single system rack. The system has been configured to enable mobile operation from a trailer and was deployed to Denver, CO July 15-August 15, 2014 supporting the DISCOVER-AQ campaign. Ozone curtain plots and the resulting science are presented.

Graphene-silicon phase modulators with gigahertz bandwidth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sorianello, V.; Midrio, M.; Contestabile, G.; Asselberghs, I.; Van Campenhout, J.; Huyghebaert, C.; Goykhman, I.; Ott, A. K.; Ferrari, A. C.; Romagnoli, M.

2018-01-01

The modulator is a key component in optical communications. Several graphene-based amplitude modulators have been reported based on electro-absorption. However, graphene phase modulators (GPMs) are necessary for functions such as applying complex modulation formats or making switches or phased arrays. Here, we present a 10 Gb s-1 GPM integrated in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer configuration. This is a compact device based on a graphene-insulator-silicon capacitor, with a phase-shifter length of 300 μm and extinction ratio of 35 dB. The GPM has a modulation efficiency of 0.28 V cm at 1,550 nm. It has 5 GHz electro-optical bandwidth and operates at 10 Gb s-1 with 2 V peak-to-peak driving voltage in a push-pull configuration for binary transmission of a non-return-to-zero data stream over 50 km of single-mode fibre. This device is the key building block for graphene-based integrated photonics, enabling compact and energy-efficient hybrid graphene-silicon modulators for telecom, datacom and other applications.

A compact acousto-optic lens for 2D and 3D femtosecond based 2-photon microscopy

PubMed Central

Kirkby, Paul A.; Naga Srinivas, N.K.M.; Silver, R. Angus

2010-01-01

We describe a high speed 3D Acousto-Optic Lens Microscope (AOLM) for femtosecond 2-photon imaging. By optimizing the design of the 4 AO Deflectors (AODs) and by deriving new control algorithms, we have developed a compact spherical AOL with a low temporal dispersion that enables 2-photon imaging at 10-fold lower power than previously reported. We show that the AOLM can perform high speed 2D raster-scan imaging (>150 Hz) without scan rate dependent astigmatism. It can deflect and focus a laser beam in a 3D random access sequence at 30 kHz and has an extended focusing range (>137 μm; 40X 0.8NA objective). These features are likely to make the AOLM a useful tool for studying fast physiological processes distributed in 3D space PMID:20588506

Hybrid quantum gates between flying photon and diamond nitrogen-vacancy centers assisted by optical microcavities

PubMed Central

Wei, Hai-Rui; Lu Long, Gui

2015-01-01

Hybrid quantum gates hold great promise for quantum information processing since they preserve the advantages of different quantum systems. Here we present compact quantum circuits to deterministically implement controlled-NOT, Toffoli, and Fredkin gates between a flying photon qubit and diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers assisted by microcavities. The target qubits of these universal quantum gates are encoded on the spins of the electrons associated with the diamond NV centers and they have long coherence time for storing information, and the control qubit is encoded on the polarizations of the flying photon and can be easily manipulated. Our quantum circuits are compact, economic, and simple. Moreover, they do not require additional qubits. The complexity of our schemes for universal three-qubit gates is much reduced, compared to the synthesis with two-qubit entangling gates. These schemes have high fidelities and efficiencies, and they are feasible in experiment. PMID:26271899

Compact photonic crystal circulator with flat-top transmission band created by cascading magneto-optical resonance cavities.

PubMed

Wang, Qiong; Ouyang, Zhengbiao; Lin, Mi; Liu, Qiang

2015-11-20

A new type of compact three-port circulator with flat-top transmission band (FTTB) in a two-dimensional photonic crystal has been proposed, through coupling the cascaded magneto-optical resonance cavities to waveguides. The coupled-mode theory is applied to investigate the coupled structure and analyze the condition to achieve FTTB. According to the theoretical analysis, the structure is further optimized to ensure that the condition for achieving FTTB can be satisfied for both cavity-cavity coupling and cavity-waveguide coupling. Through the finite-element method, it is demonstrated that the design can realize a high quality, nonreciprocal circulating propagation of waves with an insertion loss of 0.023 dB and an isolation of 23.3 dB, covering a wide range of operation frequency. Such a wideband circulator has potential applications in large-scale integrated photonic circuits for guiding or isolating harmful optical reflections from load elements.

Ground-to-satellite quantum teleportation.

PubMed

Ren, Ji-Gang; Xu, Ping; Yong, Hai-Lin; Zhang, Liang; Liao, Sheng-Kai; Yin, Juan; Liu, Wei-Yue; Cai, Wen-Qi; Yang, Meng; Li, Li; Yang, Kui-Xing; Han, Xuan; Yao, Yong-Qiang; Li, Ji; Wu, Hai-Yan; Wan, Song; Liu, Lei; Liu, Ding-Quan; Kuang, Yao-Wu; He, Zhi-Ping; Shang, Peng; Guo, Cheng; Zheng, Ru-Hua; Tian, Kai; Zhu, Zhen-Cai; Liu, Nai-Le; Lu, Chao-Yang; Shu, Rong; Chen, Yu-Ao; Peng, Cheng-Zhi; Wang, Jian-Yu; Pan, Jian-Wei

2017-09-07

An arbitrary unknown quantum state cannot be measured precisely or replicated perfectly. However, quantum teleportation enables unknown quantum states to be transferred reliably from one object to another over long distances, without physical travelling of the object itself. Long-distance teleportation is a fundamental element of protocols such as large-scale quantum networks and distributed quantum computation. But the distances over which transmission was achieved in previous teleportation experiments, which used optical fibres and terrestrial free-space channels, were limited to about 100 kilometres, owing to the photon loss of these channels. To realize a global-scale 'quantum internet' the range of quantum teleportation needs to be greatly extended. A promising way of doing so involves using satellite platforms and space-based links, which can connect two remote points on Earth with greatly reduced channel loss because most of the propagation path of the photons is in empty space. Here we report quantum teleportation of independent single-photon qubits from a ground observatory to a low-Earth-orbit satellite, through an uplink channel, over distances of up to 1,400 kilometres. To optimize the efficiency of the link and to counter the atmospheric turbulence in the uplink, we use a compact ultra-bright source of entangled photons, a narrow beam divergence and high-bandwidth and high-accuracy acquiring, pointing and tracking. We demonstrate successful quantum teleportation of six input states in mutually unbiased bases with an average fidelity of 0.80 ± 0.01, well above the optimal state-estimation fidelity on a single copy of a qubit (the classical limit). Our demonstration of a ground-to-satellite uplink for reliable and ultra-long-distance quantum teleportation is an essential step towards a global-scale quantum internet.

Ground-to-satellite quantum teleportation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, Ji-Gang; Xu, Ping; Yong, Hai-Lin; Zhang, Liang; Liao, Sheng-Kai; Yin, Juan; Liu, Wei-Yue; Cai, Wen-Qi; Yang, Meng; Li, Li; Yang, Kui-Xing; Han, Xuan; Yao, Yong-Qiang; Li, Ji; Wu, Hai-Yan; Wan, Song; Liu, Lei; Liu, Ding-Quan; Kuang, Yao-Wu; He, Zhi-Ping; Shang, Peng; Guo, Cheng; Zheng, Ru-Hua; Tian, Kai; Zhu, Zhen-Cai; Liu, Nai-Le; Lu, Chao-Yang; Shu, Rong; Chen, Yu-Ao; Peng, Cheng-Zhi; Wang, Jian-Yu; Pan, Jian-Wei

2017-09-01

An arbitrary unknown quantum state cannot be measured precisely or replicated perfectly. However, quantum teleportation enables unknown quantum states to be transferred reliably from one object to another over long distances, without physical travelling of the object itself. Long-distance teleportation is a fundamental element of protocols such as large-scale quantum networks and distributed quantum computation. But the distances over which transmission was achieved in previous teleportation experiments, which used optical fibres and terrestrial free-space channels, were limited to about 100 kilometres, owing to the photon loss of these channels. To realize a global-scale ‘quantum internet’ the range of quantum teleportation needs to be greatly extended. A promising way of doing so involves using satellite platforms and space-based links, which can connect two remote points on Earth with greatly reduced channel loss because most of the propagation path of the photons is in empty space. Here we report quantum teleportation of independent single-photon qubits from a ground observatory to a low-Earth-orbit satellite, through an uplink channel, over distances of up to 1,400 kilometres. To optimize the efficiency of the link and to counter the atmospheric turbulence in the uplink, we use a compact ultra-bright source of entangled photons, a narrow beam divergence and high-bandwidth and high-accuracy acquiring, pointing and tracking. We demonstrate successful quantum teleportation of six input states in mutually unbiased bases with an average fidelity of 0.80 ± 0.01, well above the optimal state-estimation fidelity on a single copy of a qubit (the classical limit). Our demonstration of a ground-to-satellite uplink for reliable and ultra-long-distance quantum teleportation is an essential step towards a global-scale quantum internet.

Electrically driven polarized single-photon emission from an InGaN quantum dot in a GaN nanowire.

PubMed

Deshpande, Saniya; Heo, Junseok; Das, Ayan; Bhattacharya, Pallab

2013-01-01

In a classical light source, such as a laser, the photon number follows a Poissonian distribution. For quantum information processing and metrology applications, a non-classical emitter of single photons is required. A single quantum dot is an ideal source of single photons and such single-photon sources in the visible spectral range have been demonstrated with III-nitride and II-VI-based single quantum dots. It has been suggested that short-wavelength blue single-photon emitters would be useful for free-space quantum cryptography, with the availability of high-speed single-photon detectors in this spectral region. Here we demonstrate blue single-photon emission with electrical injection from an In0.25Ga0.75N quantum dot in a single nanowire. The emitted single photons are linearly polarized along the c axis of the nanowire with a degree of linear polarization of ~70%.

Manipulation of a two-photon state in a χ(2)-modulated nonlinear waveguide array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Y.; Xu, P.; Lu, L. L.; Zhu, S. N.

2014-10-01

We propose to engineer the quantum state in a high-dimensional Hilbert space by taking advantage of a χ(2)-modulated nonlinear waveguide array. By varying the pump condition and the waveguide array length, the momentum correlation between the signal and idler photons can be manipulated, exhibiting bunching, antibunching, and the evolution between these two states, which are characterized by the Schmidt number. We find the Schmidt number is dependent on a structure parameter, namely the ratio of the array length and the number of channels pumped. By designing the linear profile waveguide array, the degree of spatial entanglement shows a periodic relationship with the slope of linear profile, during which a high degree of position-bunching state is suggested. The two-photon self-focusing effect is disclosed when the χ(2) modulation in the waveguide array contains a parabolic profile, which can be designed for efficient coupling between a waveguide array and fibers. These results shed light on a feasible way to achieve desirable quantum state on a single waveguide chip by a compact engineering of χ(2) and also suggest a degree of freedom for quantum walk and other related applications.

Instrument for all-fiber structure measurement of ultra-low turbidity by using single photon detection technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Feihu; Hu, Juntao; Wang, Huanqin; Gui, Huaqiao; Liu, Jianguo; Lü, Liang; Kong, Deyi; Zhang, Jian; Han, Xia; Wang, Tianli

2017-10-01

An all-fiber structure detection system based on single photon detection technique(SPDT) has been developed to measure the ultra-low turbidity ofliquids. To assure the measurement accuracy,the total intensity of transmission light has been detected and quantified as number of photons by avalanche photodiode (APD) which has the advantage of high sensitivity.A fresh all-fiber structure optical fiber probe based on SPDT is applied in the system to reduce the volume and fluctuation of traditional transmission-light measurement system,in which the all-fiber structure probe is used to delivery and collection of transmission light.On the basis of Beer-Lambert (B-L) transmission law,a test system has been established and carried out a series of experiments.By combining B-Llaw with the principle of SPDT,a novel model for detecting turbidity has been proposed to explain the experimental results.The results have shown a well exponential relationship over the range of 0.01-1NTU (Nephelometric Turbidity Units).It also has showna good linear relationship with a resolution as high as 0.01NTUin the range of 0.01-0.09 NTU.When it is 1 secondofthe sampling time,the mean error of measurement result can be controlled within 5% of full scale.In addition,the new detection structure proposed in this paper, which makes the system more compact and more suitable in the small special space.

Ultra-compact laser beam steering device using holographically formed two dimensional photonic crystal.

PubMed

Dou, Xinyuan; Chen, Xiaonan; Chen, Maggie Yihong; Wang, Alan Xiaolong; Jiang, Wei; Chen, Ray T

2010-03-01

In this paper, we report the theoretical study of polymer-based photonic crystals for laser beam steering which is based on the superprism effect as well as the experiment fabrication of the two dimensional photonic crystals for the laser beam steering. Superprism effect, the principle for beam steering, was separately studied in details through EFC (Equifrequency Contour) analysis. Polymer based photonic crystals were fabricated through double exposure holographic interference method using SU8-2007. The experiment results showed a beam steering angle of 10 degree for 30 nm wavelength variation.

High-performance silicon photonics technology for telecommunications applications.

PubMed

Yamada, Koji; Tsuchizawa, Tai; Nishi, Hidetaka; Kou, Rai; Hiraki, Tatsurou; Takeda, Kotaro; Fukuda, Hiroshi; Ishikawa, Yasuhiko; Wada, Kazumi; Yamamoto, Tsuyoshi

2014-04-01

By way of a brief review of Si photonics technology, we show that significant improvements in device performance are necessary for practical telecommunications applications. In order to improve device performance in Si photonics, we have developed a Si-Ge-silica monolithic integration platform, on which compact Si-Ge-based modulators/detectors and silica-based high-performance wavelength filters are monolithically integrated. The platform features low-temperature silica film deposition, which cannot damage Si-Ge-based active devices. Using this platform, we have developed various integrated photonic devices for broadband telecommunications applications.

High-performance silicon photonics technology for telecommunications applications

PubMed Central

Yamada, Koji; Tsuchizawa, Tai; Nishi, Hidetaka; Kou, Rai; Hiraki, Tatsurou; Takeda, Kotaro; Fukuda, Hiroshi; Ishikawa, Yasuhiko; Wada, Kazumi; Yamamoto, Tsuyoshi

2014-01-01

By way of a brief review of Si photonics technology, we show that significant improvements in device performance are necessary for practical telecommunications applications. In order to improve device performance in Si photonics, we have developed a Si-Ge-silica monolithic integration platform, on which compact Si-Ge–based modulators/detectors and silica-based high-performance wavelength filters are monolithically integrated. The platform features low-temperature silica film deposition, which cannot damage Si-Ge–based active devices. Using this platform, we have developed various integrated photonic devices for broadband telecommunications applications. PMID:27877659

High-performance silicon photonics technology for telecommunications applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamada, Koji; Tsuchizawa, Tai; Nishi, Hidetaka; Kou, Rai; Hiraki, Tatsurou; Takeda, Kotaro; Fukuda, Hiroshi; Ishikawa, Yasuhiko; Wada, Kazumi; Yamamoto, Tsuyoshi

2014-04-01

By way of a brief review of Si photonics technology, we show that significant improvements in device performance are necessary for practical telecommunications applications. In order to improve device performance in Si photonics, we have developed a Si-Ge-silica monolithic integration platform, on which compact Si-Ge-based modulators/detectors and silica-based high-performance wavelength filters are monolithically integrated. The platform features low-temperature silica film deposition, which cannot damage Si-Ge-based active devices. Using this platform, we have developed various integrated photonic devices for broadband telecommunications applications.

Magnetic Photon Splitting: The S-Matrix Formulation in the Landau Representation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baring, Matthew G.

1999-01-01

Calculations of reaction rates for the third-order QED process of photon splitting gamma yields gamma.gamma in strong magnetic fields traditionally have employed either the effective Lagrangian method or variants of Schwinger's proper-time technique. Recently, Mentzel, Berg and Wunner [1] presented an alternative derivation via an S-matrix formulation in the Landau representation. Advantages of such a formulation include the ability to compute rates near pair resonances above pair threshold. This paper presents new developments of the Landau representation formalism as applied to photon splitting, providing significant, advances beyond the work of [1] by summing over the spin quantum numbers of the electron propagators, and analytically integrating over the component of momentum of the intermediate states that is parallel to field. The ensuing tractable expressions for the scattering amplitudes are satisfyingly compact, and of an appearance familiar to S-matrix theory applications. Such developments can facilitate numerical computations of splitting considerably both below and above pair threshold. Specializations to two regimes of interest are obtained, namely the limit of highly supercritical fields and the domain where photon energies are far inferior to that for the threshold of single-photon pair creation. In particular, for the first time the low-frequency amplitudes are simply expressed in terms of the Gamma function, its integral and its derivatives. In addition, the equivalence of the asymptotic forms in these two domains to extant results from effective Lagrangian/proper- time formulations is demonstrated.

Hyperuniform disordered photonic bandgap materials, from microwave to infrared wavelength regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Man, Weining

Recently, we have introduced a new class of hyperuniform disordered (HUD) photonic bandgap (PBG) materials enabled by a novel constrained optimization method for engineering the material's Fourier transform to be continuous, isotropic and stealthy. Their structure factor S (k) is equal to zero for small kand exhibits a broad ring of maximum values around a characteristic wave-length range. Experimentally, an isotropic complete PBG (at all angles and for all polarizations) in an alumina-based HUD structure and single-polarized PBGs for plastic-based HUD structure have been demonstrated. Using measured and simulated transmission and phase delay information through these HUD structures, we also unfolded their band structures and reconstructed the effective dispersion relations of propagating electromagnetic modes in them. The intrinsic isotropy in these disordered structures is an inherent advantage associated with the lack of crystalline order, offering unprecedented freedom for functional defect design impossible to achieve in photonic crystals. In the microwave regime, we have shown the creation of freeform waveguides, which can channel photons robustly along arbitrarily curved paths and around sharp bends, and be decorated with defects to produce sharply resonant structures useful for filtering and frequency splitting. Recent simulation and experimental results for waveguides and modulators based on submicron-scale planar hyperuniform disordered PBG structures further highlight their ability to serve as highly compact, flexible and energy-efficient platforms for photonic integrated circuits. NSF DMR-1308084, EPSRC (UK) DTG Grant KD5050, EPSRC (UK) Strategic Equipment Grant EP/M008576/1, NSF SBIR-1345168, NSF MRI-1040444.

Applications of High-Q Microresonators in Cavity Optomechanics and Nonlinear Photonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Wei C.

Optical microresonators confining light to small volumes are indispensable for a great variety of studies and applications. This thesis is devoted to a study of cavity optomechanical and nonlinear optical phenomena in high-Q microresonators with different materials and structures. Based on that, it proposes and demonstrates several novel schemes and device platforms that exhibit great potential for various applications ranging from frequency metrology and quantum photonics, to information processing and sensing. The thesis starts with a demonstration of a high-frequency (above 1 GHz) regenerative optomechanical oscillator based on a 2-mum-radius high-Q silicon microdisk resonator in the silicon-on-insulator platform with an ultra-low threshold pump power at room temperature and atmosphere. It then continues to explore the cavity optomechanics in single-crystal lithium niobate. A compact lithium niobate microdisk optomechanical resonator with high optical and mechanical qualities, large optomechanical coupling, and high mechanical frequency is achieved, enabling the demonstration of regenerative oscillation in the ambience. Meanwhile, I propose and investigate a novel approach for single molecule detection that utilizes the optical spring effect in a high-Q coherent optomechanical oscillator to dramatically enhance the sensing resolution by orders of magnitude compared with conventional resonator-based approaches. In particular, a high-Q silica microsphere is employed to experimentally demonstrate the detection of single Bovine Serum Albumin proteins with a molecular weight of 66 kDalton at a signal-to-noise ratio of 16.8. On the other hand, the thesis focuses on the theoretical and experimental investigation of the generation of high-purity bright photon pairs in a silicon microdisk based on the cavity enhanced four-wave mixing. The device is able to produce multiple photon pairs at different wavelengths in the telecom band with a high spectral brightness of 6.24 x 107 pairs/s/mW 2/GHz and photon-pair correlation with a coincidence-to-accidental ratio of 1386+/-278 while pumped with a continuous-wave laser. Finally, an intriguing approach is proposed for dispersion dynamic tuning and micro-engineering, by taking advantage of the optical forces in nano-optomechanical structures. The proposed approach exhibits great potential for broad applications in dispersion-sensitive processes, which not only offer a new root towards versatile tunable nonlinear photonics, but may also open up a great avenue towards a new regime of nonlinear dynamics coupling between nonlinear optical and optomechanical effects.

Luneburg lens in silicon photonics.

PubMed

Di Falco, Andrea; Kehr, Susanne C; Leonhardt, Ulf

2011-03-14

The Luneburg lens is an aberration-free lens that focuses light from all directions equally well. We fabricated and tested a Luneburg lens in silicon photonics. Such fully-integrated lenses may become the building blocks of compact Fourier optics on chips. Furthermore, our fabrication technique is sufficiently versatile for making perfect imaging devices on silicon platforms.

Circular Dichroism Control of Tungsten Diselenide (WSe2) Atomic Layers with Plasmonic Metamolecules.

PubMed

Lin, Hsiang-Ting; Chang, Chiao-Yun; Cheng, Pi-Ju; Li, Ming-Yang; Cheng, Chia-Chin; Chang, Shu-Wei; Li, Lance L J; Chu, Chih-Wei; Wei, Pei-Kuen; Shih, Min-Hsiung

2018-05-09

Controlling circularly polarized (CP) states of light is critical to the development of functional devices for key and emerging applications such as display technology and quantum communication, and the compact circular polarization-tunable photon source is one critical element to realize the applications in the chip-scale integrated system. The atomic layers of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) exhibit intrinsic CP emissions and are potential chiroptical materials for ultrathin CP photon sources. In this work, we demonstrated CP photon sources of TMDCs with device thicknesses approximately 50 nm. CP photoluminescence from the atomic layers of tungsten diselenide (WSe 2 ) was precisely controlled with chiral metamolecules (MMs), and the optical chirality of WSe 2 was enhanced more than 4 times by integrating with the MMs. Both the enhanced and reversed circular dichroisms had been achieved. Through integrations of the novel gain material and plasmonic structure which are both low-dimensional, a compact device capable of efficiently manipulating emissions of CP photon was realized. These ultrathin devices are suitable for important applications such as the optical information technology and chip-scale biosensing.

Recent advances and progress in photonic crystal-based gas sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goyal, Amit Kumar; Sankar Dutta, Hemant; Pal, Suchandan

2017-05-01

This review covers the recent progress made in the photonic crystal-based sensing technology for gas sensing applications. Photonic crystal-based sensing has tremendous potential because of its obvious advantages in sensitivity, stability, miniaturisation, portability, online use, remote monitoring etc. Several 1D and 2D photonic crystal structures including photonic crystal waveguides and cavities for gas sensing applications have been discussed in this review. For each kind of photonic crystal structure, the novelty, measurement principle and their respective gas sensing properties are presented. The reported works and the corresponding results predict the possibility to realize a commercially viable miniaturized and highly sensitive photonic crystal-based optical gas sensor having flexibility in the structure of ultra-compact size with excellent sensing properties.

High brightness diode laser module development at nLIGHT Photonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Price, Kirk; Karlsen, Scott; Brown, Aaron; Reynolds, Mitch; Mehl, Ron; Leisher, Paul; Patterson, Steve; Bell, Jake; Martinsen, Rob

2009-05-01

We report on the development of ultra-high brightness laser diode modules at nLIGHT Photonics. This paper demonstrates a laser diode module capable of coupling over 100W at 976 nm into a 105 μm, 0.15 NA fiber with fiber coupling efficiency greater than 85%. The high brightness module has an optical excitation under 0.13 NA, is virtually free of cladding modes, and has been wavelength stabilized with the use of volume holographic gratings for narrow-band operation. Utilizing nLIGHT's Pearl product architecture, these modules are based on hard soldered single emitters packaged into a compact and passively-cooled package. These modules are designed to be compatible with high power 7:1 fused fiber combiners, enabling over 500W power coupled into a 220 μm, 0.22 NA fiber. These modules address the need in the market for high brightness and wavelength stabilized diode lasers for pumping fiber lasers and solid-state laser systems.

A 32-channel photon counting module with embedded auto/cross-correlators for real-time parallel fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gong, S.; Labanca, I.; Rech, I.

2014-10-15

Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) is a well-established technique to study binding interactions or the diffusion of fluorescently labeled biomolecules in vitro and in vivo. Fast FCS experiments require parallel data acquisition and analysis which can be achieved by exploiting a multi-channel Single Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) array and a corresponding multi-input correlator. This paper reports a 32-channel FPGA based correlator able to perform 32 auto/cross-correlations simultaneously over a lag-time ranging from 10 ns up to 150 ms. The correlator is included in a 32 × 1 SPAD array module, providing a compact and flexible instrument for high throughput FCS experiments.more » However, some inherent features of SPAD arrays, namely afterpulsing and optical crosstalk effects, may introduce distortions in the measurement of auto- and cross-correlation functions. We investigated these limitations to assess their impact on the module and evaluate possible workarounds.« less

Time-resolved confocal fluorescence microscopy: novel technical features and applications for FLIM, FRET and FCS using a sophisticated data acquisition concept in TCSPC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koberling, Felix; Krämer, Benedikt; Kapusta, Peter; Patting, Matthias; Wahl, Michael; Erdmann, Rainer

2007-05-01

In recent years time-resolved fluorescence measurement and analysis techniques became a standard in single molecule microscopy. However, considering the equipment and experimental implementation they are typically still an add-on and offer only limited possibilities to study the mutual dependencies with common intensity and spectral information. In contrast, we are using a specially designed instrument with an unrestricted photon data acquisition approach which allows to store spatial, temporal, spectral and intensity information in a generalized format preserving the full experimental information. This format allows us not only to easily study dependencies between various fluorescence parameters but also to use, for example, the photon arrival time for sorting and weighting the detected photons to improve the significance in common FCS and FRET analysis schemes. The power of this approach will be demonstrated for different techniques: In FCS experiments the concentration determination accuracy can be easily improved by a simple time-gated photon analysis to suppress the fast decaying background signal. A more detailed analysis of the arrival times allows even to separate FCS curves for species which differ in their fluorescence lifetime but, for example, cannot be distinguished spectrally. In multichromophoric systems like a photonic wire which undergoes unidirectional multistep FRET the lifetime information complements significantly the intensity based analysis and helps to assign the respective FRET partners. Moreover, together with pulsed excitation the time-correlated analysis enables directly to take advantage of alternating multi-colour laser excitation. This pulsed interleaved excitation (PIE) can be used to identify and rule out inactive FRET molecules which cause interfering artefacts in standard FRET efficiency analysis. We used a piezo scanner based confocal microscope with compact picosecond diode lasers as excitation sources. The timing performance can be significantly increased by using new SPAD detectors which enable, in conjunction with new TCSPC electronics, an overall IRF width of less than 120 ps maintaining single molecule sensitivity.

Near-space flight of a correlated photon system

PubMed Central

Tang, Zhongkan; Chandrasekara, Rakhitha; Sean, Yau Yong; Cheng, Cliff; Wildfeuer, Christoph; Ling, Alexander

2014-01-01

We report the successful test flight of a device for generating and monitoring correlated photon pairs under near-space conditions up to 35.5 km altitude. Data from ground based qualification tests and the high altitude experiment demonstrate that the device continues to operate even under harsh environmental conditions. The design of the rugged, compact and power-efficient photon pair system is presented. This design enables autonomous photon pair systems to be deployed on low-resource platforms such as nanosatellites hosting remote nodes of a quantum key distribution network. These results pave the way for tests of entangled photon technology in low earth orbit. PMID:25219935

FDTD and transfer matrix methods for evaluating the performance of photonic crystal based microcavities for exciton-polaritons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yi-Cheng; Byrnes, Tim

2016-11-01

We investigate alternative microcavity structures for exciton-polaritons consisting of photonic crystals instead of distributed Bragg reflectors. Finite-difference time-domain simulations and scattering transfer matrix methods are used to evaluate the cavity performance. The results are compared with conventional distributed Bragg reflectors. We find that in terms of the photon lifetime, the photonic crystal based microcavities are competitive, with typical lifetimes in the region of ∼20 ps being achieved. The photonic crystal microcavities have the advantage that they are compact and are frequency adjustable, showing that they are viable to investigate exciton-polariton condensation physics.

Heralded noiseless amplification for single-photon entangled state with polarization feature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Dan-Dan; Jin, Yu-Yu; Qin, Sheng-Xian; Zu, Hao; Zhou, Lan; Zhong, Wei; Sheng, Yu-Bo

2018-03-01

Heralded noiseless amplification is a promising method to overcome the transmission photon loss in practical noisy quantum channel and can effectively lengthen the quantum communication distance. Single-photon entanglement is an important resource in current quantum communications. Here, we construct two single-photon-assisted heralded noiseless amplification protocols for the single-photon two-mode entangled state and single-photon three-mode W state, respectively, where the single-photon qubit has an arbitrary unknown polarization feature. After the amplification, the fidelity of the single-photon entangled state can be increased, while the polarization feature of the single-photon qubit can be well remained. Both the two protocols only require the linear optical elements, so that they can be realized under current experimental condition. Our protocols may be useful in current and future quantum information processing.

Autocorrelation measurement of femtosecond laser pulses based on two-photon absorption in GaP photodiode

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chong, E. Z.; Watson, T. F.; Festy, F., E-mail: frederic.festy@kcl.ac.uk

2014-08-11

Semiconductor materials which exhibit two-photon absorption characteristic within a spectral region of interest can be useful in building an ultra-compact interferometric autocorrelator. In this paper, we report on the evidence of a nonlinear absorption process in GaP photodiodes which was exploited to measure the temporal profile of femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser pulses with a tunable peak wavelength above 680 nm. The two-photon mediated conductivity measurements were performed at an average laser power of less than a few tenths of milliwatts. Its suitability as a single detector in a broadband autocorrelator setup was assessed by investigating the nonlinear spectral sensitivity bandwidth of amore » GaP photodiode. The highly favourable nonlinear response was found to cover the entire tuning range of our Ti:sapphire laser and can potentially be extended to wavelengths below 680 nm. We also demonstrated the flexibility of GaP in determining the optimum compensation value of the group delay dispersion required to restore the positively chirped pulses inherent in our experimental optical system to the shortest pulse width possible. With the rise in the popularity of nonlinear microscopy, the broad two-photon response of GaP and the simplicity of this technique can provide an alternative way of measuring the excitation laser pulse duration at the focal point of any microscopy systems.« less

Integrated optical sensors for 2D spatial chemical mapping (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flores, Raquel; Janeiro, Ricardo; Viegas, Jaime

2017-02-01

Sensors based on optical waveguides for chemical sensing have attracted increasing interest over the last two decades, fueled by potential applications in commercial lab-on-a-chip devices for medical and food safety industries. Even though the early studies were oriented for single-point detection, progress in device size reduction and device yield afforded by photonics foundries have opened the opportunity for distributed dynamic chemical sensing at the microscale. This will allow researchers to follow the dynamics of chemical species in field of microbiology, and microchemistry, with a complementary method to current technologies based on microfluorescence and hyperspectral imaging. The study of the chemical dynamics at the surface of photoelectrodes in water splitting cells are a good candidate to benefit from such optochemical sensing devices that includes a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) with multiple sensors for real-time detection and spatial mapping of chemical species. In this project, we present experimental results on a prototype integrated optical system for chemical mapping based on the interaction of cascaded resonant optical devices, spatially covered with chemically sensitive polymers and plasmon-enhanced nanostructured metal/metal-oxide claddings offering chemical selectivity in a pixelated surface. In order to achieve a compact footprint, the prototype is based in a silicon photonics platform. A discussion on the relative merits of a photonic platform based on large bandgap metal oxides and nitrides which have higher chemical resistance than silicon is also presented.

Investigating and Improving Student Understanding of Quantum Mechanics in the Context of Single Photon Interference

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marshman, Emily; Singh, Chandralekha

2017-01-01

Single photon experiments involving a Mach-Zehnder interferometer can illustrate the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics, e.g., the wave-particle duality of a single photon, single photon interference, and the probabilistic nature of quantum measurement involving single photons. These experiments explicitly make the connection between the…

Quantum optics. All-optical routing of single photons by a one-atom switch controlled by a single photon.

PubMed

Shomroni, Itay; Rosenblum, Serge; Lovsky, Yulia; Bechler, Orel; Guendelman, Gabriel; Dayan, Barak

2014-08-22

The prospect of quantum networks, in which quantum information is carried by single photons in photonic circuits, has long been the driving force behind the effort to achieve all-optical routing of single photons. We realized a single-photon-activated switch capable of routing a photon from any of its two inputs to any of its two outputs. Our device is based on a single atom coupled to a fiber-coupled, chip-based microresonator. A single reflected control photon toggles the switch from high reflection (R ~ 65%) to high transmission (T ~ 90%), with an average of ~1.5 control photons per switching event (~3, including linear losses). No additional control fields are required. The control and target photons are both in-fiber and practically identical, making this scheme compatible with scalable architectures for quantum information processing. Copyright © 2014, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Compact high-resolution spectrographs for large and extremely large telescopes: using the diffraction limit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robertson, J. Gordon; Bland-Hawthorn, Joss

2012-09-01

As telescopes get larger, the size of a seeing-limited spectrograph for a given resolving power becomes larger also, and for ELTs the size will be so great that high resolution instruments of simple design will be infeasible. Solutions include adaptive optics (but not providing full correction for short wavelengths) or image slicers (which give feasible but still large instruments). Here we develop the solution proposed by Bland-Hawthorn and Horton: the use of diffraction-limited spectrographs which are compact even for high resolving power. Their use is made possible by the photonic lantern, which splits a multi-mode optical fiber into a number of single-mode fibers. We describe preliminary designs for such spectrographs, at a resolving power of R ~ 50,000. While they are small and use relatively simple optics, the challenges are to accommodate the longest possible fiber slit (hence maximum number of single-mode fibers in one spectrograph) and to accept the beam from each fiber at a focal ratio considerably faster than for most spectrograph collimators, while maintaining diffraction-limited imaging quality. It is possible to obtain excellent performance despite these challenges. We also briefly consider the number of such spectrographs required, which can be reduced by full or partial adaptive optics correction, and/or moving towards longer wavelengths.

Time-resolved scattering of a single photon by a single atom

PubMed Central

Leong, Victor; Seidler, Mathias Alexander; Steiner, Matthias; Cerè, Alessandro; Kurtsiefer, Christian

2016-01-01

Scattering of light by matter has been studied extensively in the past. Yet, the most fundamental process, the scattering of a single photon by a single atom, is largely unexplored. One prominent prediction of quantum optics is the deterministic absorption of a travelling photon by a single atom, provided the photon waveform matches spatially and temporally the time-reversed version of a spontaneously emitted photon. Here we experimentally address this prediction and investigate the influence of the photon's temporal profile on the scattering dynamics using a single trapped atom and heralded single photons. In a time-resolved measurement of atomic excitation we find a 56(11)% increase of the peak excitation by photons with an exponentially rising profile compared with a decaying one. However, the overall scattering probability remains unchanged within the experimental uncertainties. Our results demonstrate that envelope tailoring of single photons enables precise control of the photon–atom interaction. PMID:27897173

Deterministic and storable single-photon source based on a quantum memory.

PubMed

Chen, Shuai; Chen, Yu-Ao; Strassel, Thorsten; Yuan, Zhen-Sheng; Zhao, Bo; Schmiedmayer, Jörg; Pan, Jian-Wei

2006-10-27

A single-photon source is realized with a cold atomic ensemble (87Rb atoms). A single excitation, written in an atomic quantum memory by Raman scattering of a laser pulse, is retrieved deterministically as a single photon at a predetermined time. It is shown that the production rate of single photons can be enhanced considerably by a feedback circuit while the single-photon quality is conserved. Such a single-photon source is well suited for future large-scale realization of quantum communication and linear optical quantum computation.

Shadowing of Virtual Photons in Nuclei at Small xBj in the QCD Dipole Picture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bialas, A.; Czyz, W.

1998-03-01

Compact and well defined formulae for the shadow of the virtual photon interacting with a large nucleus at small xBj are given in the QCD dipole picture. Two classes of contributions are considered: (a) quasi-elastic interaction of the q bar q dipole and (b) multi-pomeron coupling.

High energy photon and particle luminosity from active nuclei

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eilek, J. A.; Caroff, L. J.; Noerdlinger, P. D.; Dove, M. E.

1986-01-01

This paper describes a numerical calculation which follows the evolution of an initial photon and particle spectrum in an expanding, relativistic wind or jet, describes in particular the quasi-equilibrium distribution found for initial optical depths above 100 or so, and points out that this calculation may be relevant for the situation in luminous, compact nuclear sources.

Gravitational-wave signatures of exotic compact objects and of quantum corrections at the horizon scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cardoso, Vitor; Hopper, Seth; Macedo, Caio F. B.; Palenzuela, Carlos; Pani, Paolo

2016-10-01

Gravitational waves from binary coalescences provide one of the cleanest signatures of the nature of compact objects. It has been recently argued that the postmerger ringdown waveform of exotic ultracompact objects is initially identical to that of a black hole, and that putative corrections at the horizon scale will appear as secondary pulses after the main burst of radiation. Here we extend this analysis in three important directions: (i) we show that this result applies to a large class of exotic compact objects with a photon sphere for generic orbits in the test-particle limit; (ii) we investigate the late-time ringdown in more detail, showing that it is universally characterized by a modulated and distorted train of "echoes"of the modes of vibration associated with the photon sphere; (iii) we study for the first time equal-mass, head-on collisions of two ultracompact boson stars and compare their gravitational-wave signal to that produced by a pair of black holes. If the initial objects are compact enough as to mimic a binary black-hole collision up to the merger, the final object exceeds the maximum mass for boson stars and collapses to a black hole. This suggests that—in some configurations—the coalescence of compact boson stars might be almost indistinguishable from that of black holes. On the other hand, generic configurations display peculiar signatures that can be searched for in gravitational-wave data as smoking guns of exotic compact objects.

Studies on spatial modes and the correlation anisotropy of entangled photons generated from 2D quadratic nonlinear photonic crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, X. W.; Xu, P.; Sun, C. W.; Jin, H.; Hou, R. J.; Leng, H. Y.; Zhu, S. N.

2017-06-01

Concurrent spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) processes have proved to be an appealing approach for engineering the path-entangled photonic state with designable and tunable spatial modes. In this work, we propose a general scheme to construct high-dimensional path entanglement and demonstrate the basic properties of concurrent SPDC processes from domain-engineered quadratic nonlinear photonic crystals, including the spatial modes and the photon flux, as well as the anisotropy of spatial correlation under noncollinear quasi-phase-matching geometry. The overall understanding about the performance of concurrent SPDC processes will give valuable references to the construction of compact path entanglement and the development of new types of photonic quantum technologies.

Numerical demonstration of neuromorphic computing with photonic crystal cavities.

PubMed

Laporte, Floris; Katumba, Andrew; Dambre, Joni; Bienstman, Peter

2018-04-02

We propose a new design for a passive photonic reservoir computer on a silicon photonics chip which can be used in the context of optical communication applications, and study it through detailed numerical simulations. The design consists of a photonic crystal cavity with a quarter-stadium shape, which is known to foster interesting mixing dynamics. These mixing properties turn out to be very useful for memory-dependent optical signal processing tasks, such as header recognition. The proposed, ultra-compact photonic crystal cavity exhibits a memory of up to 6 bits, while simultaneously accepting bitrates in a wide region of operation. Moreover, because of the inherent low losses in a high-Q photonic crystal cavity, the proposed design is very power efficient.

Soft x-ray spectromicroscopy using compact scanning transmission x-ray microscope at the photon factory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Takeichi, Yasuo, E-mail: yasuo.takeichi@kek.jp; Inami, Nobuhito; Ono, Kanta

We report the stability and recent performances of a new type of scanning transmission X-ray microscopy. The optics and compact design of the microscope realized mobility and robust performance. Detailed consideration to the vibration control will be described. The insertion device upgraded to elliptical polarization undulator enabled linear dichroism and circular dichroism experiments.

Development, characterization and application of compact spectrometers based on MEMS with in-plane capacitive drives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kenda, A.; Kraft, M.; Tortschanoff, A.; Scherf, Werner; Sandner, T.; Schenk, Harald; Luettjohann, Stephan; Simon, A.

2014-05-01

With a trend towards the use of spectroscopic systems in various fields of science and industry, there is an increasing demand for compact spectrometers. For UV/VIS to the shortwave near-infrared spectral range, compact hand-held polychromator type devices are widely used and have replaced larger conventional instruments in many applications. Still, for longer wavelengths this type of compact spectrometers is lacking suitable and affordable detector arrays. In perennial development Carinthian Tech Research AG together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems endeavor to close this gap by developing spectrometer systems based on photonic MEMS. Here, we review on two different spectrometer developments, a scanning grating spectrometer working in the NIR and a FT-spectrometer accessing the mid-IR range up to 14 μm. Both systems are using photonic MEMS devices actuated by in-plane comb drive structures. This principle allows for high mechanical amplitudes at low driving voltages but results in gratings respectively mirrors oscillating harmonically. Both systems feature special MEMS structures as well as aspects in terms of system integration which shall tease out the best possible overall performance on the basis of this technology. However, the advantages of MEMS as enabling technology for high scanning speed, miniaturization, energy efficiency, etc. are pointed out. Whereas the scanning grating spectrometer has already evolved to a product for the point of sale analysis of traditional Chinese medicine products, the purpose of the FT-spectrometer as presented is to demonstrate what is achievable in terms of performance. Current developments topics address MEMS packaging issues towards long term stability, further miniaturization and usability.

Generation of Single Photons and Entangled Photon Pairs from a Quantum Dot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamamoto, Y.; Pelton, M.; Santori, C.; Solomon, G. S.

2002-10-01

Current quantum cryptography systems are limited by the Poissonian photon statistics of a standard light source: a security loophole is opened up by the possibility of multiple-photon pulses. By replacing the source with a single-photon emitter, transmission rates of secure information can be improved. A single photon source is also essential to implement a linear optics quantum computer. We have investigated the use of single self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots as such single-photon sources, and have seen a hundred-fold reduction in the multi-photon probability as compared to Poissonian pulses. An extension of our experiment should also allow for the generation of triggered, polarizationentangled photon pairs.

High-energy radiation from the relativistic jet of Cygnus X-3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cerutti, B.; Dubus, G.; Henri, G.

2010-12-01

Cygnus X-3 is an accreting high-mass X-ray binary composed of a Wolf-Rayet star and an unknown compact object, possibly a black hole. The gamma-ray space telescope Fermi found definitive evidence that high-energy emission is produced in this system. We propose a scenario to explain the GeV gamma-ray emission in Cygnus X-3. In this model, energetic electron-positron pairs are accelerated at a specific location in the relativistic jet, possibly related to a recollimation shock, and upscatter the stellar photons to high energies. The comparison with Fermi observations shows that the jet should be inclined close to the line of sight and pairs should not be located within the system. Energetically speaking, a massive compact object is favored. We report also on our investigations of the gamma-ray absorption of GeV photons with the radiation emitted by a standard accretion disk in Cygnus X-3. This study shows that the gamma-ray source should not lie too close to the compact object.

All-fiber Mach-Zehnder type interferometers formed in photonic crystal fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Hae Young; Kim, Myoung Jin; Lee, Byeong Ha

2007-04-01

We propose simple and compact methods for implementing all-fiber interferometers. The interference between the core and the cladding modes of a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is utilized. To excite the cladding modes from the fundamental core mode of a PCF, a coupling point or region is formed by using two methods. One is fusion splicing two pieces of a PCF with a small lateral offset, and the other is partially collapsing the air-holes in a single piece of PCF. By making another coupling point at a different location along the fiber, the proposed all-PCF interferometer is implemented. The spectral response of the interferometer is investigated mainly in terms of its wavelength spectrum. The spatial frequency of the spectrum was proportional to the physical length of the interferometer and the difference between the modal group indices of involved waveguide modes. For the splicing type interferometer, only a single spatial frequency component was dominantly observed, while the collapsing type was associated with several components at a time. By analyzing the spatial frequency spectrum of the wavelength spectrum, the modal group index differences of the PCF were obtained from to . As potential applications of the all-PCF interferometer, strain sensing is experimentally demonstrated and ultra-high temperature sensing is proposed.

Single-photon superradiant beating from a Doppler-broadened ladder-type atomic ensemble

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Yoon-Seok; Lee, Sang Min; Kim, Heonoh; Moon, Han Seb

2017-12-01

We report on heralded-single-photon superradiant beating in the spontaneous four-wave mixing process of Doppler-broadened ladder-type 87Rb atoms. When Doppler-broadened atoms contribute to two-photon coherence, the detection probability amplitudes of the heralded single photons are coherently superposed despite inhomogeneous broadened atomic media. Single-photon superradiant beating is observed, which constitutes evidence for the coherent superposition of two-photon amplitudes from different velocity classes in the Doppler-broadened atomic ensemble. We present a theoretical model in which the single-photon superradiant beating originates from the interference between wavelength-separated two-photon amplitudes via the reabsorption filtering effect.

Deterministic and robust generation of single photons from a single quantum dot with 99.5% indistinguishability using adiabatic rapid passage.

PubMed

Wei, Yu-Jia; He, Yu-Ming; Chen, Ming-Cheng; Hu, Yi-Nan; He, Yu; Wu, Dian; Schneider, Christian; Kamp, Martin; Höfling, Sven; Lu, Chao-Yang; Pan, Jian-Wei

2014-11-12

Single photons are attractive candidates of quantum bits (qubits) for quantum computation and are the best messengers in quantum networks. Future scalable, fault-tolerant photonic quantum technologies demand both stringently high levels of photon indistinguishability and generation efficiency. Here, we demonstrate deterministic and robust generation of pulsed resonance fluorescence single photons from a single semiconductor quantum dot using adiabatic rapid passage, a method robust against fluctuation of driving pulse area and dipole moments of solid-state emitters. The emitted photons are background-free, have a vanishing two-photon emission probability of 0.3% and a raw (corrected) two-photon Hong-Ou-Mandel interference visibility of 97.9% (99.5%), reaching a precision that places single photons at the threshold for fault-tolerant surface-code quantum computing. This single-photon source can be readily scaled up to multiphoton entanglement and used for quantum metrology, boson sampling, and linear optical quantum computing.

Optical fabrication of large area photonic microstructures by spliced lens

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Wentao; Song, Meng; Zhang, Xuehua; Yin, Li; Li, Hong; Li, Lin

2018-05-01

We experimentally demonstrate a convenient approach to fabricate large area photorefractive photonic microstructures by a spliced lens device. Large area two-dimensional photonic microstructures are optically induced inside an iron-doped lithium niobate crystal. The experimental setups of our method are relatively compact and stable without complex alignment devices. It can be operated in almost any optical laboratories. We analyze the induced triangular lattice microstructures by plane wave guiding, far-field diffraction pattern imaging and Brillouin-zone spectroscopy. By designing the spliced lens appropriately, the method can be easily extended to fabricate other complex large area photonic microstructures, such as quasicrystal microstructures. Induced photonic microstructures can be fixed or erased and re-recorded in the photorefractive crystal.

Living in a digital world: features and applications of FPGA in photon detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnesano, Cosimo

Optical spectroscopy and imaging outcomes rely upon many factors; one of the most critical is the photon acquisition and processing method employed. For some types of measurements it may be crucial to acquire every single photon quickly with temporal resolution, but in other cases it is important to acquire as many photons as possible, regardless of the time information about each of them. Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy belongs to the first case, where the information of the time of arrival of every single photon in every single pixel is fundamental in obtaining the desired information. Spectral tissue imaging belongs to the second case, where high photon density is needed in order to calculate the optical parameters necessary to build the spectral image. In both cases, the current instrumentation suffers from limitations in terms of acquisition time, duty cycle, cost, and radio-frequency interference and emission. We developed the Digital Frequency-Domain approach for photon acquisition and processing purpose using new digital technology. This approach is based on the use of photon detectors in photon counting mode, and the digital heterodyning method to acquire data which is analyzed in the frequency domain to provide the information of the time of arrival of the photons . In conjunction with the use of pulsed laser sources, this method allows the determination of the time of arrival of the photons using the harmonic content of the frequency domain analysis. The parallel digital FD design is a powerful approach that others the possibility to implement a variety of different applications in fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy. It can be applied to fluorometry, Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging (FLIM), and Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS), as well as multi frequency and multi wavelength tissue imaging in compact portable medical devices. It dramatically reduces the acquisition time from the several minutes scale to the seconds scale, performs signal processing in a digital fashion avoiding RF emission and it is extremely inexpensive. This development is the result of a systematic study carried on a previous design known as the FLIMBox developed as part of a thesis of another graduate student. The extensive work done in maximizing the performance of the original FLIMBox led us to develop a new hardware solution with exciting and promising results and potential that were not possible in the previous hardware realization, where the signal harmonic content was limited by the FPGA technology. The new design permits acquisition of a much larger harmonic content of the sample response when it is excited with a pulsed light source in one single measurement using the digital mixing principle that was developed in the original design. Furthermore, we used the parallel digital FD principle to perform tissue imaging through Diffuse Optical Spectroscopy (DOS) measurements. We integrated the FLIMBox in a new system that uses a supercontinuum white laser with high brightness as a single light source and photomultipliers with large detection area, both allowing a high penetration depth with extremely low power at the sample. The parallel acquisition, achieved by using the FlimBox, decreases the time required for standard serial systems that scan through all modulation frequencies. Furthermore, the all-digital acquisition avoids analog noise, removes the analog mixer of the conventional frequency domain approach, and it does not generate radio-frequencies, normally present in current analog systems. We are able to obtain a very sensitive acquisition due to the high signal to noise ratio (S/N). The successful results obtained by utilizing digital technology in photon acquisition and processing, prompted us to extend the use of FPGA to other applications, such as phosphorescence detection. Using the FPGA concept we proposed possible solutions to outstanding problems with the current technology. In this thesis I discuss new possible scenarios where new FPGA chips are applied to spectral tissue imaging.

A new high quality X-ray source for Cultural Heritage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walter, Philippe; Variola, Alessandro; Zomer, Fabian; Jaquet, Marie; Loulergue, Alexandre

2009-09-01

Compton based photon sources have generated much interest since the rapid advance in laser and accelerator technologies has allowed envisaging their utilisation for ultra-compact radiation sources. These should provide X-ray short pulses with a relatively high average flux. Moreover, the univocal dependence between the scattered photon energy and its angle gives the possibility of obtaining a quasi-monochromatic beam with a simple diaphragm system. For the most ambitious projects the expected performance takes into account a rate of 10-10 photons/s, with an angular divergence of few mrad, an X-ray energy cut-off of few tens of keV and a bandwidth ΔE/E˜1-10%. Even if the integrated rate cannot compete with synchrotron radiation sources, the cost and the compactness of these Compton based machines make them attractive for a wide spectrum of applications. We explore here the interest of these systems for Cultural Heritage preservation. To cite this article: P. Walter et al., C. R. Physique 10 (2009).

Single-photon emitting diode in silicon carbide.

PubMed

Lohrmann, A; Iwamoto, N; Bodrog, Z; Castelletto, S; Ohshima, T; Karle, T J; Gali, A; Prawer, S; McCallum, J C; Johnson, B C

2015-07-23

Electrically driven single-photon emitting devices have immediate applications in quantum cryptography, quantum computation and single-photon metrology. Mature device fabrication protocols and the recent observations of single defect systems with quantum functionalities make silicon carbide an ideal material to build such devices. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of bright single-photon emitting diodes. The electrically driven emitters display fully polarized output, superior photon statistics (with a count rate of >300 kHz) and stability in both continuous and pulsed modes, all at room temperature. The atomic origin of the single-photon source is proposed. These results provide a foundation for the large scale integration of single-photon sources into a broad range of applications, such as quantum cryptography or linear optics quantum computing.

A high-energy, high-flux source of gamma-rays from all-optical non-linear Thomson scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corvan, D. J.; Zepf, M.; Sarri, G.

2016-09-01

γ-Ray sources are among the most fundamental experimental tools currently available to modern physics. As well as the obvious benefits to fundamental research, an ultra-bright source of γ-rays could form the foundation of scanning of shipping containers for special nuclear materials and provide the bases for new types of cancer therapy. However, for these applications to prove viable, γ-ray sources must become compact and relatively cheap to manufacture. In recent years, advances in laser technology have formed the cornerstone of optical sources of high energy electrons which already have been used to generate synchrotron radiation on a compact scale. Exploiting the scattering induced by a second laser, one can further enhance the energy and number of photons produced provided the problems of synchronisation and compact γ-ray detection are solved. Here, we report on the work that has been done in developing an all-optical and hence, compact non-linear Thomson scattering source, including the new methods of synchronisation and compact γ-ray detection. We present evidence of the generation of multi-MeV (maximum 16-18 MeV) and ultra-high brilliance (exceeding 1020 photons s-1mm-2mrad-2 0.1% BW at 15 MeV) γ-ray beams. These characteristics are appealing for the paramount practical applications mentioned above.

Multi-Aperture-Based Probabilistic Noise Reduction of Random Telegraph Signal Noise and Photon Shot Noise in Semi-Photon-Counting Complementary-Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Image Sensor

PubMed Central

Ishida, Haruki; Kagawa, Keiichiro; Komuro, Takashi; Zhang, Bo; Seo, Min-Woong; Takasawa, Taishi; Yasutomi, Keita; Kawahito, Shoji

2018-01-01

A probabilistic method to remove the random telegraph signal (RTS) noise and to increase the signal level is proposed, and was verified by simulation based on measured real sensor noise. Although semi-photon-counting-level (SPCL) ultra-low noise complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors (CISs) with high conversion gain pixels have emerged, they still suffer from huge RTS noise, which is inherent to the CISs. The proposed method utilizes a multi-aperture (MA) camera that is composed of multiple sets of an SPCL CIS and a moderately fast and compact imaging lens to emulate a very fast single lens. Due to the redundancy of the MA camera, the RTS noise is removed by the maximum likelihood estimation where noise characteristics are modeled by the probability density distribution. In the proposed method, the photon shot noise is also relatively reduced because of the averaging effect, where the pixel values of all the multiple apertures are considered. An extremely low-light condition that the maximum number of electrons per aperture was the only 2e− was simulated. PSNRs of a test image for simple averaging, selective averaging (our previous method), and the proposed method were 11.92 dB, 11.61 dB, and 13.14 dB, respectively. The selective averaging, which can remove RTS noise, was worse than the simple averaging because it ignores the pixels with RTS noise and photon shot noise was less improved. The simulation results showed that the proposed method provided the best noise reduction performance. PMID:29587424

The joint NASA/Goddard-University of Maryland research program in charged particle and high energy photon detector technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1986-01-01

Progress made in the following areas is discussed: low energy ion and electron experiments; instrument design for current experiments; magnetospheric measurement of particles; ion measurement in the earth plasma sheet; abundance measurement; X-ray data acquisition; high energy physics; extragalactic astronomy; compact object astrophysics; planetology; and high energy photon detector technology.

Single photon sources with single semiconductor quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shan, Guang-Cun; Yin, Zhang-Qi; Shek, Chan Hung; Huang, Wei

2014-04-01

In this contribution, we briefly recall the basic concepts of quantum optics and properties of semiconductor quantum dot (QD) which are necessary to the understanding of the physics of single-photon generation with single QDs. Firstly, we address the theory of quantum emitter-cavity system, the fluorescence and optical properties of semiconductor QDs, and the photon statistics as well as optical properties of the QDs. We then review the localization of single semiconductor QDs in quantum confined optical microcavity systems to achieve their overall optical properties and performances in terms of strong coupling regime, efficiency, directionality, and polarization control. Furthermore, we will discuss the recent progress on the fabrication of single photon sources, and various approaches for embedding single QDs into microcavities or photonic crystal nanocavities and show how to extend the wavelength range. We focus in particular on new generations of electrically driven QD single photon source leading to high repetition rates, strong coupling regime, and high collection efficiencies at elevated temperature operation. Besides, new developments of room temperature single photon emission in the strong coupling regime are reviewed. The generation of indistinguishable photons and remaining challenges for practical single-photon sources are also discussed.

Experimental Demonstration of Quantum Stationary Light Pulses in an Atomic Ensemble

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Kwang-Kyoon; Cho, Young-Wook; Chough, Young-Tak; Kim, Yoon-Ho

2018-04-01

We report an experimental demonstration of the nonclassical stationary light pulse (SLP) in a cold atomic ensemble. A single collective atomic excitation is created and heralded by detecting a Stokes photon in the spontaneous Raman scattering process. The heralded single atomic excitation is converted into a single stationary optical excitation or the single-photon SLP, whose effective group velocity is zero, effectively forming a trapped single-photon pulse within the cold atomic ensemble. The single-photon SLP is then released from the atomic ensemble as an anti-Stokes photon after a specified trapping time. The second-order correlation measurement between the Stokes and anti-Stokes photons reveals the nonclassical nature of the single-photon SLP. Our work paves the way toward quantum nonlinear optics without a cavity.

Single-Atom Single-Photon Quantum Interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moehring, David; Bochmann, Joerg; Muecke, Martin; Specht, Holger; Weber, Bernhard; Wilk, Tatjana; Rempe, Gerhard

2008-05-01

By combining atom trapping techniques and cavity cooling schemes we are able to trap a single neutral atom inside a high-finesse cavity for several tens of seconds. We show that our coupled atom-cavity system can be used to generate single photons in a controlled way. With our long trapping times and high single-photon production efficiency, the non-classical properties of the emitted light can be shown in the photon correlations of a single atom. In a similar atom-cavity setup, we investigate the interface between atoms and photons by entangling a single atom with a single photon emitted into the cavity and by further mapping the quantum state of the atom onto a second single photon. These schemes are intrinsically deterministic and establish the basic element required to realize a distributed quantum network with individual atoms at rest as quantum memories and single flying photons as quantum messengers. This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and the European Union SCALA and CONQUEST programs. D. L. M. acknowledges support from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Long-Distance Single Photon Transmission from a Trapped Ion via Quantum Frequency Conversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, Thomas; Miyanishi, Koichiro; Ikuta, Rikizo; Takahashi, Hiroki; Vartabi Kashanian, Samir; Tsujimoto, Yoshiaki; Hayasaka, Kazuhiro; Yamamoto, Takashi; Imoto, Nobuyuki; Keller, Matthias

2018-05-01

Trapped atomic ions are ideal single photon emitters with long-lived internal states which can be entangled with emitted photons. Coupling the ion to an optical cavity enables the efficient emission of single photons into a single spatial mode and grants control over their temporal shape. These features are key for quantum information processing and quantum communication. However, the photons emitted by these systems are unsuitable for long-distance transmission due to their wavelengths. Here we report the transmission of single photons from a single 40Ca+ ion coupled to an optical cavity over a 10 km optical fiber via frequency conversion from 866 nm to the telecom C band at 1530 nm. We observe nonclassical photon statistics of the direct cavity emission, the converted photons, and the 10 km transmitted photons, as well as the preservation of the photons' temporal shape throughout. This telecommunication-ready system can be a key component for long-distance quantum communication as well as future cloud quantum computation.

On-Chip Waveguide Coupling of a Layered Semiconductor Single-Photon Source.

PubMed

Tonndorf, Philipp; Del Pozo-Zamudio, Osvaldo; Gruhler, Nico; Kern, Johannes; Schmidt, Robert; Dmitriev, Alexander I; Bakhtinov, Anatoly P; Tartakovskii, Alexander I; Pernice, Wolfram; Michaelis de Vasconcellos, Steffen; Bratschitsch, Rudolf

2017-09-13

Fully integrated quantum technology based on photons is in the focus of current research, because of its immense potential concerning performance and scalability. Ideally, the single-photon sources, the processing units, and the photon detectors are all combined on a single chip. Impressive progress has been made for on-chip quantum circuits and on-chip single-photon detection. In contrast, nonclassical light is commonly coupled onto the photonic chip from the outside, because presently only few integrated single-photon sources exist. Here, we present waveguide-coupled single-photon emitters in the layered semiconductor gallium selenide as promising on-chip sources. GaSe crystals with a thickness below 100 nm are placed on Si 3 N 4 rib or slot waveguides, resulting in a modified mode structure efficient for light coupling. Using optical excitation from within the Si 3 N 4 waveguide, we find nonclassicality of generated photons routed on the photonic chip. Thus, our work provides an easy-to-implement and robust light source for integrated quantum technology.

Active temporal multiplexing of indistinguishable heralded single photons

PubMed Central

Xiong, C.; Zhang, X.; Liu, Z.; Collins, M. J.; Mahendra, A.; Helt, L. G.; Steel, M. J.; Choi, D. -Y.; Chae, C. J.; Leong, P. H. W.; Eggleton, B. J.

2016-01-01

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. Here we demonstrate the multiplexing of photons from four temporal modes solely using fibre-integrated optics and off-the-shelf electronic components. We show a 100% enhancement to the single-photon output probability without introducing additional multi-photon noise. Photon indistinguishability is confirmed by a fourfold Hong–Ou–Mandel quantum interference with a 91±16% visibility after subtracting multi-photon noise due to high pump power. Our demonstration paves the way for scalable multiplexing of many non-deterministic photon sources to a single near-deterministic source, which will be of benefit to future quantum photonic technologies. PMID:26996317

Detection and laser ranging of orbital objects using optical methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wagner, P.; Hampf, D.; Sproll, F.; Hasenohr, T.; Humbert, L.; Rodmann, J.; Riede, W.

2016-09-01

Laser ranging to satellites (SLR) in earth orbit is an established technology used for geodesy, fundamental science and precise orbit determination. A combined active and passive optical measurement system using a single telescope mount is presented which performs precise ranging measurements of retro reflector equipped objects in low earth orbit (LEO). The German Aerospace Center (DLR) runs an observatory in Stuttgart where a system has been assembled completely from commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components. The visible light directed to the tracking camera is used to perform angular measurements of objects under investigation. This is done astrometrically by comparing the apparent target position with cataloged star positions. First successful satellite laser ranging was demonstrated recently using an optical fiber directing laser pulses onto the astronomical mount. The transmitter operates at a wavelength of 1064 nm with a repetition rate of 3 kHz and pulse energy of 25 μJ. A motorized tip/tilt mount allows beam steering of the collimated beam with μrad accuracy. The returning photons reflected from the object in space are captured with the tracking telescope. A special low aberration beam splitter unit was designed to separate the infrared from visible light. This allows passive optical closed loop tracking and operation of a single photon detector for time of flight measurements at a single telescope simultaneously. The presented innovative design yields to a compact and cost effective but very precise ranging system which allows orbit determination.

Single-photon three-qubit quantum logic using spatial light modulators.

PubMed

Kagalwala, Kumel H; Di Giuseppe, Giovanni; Abouraddy, Ayman F; Saleh, Bahaa E A

2017-09-29

The information-carrying capacity of a single photon can be vastly expanded by exploiting its multiple degrees of freedom: spatial, temporal, and polarization. Although multiple qubits can be encoded per photon, to date only two-qubit single-photon quantum operations have been realized. Here, we report an experimental demonstration of three-qubit single-photon, linear, deterministic quantum gates that exploit photon polarization and the two-dimensional spatial-parity-symmetry of the transverse single-photon field. These gates are implemented using a polarization-sensitive spatial light modulator that provides a robust, non-interferometric, versatile platform for implementing controlled unitary gates. Polarization here represents the control qubit for either separable or entangling unitary operations on the two spatial-parity target qubits. Such gates help generate maximally entangled three-qubit Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger and W states, which is confirmed by tomographical reconstruction of single-photon density matrices. This strategy provides access to a wide range of three-qubit states and operations for use in few-qubit quantum information processing protocols.Photons are essential for quantum information processing, but to date only two-qubit single-photon operations have been realized. Here the authors demonstrate experimentally a three-qubit single-photon linear deterministic quantum gate by exploiting polarization along with spatial-parity symmetry.

Generating photon pairs from a silicon microring resonator using an electronic step recovery diode for pump pulse generation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Savanier, Marc, E-mail: msavanier@eng.ucsd.edu; Mookherjea, Shayan, E-mail: smookherjea@eng.ucsd.edu

Generation of photon pairs from compact, manufacturable, and inexpensive silicon (Si) photonic devices at room temperature may help develop practical applications of quantum photonics. An important characteristic of photon-pair generation is the two-photon joint spectral intensity, which describes the frequency correlations of the photon pair. Recent attempts to generate a factorizable photon-pair state suitable for heralding have used short optical pump pulses from mode-locked lasers, which are much more expensive and bigger table-top or rack-sized instruments compared with the Si microchip used for generating photon pairs, and thus dominate the cost and inhibit the miniaturization of the source. Here, wemore » generate photon pairs from an Si microring resonator by using an electronic step-recovery diode to drive an electro-optic modulator which carves the pump light from a continuous-wave laser diode into pulses of the appropriate width, thus potentially eliminating the need for optical mode-locked lasers.« less

Generating photon pairs from a silicon microring resonator using an electronic step recovery diode for pump pulse generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Savanier, Marc; Mookherjea, Shayan

2016-06-01

Generation of photon pairs from compact, manufacturable, and inexpensive silicon (Si) photonic devices at room temperature may help develop practical applications of quantum photonics. An important characteristic of photon-pair generation is the two-photon joint spectral intensity, which describes the frequency correlations of the photon pair. Recent attempts to generate a factorizable photon-pair state suitable for heralding have used short optical pump pulses from mode-locked lasers, which are much more expensive and bigger table-top or rack-sized instruments compared with the Si microchip used for generating photon pairs, and thus dominate the cost and inhibit the miniaturization of the source. Here, we generate photon pairs from an Si microring resonator by using an electronic step-recovery diode to drive an electro-optic modulator which carves the pump light from a continuous-wave laser diode into pulses of the appropriate width, thus potentially eliminating the need for optical mode-locked lasers.

Nonsequential two-photon absorption from the K shell in solid zirconium

DOE PAGES

Ghimire, Shambhu; Fuchs, Matthias; Hastings, Jerry; ...

2016-10-21

Here, we report the observation of nonsequential two-photon absorption from the K shell of solid Zr (atomic number Z=40) using intense x-ray pulses from the Spring-8 Angstrom Compact Free-Electron Laser (SACLA). We determine the generalized nonlinear two-photon absorption cross section at the two-photon threshold in the range of 3.9–57 ×10 –60 cm 4s bounded by the estimated uncertainty in the absolute intensity. The lower limit is consistent with the prediction of 3.1 ×10 –60 cm 4s from the nonresonant Z –6 scaling for hydrogenic ions in the nonrelativistic, dipole limit.

Integrated Metamaterials and Nanophotonics in CMOS-Compatible Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reshef, Orad

This thesis explores scalable nanophotonic devices in integrated, CMOS-compatible platforms. Our investigation focuses on two main projects: studying the material properties of integrated titanium dioxide (TiO2), and studying integrated metamaterials in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technologies. We first describe the nanofabrication process for TiO2 photonic integrated circuits. We use this procedure to demonstrate polycrystalline anatase TiO2 ring resonators with high quality factors. We measure the thermo-optic coefficient of TiO2 and determine that it is negative, a unique property among CMOS-compatible dielectric photonic platforms. We also derive a transfer function for ring resonators in the presence of reflections and demonstrate using full-wave simulations that these reflections produce asymmetries in the resonances. For the second half of the dissertation, we design and demonstrate an SOI-based photonic-Dirac-cone metamaterial. Using a prism composed of this metamaterial, we measure its index of refraction and unambiguously determine that it is zero. Next, we take a single channel of this metamaterial to form a waveguide. Using interferometry, we independently confirm that the waveguide in this configuration preserves the dispersion profile of the aggregate medium, with a zero phase advance. We also characterize the waveguide, determining its propagation loss. Finally, we perform simulations to study nonlinear optical phenomena in zero-index media. We find that an isotropic refractive index near zero relaxes certain phase-matching constraints, allowing for more flexible configurations of nonlinear devices with dramatically reduced footprints. The outcomes of this work enable higher quality fabrication of scalable nanophotonic devices for use in nonlinear applications with passive temperature compensation. These devices are CMOS-compatible and can be integrated vertically for compact, device-dense industrial applications. It also provides access to a versatile, scalable and integrated medium with a refractive index that can be continuously engineered between n = -0.20 and n = +0.50. This opens the door to applications in high-precision interferometry, sensing, quantum information technologies and compact nonlinear applications.

Single-Photon-Triggered Quantum Phase Transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lü, Xin-You; Zheng, Li-Li; Zhu, Gui-Lei; Wu, Ying

2018-06-01

We propose a hybrid quantum model combining cavity QED and optomechanics, which allows the occurrence of an equilibrium superradiant quantum phase transition (QPT) triggered by a single photon. This single-photon-triggered QPT exists in the cases of both ignoring and including the so-called A2 term; i.e., it is immune to the no-go theorem. It originally comes from the photon-dependent quantum criticality featured by the proposed hybrid quantum model. Moreover, a reversed superradiant QPT is induced by the competition between the introduced A2 term and the optomechanical interaction. This work offers an approach to manipulate QPT with a single photon, which should inspire the exploration of single-photon quantum-criticality physics and the engineering of new single-photon quantum devices.

Generation, storage, and retrieval of nonclassical states of light using atomic ensembles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eisaman, Matthew D.

This thesis presents the experimental demonstration of several novel methods for generating, storing, and retrieving nonclassical states of light using atomic ensembles, and describes applications of these methods to frequency-tunable single-photon generation, single-photon memory, quantum networks, and long-distance quantum communication. We first demonstrate emission of quantum-mechanically correlated pulses of light with a time delay between the pulses that is coherently controlled by utilizing 87Rb atoms. The experiment is based on Raman scattering, which produces correlated pairs of excited atoms and photons, followed by coherent conversion of the atomic states into a different photon field after a controllable delay. We then describe experiments demonstrating a novel approach for conditionally generating nonclassical pulses of light with controllable photon numbers, propagation direction, timing, and pulse shapes. We observe nonclassical correlations in relative photon number between correlated pairs of photons, and create few-photon light pulses with sub-Poissonian photon-number statistics via conditional detection on one field of the pair. Spatio-temporal control over the pulses is obtained by exploiting long-lived coherent memory for photon states and electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in an optically dense atomic medium. Finally, we demonstrate the use of EIT for the controllable generation, transmission, and storage of single photons with tunable frequency, timing, and bandwidth. To this end, we study the interaction of single photons produced in a "source" ensemble of 87Rb atoms at room temperature with another "target" ensemble. This allows us to simultaneously probe the spectral and quantum statistical properties of narrow-bandwidth single-photon pulses, revealing that their quantum nature is preserved under EIT propagation and storage. We measure the time delay associated with the reduced group velocity of the single-photon pulses and report observations of their storage and retrieval. Together these experiments utilize atomic ensembles to realize a narrow-bandwidth single-photon source, single-photon memory that preserves the quantum nature of the single photons, and a primitive quantum network comprised of two atomic-ensemble quantum memories connected by a single photon in an optical fiber. Each of these experimental demonstrations represents an essential element for the realization of long-distance quantum communication.

Electron trapping data storage system and applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brower, Daniel; Earman, Allen; Chaffin, M. H.

1993-01-01

The advent of digital information storage and retrieval has led to explosive growth in data transmission techniques, data compression alternatives, and the need for high capacity random access data storage. Advances in data storage technologies are limiting the utilization of digitally based systems. New storage technologies will be required which can provide higher data capacities and faster transfer rates in a more compact format. Magnetic disk/tape and current optical data storage technologies do not provide these higher performance requirements for all digital data applications. A new technology developed at the Optex Corporation out-performs all other existing data storage technologies. The Electron Trapping Optical Memory (ETOM) media is capable of storing as much as 14 gigabytes of uncompressed data on a single, double-sided 54 inch disk with a data transfer rate of up to 12 megabits per second. The disk is removable, compact, lightweight, environmentally stable, and robust. Since the Write/Read/Erase (W/R/E) processes are carried out 100 percent photonically, no heating of the recording media is required. Therefore, the storage media suffers no deleterious effects from repeated Write/Read/Erase cycling.

Preliminary results for the design, fabrication, and performance of a backside-illuminated avalanche drift detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiao, Yun; Liang, Kun; Chen, Wen-Fei; Han, De-Jun

2013-10-01

The detection of low-level light is a key technology in various experimental scientific studies. As a photon detector, the silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) has gradually become an alternative to the photomultiplier tube (PMT) in many applications in high-energy physics, astroparticle physics, and medical imaging because of its high photon detection efficiency (PDE), good resolution for single-photon detection, insensitivity to magnetic field, low operating voltage, compactness, and low cost. However, primarily because of the geometric fill factor, the PDE of most SiPMs is not very high; in particular, for those SiPMs with a high density of micro cells, the effective area is small, and the bandwidth of the light response is narrow. As a building block of the SiPM, the concept of the backside-illuminated avalanche drift detector (ADD) was first proposed by the Max Planck Institute of Germany eight years ago; the ADD is promising to have high PDE over the full energy range of optical photons, even ultraviolet light and X-ray light, and because the avalanche multiplication region is very small, the ADD is beneficial for the fabrication of large-area SiPMs. However, because of difficulties in design and fabrication, no significant progress had been made, and the concept had not yet been verified. In this paper, preliminary results in the design, fabrication, and performance of a backside-illuminated ADD are reported; the difficulties in and limitations to the backside-illuminated ADD are analyzed.

Single-photon-level quantum image memory based on cold atomic ensembles

PubMed Central

Ding, Dong-Sheng; Zhou, Zhi-Yuan; Shi, Bao-Sen; Guo, Guang-Can

2013-01-01

A quantum memory is a key component for quantum networks, which will enable the distribution of quantum information. Its successful development requires storage of single-photon light. Encoding photons with spatial shape through higher-dimensional states significantly increases their information-carrying capability and network capacity. However, constructing such quantum memories is challenging. Here we report the first experimental realization of a true single-photon-carrying orbital angular momentum stored via electromagnetically induced transparency in a cold atomic ensemble. Our experiments show that the non-classical pair correlation between trigger photon and retrieved photon is retained, and the spatial structure of input and retrieved photons exhibits strong similarity. More importantly, we demonstrate that single-photon coherence is preserved during storage. The ability to store spatial structure at the single-photon level opens the possibility for high-dimensional quantum memories. PMID:24084711

Metropolitan Quantum Key Distribution with Silicon Photonics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bunandar, Darius; Lentine, Anthony; Lee, Catherine

Photonic integrated circuits provide a compact and stable platform for quantum photonics. Here we demonstrate a silicon photonics quantum key distribution (QKD) encoder in the first high-speed polarization-based QKD field tests. The systems reach composable secret key rates of 1.039 Mbps in a local test (on a 103.6-m fiber with a total emulated loss of 9.2 dB) and 157 kbps in an intercity metropolitan test (on a 43-km fiber with 16.4 dB loss). Our results represent the highest secret key generation rate for polarization-based QKD experiments at a standard telecom wavelength and demonstrate photonic integrated circuits as a promising, scalablemore » resource for future formation of metropolitan quantum-secure communications networks.« less

Metropolitan Quantum Key Distribution with Silicon Photonics

DOE PAGES

Bunandar, Darius; Lentine, Anthony; Lee, Catherine; ...

2018-04-06

Photonic integrated circuits provide a compact and stable platform for quantum photonics. Here we demonstrate a silicon photonics quantum key distribution (QKD) encoder in the first high-speed polarization-based QKD field tests. The systems reach composable secret key rates of 1.039 Mbps in a local test (on a 103.6-m fiber with a total emulated loss of 9.2 dB) and 157 kbps in an intercity metropolitan test (on a 43-km fiber with 16.4 dB loss). Our results represent the highest secret key generation rate for polarization-based QKD experiments at a standard telecom wavelength and demonstrate photonic integrated circuits as a promising, scalablemore » resource for future formation of metropolitan quantum-secure communications networks.« less

Metropolitan Quantum Key Distribution with Silicon Photonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bunandar, Darius; Lentine, Anthony; Lee, Catherine; Cai, Hong; Long, Christopher M.; Boynton, Nicholas; Martinez, Nicholas; DeRose, Christopher; Chen, Changchen; Grein, Matthew; Trotter, Douglas; Starbuck, Andrew; Pomerene, Andrew; Hamilton, Scott; Wong, Franco N. C.; Camacho, Ryan; Davids, Paul; Urayama, Junji; Englund, Dirk

2018-04-01

Photonic integrated circuits provide a compact and stable platform for quantum photonics. Here we demonstrate a silicon photonics quantum key distribution (QKD) encoder in the first high-speed polarization-based QKD field tests. The systems reach composable secret key rates of 1.039 Mbps in a local test (on a 103.6-m fiber with a total emulated loss of 9.2 dB) and 157 kbps in an intercity metropolitan test (on a 43-km fiber with 16.4 dB loss). Our results represent the highest secret key generation rate for polarization-based QKD experiments at a standard telecom wavelength and demonstrate photonic integrated circuits as a promising, scalable resource for future formation of metropolitan quantum-secure communications networks.

An in-plane nano-mechanics approach to achieve reversible resonance control of photonic crystal nanocavities.

PubMed

Chew, Xiongyeu; Zhou, Guangya; Yu, Hongbin; Chau, Fook Siong; Deng, Jie; Loke, Yee Chong; Tang, Xiaosong

2010-10-11

Control of photonic crystal resonances in conjunction with large spectral shifting is critical in achieving reconfigurable photonic crystal devices. We propose a simple approach to achieve nano-mechanical control of photonic crystal resonances within a compact integrated on-chip approach. Three different tip designs utilizing an in-plane nano-mechanical tuning approach are shown to achieve reversible and low-loss resonance control on a one-dimensional photonic crystal nanocavity. The proposed nano-mechanical approach driven by a sub-micron micro-electromechanical system integrated on low loss suspended feeding nanowire waveguide, achieved relatively large resonance spectral shifts of up to 18 nm at a driving voltage of 25 V. Such designs may potentially be used as tunable optical filters or switches.

Ultrasensitive Silicon Photonic-Crystal Nanobeam Electro-Optical Modulator (Preprint)

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-10-01

and simulation results are presented for an ultralow switching energy, resonator based silicon-on-insulator (SOI) electro-optical modulator. The...joshua.hendrickson@wpafb.af.mil Abstract: Design and simulation results are presented for an ultralow switching energy, resonator based silicon-on...S. Fegadolli, J. E. B. Oliveira, V. R. Almeida, and A. Scherer, “Compact and low power consumption tunable photonic crystal nanobeam cavity,” 21

Reconfigurable Cellular Photonic Crystal Arrays (RCPA)

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-01

signal processing based on reconfigurable integrated optics devices. This technology has the potential to revolutionize the design circle of optical...Accomplishments III.A. Design and fabrication of an accumulation-mode modulator Figure 1(a) shows the schematic of a compact resonator on the double-Si... integration of silicon nitride on silicon-on-insulator platform to enhance the arsenal of photonic circuit designers . The coherent integration of

Room temperature single photon generation at 1. 5 μ m from covalent dopant states of carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Htoonb, Han; He, Xiaowei; Hartmann, Nicolai; Ma, Xuedan; Doorn, Stephen; CenterIntegrated Nanotechnologies, Los Alamos National Laboratory Team

Recent demonstration that oxygen dopant states covalently attached to the single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are capable of emitting single photons at room-T (RT) opens the possibility of building room-T electrically-driven single photon sources for quantum communication applications. The RT single photon generation was not observed only at wavelength beyond 1.3 μ m. Here in this work we demonstrate RT single photon generation at 1. 5 μ m from diazonium dopant states of (10,3) nanotubes.

Measuring Single Photons

Science.gov Websites

Explore the World of Particle Physics Measuring Single Photons The web pages that follow presume phenomenon and then return to our study of single photon measurement. Your choices include: These choices University of Colorado. A Java applet by Phillip Warner. Dive right into the single photon pages here

Monitoring synaptic and neuronal activity in 3D with synthetic and genetic indicators using a compact acousto-optic lens two-photon microscope☆

PubMed Central

Fernández-Alfonso, Tomás; Nadella, K.M. Naga Srinivas; Iacaruso, M. Florencia; Pichler, Bruno; Roš, Hana; Kirkby, Paul A.; Silver, R. Angus

2014-01-01

Background Two-photon microscopy is widely used to study brain function, but conventional microscopes are too slow to capture the timing of neuronal signalling and imaging is restricted to one plane. Recent development of acousto-optic-deflector-based random access functional imaging has improved the temporal resolution, but the utility of these technologies for mapping 3D synaptic activity patterns and their performance at the excitation wavelengths required to image genetically encoded indicators have not been investigated. New method Here, we have used a compact acousto-optic lens (AOL) two-photon microscope to make high speed [Ca2+] measurements from spines and dendrites distributed in 3D with different excitation wavelengths (800–920 nm). Results We show simultaneous monitoring of activity from many synaptic inputs distributed over the 3D arborisation of a neuronal dendrite using both synthetic as well as genetically encoded indicators. We confirm the utility of AOL-based imaging for fast in vivo recordings by measuring, simultaneously, visually evoked responses in 100 neurons distributed over a 150 μm focal depth range. Moreover, we explore ways to improve the measurement of timing of neuronal activation by choosing specific regions within the cell soma. Comparison with existing methods These results establish that AOL-based 3D random access two-photon microscopy has a wider range of neuroscience applications than previously shown. Conclusions Our findings show that the compact AOL microscope design has the speed, spatial resolution, sensitivity and wavelength flexibility to measure 3D patterns of synaptic and neuronal activity on individual trials. PMID:24200507

Single photon laser altimeter data processing, analysis and experimental validation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vacek, Michael; Peca, Marek; Michalek, Vojtech; Prochazka, Ivan

2015-10-01

Spaceborne laser altimeters are common instruments on-board the rendezvous spacecraft. This manuscript deals with the altimeters using a single photon approach, which belongs to the family of time-of-flight range measurements. Moreover, the single photon receiver part of the altimeter may be utilized as an Earth-to-spacecraft link enabling one-way ranging, time transfer and data transfer. The single photon altimeters evaluate actual altitude through the repetitive detections of single photons of the reflected laser pulses. We propose the single photon altimeter signal processing and data mining algorithm based on the Poisson statistic filter (histogram method) and the modified Kalman filter, providing all common altimetry products (altitude, slope, background photon flux and albedo). The Kalman filter is extended for the background noise filtering, the varying slope adaptation and the non-causal extension for an abrupt slope change. Moreover, the algorithm partially removes the major drawback of a single photon altitude reading, namely that the photon detection measurement statistics must be gathered. The developed algorithm deduces the actual altitude on the basis of a single photon detection; thus, being optimal in the sense that each detected signal photon carrying altitude information is tracked and no altitude information is lost. The algorithm was tested on the simulated datasets and partially cross-probed with the experimental data collected using the developed single photon altimeter breadboard based on the microchip laser with the pulse energy on the order of microjoule and the repetition rate of several kilohertz. We demonstrated that such an altimeter configuration may be utilized for landing or hovering a small body (asteroid, comet).

Highly efficient birefringent quarter-wave plate based on all-dielectric metasurface and graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Owiti, Edgar O.; Yang, Hanning; Liu, Peng; Ominde, Calvine F.; Sun, Xiudong

2018-07-01

All-dielectric metasurfaces offer remarkable properties including high efficiency and flexible control of the optical response. However, extreme, narrow bandwidth is a limitation that lowers applicability of these structures in photonic sensing applications. In this work, we numerically design and propose a switchable quarter-wave plate by hybridizing an all-dielectric metasurface with graphene. By using a single layer of graphene between a highly refractive index silicon and a silica substrate, the transmissive resonance is enhanced and broadened. Additionally, integrating graphene with silicon effectively modulates the Q-factor and the trapped magnetic modes in the silicon. A stable birefringence output is obtained and manipulated through the structure dimensions and the Fermi energy of graphene. A 95% polarization conversion ratio is achieved through converting linearly polarized light into circularly polarized light, and a 96% ellipticity ratio is obtained at the resonance wavelength. The structure is compact and has an ultrathin design thickness of 0 . 1 λ, in the telecommunication region. The above properties are essential for integration into photonic sensing devices and the structure has potential for compatibility with the CMOS devices.

The lartge-area picosecond photo-detector (LAPPD) project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varner, Gary

2012-03-01

The technological revolution that replaced the bulky Cathode Ray Tube with a wide variety of thin, reduced-cost display technologies, has yet to be realized for photosensors. Such a low-cost, robust and flexible photon detector, capable of efficient single photon measurement with good spatial and temporal resolution, would have numerous scientific, medical and industrial applications. To address the significant technological challenges of realizing such a disruptive technology, the Large Area Picosecond Photo-Detector (LAPPD) collaboration was formed, and has been strongly supported by the Department of Energy. This group leverages the inter-disciplinary capabilities and facilities at Argonne National Laboratory, the Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL), electronics expertise at the Universities of Chicago and Hawaii, and close work with industrial partners to extend the known technologies. Advances in theory-inspired design and in-situ photocathode characterization during growth, Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) for revolutionizing micro-channel plate fabrication, and compact, wave-form sampling CMOS ASIC readout of micro striplines are key tools toward realizing a viable LAPPD device. Progress toward a first 8" x 8" demonstrator module will be presented.

Cladding waveguide splitters fabricated by femtosecond laser inscription in Ti:Sapphire crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, Yingying; Zhang, Limu; Xing, Hongguang; Romero, Carolina; Vázquez de Aldana, Javier R.; Chen, Feng

2018-07-01

Highly-compact devices capable of beam splitting are intriguing for a broad range of photonic applications. In this work, we report on the fabrication of optical waveguide splitters with rectangular cladding geometry in a Ti:Sapphire crystal by femtosecond laser inscription. Y-splitters are fabricated with 30 μm × 15 μm and 50 μm × 25 μm input ends, corresponding to two 15 μm × 15 μm and 25 μm × 25 μm output ends, respectively. The full branching angle θ between the two output arms are changing from 0.5° to 2°. The performances of the splitters are characterized at 632.8 nm and 1064 nm, showing very good properties including symmetrical output ends, single-mode guidance, equalized splitting ratios, all-angle-polarization light transmission and intact luminescence features in the waveguide cores. The realization of these waveguide splitters with good performances demonstrates the potential of such promising devices in complex monolithic photonic circuits and active optical devices such as miniature tunable lasers.

Particle-in-cell simulation of x-ray wakefield acceleration and betatron radiation in nanotubes

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Xiaomei; Tajima, Toshiki; Farinella, Deano; ...

2016-10-18

Though wakefield acceleration in crystal channels has been previously proposed, x-ray wakefield acceleration has only recently become a realistic possibility since the invention of the single-cycled optical laser compression technique. We investigate the acceleration due to a wakefield induced by a coherent, ultrashort x-ray pulse guided by a nanoscale channel inside a solid material. By two-dimensional particle-in-cell computer simulations, we show that an acceleration gradient of TeV/cm is attainable. This is about 3 orders of magnitude stronger than that of the conventional plasma-based wakefield accelerations, which implies the possibility of an extremely compact scheme to attain ultrahigh energies. In additionmore » to particle acceleration, this scheme can also induce the emission of high energy photons at ~O(10–100) MeV. Here, our simulations confirm such high energy photon emissions, which is in contrast with that induced by the optical laser driven wakefield scheme. In addition to this, the significantly improved emittance of the energetic electrons has been discussed.« less

Temperature insensitive bending sensor based on in-line Mach-Zehnder interferometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xue; Yu, Yongqin; Xu, Xiaomei; Huang, Quandong; Ou, Zhilong; Wang, Jishun; Yan, Peiguang; Du, Chenlin

2014-09-01

A simple and compact fiber bending sensor based on the Mach-Zehnder interferometer was proposed. A photonic crystal fiber (PCF) with a length of 10 mm was spliced by collapsing air holes with two conventional single mode fibers to consist of an all fiber bending sensor. The sensitivity of 0.53 nm/m-1 was obtained at 1586 nm for the curvature range from 0 to 8.514 m-1. The temperature sensitivity was very low. The measurement error due to the temperature effect was about 8.68×10-3 m-1/°c, and the temperature effect in the curvature measurement could be ignored. This device can avoid the cross sensitivity of the temperature in the curvature measurement.

Compact diode laser source for multiphoton biological imaging

PubMed Central

Niederriter, Robert D.; Ozbay, Baris N.; Futia, Gregory L.; Gibson, Emily A.; Gopinath, Juliet T.

2016-01-01

We demonstrate a compact, pulsed diode laser source suitable for multiphoton microscopy of biological samples. The center wavelength is 976 nm, near the peak of the two-photon cross section of common fluorescent markers such as genetically encoded green and yellow fluorescent proteins. The laser repetition rate is electrically tunable between 66.67 kHz and 10 MHz, with 2.3 ps pulse duration and peak powers >1 kW. The laser components are fiber-coupled and scalable to a compact package. We demonstrate >600 μm depth penetration in brain tissue, limited by laser power. PMID:28101420

Single Nanowire Probe for Single Cell Endoscopy and Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Ruoxue

The ability to manipulate light in subwavelength photonic and plasmonic structures has shown great potentials in revolutionizing how information is generated, transformed and processed. Chemically synthesized nanowires, in particular, offers a unique toolbox not only for highly compact and integrated photonic modules and devices, including coherent and incoherent light sources, waveguides, photodetectors and photovoltaics, but also for new types of nanoscopic bio-probes for spot cargo delivery and in-situ single cell endoscopy and sensing. Such nanowire probes would enable us to carry out intracellular imaging and probing with high spatial resolution, monitor in-vivo biological processes within single living cells and greatly improve our fundamental understanding of cell functions, intracellular physiological processes, and cellular signal pathways. My work is aimed at developing a material and instrumental platform for such single nanowire probe. Successful optical integration of Ag nanowire plasmonic waveguides, which offers deep subwavelength mode confinement, and conventional photonic waveguides was demonstrated on a single nanowire level. The highest plasmonic-photonic coupling efficiency coupling was found at small coupling angles and low input frequencies. The frequency dependent propagation loss was observed in Ag nanowire and was confirmed by quantitative measurement and in agreement with theoretical expectations. Rational integration of dielectric and Ag nanowire waveguide components into hybrid optical-plasmonic routing devices has been demonstrated. This capability is essential for incorporating sub-100nm Ag nanowire waveguides into optical fiber based nanoprobes for single cell endoscopy. The nanoprobe system based on single nanowire waveguides was demonstrated by optically coupling semiconductor or metal nanowire with an optical fiber with tapered tip. This nanoprobe design requires minimal instrumentation which makes it cost efficient and readily adaptable to average bio-lab environment. These probes are mechanically robust and flexible and can withstand repeated bending and deformation without significant deterioration in optical performance, which offers an ideal instrumental platform for out subsequent effort of using these nanoprobes in chemical sensing as well as single cell endoscopy and spot delivery. Parameters affecting the coupling efficiency and output power of the nanoprobe were studied and chemical etched of single mode fiber with small cone angle was established to be optimized for highly effective optical nanoprobes. The versatility of the nanoprobe design was first tested by transforming the nanowire probe into a pH sensor with near-field photopolymerization of a copolymer containing pH sensitive dye on the tip of the nanowire. The pH-sensitive nanoprobe was able to report the pH difference in micro-droplets containing buffer solution with the excitation of light waveguided on the nanoprobe with internal calibration, fast response time and good photostability and reversibility. Such nanoprobe sensors are ideal for high definition spatial and temporal sensing of concentration profile, especially for the kinetic processes in single cell studies for which chemical probes of minute sizes and fast response are desired. The nanoprobe was then applied into spot cargo delivery and in-situ single cell endoscopy. It was demonstrated that nanowire-based optical probe can deliver payloads into the cell with a high spatiotemporal precision, guide and confine visible light into intracellular compartments selectively and detect optical signals from the subcellular regions with high spatial resolution. The nanoprobe was proven to be biocompatible and non-invasive. The effective optical coupling between the fiber optics and the nanowire enables highly localized excitation and detection, limiting the probe volume to the close proximity of the nanowire. None the less, this versatile technique does not rely on any expensive or bulky instrumentation, and relies only on micromanipulator and optical microscope that are readily available in most biological labs. The different functions can be further integrated to make the whole nanoprobe system more compact and even portable. In addition, my research also includes the first demonstration of the synthesis of the longitudinal heterostructured SiO2/Al2O 3 nanotubes and the nanofluidic diode device based on the discontinuity of their internal surface charge. Comprehensive characterization shows that the nanotubes has heterostructured inner tube walls, as well as a discontinuity of surface charge. The ionic transport through these nanotube heterojunctions exhibits clear current rectification, a signature of ionic diode behavior. The development of such nanofluidic devices would enable the modulation of ionic and molecular transport at a more sophisticated level, and lead to large-scale integrated nanofluidic networks and logic circuits.

Photon merging and splitting in electromagnetic field inhomogeneities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gies, Holger; Karbstein, Felix; Seegert, Nico

2016-04-01

We investigate photon merging and splitting processes in inhomogeneous, slowly varying electromagnetic fields. Our study is based on the three-photon polarization tensor following from the Heisenberg-Euler effective action. We put special emphasis on deviations from the well-known constant field results, also revisiting the selection rules for these processes. In the context of high-intensity laser facilities, we analytically determine compact expressions for the number of merged/split photons as obtained in the focal spots of intense laser beams. For the parameter range of typical petawatt class laser systems as pump and probe, we provide estimates for the numbers of signal photons attainable in an actual experiment. The combination of frequency upshifting, polarization dependence and scattering off the inhomogeneities renders photon merging an ideal signature for the experimental exploration of nonlinear quantum vacuum properties.

Enhanced Single-Photon Emission from Carbon-Nanotube Dopant States Coupled to Silicon Microcavities.

PubMed

Ishii, Akihiro; He, Xiaowei; Hartmann, Nicolai F; Machiya, Hidenori; Htoon, Han; Doorn, Stephen K; Kato, Yuichiro K

2018-06-13

Single-walled carbon nanotubes are a promising material as quantum light sources at room temperature and as nanoscale light sources for integrated photonic circuits on silicon. Here, we show that the integration of dopant states in carbon nanotubes and silicon microcavities can provide bright and high-purity single-photon emitters on a silicon photonics platform at room temperature. We perform photoluminescence spectroscopy and observe the enhancement of emission from the dopant states by a factor of ∼50, and cavity-enhanced radiative decay is confirmed using time-resolved measurements, in which a ∼30% decrease of emission lifetime is observed. The statistics of photons emitted from the cavity-coupled dopant states are investigated by photon-correlation measurements, and high-purity single photon generation is observed. The excitation power dependence of photon emission statistics shows that the degree of photon antibunching can be kept high even when the excitation power increases, while the single-photon emission rate can be increased to ∼1.7 × 10 7 Hz.

Enhanced Single-Photon Emission from Carbon-Nanotube Dopant States Coupled to Silicon Microcavities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ishii, Akihiro; He, Xiaowei; Hartmann, Nicolai F.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes are a promising material as quantum light sources at room temperature and as nanoscale light sources for integrated photonic circuits on silicon. Here, we show that the integration of dopant states in carbon nanotubes and silicon microcavities can provide bright and high-purity single-photon emitters on a silicon photonics platform at room temperature. We perform photoluminescence spectroscopy and observe the enhancement of emission from the dopant states by a factor of ~50, and cavity-enhanced radiative decay is confirmed using time-resolved measurements, in which a ~30% decrease of emission lifetime is observed. The statistics of photons emitted from themore » cavity-coupled dopant states are investigated by photon-correlation measurements, and high-purity single photon generation is observed. The excitation power dependence of photon emission statistics shows that the degree of photon antibunching can be kept high even when the excitation power increases, while the single-photon emission rate can be increased to ~1.7 × 10 7 Hz.« less

Enhanced Single-Photon Emission from Carbon-Nanotube Dopant States Coupled to Silicon Microcavities

DOE PAGES

Ishii, Akihiro; He, Xiaowei; Hartmann, Nicolai F.; ...

2018-05-21

Single-walled carbon nanotubes are a promising material as quantum light sources at room temperature and as nanoscale light sources for integrated photonic circuits on silicon. Here, we show that the integration of dopant states in carbon nanotubes and silicon microcavities can provide bright and high-purity single-photon emitters on a silicon photonics platform at room temperature. We perform photoluminescence spectroscopy and observe the enhancement of emission from the dopant states by a factor of ~50, and cavity-enhanced radiative decay is confirmed using time-resolved measurements, in which a ~30% decrease of emission lifetime is observed. The statistics of photons emitted from themore » cavity-coupled dopant states are investigated by photon-correlation measurements, and high-purity single photon generation is observed. The excitation power dependence of photon emission statistics shows that the degree of photon antibunching can be kept high even when the excitation power increases, while the single-photon emission rate can be increased to ~1.7 × 10 7 Hz.« less

A quantum dot single-photon source with on-the-fly all-optical polarization control and timed emission.

PubMed

Heinze, Dirk; Breddermann, Dominik; Zrenner, Artur; Schumacher, Stefan

2015-10-05

Sources of single photons are key elements for applications in quantum information science. Among the different sources available, semiconductor quantum dots excel with their integrability in semiconductor on-chip solutions and the potential that photon emission can be triggered on demand. Usually, the photon is emitted from a single-exciton ground state. Polarization of the photon and time of emission are either probabilistic or pre-determined by electronic properties of the system. Here, we study the direct two-photon emission from the biexciton. The two-photon emission is enabled by a laser pulse driving the system into a virtual state inside the band gap. From this intermediate state, the single photon of interest is then spontaneously emitted. We show that emission through this higher-order transition provides a versatile approach to generate a single photon. Through the driving laser pulse, polarization state, frequency and emission time of the photon can be controlled on-the-fly.

Tuning single-photon sources for telecom multi-photon experiments.

PubMed

Greganti, Chiara; Schiansky, Peter; Calafell, Irati Alonso; Procopio, Lorenzo M; Rozema, Lee A; Walther, Philip

2018-02-05

Multi-photon state generation is of great interest for near-future quantum simulation and quantum computation experiments. To-date spontaneous parametric down-conversion is still the most promising process, even though two major impediments still exist: accidental photon noise (caused by the probabilistic non-linear process) and imperfect single-photon purity (arising from spectral entanglement between the photon pairs). In this work, we overcome both of these difficulties by (1) exploiting a passive temporal multiplexing scheme and (2) carefully optimizing the spectral properties of the down-converted photons using periodically-poled KTP crystals. We construct two down-conversion sources in the telecom wavelength regime, finding spectral purities of > 91%, while maintaining high four-photon count rates. We use single-photon grating spectrometers together with superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors to perform a detailed characterization of our multi-photon source. Our methods provide practical solutions to produce high-quality multi-photon states, which are in demand for many quantum photonics applications.

Multi-photon absorption limits to heralded single photon sources

PubMed Central

Husko, Chad A.; Clark, Alex S.; Collins, Matthew J.; De Rossi, Alfredo; Combrié, Sylvain; Lehoucq, Gaëlle; Rey, Isabella H.; Krauss, Thomas F.; Xiong, Chunle; Eggleton, Benjamin J.

2013-01-01

Single photons are of paramount importance to future quantum technologies, including quantum communication and computation. Nonlinear photonic devices using parametric processes offer a straightforward route to generating photons, however additional nonlinear processes may come into play and interfere with these sources. Here we analyse spontaneous four-wave mixing (SFWM) sources in the presence of multi-photon processes. We conduct experiments in silicon and gallium indium phosphide photonic crystal waveguides which display inherently different nonlinear absorption processes, namely two-photon (TPA) and three-photon absorption (ThPA), respectively. We develop a novel model capturing these diverse effects which is in excellent quantitative agreement with measurements of brightness, coincidence-to-accidental ratio (CAR) and second-order correlation function g(2)(0), showing that TPA imposes an intrinsic limit on heralded single photon sources. We build on these observations to devise a new metric, the quantum utility (QMU), enabling further optimisation of single photon sources. PMID:24186400

Single-photon non-linear optics with a quantum dot in a waveguide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Javadi, A.; Söllner, I.; Arcari, M.; Hansen, S. Lindskov; Midolo, L.; Mahmoodian, S.; Kiršanskė, G.; Pregnolato, T.; Lee, E. H.; Song, J. D.; Stobbe, S.; Lodahl, P.

2015-10-01

Strong non-linear interactions between photons enable logic operations for both classical and quantum-information technology. Unfortunately, non-linear interactions are usually feeble and therefore all-optical logic gates tend to be inefficient. A quantum emitter deterministically coupled to a propagating mode fundamentally changes the situation, since each photon inevitably interacts with the emitter, and highly correlated many-photon states may be created. Here we show that a single quantum dot in a photonic-crystal waveguide can be used as a giant non-linearity sensitive at the single-photon level. The non-linear response is revealed from the intensity and quantum statistics of the scattered photons, and contains contributions from an entangled photon-photon bound state. The quantum non-linearity will find immediate applications for deterministic Bell-state measurements and single-photon transistors and paves the way to scalable waveguide-based photonic quantum-computing architectures.

Time-Bin-Encoded Boson Sampling with a Single-Photon Device.

PubMed

He, Yu; Ding, X; Su, Z-E; Huang, H-L; Qin, J; Wang, C; Unsleber, S; Chen, C; Wang, H; He, Y-M; Wang, X-L; Zhang, W-J; Chen, S-J; Schneider, C; Kamp, M; You, L-X; Wang, Z; Höfling, S; Lu, Chao-Yang; Pan, Jian-Wei

2017-05-12

Boson sampling is a problem strongly believed to be intractable for classical computers, but can be naturally solved on a specialized photonic quantum simulator. Here, we implement the first time-bin-encoded boson sampling using a highly indistinguishable (∼94%) single-photon source based on a single quantum-dot-micropillar device. The protocol requires only one single-photon source, two detectors, and a loop-based interferometer for an arbitrary number of photons. The single-photon pulse train is time-bin encoded and deterministically injected into an electrically programmable multimode network. The observed three- and four-photon boson sampling rates are 18.8 and 0.2 Hz, respectively, which are more than 100 times faster than previous experiments based on parametric down-conversion.

On-Demand Single Photons with High Extraction Efficiency and Near-Unity Indistinguishability from a Resonantly Driven Quantum Dot in a Micropillar.

PubMed

Ding, Xing; He, Yu; Duan, Z-C; Gregersen, Niels; Chen, M-C; Unsleber, S; Maier, S; Schneider, Christian; Kamp, Martin; Höfling, Sven; Lu, Chao-Yang; Pan, Jian-Wei

2016-01-15

Scalable photonic quantum technologies require on-demand single-photon sources with simultaneously high levels of purity, indistinguishability, and efficiency. These key features, however, have only been demonstrated separately in previous experiments. Here, by s-shell pulsed resonant excitation of a Purcell-enhanced quantum dot-micropillar system, we deterministically generate resonance fluorescence single photons which, at π pulse excitation, have an extraction efficiency of 66%, single-photon purity of 99.1%, and photon indistinguishability of 98.5%. Such a single-photon source for the first time combines the features of high efficiency and near-perfect levels of purity and indistinguishabilty, and thus opens the way to multiphoton experiments with semiconductor quantum dots.

Design of a compact CMOS-compatible photonic antenna by topological optimization.

PubMed

Pita, Julián L; Aldaya, Ivan; Dainese, Paulo; Hernandez-Figueroa, Hugo E; Gabrielli, Lucas H

2018-02-05

Photonic antennas are critical in applications such as spectroscopy, photovoltaics, optical communications, holography, and sensors. In most of those applications, metallic antennas have been employed due to their reduced sizes. Nevertheless, compact metallic antennas suffer from high dissipative loss, wavelength-dependent radiation pattern, and they are difficult to integrate with CMOS technology. All-dielectric antennas have been proposed to overcome those disadvantages because, in contrast to metallic ones, they are CMOS-compatible, easier to integrate with typical silicon waveguides, and they generally present a broader wavelength range of operation. These advantages are achieved, however, at the expense of larger footprints that prevent dense integration and their use in massive phased arrays. In order to overcome this drawback, we employ topological optimization to design an all-dielectric compact antenna with vertical emission over a broad wavelength range. The fabricated device has a footprint of 1.78 µm × 1.78 µm and shows a shift in the direction of its main radiation lobe of only 4° over wavelengths ranging from 1470 nm to 1550 nm and a coupling efficiency bandwidth broader than 150 nm.

Laboratory simulation of photoionized plasma among astronomical compact objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujioka, Shinsuke; Yamamoto, Norimasa; Wang, Feilu; Salzmann, David; Li, Yutong; Rhee, Yong-Joo; Nishimura, Hiroaki; Takabe, Hideaki; Mima, Kunioki

2008-11-01

X-ray line emission with several-keV of photon energy was observed from photoionized accreting clouds, for example CYGNUS X-3 and VELA X-1, those are exposed by hard x-ray continuum from the compact objects, such as neutron stars, black holes, or white dwarfs, although accreting clouds are thermally cold. The x-ray continuum-induced line emission gives a good insight to the accreting clouds. We will present a novel laboratory simulation of the photoionized plasma under well-characterized conditions by using high-power laser facility. Blackbody radiator with 500-eV of temperature, as a miniature of a hot compact object, was created.Silicon (Si) plasma with 30-eV of electron temperature was produced in the vicinity of the 0.5-keV blackbody radiator. Line emissions of lithium- and helium-like Si ions was clearly observed around 2-keV of photon-energy from the thermally cold Si plasma, this result is hardly interpreted without consideration of the photoionization. Atomic kinetics code reveals importance of inner-shell ionization directly caused by incoming hard x-rays.

Compact cantilever couplers for low-loss fiber coupling to silicon photonic integrated circuits.

PubMed

Wood, Michael; Sun, Peng; Reano, Ronald M

2012-01-02

We demonstrate coupling from tapered optical fibers to 450 nm by 250 nm silicon strip waveguides using compact cantilever couplers. The couplers consist of silicon inverse width tapers embedded within silicon dioxide cantilevers. Finite difference time domain simulations are used to design the length of the silicon inverse width taper to as short as 6.5 μm for a cantilever width of 2 μm. Modeling of various strip waveguide taper profiles shows reduced coupling losses for a quadratic taper profile. Infrared measurements of fabricated devices demonstrate average coupling losses of 0.62 dB per connection for the quasi-TE mode and 0.50 dB per connection for the quasi-TM mode across the optical telecommunications C band. In the wavelength range from 1477 nm to 1580 nm, coupling losses for both polarizations are less than 1 dB per connection. The compact, broadband, and low-loss coupling scheme enables direct access to photonic integrated circuits on an entire chip surface without the need for dicing or cleaving the chip.

Ultrafast single photon emitting quantum photonic structures based on a nano-obelisk.

PubMed

Kim, Je-Hyung; Ko, Young-Ho; Gong, Su-Hyun; Ko, Suk-Min; Cho, Yong-Hoon

2013-01-01

A key issue in a single photon source is fast and efficient generation of a single photon flux with high light extraction efficiency. Significant progress toward high-efficiency single photon sources has been demonstrated by semiconductor quantum dots, especially using narrow bandgap materials. Meanwhile, there are many obstacles, which restrict the use of wide bandgap semiconductor quantum dots as practical single photon sources in ultraviolet-visible region, despite offering free space communication and miniaturized quantum information circuits. Here we demonstrate a single InGaN quantum dot embedded in an obelisk-shaped GaN nanostructure. The nano-obelisk plays an important role in eliminating dislocations, increasing light extraction, and minimizing a built-in electric field. Based on the nano-obelisks, we observed nonconventional narrow quantum dot emission and positive biexciton binding energy, which are signatures of negligible built-in field in single InGaN quantum dots. This results in efficient and ultrafast single photon generation in the violet color region.

Active phase correction of high resolution silicon photonic arrayed waveguide gratings

DOE PAGES

Gehl, M.; Trotter, D.; Starbuck, A.; ...

2017-03-10

Arrayed waveguide gratings provide flexible spectral filtering functionality for integrated photonic applications. Achieving narrow channel spacing requires long optical path lengths which can greatly increase the footprint of devices. High index contrast waveguides, such as those fabricated in silicon-on-insulator wafers, allow tight waveguide bends which can be used to create much more compact designs. Both the long optical path lengths and the high index contrast contribute to significant optical phase error as light propagates through the device. Thus, silicon photonic arrayed waveguide gratings require active or passive phase correction following fabrication. We present the design and fabrication of compact siliconmore » photonic arrayed waveguide gratings with channel spacings of 50, 10 and 1 GHz. The largest device, with 11 channels of 1 GHz spacing, has a footprint of only 1.1 cm 2. Using integrated thermo-optic phase shifters, the phase error is actively corrected. We present two methods of phase error correction and demonstrate state-of-the-art cross-talk performance for high index contrast arrayed waveguide gratings. As a demonstration of possible applications, we perform RF channelization with 1 GHz resolution. In addition, we generate unique spectral filters by applying non-zero phase offsets calculated by the Gerchberg Saxton algorithm.« less

Active phase correction of high resolution silicon photonic arrayed waveguide gratings.

PubMed

Gehl, M; Trotter, D; Starbuck, A; Pomerene, A; Lentine, A L; DeRose, C

2017-03-20

Arrayed waveguide gratings provide flexible spectral filtering functionality for integrated photonic applications. Achieving narrow channel spacing requires long optical path lengths which can greatly increase the footprint of devices. High index contrast waveguides, such as those fabricated in silicon-on-insulator wafers, allow tight waveguide bends which can be used to create much more compact designs. Both the long optical path lengths and the high index contrast contribute to significant optical phase error as light propagates through the device. Therefore, silicon photonic arrayed waveguide gratings require active or passive phase correction following fabrication. Here we present the design and fabrication of compact silicon photonic arrayed waveguide gratings with channel spacings of 50, 10 and 1 GHz. The largest device, with 11 channels of 1 GHz spacing, has a footprint of only 1.1 cm². Using integrated thermo-optic phase shifters, the phase error is actively corrected. We present two methods of phase error correction and demonstrate state-of-the-art cross-talk performance for high index contrast arrayed waveguide gratings. As a demonstration of possible applications, we perform RF channelization with 1 GHz resolution. Additionally, we generate unique spectral filters by applying non-zero phase offsets calculated by the Gerchberg Saxton algorithm.

Intense combined source of neutrons and photons for interrogation based on compact deuteron RF accelerator

DOE PAGES

Kurennoy, S. S.; Garnett, R. W.; Rybarcyk, L. J.

2015-06-18

Interrogation of special nuclear materials can benefit from mobile sources providing significant fluxes of neutrons (10 8/s at 2.5 MeV, 10 10/s at 14.1 MeV) and of photons (>10 12/s at 1-3 MeV). We propose a source that satisfies these requirements simultaneously plus also provides, via the reaction 11B(d,n) 12C(γ 15.1), a significant flux of 15-MeV photons, which are highly penetrating and optimal for inducing photo-fission in actinides. The source is based on a compact (< 5 m) deuteron RF accelerator that delivers an average current of a few mA of deuterons at 3-4 MeV to a boron target.more » The accelerator consists of a short RFQ followed by efficient inter-digital H-mode structures with permanent-magnet-quadrupole beam focusing [Kurennoy et al. (2012)], which suit perfectly for deuteron acceleration at low energies. Our estimates, based on recent measurements, indicate that the required fluxes of both neutrons and photons can be achieved at ~1 mA of 4-MeV deuterons. The goal of the proposed study is to confirm feasibility of the approach and develop requirements for future full system implementation.« less

Interferometric Quantum-Nondemolition Single-Photon Detectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kok, Peter; Lee, Hwang; Dowling, Jonathan

2007-01-01

Two interferometric quantum-nondemolition (QND) devices have been proposed: (1) a polarization-independent device and (2) a polarization-preserving device. The prolarization-independent device works on an input state of up to two photons, whereas the polarization-preserving device works on a superposition of vacuum and single- photon states. The overall function of the device would be to probabilistically generate a unique detector output only when its input electromagnetic mode was populated by a single photon, in which case its output mode would also be populated by a single photon. Like other QND devices, the proposed devices are potentially useful for a variety of applications, including such areas of NASA interest as quantum computing, quantum communication, detection of gravity waves, as well as pedagogical demonstrations of the quantum nature of light. Many protocols in quantum computation and quantum communication require the possibility of detecting a photon without destroying it. The only prior single- photon-detecting QND device is based on quantum electrodynamics in a resonant cavity and, as such, it depends on the photon frequency. Moreover, the prior device can distinguish only between one photon and no photon. The proposed interferometric QND devices would not depend on frequency and could distinguish between (a) one photon and (b) zero or two photons. The first proposed device is depicted schematically in Figure 1. The input electromagnetic mode would be a superposition of a zero-, a one-, and a two-photon quantum state. The overall function of the device would be to probabilistically generate a unique detector output only when its input electromagnetic mode was populated by a single photon, in which case its output mode also would be populated by a single photon.

Nonreciprocal Localization of Photons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramezani, Hamidreza; Jha, Pankaj K.; Wang, Yuan; Zhang, Xiang

2018-01-01

We demonstrate that it is possible to localize photons nonreciprocally in a moving photonic lattice made by spatiotemporally modulating the atomic response, where the dispersion acquires a spectral Doppler shift with respect to the probe direction. A static defect placed in such a moving lattice produces a spatial localization of light in the band gap with a shifting frequency that depends on the direction of incident field with respect to the moving lattice. This phenomenon has an impact not only in photonics but also in broader areas such as condensed matter and acoustics, opening the doors for designing new devices such as compact isolators, circulators, nonreciprocal traps, sensors, unidirectional tunable filters, and possibly even a unidirectional laser.

Single colloidal quantum dots as sources of single photons for quantum cryptography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pisanello, Ferruccio; Qualtieri, Antonio; Leménager, Godefroy; Martiradonna, Luigi; Stomeo, Tiziana; Cingolani, Roberto; Bramati, Alberto; De Vittorio, Massimo

2011-02-01

Colloidal nanocrystals, i.e. quantum dots synthesized trough wet-chemistry approaches, are promising nanoparticles for photonic applications and, remarkably, their quantum nature makes them very promising for single photon emission at room temperature. In this work we describe two approaches to engineer the emission properties of these nanoemitters in terms of radiative lifetime and photon polarization, drawing a viable strategy for their exploitation as room-temperature single photon sources for quantum information and quantum telecommunications.

8-Channel acquisition system for Time-Correlated Single-Photon Counting.

PubMed

Antonioli, S; Miari, L; Cuccato, A; Crotti, M; Rech, I; Ghioni, M

2013-06-01

Nowadays, an increasing number of applications require high-performance analytical instruments capable to detect the temporal trend of weak and fast light signals with picosecond time resolution. The Time-Correlated Single-Photon Counting (TCSPC) technique is currently one of the preferable solutions when such critical optical signals have to be analyzed and it is fully exploited in biomedical and chemical research fields, as well as in security and space applications. Recent progress in the field of single-photon detector arrays is pushing research towards the development of high performance multichannel TCSPC systems, opening the way to modern time-resolved multi-dimensional optical analysis. In this paper we describe a new 8-channel high-performance TCSPC acquisition system, designed to be compact and versatile, to be used in modern TCSPC measurement setups. We designed a novel integrated circuit including a multichannel Time-to-Amplitude Converter with variable full-scale range, a D∕A converter, and a parallel adder stage. The latter is used to adapt each converter output to the input dynamic range of a commercial 8-channel Analog-to-Digital Converter, while the integrated DAC implements the dithering technique with as small as possible area occupation. The use of this monolithic circuit made the design of a scalable system of very small dimensions (95 × 40 mm) and low power consumption (6 W) possible. Data acquired from the TCSPC measurement are digitally processed and stored inside an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), while a USB transceiver allows real-time transmission of up to eight TCSPC histograms to a remote PC. Eventually, the experimental results demonstrate that the acquisition system performs TCSPC measurements with high conversion rate (up to 5 MHz/channel), extremely low differential nonlinearity (<0.04 peak-to-peak of the time bin width), high time resolution (down to 20 ps Full-Width Half-Maximum), and very low crosstalk between channels.

Low thermal budget, photonic-cured compact TiO 2 layers for high-efficiency perovskite solar cells

DOE PAGES

Das, Sanjib; Gu, Gong; Joshi, Pooran C.; ...

2016-05-25

Rapid advances in organometallic trihalide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have positioned them to be one of the leading next generation photovoltaic technologies. However, most of the high-performance PSCs, particularly those using compact TiO 2 as an electron transport layer, require a high-temperature sintering step, which is not compatible with flexible polymer-based substrates. Considering the materials of interest for PSCs and corresponding device configurations, it is technologically imperative to fabricate high-efficiency cells at low thermal budget so that they can be realized on low-temperature plastic substrates. In this paper, we report on a new photonic curing technique that produces crystalline anatase-phasemore » TiO 2 films on indium tin oxide-coated glass and flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates. Finally, the planar PSCs, using photonic-cured TiO 2 films, exhibit PCEs as high as 15.0% and 11.2% on glass and flexible PET substrates, respectively, comparable to the device performance of PSCs incorporating furnace annealed TiO 2 films.« less

Generating single microwave photons in a circuit.

PubMed

Houck, A A; Schuster, D I; Gambetta, J M; Schreier, J A; Johnson, B R; Chow, J M; Frunzio, L; Majer, J; Devoret, M H; Girvin, S M; Schoelkopf, R J

2007-09-20

Microwaves have widespread use in classical communication technologies, from long-distance broadcasts to short-distance signals within a computer chip. Like all forms of light, microwaves, even those guided by the wires of an integrated circuit, consist of discrete photons. To enable quantum communication between distant parts of a quantum computer, the signals must also be quantum, consisting of single photons, for example. However, conventional sources can generate only classical light, not single photons. One way to realize a single-photon source is to collect the fluorescence of a single atom. Early experiments measured the quantum nature of continuous radiation, and further advances allowed triggered sources of photons on demand. To allow efficient photon collection, emitters are typically placed inside optical or microwave cavities, but these sources are difficult to employ for quantum communication on wires within an integrated circuit. Here we demonstrate an on-chip, on-demand single-photon source, where the microwave photons are injected into a wire with high efficiency and spectral purity. This is accomplished in a circuit quantum electrodynamics architecture, with a microwave transmission line cavity that enhances the spontaneous emission of a single superconducting qubit. When the qubit spontaneously emits, the generated photon acts as a flying qubit, transmitting the quantum information across a chip. We perform tomography of both the qubit and the emitted photons, clearly showing that both the quantum phase and amplitude are transferred during the emission. Both the average power and voltage of the photon source are characterized to verify performance of the system. This single-photon source is an important addition to a rapidly growing toolbox for quantum optics on a chip.

Hong-Ou-Mandel Interference Between Triggered And Heralded Single Photons From Separate Atomic Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cere, Alessandro; Leong, Victor; Kaur Gulati, Gurpreet; Srivathsan, Bharath; Kosen, Sandoko; Kurtsiefer, Christian

2015-05-01

The realization of quantum networks and long distance quantum communication rely on the capability of generating entanglement between separated nodes. We demonstrate the compatibility of two different sources of single photons: a single atom and four-wave mixing in a cold cloud of atoms. The four-wave mixing process in a cloud of cold 87Rb generates photon pairs. The cascade level scheme used ensures the generation of heralded single photons with exponentially decaying temporal envelope. The temporal shape of the heralding photons matches the shape of photons emitted by spontaneous decay but for the shorter coherence time A single 87Rb atom is trapped in an far-off-resonance optical dipole trap and can be excited with high probability using a short (~3 ns) intense pulse of resonant light, emitting a single photon by spontaneous decay. A large numerical aperture lens collects ~4% of the total fluorescence. The heralded and the triggered photons are launched into a Houng-Ou-Mandel interferometer: a symmetrical beam-splitter with outputs connected to single photon detectors. Scanning the relative delay between the two sources we observe the HOM dip with a maximum visibility of 70 +/-4%.

Boson Sampling with Single-Photon Fock States from a Bright Solid-State Source.

PubMed

Loredo, J C; Broome, M A; Hilaire, P; Gazzano, O; Sagnes, I; Lemaitre, A; Almeida, M P; Senellart, P; White, A G

2017-03-31

A boson-sampling device is a quantum machine expected to perform tasks intractable for a classical computer, yet requiring minimal nonclassical resources as compared to full-scale quantum computers. Photonic implementations to date employed sources based on inefficient processes that only simulate heralded single-photon statistics when strongly reducing emission probabilities. Boson sampling with only single-photon input has thus never been realized. Here, we report on a boson-sampling device operated with a bright solid-state source of single-photon Fock states with high photon-number purity: the emission from an efficient and deterministic quantum dot-micropillar system is demultiplexed into three partially indistinguishable single photons, with a single-photon purity 1-g^{(2)}(0) of 0.990±0.001, interfering in a linear optics network. Our demultiplexed source is between 1 and 2 orders of magnitude more efficient than current heralded multiphoton sources based on spontaneous parametric down-conversion, allowing us to complete the boson-sampling experiment faster than previous equivalent implementations.

Quantum State Transfer from a Single Photon to a Distant Quantum-Dot Electron Spin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Yu; He, Yu-Ming; Wei, Yu-Jia; Jiang, Xiao; Chen, Kai; Lu, Chao-Yang; Pan, Jian-Wei; Schneider, Christian; Kamp, Martin; Höfling, Sven

2017-08-01

Quantum state transfer from flying photons to stationary matter qubits is an important element in the realization of quantum networks. Self-assembled semiconductor quantum dots provide a promising solid-state platform hosting both single photon and spin, with an inherent light-matter interface. Here, we develop a method to coherently and actively control the single-photon frequency bins in superposition using electro-optic modulators, and measure the spin-photon entanglement with a fidelity of 0.796 ±0.020 . Further, by Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger-type state projection on the frequency, path, and polarization degrees of freedom of a single photon, we demonstrate quantum state transfer from a single photon to a single electron spin confined in an InGaAs quantum dot, separated by 5 m. The quantum state mapping from the photon's polarization to the electron's spin is demonstrated along three different axes on the Bloch sphere, with an average fidelity of 78.5%.

Room temperature single photon source using fiber-integrated hexagonal boron nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vogl, Tobias; Lu, Yuerui; Lam, Ping Koy

2017-07-01

Single photons are a key resource for quantum optics and optical quantum information processing. The integration of scalable room temperature quantum emitters into photonic circuits remains to be a technical challenge. Here we utilize a defect center in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) attached by Van der Waals force onto a multimode fiber as a single photon source. We perform an optical characterization of the source in terms of spectrum, state lifetime, power saturation and photostability. A special feature of our source is that it allows for easy switching between fiber-coupled and free space single photon generation modes. In order to prove the quantum nature of the emission we measure the second-order correlation function {{g}(2)}≤ft(τ \\right) . For both fiber-coupled and free space emission, the {{g}(2)}≤ft(τ \\right) dips below 0.5 indicating operation in the single photon regime. The results so far demonstrate the feasibility of 2D material single photon sources for scalable photonic quantum information processing.

Tunable and high-purity room temperature single-photon emission from atomic defects in hexagonal boron nitride

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Grosso, Gabriele; Moon, Hyowon; Lienhard, Benjamin

Two-dimensional van der Waals materials have emerged as promising platforms for solid-state quantum information processing devices with unusual potential for heterogeneous assembly. Recently, bright and photostable single photon emitters were reported from atomic defects in layered hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), but controlling inhomogeneous spectral distribution and reducing multi-photon emission presented open challenges. Here, we demonstrate that strain control allows spectral tunability of hBN single photon emitters over 6 meV, and material processing sharply improves the single photon purity. We observe high single photon count rates exceeding 7 × 10 6 counts per second at saturation, after correcting for uncorrelated photonmore » background. Furthermore, these emitters are stable to material transfer to other substrates. High-purity and photostable single photon emission at room temperature, together with spectral tunability and transferability, opens the door to scalable integration of high-quality quantum emitters in photonic quantum technologies.« less

Tunable and high-purity room temperature single-photon emission from atomic defects in hexagonal boron nitride

DOE PAGES

Grosso, Gabriele; Moon, Hyowon; Lienhard, Benjamin; ...

2017-09-26

Two-dimensional van der Waals materials have emerged as promising platforms for solid-state quantum information processing devices with unusual potential for heterogeneous assembly. Recently, bright and photostable single photon emitters were reported from atomic defects in layered hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), but controlling inhomogeneous spectral distribution and reducing multi-photon emission presented open challenges. Here, we demonstrate that strain control allows spectral tunability of hBN single photon emitters over 6 meV, and material processing sharply improves the single photon purity. We observe high single photon count rates exceeding 7 × 10 6 counts per second at saturation, after correcting for uncorrelated photonmore » background. Furthermore, these emitters are stable to material transfer to other substrates. High-purity and photostable single photon emission at room temperature, together with spectral tunability and transferability, opens the door to scalable integration of high-quality quantum emitters in photonic quantum technologies.« less

Spin-based single-photon transistor, dynamic random access memory, diodes, and routers in semiconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, C. Y.

2016-12-01

The realization of quantum computers and quantum Internet requires not only quantum gates and quantum memories, but also transistors at single-photon levels to control the flow of information encoded on single photons. Single-photon transistor (SPT) is an optical transistor in the quantum limit, which uses a single photon to open or block a photonic channel. In sharp contrast to all previous SPT proposals which are based on single-photon nonlinearities, here I present a design for a high-gain and high-speed (up to THz) SPT based on a linear optical effect: giant circular birefringence induced by a single spin in a double-sided optical microcavity. A gate photon sets the spin state via projective measurement and controls the light propagation in the optical channel. This spin-cavity transistor can be directly configured as diodes, routers, DRAM units, switches, modulators, etc. Due to the duality as quantum gate and transistor, the spin-cavity unit provides a solid-state platform ideal for future Internet: a mixture of all-optical Internet with quantum Internet.

Direct detection of a single photon by humans

PubMed Central

Tinsley, Jonathan N.; Molodtsov, Maxim I.; Prevedel, Robert; Wartmann, David; Espigulé-Pons, Jofre; Lauwers, Mattias; Vaziri, Alipasha

2016-01-01

Despite investigations for over 70 years, the absolute limits of human vision have remained unclear. Rod cells respond to individual photons, yet whether a single-photon incident on the eye can be perceived by a human subject has remained a fundamental open question. Here we report that humans can detect a single-photon incident on the cornea with a probability significantly above chance. This was achieved by implementing a combination of a psychophysics procedure with a quantum light source that can generate single-photon states of light. We further discover that the probability of reporting a single photon is modulated by the presence of an earlier photon, suggesting a priming process that temporarily enhances the effective gain of the visual system on the timescale of seconds. PMID:27434854

An on-chip coupled resonator optical waveguide single-photon buffer

PubMed Central

Takesue, Hiroki; Matsuda, Nobuyuki; Kuramochi, Eiichi; Munro, William J.; Notomi, Masaya

2013-01-01

Integrated quantum optical circuits are now seen as one of the most promising approaches with which to realize single-photon quantum information processing. Many of the core elements for such circuits have been realized, including sources, gates and detectors. However, a significant missing function necessary for photonic quantum information processing on-chip is a buffer, where single photons are stored for a short period of time to facilitate circuit synchronization. Here we report an on-chip single-photon buffer based on coupled resonator optical waveguides (CROW) consisting of 400 high-Q photonic crystal line-defect nanocavities. By using the CROW, a pulsed single photon is successfully buffered for 150 ps with 50-ps tunability while maintaining its non-classical properties. Furthermore, we show that our buffer preserves entanglement by storing and retrieving one photon from a time-bin entangled state. This is a significant step towards an all-optical integrated quantum information processor. PMID:24217422

On-chip low loss heralded source of pure single photons.

PubMed

Spring, Justin B; Salter, Patrick S; Metcalf, Benjamin J; Humphreys, Peter C; Moore, Merritt; Thomas-Peter, Nicholas; Barbieri, Marco; Jin, Xian-Min; Langford, Nathan K; Kolthammer, W Steven; Booth, Martin J; Walmsley, Ian A

2013-06-03

A key obstacle to the experimental realization of many photonic quantum-enhanced technologies is the lack of low-loss sources of single photons in pure quantum states. We demonstrate a promising solution: generation of heralded single photons in a silica photonic chip by spontaneous four-wave mixing. A heralding efficiency of 40%, corresponding to a preparation efficiency of 80% accounting for detector performance, is achieved due to efficient coupling of the low-loss source to optical fibers. A single photon purity of 0.86 is measured from the source number statistics without narrow spectral filtering, and confirmed by direct measurement of the joint spectral intensity. We calculate that similar high-heralded-purity output can be obtained from visible to telecom spectral regions using this approach. On-chip silica sources can have immediate application in a wide range of single-photon quantum optics applications which employ silica photonics.

Design of dual ring wavelength filters for WDM applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sathyadevaki, R.; Shanmuga sundar, D.; Sivanantha Raja, A.

2016-12-01

Wavelength division multiplexing plays a prime role in an optical communication due to its advantages such as easy network expansion, longer span lengths etc. In this work, photonic crystal based filters with the dual rings are proposed which act as band pass filters (BPF) and channel drop filter (CDF) that has found a massive applications in C and L-bands used for wavelength selection and noise filtering at erbium doped fiber amplifiers and dense wavelength division multiplexing operation. These filters are formulated on the square lattice with crystal rods of silicon material of refractive index 3.4 which are perforated on an air of refractive index 1. Dual ring double filters (band pass filter and channel drop filter) on single layout possess passing and dropping band of wavelengths in two distinct arrangements with entire band quality factors of 92.09523 & 505.263 and 124.85019 & 456.8633 for the pass and drop filters of initial setup and amended setup respectively. These filters have the high-quality factor with broad and narrow bandwidths of 16.8 nm & 3.04 nm and 12.85 nm & 3.3927 nm. Transmission spectra and band gap of the desired filters is analyzed using Optiwave software suite. Two dual ring filters incorporated on a single layout comprises the size of 15×11 μm which can also be used in the integrated photonic chips for the ultra-compact unification of devices.

2D dark-count-rate modeling of PureB single-photon avalanche diodes in a TCAD environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knežević, Tihomir; Nanver, Lis K.; Suligoj, Tomislav

2018-02-01

PureB silicon photodiodes have nm-shallow p+n junctions with which photons/electrons with penetration-depths of a few nanometer can be detected. PureB Single-Photon Avalanche Diodes (SPADs) were fabricated and analysed by 2D numerical modeling as an extension to TCAD software. The very shallow p+ -anode has high perimeter curvature that enhances the electric field. In SPADs, noise is quantified by the dark count rate (DCR) that is a measure for the number of false counts triggered by unwanted processes in the non-illuminated device. Just like for desired events, the probability a dark count increases with increasing electric field and the perimeter conditions are critical. In this work, the DCR was studied by two 2D methods of analysis: the "quasi-2D" (Q-2D) method where vertical 1D cross-sections were assumed for calculating the electron/hole avalanche-probabilities, and the "ionization-integral 2D" (II-2D) method where crosssections were placed where the maximum ionization-integrals were calculated. The Q-2D method gave satisfactory results in structures where the peripheral regions had a small contribution to the DCR, such as in devices with conventional deepjunction guard rings (GRs). Otherwise, the II-2D method proved to be much more precise. The results show that the DCR simulation methods are useful for optimizing the compromise between fill-factor and p-/n-doping profile design in SPAD devices. For the experimentally investigated PureB SPADs, excellent agreement of the measured and simulated DCR was achieved. This shows that although an implicit GR is attractively compact, the very shallow pn-junction gives a risk of having such a low breakdown voltage at the perimeter that the DCR of the device may be negatively impacted.

Single-photon absorption by single photosynthetic light-harvesting complexes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chan, Herman C. H.; Gamel, Omar E.; Fleming, Graham R.; Whaley, K. Birgitta

2018-03-01

We provide a unified theoretical approach to the quantum dynamics of absorption of single photons and subsequent excitonic energy transfer in photosynthetic light-harvesting complexes. Our analysis combines a continuous mode < n > -photon quantum optical master equation for the chromophoric system with the hierarchy of equations of motion describing excitonic dynamics in presence of non-Markovian coupling to vibrations of the chromophores and surrounding protein. We apply the approach to simulation of absorption of single-photon coherent states by pigment-protein complexes containing between one and seven chromophores, and compare with results obtained by excitation using a thermal radiation field. We show that the values of excitation probability obtained under single-photon absorption conditions can be consistently related to bulk absorption cross-sections. Analysis of the timescale and efficiency of single-photon absorption by light-harvesting systems within this full quantum description of pigment-protein dynamics coupled to a quantum radiation field reveals a non-trivial dependence of the excitation probability and the excited state dynamics induced by exciton-phonon coupling during and subsequent to the pulse, on the bandwidth of the incident photon pulse. For bandwidths equal to the spectral bandwidth of Chlorophyll a, our results yield an estimation of an average time of ˜0.09 s for a single chlorophyll chromophore to absorb the energy equivalent of one (single-polarization) photon under irradiation by single-photon states at the intensity of sunlight.

Enhancement of Rydberg-mediated single-photon nonlinearities by electrically tuned Förster resonances

PubMed Central

Gorniaczyk, H.; Tresp, C.; Bienias, P.; Paris-Mandoki, A.; Li, W.; Mirgorodskiy, I.; Büchler, H. P.; Lesanovsky, I.; Hofferberth, S.

2016-01-01

Mapping the strong interaction between Rydberg atoms onto single photons via electromagnetically induced transparency enables manipulation of light at the single-photon level and few-photon devices such as all-optical switches and transistors operated by individual photons. Here we demonstrate experimentally that Stark-tuned Förster resonances can substantially increase this effective interaction between individual photons. This technique boosts the gain of a single-photon transistor to over 100, enhances the non-destructive detection of single Rydberg atoms to a fidelity beyond 0.8, and enables high-precision spectroscopy on Rydberg pair states. On top, we achieve a gain larger than 2 with gate photon read-out after the transistor operation. Theory models for Rydberg polariton propagation on Förster resonance and for the projection of the stored spin-wave yield excellent agreement to our data and successfully identify the main decoherence mechanism of the Rydberg transistor, paving the way towards photonic quantum gates. PMID:27515278

Sealing ability of lateral compaction and tapered single cone gutta-percha techniques in root canals prepared with stainless steel and rotary nickel titanium instruments.

PubMed

Koçak, Mustafa M; Darendeliler-Yaman, Sis

2012-07-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the sealing ability of lateral compaction and tapered single cone gutta-percha techniques in root canals prepared with stainless steel and rotary nickel titanium root canal instruments by fluid filtration method. The root canals were prepared with stainless steel (SS) and nickel titanium (NiTi) instruments. The canals prepared with SS were obturated with lateral compaction technique using .02 tapered cones and the canals prepared with NiTi instruments were obturated with lateral compaction technique using .02 tapered cones or 06 tapered single cones. The amount of leakage was evaluated by fluid filtration model. The results were statistically analyzed with one-way ANOVA. The group prepared with NiTi instruments and filled with lateral compaction technique showed significantly less coronal leakage than the group prepared with SS instruments and filled with lateral compaction technique (p<0.05). There was no statistically difference between apical leakages of groups (p>0.05). Obturation with lateral compaction of gutta-percha provides a superior coronal seal whilst canal instrumentation with engine-driven NiTi files reduces the extent of microleakage in root canals when compared with stainless steel hand instruments. Tapered single cone technique was comparable with lateral compaction technique because of easier application. Key words:Apical leakage, coronal leakage, lateral compaction technique, single cone technique.

Ultra-low power generation of twin photons in a compact silicon ring resonator.

PubMed

Azzini, Stefano; Grassani, Davide; Strain, Michael J; Sorel, Marc; Helt, L G; Sipe, J E; Liscidini, Marco; Galli, Matteo; Bajoni, Daniele

2012-10-08

We demonstrate efficient generation of correlated photon pairs by spontaneous four wave mixing in a 5 μm radius silicon ring resonator in the telecom band around 1550 nm. By optically pumping our device with a 200 μW continuous wave laser, we obtain a pair generation rate of 0.2 MHz and demonstrate photon time correlations with a coincidence-to-accidental ratio as high as 250. The results are in good agreement with theoretical predictions and show the potential of silicon micro-ring resonators as room temperature sources for integrated quantum optics applications.

Polarization control in flexible interference lithography for nano-patterning of different photonic structures with optimized contrast.

PubMed

He, Jianfang; Fang, Xiaohui; Lin, Yuanhai; Zhang, Xinping

2015-05-04

Half-wave plates were introduced into an interference-lithography scheme consisting of three fibers that were arranged into a rectangular triangle. Such a flexible and compact geometry allows convenient tuning of the polarizations of both the UV laser source and each branch arm. This not only enables optimization of the contrast of the produced photonic structures with expected square lattices, but also multiplies the nano-patterning functions of a fixed design of fiber-based interference lithography. The patterns of the photonic structures can be thus tuned simply by rotating a half-wave plate.

Quantum Logic with Cavity Photons From Single Atoms.

PubMed

Holleczek, Annemarie; Barter, Oliver; Rubenok, Allison; Dilley, Jerome; Nisbet-Jones, Peter B R; Langfahl-Klabes, Gunnar; Marshall, Graham D; Sparrow, Chris; O'Brien, Jeremy L; Poulios, Konstantinos; Kuhn, Axel; Matthews, Jonathan C F

2016-07-08

We demonstrate quantum logic using narrow linewidth photons that are produced with an a priori nonprobabilistic scheme from a single ^{87}Rb atom strongly coupled to a high-finesse cavity. We use a controlled-not gate integrated into a photonic chip to entangle these photons, and we observe nonclassical correlations between photon detection events separated by periods exceeding the travel time across the chip by 3 orders of magnitude. This enables quantum technology that will use the properties of both narrow-band single photon sources and integrated quantum photonics.

Compact four-channel terahertz demultiplexer based on directional coupling photonic crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiu-Sheng, Li; Han, Liu; Le, Zhang

2015-09-01

Electromagnetic polarization conveys valuable information for signal processing. Manipulation of terahertz wavelength demultiplexer exhibits tremendous potential in developing application of terahertz science and technology. We propose an approach to separate efficiently four frequencies terahertz waves based on three cascaded directional coupling two-dimensional photonic crystal waveguides. Both plane wave expansion method and finite-difference time-domain method are used to calculate and analyze the characteristics of the proposed device. The simulation results show that the designed terahertz wavelength demultiplexer can split four different wavelengths of terahertz wave into different propagation directions with high transmittance and low crosstalk. The present device is very compact and the total size is 6.8×10.6 mm2. This enables the terahertz wavelength demultiplexer to be used in terahertz wave system and terahertz wave integrated circuit fields.

A compact thermo-optical multimode-interference silicon-based 1 × 4 nano-photonic switch.

PubMed

Zhou, Haifeng; Song, Junfeng; Chee, Edward K S; Li, Chao; Zhang, Huijuan; Lo, Guoqiang

2013-09-09

An ultra-compact multimode-interference (MMI)-based 1 × 4 nano-photonic switch is demonstrated by employing silicon thermo-optical effect on SOI platform. The device performance is systematically characterized by comprehensively investigating the constituent building blocks, including 1 × 4 power splitter, 4 × 4 MMI coupler and groove-isolated thermo-optical heaters. An instructive model is established to statistically estimate the required power consumption and investigate the influence of the power imbalance of the 4 × 4 MMI coupler on the switching performance. At the designed wavelength of 1550 nm, the average insertion loss of different switching states is 1.7 dB, and the transmission imbalance is 1.05 dB. The worst extinction ratio and crosstalk of all the output ports reach 11.48 dB and -11.38 dB, respectively.

Quantitative imaging of single-shot liquid distributions in sprays using broadband flash x-ray radiography

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Halls, B. R.; Roy, S.; Gord, J. R.

Flash x-ray radiography is used to capture quantitative, two-dimensional line-of-sight averaged, single-shot liquid distribution measurements in impinging jet sprays. The accuracy of utilizing broadband x-ray radiation from compact flash tube sources is investigated for a range of conditions by comparing the data with radiographic high-speed measurements from a narrowband, high-intensity synchrotron x-ray facility at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) of Argonne National Laboratory. The path length of the liquid jets is varied to evaluate the effects of energy dependent x-ray attenuation, also known as spectral beam hardening. The spatial liquid distributions from flash x-ray and synchrotron-based radiography are compared, alongmore » with spectral characteristics using Taylor’s hypothesis. The results indicate that quantitative, single-shot imaging of liquid distributions can be achieved using broadband x-ray sources with nanosecond temporal resolution. Practical considerations for optimizing the imaging system performance are discussed, including the coupled effects of x-ray bandwidth, contrast, sensitivity, spatial resolution, temporal resolution, and spectral beam hardening.« less

RF Single Electron Transistor Readout Amplifiers for Superconducting Astronomical Detectors for X-Ray to Sub-mm Wavelengths

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stevenson, Thomas; Aassime, Abdelhanin; Delsing, Per; Frunzio, Luigi; Li, Li-Qun; Prober, Daniel; Schoelkopf, Robert; Segall, Ken; Wilson, Chris; Stahle, Carl

2000-01-01

We report progress on using a new type of amplifier, the Radio-Frequency Single-Electron Transistor (RF-SET), to develop multi-channel sensor readout systems for fast and sensitive readout of high impedance cryogenic photodetectors such as Superconducting Tunnel Junctions and Single Quasiparticle Photon Counters. Although cryogenic, these detectors are desirable because of capabilities not other-wise attainable. However, high impedances and low output levels make low-noise, high-speed readouts challenging, and large format arrays would be facilitated by compact, low-power, on-chip integrated amplifiers. Well-suited for this application are RF-SETs, very high performance electrometers which use an rf readout technique to provide 100 MHz bandwidth. Small size, low power, and cryogenic operation allow direct integration with detectors, and using multiple rf carrier frequencies permits simultaneous readout of 20-50 amplifiers with a common electrical connection. We describe both the first 2-channel demonstration of this wavelength division multiplexing technique for RF-SETs, and Charge-Locked-Loop operation with 100 kHz of closed-loop bandwidth.

Single-Photon Routing for a L-Shaped Channel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Xiong; Hou, Jiao-Jiao; Wu, Chun

2018-02-01

We have investigated the transport properties of a single photon scattered by a two-level atom embedded in a L-shaped waveguide, which is made of two one-dimensional (1D) semi-infinite coupled-resonator waveguides (CRWs). Single photons can be directed from one CRW to the other due to spontaneous emission of the atom. The result shows that the spontaneous emission of the TLS still routes single photon from one CRW to the other; the boundary existing makes the probability of finding single photon in a CRW could reach one. Our the scheme is helpful to construct a ring quantum networks.

Single photon at a configurable quantum-memory-based beam splitter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Xianxin; Mei, Yefeng; Du, Shengwang

2018-06-01

We report the demonstration of a configurable coherent quantum-memory-based beam splitter (BS) for a single-photon wave packet making use of laser-cooled 85Rb atoms and electromagnetically induced transparency. The single-photon wave packet is converted (stored) into a collective atomic spin state and later retrieved (split) into two nearly opposing directions. The storage time, beam-splitting ratio, and relative phase are configurable and can be dynamically controlled. We experimentally confirm that such a BS preserves the quantum particle nature of the single photon and the coherence between the two split wave packets of the single photon.

Single photon ranging system using two wavelengths laser and analysis of precision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yunfei; He, Weiji; Miao, Zhuang; Gu, Guohua; Chen, Qian

2013-09-01

The laser ranging system based on time correlation single photon counting technology and single photon detector has the feature of high precision and low emergent energy etc. In this paper, we established a single photon laser ranging system that use the supercontinuum laser as light source, and two wavelengths (532nm and 830nm) of echo signal as the stop signal. We propose a new method that is capable to improve the single photon ranging system performance. The method is implemented by using two single-photon detectors to receive respectively the two different wavelength signals at the same time. We extracted the firings of the two detectors triggered by the same laser pulse at the same time and then took mean time of the two firings as the combined detection time-of-flight. The detection by two channels using two wavelengths will effectively improve the detection precision and decrease the false alarm probability. Finally, an experimental single photon ranging system was established. Through a lot of experiments, we got the system precision using both single and two wavelengths and verified the effectiveness of the method.

Single-photon frequency conversion via cascaded quadratic nonlinear processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiang, Tong; Sun, Qi-Chao; Li, Yuanhua; Zheng, Yuanlin; Chen, Xianfeng

2018-06-01

Frequency conversion of single photons is an important technology for quantum interface and quantum communication networks. Here, single-photon frequency conversion in the telecommunication band is experimentally demonstrated via cascaded quadratic nonlinear processes. Using cascaded quasi-phase-matched sum and difference frequency generation in a periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide, the signal photon of a photon pair from spontaneous down-conversion is precisely shifted to identically match its counterpart, i.e., the idler photon, in frequency to manifest a clear nonclassical dip in the Hong-Ou-Mandel interference. Moreover, quantum entanglement between the photon pair is maintained after the frequency conversion, as is proved in time-energy entanglement measurement. The scheme is used to switch single photons between dense wavelength-division multiplexing channels, which holds great promise in applications in realistic quantum networks.

A monolithic integrated photonic microwave filter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fandiño, Javier S.; Muñoz, Pascual; Doménech, David; Capmany, José

2017-02-01

Meeting the increasing demand for capacity in wireless networks requires the harnessing of higher regions in the radiofrequency spectrum, reducing cell size, as well as more compact, agile and power-efficient base stations that are capable of smoothly interfacing the radio and fibre segments. Fully functional microwave photonic chips are promising candidates in attempts to meet these goals. In recent years, many integrated microwave photonic chips have been reported in different technologies. To the best of our knowledge, none has monolithically integrated all the main active and passive optoelectronic components. Here, we report the first demonstration of a tunable microwave photonics filter that is monolithically integrated into an indium phosphide chip. The reconfigurable radiofrequency photonic filter includes all the necessary elements (for example, lasers, modulators and photodetectors), and its response can be tuned by means of control electric currents. This is an important step in demonstrating the feasibility of integrated and programmable microwave photonic processors.

WDM Nanoscale Laser Diodes for Si Photonic Interconnects

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-07-25

mounting on silicon. The nanoscale VCSELs can achieve small optical modes and present a compact laser diode that is also robust. In this work we have used...Distribution Unlimited UU UU UU UU 25-07-2016 1-Feb-2012 31-Dec-2015 Final Report: WDM Nanoscale Laser Diodes for Si Photonic Interconnects The views...P.O. Box 12211 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2211 VCSEL, optical interconnect, laser diode , semiconductor laser, microcavity REPORT DOCUMENTATION

Modification of emission photon statistics from single quantum dots using metal/SiO2 core/shell nanostructures.

PubMed

Naiki, Hiroyuki; Oikawa, Hidetoshi; Masuo, Sadahiro

2017-04-12

Emission photon statistics, i.e., single-photon and multi-photon emissions, of isolated QDs is required for tailoring optoelectronic applications. In this article, we demonstrate that the emission photon statistics can be modified by the control of the spectral overlap of the QDs with the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of the metal nanoparticle (metal NP) and by the distance between the QD and the metal NP. Moreover, the contribution to the modification of the emission photon statistics, which is the excitation and emission enhancements and the quenching generated by the spectral overlap and the distance, is elucidated. By fabricating well-defined SiO 2 -coated AgNPs and AuNPs (metal/SiO 2 ), the spectral overlap originated from the metal species of Ag and Au and the distance constituted by the thickness of the SiO 2 shell are controlled. The probability of single-photon emission of single QD was increased by the enhancement of the excitation rate via adjusting the distance using Ag/SiO 2 while the single-photon emission was converted to multi-photon emission by the effect of exciton quenching at a short distance and a small spectral overlap. By contrast, the probability of multi-photon emission was increased by enhancement of the multi-photon emission rate and the quenching via the spectral overlap using Au/SiO 2 . These results indicated the fundamental finding to control emission photon statistics in single QDs by controlling the spectral overlap and the distance, and understand the interaction of plasmonic nanostructures and single QD systems.

Entanglement and quantum superposition induced by a single photon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lü, Xin-You; Zhu, Gui-Lei; Zheng, Li-Li; Wu, Ying

2018-03-01

We predict the occurrence of single-photon-induced entanglement and quantum superposition in a hybrid quantum model, introducing an optomechanical coupling into the Rabi model. Originally, it comes from the photon-dependent quantum property of the ground state featured by the proposed hybrid model. It is associated with a single-photon-induced quantum phase transition, and is immune to the A2 term of the spin-field interaction. Moreover, the obtained quantum superposition state is actually a squeezed cat state, which can significantly enhance precision in quantum metrology. This work offers an approach to manipulate entanglement and quantum superposition with a single photon, which might have potential applications in the engineering of new single-photon quantum devices, and also fundamentally broaden the regime of cavity QED.

High-speed and high-efficiency travelling wave single-photon detectors embedded in nanophotonic circuits

PubMed Central

Pernice, W.H.P.; Schuck, C.; Minaeva, O.; Li, M.; Goltsman, G.N.; Sergienko, A.V.; Tang, H.X.

2012-01-01

Ultrafast, high-efficiency single-photon detectors are among the most sought-after elements in modern quantum optics and quantum communication. However, imperfect modal matching and finite photon absorption rates have usually limited their maximum attainable detection efficiency. Here we demonstrate superconducting nanowire detectors atop nanophotonic waveguides, which enable a drastic increase of the absorption length for incoming photons. This allows us to achieve high on-chip single-photon detection efficiency up to 91% at telecom wavelengths, repeatable across several fabricated chips. We also observe remarkably low dark count rates without significant compromise of the on-chip detection efficiency. The detectors are fully embedded in scalable silicon photonic circuits and provide ultrashort timing jitter of 18 ps. Exploiting this high temporal resolution, we demonstrate ballistic photon transport in silicon ring resonators. Our direct implementation of a high-performance single-photon detector on chip overcomes a major barrier in integrated quantum photonics. PMID:23271658

Deterministically swapping frequency-bin entanglement from photon-photon to atom-photon hybrid systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ou, Bao-Quan; Liu, Chang; Sun, Yuan; Chen, Ping-Xing

2018-02-01

Inspired by the recent developments of the research on the atom-photon quantum interface and energy-time entanglement between single-photon pulses, we are motivated to study the deterministic protocol for the frequency-bin entanglement of the atom-photon hybrid system, which is analogous to the frequency-bin entanglement between single-photon pulses. We show that such entanglement arises naturally in considering the interaction between a frequency-bin entangled single-photon pulse pair and a single atom coupled to an optical cavity, via straightforward atom-photon phase gate operations. Its anticipated properties and preliminary examples of its potential application in quantum networking are also demonstrated. Moreover, we construct a specific quantum entanglement witness tool to detect such extended frequency-bin entanglement from a reasonably general set of separable states, and prove its capability theoretically. We focus on the energy-time considerations throughout the analysis.

Silicon photonics WDM transmitter with single section semiconductor mode-locked laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Müller, Juliana; Hauck, Johannes; Shen, Bin; Romero-García, Sebastian; Islamova, Elmira; Azadeh, Saeed Sharif; Joshi, Siddharth; Chimot, Nicolas; Moscoso-Mártir, Alvaro; Merget, Florian; Lelarge, François; Witzens, Jeremy

2015-04-01

We demonstrate a wavelength domain-multiplexed (WDM) optical link relying on a single section semiconductor mode-locked laser (SS-MLL) with quantum dash (Q-Dash) gain material to generate 25 optical carriers spaced by 60.8 GHz, as well as silicon photonics (SiP) resonant ring modulators (RRMs) to modulate individual optical channels. The link requires optical reamplification provided by an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) in the system experiments reported here. Open eye diagrams with signal quality factors (Q-factors) above 7 are measured with a commercial receiver (Rx). For higher compactness and cost effectiveness, reamplification of the modulated channels with a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) operated in the linear regime is highly desirable. System and device characterization indicate compatibility with the latter. While we expect channel counts to be primarily limited by the saturation output power level of the SOA, we estimate a single SOA to support more than eight channels. Prior to describing the system experiments, component design and detailed characterization results are reported including design and characterization of RRMs, ring-based resonant optical add-drop multiplexers (RR-OADMs) and thermal tuners, S-parameters resulting from the interoperation of RRMs and RR-OADMs, and characterization of Q-Dash SS-MLLs reamplified with a commercial SOA. Particular emphasis is placed on peaking effects in the transfer functions of RRMs and RR-OADMs resulting from transient effects in the optical domain, as well as on the characterization of SS-MLLs in regard to relative intensity noise (RIN), stability of the modes of operation, and excess noise after reamplification.

Single-Photon Nanoantennas

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Single-photon nanoantennas are broadband strongly scattering nanostructures placed in the near field of a single quantum emitter, with the goal to enhance the coupling between the emitter and far-field radiation channels. Recently, great strides have been made in the use of nanoantennas to realize fluorescence brightness enhancements, and Purcell enhancements, of several orders of magnitude. This perspective reviews the key figures of merit by which single-photon nanoantenna performance is quantified and the recent advances in measuring these metrics unambiguously. Next, this perspective discusses what the state of the art is in terms of fluoresent brightness enhancements, Purcell factors, and directivity control on the level of single photons. Finally, I discuss future challenges for single-photon nanoantennas. PMID:29354664

Flash x-ray radiography of argon jets in ambient air

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geiswiller, J.; Robert, E.; Huré, L.; Cachoncinlle, C.; Viladrosa, R.; Pouvesle, J. M.

1998-09-01

This paper describes the development and application of a soft x-ray flash radiography technique. A very compact soft x-ray flash source has been specially designed for these studies. The table-top x-ray source developed in this work emits strong doses, up to one roentgen at the output window, of x-ray photons, with most of them in the characteristic lines of the anode material (photon energy in the energy range 5-10 keV), in pulse of 20 ns FWHM with an x-ray emission zone smaller than 0957-0233/9/9/024/img1. All these characteristics make this source attractive for the x-ray radiography of high-speed phenomena, down to ten nanoseconds duration and/or for the media presenting weak absorption for the harder x-ray photons emitted by more conventional flash x-ray systems. Argon streams in ambient air were chosen as a typical case to enlighten the potentialities of this method. Single-shot radiographs of such an argon jet through rectangular nozzles were obtained. No attempt of quantitative measurement of local density in the argon stream has yet been performed, only the qualitative structure of the jet has been investigated. Nevertheless, these preliminary results enable us to state that the diagnostics of gaseous or plasma media, even at rather low pressures, can proceed using soft x-ray flash radiography.

Evaluation of performance of silicon photomultipliers in lidar applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vinogradov, Sergey L.

2017-05-01

Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) are a well-recognized new generation of photon number resolving avalanche photodetectors. Many advantages - a high gain with an ultra-low excess noise of multiplication, multi-pixel architecture, relatively low operating voltage - make SiPMs very competitive in a growing number of applications. Challenging demands of LIDAR applications for a receiver having high sensitivity starting from single photons, superior time-offlight resolution, robustness including surviving at bright light flashes, solid-state compactness and more, are expected to be feasible for the SiPMs. Despite some known drawbacks, namely crosstalk, afterpulsing, dark noise, limited dynamic range, SiPMs are already considered as promising substitutes for conventional APDs and PMTs in LIDAR applications. However, these initial considerations are based on a rather simplified representation of the SiPM as a generic LIDAR receiver described by generic expressions. This study is focused on a comprehensive evaluation of a SiPM potential considering essential features of this new technology, which could affect applicability and performance of SiPMs as LIDAR receivers. Namely, an excess noise due to correlated processes of crosstalk and afterpulsing, are included into account utilizing the well-established framework of analytical probabilistic models. The analysis of SiPM performance in terms of a photon number and time resolution clarifies their competitiveness over conventional APD and PMT and anticipates the development of next SiPM generations.

Hollow fibers for compact infrared gas sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lambrecht, A.; Hartwig, S.; Herbst, J.; Wöllenstein, J.

2008-02-01

Hollow fibers can be used for compact infrared gas sensors. The guided light is absorbed by the gas introduced into the hollow core. High sensitivity and a very small sampling volume can be achieved depending on fiber parameters i.e. attenuation, flexibility, and gas exchange rates. Different types of infrared hollow fibers including photonic bandgap fibers were characterized using quantum cascade lasers and thermal radiation sources. Obtained data are compared with available product specifications. Measurements with a compact fiber based ethanol sensor are compared with a system simulation. First results on the detection of trace amounts of the explosive material TATP using hollow fibers and QCL will be shown.

Design, construction and measurements of an alpha magnet as a solution for compact bunch compressor for the electron beam from Thermionic RF Gun

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajabi, A.; Jazini, J.; Fathi, M.; Sharifian, M.; Shokri, B.

2018-03-01

The beam produced by a thermionic RF gun has wide energy spread that makes it unsuitable for direct usage in photon sources. Here in the present work, we optimize the extracted beam from a thermionic RF gun by a compact economical bunch compressor. A compact magnetic bunch compressor (Alpha magnet) is designed and constructed. A comparison between simulation results and experimental measurements shows acceptable conformity. The beam dynamics simulation results show a reduction of the energy spread as well as a compression of length less than 1 ps with 2.3 mm-mrad emittance.

Single Photon Counting Performance and Noise Analysis of CMOS SPAD-Based Image Sensors.

PubMed

Dutton, Neale A W; Gyongy, Istvan; Parmesan, Luca; Henderson, Robert K

2016-07-20

SPAD-based solid state CMOS image sensors utilising analogue integrators have attained deep sub-electron read noise (DSERN) permitting single photon counting (SPC) imaging. A new method is proposed to determine the read noise in DSERN image sensors by evaluating the peak separation and width (PSW) of single photon peaks in a photon counting histogram (PCH). The technique is used to identify and analyse cumulative noise in analogue integrating SPC SPAD-based pixels. The DSERN of our SPAD image sensor is exploited to confirm recent multi-photon threshold quanta image sensor (QIS) theory. Finally, various single and multiple photon spatio-temporal oversampling techniques are reviewed.

Curious case of gravitational lensing by binary black holes: A tale of two photon spheres, new relativistic images, and caustics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patil, Mandar; Mishra, Priti; Narasimha, D.

2017-01-01

Binary black holes have been in the limelight of late due to the detection of gravitational waves from coalescing compact binaries in the events GW150914 and GW151226. In this paper we study gravitational lensing by the binary black holes modeled as an equal mass Majumdar-Papapetrou dihole metric and show that this system displays features that are quite unprecedented and absent in any other lensing configuration investigated so far in the literature. We restrict our attention to the light rays which move on the plane midway between the two identical black holes, which allows us to employ various techniques developed for the equatorial lensing in the spherically symmetric spacetimes. If distance between the two black holes is below a certain threshold value, then the system admits two photon spheres. As in the case of a single black hole, infinitely many relativistic images are formed due to the light rays which turn back from the region outside the outer (unstable) photon sphere, all of which lie beyond a critical angular radius with respect to the lens. However, in the presence of the inner (stable) photon sphere, the effective potential after admitting minimum turns upwards and blows up for the smaller values of radii and the light rays that enter the outer photon sphere can turn back, leading to the formation of a new set of infinitely many relativistic images, all of which lie below the critical radius from the lens mentioned above. As the distance between the two black holes is increased, two photon spheres approach one another, merge and eventually disappear. In the absence of the photon sphere, apart from the formation of a finite number of discrete relativistic images, the system remarkably admits a radial caustic, which has never been observed in the context of relativistic lensing before. Thus the system of the binary black hole admits novel features both in the presence and absence of photon spheres. We discuss possible observational signatures and implications of the binary black hole lensing.

Impact Compaction of a Granular Material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fenton, Gregg; Asay, Blaine; Todd, Steve; Grady, Dennis

2017-06-01

The dynamic behavior of granular materials has importance to a variety of engineering applications. Although, the mechanical behavior of granular materials have been studied extensively for several decades, the dynamic behavior of these materials remains poorly understood. High-quality experimental data are needed to improve our general understanding of granular material compaction physics. This paper describes how an instrumented plunger impact system can be used to measure the compaction process for granular materials at high and controlled strain rates and subsequently used for computational modelling. The experimental technique relies on a gas-gun driven plunger system to generate a compaction wave through a volume of granular material. This volume of material has been redundantly instrumented along the bed length to track the progression of the compaction wave, and the piston displacement is measured with Photon Doppler Velocimetry (PDV). Using the gathered experimental data along with the initial material tap density, a granular material equation of state can be determined.

Analysis of deterministic swapping of photonic and atomic states through single-photon Raman interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosenblum, Serge; Borne, Adrien; Dayan, Barak

2017-03-01

The long-standing goal of deterministic quantum interactions between single photons and single atoms was recently realized in various experiments. Among these, an appealing demonstration relied on single-photon Raman interaction (SPRINT) in a three-level atom coupled to a single-mode waveguide. In essence, the interference-based process of SPRINT deterministically swaps the qubits encoded in a single photon and a single atom, without the need for additional control pulses. It can also be harnessed to construct passive entangling quantum gates, and can therefore form the basis for scalable quantum networks in which communication between the nodes is carried out only by single-photon pulses. Here we present an analytical and numerical study of SPRINT, characterizing its limitations and defining parameters for its optimal operation. Specifically, we study the effect of losses, imperfect polarization, and the presence of multiple excited states. In all cases we discuss strategies for restoring the operation of SPRINT.

Fused Silica Ion Trap Chip with Efficient Optical Collection System for Timekeeping, Sensing, and Emulation

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-22

applications in fast single photon sources, quantum repeater circuitry, and high fidelity remote entanglement of atoms for quantum information protocols. We...fluorescence for motion/force sensors through Doppler velocimetry; and for the efficient collection of single photons from trapped ions for...Doppler velocimetry; and for the efficient collection of single photons from trapped ions for applications in fast single photon sources, quantum

Single photon quantum cryptography.

PubMed

Beveratos, Alexios; Brouri, Rosa; Gacoin, Thierry; Villing, André; Poizat, Jean-Philippe; Grangier, Philippe

2002-10-28

We report the full implementation of a quantum cryptography protocol using a stream of single photon pulses generated by a stable and efficient source operating at room temperature. The single photon pulses are emitted on demand by a single nitrogen-vacancy color center in a diamond nanocrystal. The quantum bit error rate is less that 4.6% and the secure bit rate is 7700 bits/s. The overall performances of our system reaches a domain where single photons have a measurable advantage over an equivalent system based on attenuated light pulses.

Quantum Probability Cancellation Due to a Single-Photon State

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ou, Z. Y.

1996-01-01

When an N-photon state enters a lossless symmetric beamsplitter from one input port, the photon distribution for the two output ports has the form of Bernouli Binormial, with highest probability at equal partition (N/2 at one outport and N/2 at the other). However, injection of a single photon state at the other input port can dramatically change the photon distribution at the outputs, resulting in zero probability at equal partition. Such a strong deviation from classical particle theory stems from quantum probability amplitude cancellation. The effect persists even if the N-photon state is replaced by an arbitrary state of light. A special case is the coherent state which corresponds to homodyne detection of a single photon state and can lead to the measurement of the wave function of a single photon state.

Two-photon interference at telecom wavelengths for time-bin-encoded single photons from quantum-dot spin qubits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Leo; Natarajan, Chandra M.; Horikiri, Tomoyuki; Langrock, Carsten; Pelc, Jason S.; Tanner, Michael G.; Abe, Eisuke; Maier, Sebastian; Schneider, Christian; Höfling, Sven; Kamp, Martin; Hadfield, Robert H.; Fejer, Martin M.; Yamamoto, Yoshihisa

2015-11-01

Practical quantum communication between remote quantum memories rely on single photons at telecom wavelengths. Although spin-photon entanglement has been demonstrated in atomic and solid-state qubit systems, the produced single photons at short wavelengths and with polarization encoding are not suitable for long-distance communication, because they suffer from high propagation loss and depolarization in optical fibres. Establishing entanglement between remote quantum nodes would further require the photons generated from separate nodes to be indistinguishable. Here, we report the observation of correlations between a quantum-dot spin and a telecom single photon across a 2-km fibre channel based on time-bin encoding and background-free frequency downconversion. The downconverted photon at telecom wavelengths exhibits two-photon interference with another photon from an independent source, achieving a mean wavepacket overlap of greater than 0.89 despite their original wavelength mismatch (900 and 911 nm). The quantum-networking operations that we demonstrate will enable practical communication between solid-state spin qubits across long distances.

Heralded wave packet manipulation and storage of a frequency-converted pair photon at telecom wavelength

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kroh, Tim; Ahlrichs, Andreas; Sprenger, Benjamin; Benson, Oliver

2017-09-01

Future quantum networks require a hybrid platform of dissimilar quantum systems. Within the platform, joint quantum states have to be mediated either by single photons, photon pairs or entangled photon pairs. The photon wavelength has to lie within the telecommunication band to enable long-distance fibre transmission. In addition, the temporal shape of the photons needs to be tailored to efficiently match the involved quantum systems. Altogether, this requires the efficient coherent wavelength-conversion of arbitrarily shaped single-photon wave packets. Here, we demonstrate the heralded temporal filtering of single photons as well as the synchronisation of state manipulation and detection as key elements in a typical experiment, besides of delaying a photon in a long fibre. All three are realised by utilising commercial telecommunication fibre-optical components which will permit the transition of quantum networks from the lab to real-world applications. The combination of these renders a temporally filtering single-photon storage in a fast switchable fibre loop possible.

Two-photon interference at telecom wavelengths for time-bin-encoded single photons from quantum-dot spin qubits.

PubMed

Yu, Leo; Natarajan, Chandra M; Horikiri, Tomoyuki; Langrock, Carsten; Pelc, Jason S; Tanner, Michael G; Abe, Eisuke; Maier, Sebastian; Schneider, Christian; Höfling, Sven; Kamp, Martin; Hadfield, Robert H; Fejer, Martin M; Yamamoto, Yoshihisa

2015-11-24

Practical quantum communication between remote quantum memories rely on single photons at telecom wavelengths. Although spin-photon entanglement has been demonstrated in atomic and solid-state qubit systems, the produced single photons at short wavelengths and with polarization encoding are not suitable for long-distance communication, because they suffer from high propagation loss and depolarization in optical fibres. Establishing entanglement between remote quantum nodes would further require the photons generated from separate nodes to be indistinguishable. Here, we report the observation of correlations between a quantum-dot spin and a telecom single photon across a 2-km fibre channel based on time-bin encoding and background-free frequency downconversion. The downconverted photon at telecom wavelengths exhibits two-photon interference with another photon from an independent source, achieving a mean wavepacket overlap of greater than 0.89 despite their original wavelength mismatch (900 and 911 nm). The quantum-networking operations that we demonstrate will enable practical communication between solid-state spin qubits across long distances.

Loading a single photon into an optical cavity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, Shengwang; Liu, Chang; Sun, Yuan; Zhao, Luwei; Zhang, Shanchao; Loy, M. M. T.

2015-05-01

Confining and manipulating single photons inside a reflective optical cavity is an essential task of cavity quantum electrodynamics (CQED) for probing the quantum nature of light quanta. Such systems are also elementary building blocks for many protocols of quantum network, where remote cavity quantum nodes are coupled through flying photons. The connectivity and scalability of such a quantum network strongly depends on the efficiency of loading a single photon into cavity. In this work we demonstrate that a single photon with an optimal temporal waveform can be efficiently loaded into a cavity. Using heralded narrow-band single photons with exponential growth wave packet whose time constant matches the photon lifetime in the cavity, we demonstrate a loading efficiency of more than 87 percent from free space to a single-sided Fabry-Perot cavity. Our result and approach may enable promising applications in realizing large-scale CQED-based quantum networks. The work was supported by the Hong Kong RGC (Project No. 601411).

Single photon detection in a waveguide-coupled Ge-on-Si lateral avalanche photodiode.

PubMed

Martinez, Nicholas J D; Gehl, Michael; Derose, Christopher T; Starbuck, Andrew L; Pomerene, Andrew T; Lentine, Anthony L; Trotter, Douglas C; Davids, Paul S

2017-07-10

We examine gated-Geiger mode operation of an integrated waveguide-coupled Ge-on-Si lateral avalanche photodiode (APD) and demonstrate single photon detection at low dark count for this mode of operation. Our integrated waveguide-coupled APD is fabricated using a selective epitaxial Ge-on-Si growth process resulting in a separate absorption and charge multiplication (SACM) design compatible with our silicon photonics platform. Single photon detection efficiency and dark count rate is measured as a function of temperature in order to understand and optimize performance characteristics in this device. We report single photon detection of 5.27% at 1310 nm and a dark count rate of 534 kHz at 80 K for a Ge-on-Si single photon avalanche diode. Dark count rate is the lowest for a Ge-on-Si single photon detector in this range of temperatures while maintaining competitive detection efficiency. A jitter of 105 ps was measured for this device.

On-demand semiconductor single-photon source with near-unity indistinguishability.

PubMed

He, Yu-Ming; He, Yu; Wei, Yu-Jia; Wu, Dian; Atatüre, Mete; Schneider, Christian; Höfling, Sven; Kamp, Martin; Lu, Chao-Yang; Pan, Jian-Wei

2013-03-01

Single-photon sources based on semiconductor quantum dots offer distinct advantages for quantum information, including a scalable solid-state platform, ultrabrightness and interconnectivity with matter qubits. A key prerequisite for their use in optical quantum computing and solid-state networks is a high level of efficiency and indistinguishability. Pulsed resonance fluorescence has been anticipated as the optimum condition for the deterministic generation of high-quality photons with vanishing effects of dephasing. Here, we generate pulsed single photons on demand from a single, microcavity-embedded quantum dot under s-shell excitation with 3 ps laser pulses. The π pulse-excited resonance-fluorescence photons have less than 0.3% background contribution and a vanishing two-photon emission probability. Non-postselective Hong-Ou-Mandel interference between two successively emitted photons is observed with a visibility of 0.97(2), comparable to trapped atoms and ions. Two single photons are further used to implement a high-fidelity quantum controlled-NOT gate.

Phase-coded microwave signal generation based on a single electro-optical modulator and its application in accurate distance measurement.

PubMed

Zhang, Fangzheng; Ge, Xiaozhong; Gao, Bindong; Pan, Shilong

2015-08-24

A novel scheme for photonic generation of a phase-coded microwave signal is proposed and its application in one-dimension distance measurement is demonstrated. The proposed signal generator has a simple and compact structure based on a single dual-polarization modulator. Besides, the generated phase-coded signal is stable and free from the DC and low-frequency backgrounds. An experiment is carried out. A 2 Gb/s phase-coded signal at 20 GHz is successfully generated, and the recovered phase information agrees well with the input 13-bit Barker code. To further investigate the performance of the proposed signal generator, its application in one-dimension distance measurement is demonstrated. The measurement accuracy is less than 1.7 centimeters within a measurement range of ~2 meters. The experimental results can verify the feasibility of the proposed phase-coded microwave signal generator and also provide strong evidence to support its practical applications.

An integrated single- and two-photon non-diffracting light-sheet microscope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lau, Sze Cheung; Chiu, Hoi Chun; Zhao, Luwei; Zhao, Teng; Loy, M. M. T.; Du, Shengwang

2018-04-01

We describe a fluorescence optical microscope with both single-photon and two-photon non-diffracting light-sheet excitations for large volume imaging. With a special design to accommodate two different wavelength ranges (visible: 400-700 nm and near infrared: 800-1200 nm), we combine the line-Bessel sheet (LBS, for single-photon excitation) and the scanning Bessel beam (SBB, for two-photon excitation) light sheet together in a single microscope setup. For a transparent thin sample where the scattering can be ignored, the LBS single-photon excitation is the optimal imaging solution. When the light scattering becomes significant for a deep-cell or deep-tissue imaging, we use SBB light-sheet two-photon excitation with a longer wavelength. We achieved nearly identical lateral/axial resolution of about 350/270 nm for both imagings. This integrated light-sheet microscope may have a wide application for live-cell and live-tissue three-dimensional high-speed imaging.

Multimode quantum interference of photons in multiport integrated devices

PubMed Central

Peruzzo, Alberto; Laing, Anthony; Politi, Alberto; Rudolph, Terry; O'Brien, Jeremy L.

2011-01-01

Photonics is a leading approach in realizing future quantum technologies and recently, optical waveguide circuits on silicon chips have demonstrated high levels of miniaturization and performance. Multimode interference (MMI) devices promise a straightforward implementation of compact and robust multiport circuits. Here, we show quantum interference in a 2×2 MMI coupler with visibility of V=95.6±0.9%. We further demonstrate the operation of a 4×4 port MMI device with photon pairs, which exhibits complex quantum interference behaviour. We have developed a new technique to fully characterize such multiport devices, which removes the need for phase-sensitive measurements and may find applications for a wide range of photonic devices. Our results show that MMI devices can operate in the quantum regime with high fidelity and promise substantial simplification and concatenation of photonic quantum circuits. PMID:21364563

Quantum optics with nanowires (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zwiller, Val

2017-02-01

Nanowires offer new opportunities for nanoscale quantum optics; the quantum dot geometry in semiconducting nanowires as well as the material composition and environment can be engineered with unprecedented freedom to improve the light extraction efficiency. Quantum dots in nanowires are shown to be efficient single photon sources, in addition because of the very small fine structure splitting, we demonstrate the generation of entangled pairs of photons from a nanowire. By doping a nanowire and making ohmic contacts on both sides, a nanowire light emitting diode can be obtained with a single quantum dot as the active region. Under forward bias, this will act as an electrically pumped source of single photons. Under reverse bias, an avalanche effect can multiply photocurrent and enables the detection of single photons. Another type of nanowire under study in our group is superconducting nanowires for single photon detection, reaching efficiencies, time resolution and dark counts beyond currently available detectors. We will discuss our first attempts at combining semiconducting nanowire based single photon emitters and superconducting nanowire single photon detectors on a chip to realize integrated quantum circuits.

Efficient fiber-coupled single-photon source based on quantum dots in a photonic-crystal waveguide

PubMed Central

DAVEAU, RAPHAËL S.; BALRAM, KRISHNA C.; PREGNOLATO, TOMMASO; LIU, JIN; LEE, EUN H.; SONG, JIN D.; VERMA, VARUN; MIRIN, RICHARD; NAM, SAE WOO; MIDOLO, LEONARDO; STOBBE, SØREN; SRINIVASAN, KARTIK; LODAHL, PETER

2017-01-01

Many photonic quantum information processing applications would benefit from a high brightness, fiber-coupled source of triggered single photons. Here, we present a fiber-coupled photonic-crystal waveguide single-photon source relying on evanescent coupling of the light field from a tapered out-coupler to an optical fiber. A two-step approach is taken where the performance of the tapered out-coupler is recorded first on an independent device containing an on-chip reflector. Reflection measurements establish that the chip-to-fiber coupling efficiency exceeds 80 %. The detailed characterization of a high-efficiency photonic-crystal waveguide extended with a tapered out-coupling section is then performed. The corresponding overall single-photon source efficiency is 10.9 % ± 2.3 %, which quantifies the success probability to prepare an exciton in the quantum dot, couple it out as a photon in the waveguide, and subsequently transfer it to the fiber. The applied out-coupling method is robust, stable over time, and broadband over several tens of nanometers, which makes it a highly promising pathway to increase the efficiency and reliability of planar chip-based single-photon sources. PMID:28584859

Towards a portable Raman spectrometer using a concave grating and a time-gated CMOS SPAD.

PubMed

Li, Zhiyun; Deen, M Jamal

2014-07-28

A low-cost, compact Raman spectrometer suitable for the on-line water monitoring applications is explored. A custom-designed concave grating for wavelength selection was fabricated and tested. The detection of the Raman signal is accomplished with a time-gated single photon avalanche diode (TG-SPAD). A fixed gate window of 3.5ns is designed and applied to the TG-SPAD. The temporal resolution of the SPAD was ~60ps when tested with a 7ps, 532nm solid-state laser. To test the efficiency of the gating in fluorescence signal suppression, different detection windows (3ns-0.25ns) within the 3.5ns gate window are used to measure the Raman spectra of Rhodamine B. Strong Raman peaks are resolved with this low-cost system.

Sub-5-ps, multimegawatt peak-power pulses from a fiber-amplified and optically compressed passively Q-switched microchip laser.

PubMed

Steinmetz, A; Jansen, F; Stutzki, F; Lehneis, R; Limpert, J; Tünnermann, A

2012-07-01

We report on high-energy picosecond pulse generation from a passively Q-switched and fiber-amplified microchip laser system. Initially, the utilized microchip lasers produce pulses with durations of around 100 ps at 1064 nm central wavelength. These pulses are amplified to energies exceeding 100 μJ, simultaneously chirped and spectrally broadened by self-phase modulation using a double stage amplifier based on single-mode LMA photonic crystal fibers at repetition rates of up to 1 MHz. Subsequently, the pulse duration of chirped pulses is reduced by means of nonlinear pulse compression to durations of 2.7 ps employing a conventional grating compressor and 4.7 ps using a compact compressor based on a chirped volume Bragg grating.

Multichannel low power time-to-digital converter card with 21 ps precision and full scale range up to 10 μs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tamborini, D.; Portaluppi, D.; Villa, F.; Tisa, S.; Tosi, A.

2014-11-01

We present a Time-to-Digital Converter (TDC) card with a compact form factor, suitable for multichannel timing instruments or for integration into more complex systems. The TDC Card provides 10 ps timing resolution over the whole measurement range, which is selectable from 160 ns up to 10 μs, reaching 21 ps rms precision, 1.25% LSB rms differential nonlinearity, up to 3 Mconversion/s with 400 mW power consumption. The I/O edge card connector provides timing data readout through either a parallel bus or a 100 MHz serial interface and further measurement information like input signal rate and valid conversion rate (typically useful for time-correlated single-photon counting application) through an independent serial link.

Multichannel low power time-to-digital converter card with 21 ps precision and full scale range up to 10 μs.

PubMed

Tamborini, D; Portaluppi, D; Villa, F; Tisa, S; Tosi, A

2014-11-01

We present a Time-to-Digital Converter (TDC) card with a compact form factor, suitable for multichannel timing instruments or for integration into more complex systems. The TDC Card provides 10 ps timing resolution over the whole measurement range, which is selectable from 160 ns up to 10 μs, reaching 21 ps rms precision, 1.25% LSB rms differential nonlinearity, up to 3 Mconversion/s with 400 mW power consumption. The I/O edge card connector provides timing data readout through either a parallel bus or a 100 MHz serial interface and further measurement information like input signal rate and valid conversion rate (typically useful for time-correlated single-photon counting application) through an independent serial link.

Optimizing single-nanoparticle two-photon microscopy by in situ adaptive control of femtosecond pulses

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Donghai; Deng, Yongkai; Chu, Saisai

2016-07-11

Single-nanoparticle two-photon microscopy shows great application potential in super-resolution cell imaging. Here, we report in situ adaptive optimization of single-nanoparticle two-photon luminescence signals by phase and polarization modulations of broadband laser pulses. For polarization-independent quantum dots, phase-only optimization was carried out to compensate the phase dispersion at the focus of the objective. Enhancement of the two-photon excitation fluorescence intensity under dispersion-compensated femtosecond pulses was achieved. For polarization-dependent single gold nanorod, in situ polarization optimization resulted in further enhancement of two-photon photoluminescence intensity than phase-only optimization. The application of in situ adaptive control of femtosecond pulse provides a way for object-orientedmore » optimization of single-nanoparticle two-photon microscopy for its future applications.« less

Wiring up pre-characterized single-photon emitters by laser lithography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Q.; Sontheimer, B.; Nikolay, N.; Schell, A. W.; Fischer, J.; Naber, A.; Benson, O.; Wegener, M.

2016-08-01

Future quantum optical chips will likely be hybrid in nature and include many single-photon emitters, waveguides, filters, as well as single-photon detectors. Here, we introduce a scalable optical localization-selection-lithography procedure for wiring up a large number of single-photon emitters via polymeric photonic wire bonds in three dimensions. First, we localize and characterize nitrogen vacancies in nanodiamonds inside a solid photoresist exhibiting low background fluorescence. Next, without intermediate steps and using the same optical instrument, we perform aligned three-dimensional laser lithography. As a proof of concept, we design, fabricate, and characterize three-dimensional functional waveguide elements on an optical chip. Each element consists of one single-photon emitter centered in a crossed-arc waveguide configuration, allowing for integrated optical excitation and efficient background suppression at the same time.

Multiple-Event, Single-Photon Counting Imaging Sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zheng, Xinyu; Cunningham, Thomas J.; Sun, Chao; Wang, Kang L.

2011-01-01

The single-photon counting imaging sensor is typically an array of silicon Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes that are monolithically integrated with CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) readout, signal processing, and addressing circuits located in each pixel and the peripheral area of the chip. The major problem is its single-event method for photon count number registration. A single-event single-photon counting imaging array only allows registration of up to one photon count in each of its pixels during a frame time, i.e., the interval between two successive pixel reset operations. Since the frame time can t be too short, this will lead to very low dynamic range and make the sensor merely useful for very low flux environments. The second problem of the prior technique is a limited fill factor resulting from consumption of chip area by the monolithically integrated CMOS readout in pixels. The resulting low photon collection efficiency will substantially ruin any benefit gained from the very sensitive single-photon counting detection. The single-photon counting imaging sensor developed in this work has a novel multiple-event architecture, which allows each of its pixels to register as more than one million (or more) photon-counting events during a frame time. Because of a consequently boosted dynamic range, the imaging array of the invention is capable of performing single-photon counting under ultra-low light through high-flux environments. On the other hand, since the multiple-event architecture is implemented in a hybrid structure, back-illumination and close-to-unity fill factor can be realized, and maximized quantum efficiency can also be achieved in the detector array.

Ultrafast time measurements by time-correlated single photon counting coupled with superconducting single photon detector

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shcheslavskiy, V., E-mail: vis@becker-hickl.de; Becker, W.; Morozov, P.

Time resolution is one of the main characteristics of the single photon detectors besides quantum efficiency and dark count rate. We demonstrate here an ultrafast time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) setup consisting of a newly developed single photon counting board SPC-150NX and a superconducting NbN single photon detector with a sensitive area of 7 × 7 μm. The combination delivers a record instrument response function with a full width at half maximum of 17.8 ps and system quantum efficiency ∼15% at wavelength of 1560 nm. A calculation of the root mean square value of the timing jitter for channels withmore » counts more than 1% of the peak value yielded about 7.6 ps. The setup has also good timing stability of the detector–TCSPC board.« less

Teleporting photonic qudits using multimode quantum scissors.

PubMed

Goyal, Sandeep K; Konrad, Thomas

2013-12-19

Teleportation plays an important role in the communication of quantum information between the nodes of a quantum network and is viewed as an essential ingredient for long-distance Quantum Cryptography. We describe a method to teleport the quantum information carried by a photon in a superposition of a number d of light modes (a "qudit") by the help of d additional photons based on transcription. A qudit encoded into a single excitation of d light modes (in our case Laguerre-Gauss modes which carry orbital angular momentum) is transcribed to d single-rail photonic qubits, which are spatially separated. Each single-rail qubit consists of a superposition of vacuum and a single photon in each one of the modes. After successful teleportation of each of the d single-rail qubits by means of "quantum scissors" they are converted back into a qudit carried by a single photon which completes the teleportation scheme.

Teleporting photonic qudits using multimode quantum scissors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goyal, Sandeep K.; Konrad, Thomas

2013-12-01

Teleportation plays an important role in the communication of quantum information between the nodes of a quantum network and is viewed as an essential ingredient for long-distance Quantum Cryptography. We describe a method to teleport the quantum information carried by a photon in a superposition of a number d of light modes (a ``qudit'') by the help of d additional photons based on transcription. A qudit encoded into a single excitation of d light modes (in our case Laguerre-Gauss modes which carry orbital angular momentum) is transcribed to d single-rail photonic qubits, which are spatially separated. Each single-rail qubit consists of a superposition of vacuum and a single photon in each one of the modes. After successful teleportation of each of the d single-rail qubits by means of ``quantum scissors'' they are converted back into a qudit carried by a single photon which completes the teleportation scheme.

Coherent control of the single-photon multichannel scattering in the dissipation case

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Yun-Xia; Wang, Hang-Yu; Ma, Jin-Lou; Li, Qing; Tan, Lei

2018-03-01

Based on the quasi-boson approach, a model of a Λ-type three-level atom coupled to a X-shaped coupled cavity arrays (CCAs) is used to study the transport properties of a single-photon in the dissipative case, and a classical field is introduced to motivate the one transition of the Λ-type three-level atom (ΛTLA). The analytical expressions of transmission and transfer rate are obtained. Our results show that the cavity dissipation will obviously weaken the single-photon transfer rate where the incident energy of the single photon is resonant with the excited energy of the atom. Whether the cavity dissipation exists or not, the single photon can be almost confined in the incident channel at large detuning, and we can regulate the intensity of the classical field to control the total transmission of the single-photon.

Single Photon Counting Performance and Noise Analysis of CMOS SPAD-Based Image Sensors

PubMed Central

Dutton, Neale A. W.; Gyongy, Istvan; Parmesan, Luca; Henderson, Robert K.

2016-01-01

SPAD-based solid state CMOS image sensors utilising analogue integrators have attained deep sub-electron read noise (DSERN) permitting single photon counting (SPC) imaging. A new method is proposed to determine the read noise in DSERN image sensors by evaluating the peak separation and width (PSW) of single photon peaks in a photon counting histogram (PCH). The technique is used to identify and analyse cumulative noise in analogue integrating SPC SPAD-based pixels. The DSERN of our SPAD image sensor is exploited to confirm recent multi-photon threshold quanta image sensor (QIS) theory. Finally, various single and multiple photon spatio-temporal oversampling techniques are reviewed. PMID:27447643

Single photon generation through exciton-exciton annihilation in air-suspended carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishii, Akihiro; Uda, Takushi; Kato, Yuichiro K.

Carbon nanotubes have great potential for single photon sources as they have stable exciton states even at room temperature and their emission wavelengths cover the telecommunication bands. In recent years, single photon emission from carbon nanotubes has been achieved by creating localized states of excitons. In contrast to such an approach, here we utilize mobile excitons and show that single photons can be generated in air-suspended carbon nanotubes, where exciton diffusion length is as long as several hundred nanometers and exciton-exciton annihilation is efficient. We perform photoluminescence microscopy on as-grown air-suspended carbon nanotubes in order to determine their chirality and suspended length. Photon correlation measurements are performed on nanotube emission at room temperature using a Hanbury-Brown-Twiss setup with InGaAs/InP single photon detectors. We observe antibunching with a clear excitation power dependence, where we obtain g (2) (0) value less than 0.5 at low excitation powers, indicating single photon generation. We show such g (2) (0) data with different chiralities and suspended lengths, and the effects of exciton diffusion on single photon generation processes are discussed. Work supported by KAKENHI (26610080, 16H05962), The Canon Foundation, and MEXT (Photon Frontier Network Program, Nanotechnology Platform). A.I. is supported by MERIT and JSPS Research Fellowship, and T.U. is supported by ALPS.

Single-Shot Quantum Nondemolition Detection of Individual Itinerant Microwave Photons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Besse, Jean-Claude; Gasparinetti, Simone; Collodo, Michele C.; Walter, Theo; Kurpiers, Philipp; Pechal, Marek; Eichler, Christopher; Wallraff, Andreas

2018-04-01

Single-photon detection is an essential component in many experiments in quantum optics, but it remains challenging in the microwave domain. We realize a quantum nondemolition detector for propagating microwave photons and characterize its performance using a single-photon source. To this aim, we implement a cavity-assisted conditional phase gate between the incoming photon and a superconducting artificial atom. By reading out the state of this atom in a single shot, we reach an external (internal) photon-detection fidelity of 50% (71%), limited by transmission efficiency between the source and the detector (75%) and the coherence properties of the qubit. By characterizing the coherence and average number of photons in the field reflected off the detector, we demonstrate its quantum nondemolition nature. We envisage applications in generating heralded remote entanglement between qubits and for realizing logic gates between propagating microwave photons.

Subwavelength grating enabled on-chip ultra-compact optical true time delay line

PubMed Central

Wang, Junjia; Ashrafi, Reza; Adams, Rhys; Glesk, Ivan; Gasulla, Ivana; Capmany, José; Chen, Lawrence R.

2016-01-01

An optical true time delay line (OTTDL) is a basic photonic building block that enables many microwave photonic and optical processing operations. The conventional design for an integrated OTTDL that is based on spatial diversity uses a length-variable waveguide array to create the optical time delays, which can introduce complexities in the integrated circuit design. Here we report the first ever demonstration of an integrated index-variable OTTDL that exploits spatial diversity in an equal length waveguide array. The approach uses subwavelength grating waveguides in silicon-on-insulator (SOI), which enables the realization of OTTDLs having a simple geometry and that occupy a compact chip area. Moreover, compared to conventional wavelength-variable delay lines with a few THz operation bandwidth, our index-variable OTTDL has an extremely broad operation bandwidth practically exceeding several tens of THz, which supports operation for various input optical signals with broad ranges of central wavelength and bandwidth. PMID:27457024

Subwavelength grating enabled on-chip ultra-compact optical true time delay line.

PubMed

Wang, Junjia; Ashrafi, Reza; Adams, Rhys; Glesk, Ivan; Gasulla, Ivana; Capmany, José; Chen, Lawrence R

2016-07-26

An optical true time delay line (OTTDL) is a basic photonic building block that enables many microwave photonic and optical processing operations. The conventional design for an integrated OTTDL that is based on spatial diversity uses a length-variable waveguide array to create the optical time delays, which can introduce complexities in the integrated circuit design. Here we report the first ever demonstration of an integrated index-variable OTTDL that exploits spatial diversity in an equal length waveguide array. The approach uses subwavelength grating waveguides in silicon-on-insulator (SOI), which enables the realization of OTTDLs having a simple geometry and that occupy a compact chip area. Moreover, compared to conventional wavelength-variable delay lines with a few THz operation bandwidth, our index-variable OTTDL has an extremely broad operation bandwidth practically exceeding several tens of THz, which supports operation for various input optical signals with broad ranges of central wavelength and bandwidth.

A stable dual-wavelength Q-switch using a compact passive device containing photonics crystal fiber embedded with carbon platinum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Safaei, R.; Amiri, I. S.; Rezayi, M.; Ahmad, H.

2018-01-01

A compact fiber laser utilizing platinum nanoparticles doped on carbon (Pt/C) embedded in photonic crystal fiber capable of generating a stable Q-switch dual-wavelength is designed and verified. Stable Q-switch pulses, with a repetition rate of 73.6 kHz, pulse width of 1.45 µs and power of 3.8 nJ in two separated wavelengths of 1557.39 nm and 1558.86 nm at a pump power of 350 mW, have been obtained. This is a novel method for generating Q-switch dual-wavelength pulses using a well-protected component that introduces both a saturable absorber and Mach-Zehnder interferometer effects simultaneously in the laser cavity. Furthermore, to best of our knowledge, this is the first time that Pt/C nanoparticles have been used in a saturable absorber for optical pulse generation.

Waveguide-integrated single- and multi-photon detection at telecom wavelengths using superconducting nanowires

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ferrari, Simone; Kahl, Oliver; Kovalyuk, Vadim

We investigate single- and multi-photon detection regimes of superconducting nanowire detectors embedded in silicon nitride nanophotonic circuits. At near-infrared wavelengths, simultaneous detection of up to three photons is observed for 120 nm wide nanowires biased far from the critical current, while narrow nanowires below 100 nm provide efficient single photon detection. A theoretical model is proposed to determine the different detection regimes and to calculate the corresponding internal quantum efficiency. The predicted saturation of the internal quantum efficiency in the single photon regime agrees well with plateau behavior observed at high bias currents.

Re-ionization and decaying dark matter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dodelson, Scott; Jubas, Jay M.

1991-01-01

Gunn-Peterson tests suggest that the Universe was reionized after the standard recombination epoch. A systematic treatment is presented of the ionization process by deriving the Boltzmann equations appropriate to this regime. A compact solution for the photon spectrum is found in terms of the ionization ratio. These equations are then solved numerically for the Decaying Dark Matter scenario, wherein neutrinos with mass of order 30 eV radiatively decay producing photons which ionize the intergalactic medium. It was found that the neutrino mass and lifetime are severely constrained by Gunn-Peterson tests, observations of the diffuse photon spectrum in the ultraviolet regime, and the Hubble parameter.

Silicon nano-membrane based photonic crystal microcavities for high sensitivity bio-sensing.

PubMed

Lai, Wei-Cheng; Chakravarty, Swapnajit; Zou, Yi; Chen, Ray T

2012-04-01

We experimentally demonstrated photonic crystal microcavity based resonant sensors coupled to photonic crystal waveguides in silicon nano-membrane on insulator for chemical and bio-sensing. Linear L-type microcavities are considered. In contrast to cavities with small mode volumes, but low quality factors for bio-sensing, we showed increasing the length of the microcavity enhances the quality factor of the resonance by an order of magnitude and increases the resonance wavelength shift while retaining compact device characteristics. Q~26760 and sensitivity down to 15 ng/ml and ~110 pg/mm2 in bio-sensing was experimentally demonstrated on silicon-on-insulator devices.

Experimental optimal maximum-confidence discrimination and optimal unambiguous discrimination of two mixed single-photon states

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Steudle, Gesine A.; Knauer, Sebastian; Herzog, Ulrike

2011-05-15

We present an experimental implementation of optimum measurements for quantum state discrimination. Optimum maximum-confidence discrimination and optimum unambiguous discrimination of two mixed single-photon polarization states were performed. For the latter the states of rank 2 in a four-dimensional Hilbert space are prepared using both path and polarization encoding. Linear optics and single photons from a true single-photon source based on a semiconductor quantum dot are utilized.

High-Performance Single-Photon Sources via Spatial Multiplexing

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

ingredient for tasks such as quantum cryptography , quantum repeater, quantum teleportation, quantum computing, and truly-random number generation. Recently...SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: Single photons sources are desired for many potential quantum information applications. One common method to produce...photons sources are desired for many potential quantum information applications. One common method to produce single photons is based on a “heralding

Scalable Quantum Information Processing and Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-19

qubit logic gates, and finally emitting an entangled photon from the single- photon emitter. For the program, we proposed to demonstrate the...coherent, single photon transmitter/receiver system. These requirements included careful tailoring of the g factor for conduction band electrons in...physics required for the realization of a spin-coherent, single photon transmitter/receiver system. These requirements included careful tailoring of

Practical single-photon-assisted remote state preparation with non-maximally entanglement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Dong; Huang, Ai-Jun; Sun, Wen-Yang; Shi, Jia-Dong; Ye, Liu

2016-08-01

Remote state preparation (RSP) and joint remote state preparation (JRSP) protocols for single-photon states are investigated via linear optical elements with partially entangled states. In our scheme, by choosing two-mode instances from a polarizing beam splitter, only the sender in the communication protocol needs to prepare an ancillary single-photon and operate the entanglement preparation process in order to retrieve an arbitrary single-photon state from a photon pair in partially entangled state. In the case of JRSP, i.e., a canonical model of RSP with multi-party, we consider that the information of the desired state is split into many subsets and in prior maintained by spatially separate parties. Specifically, with the assistance of a single-photon state and a three-photon entangled state, it turns out that an arbitrary single-photon state can be jointly and remotely prepared with certain probability, which is characterized by the coefficients of both the employed entangled state and the target state. Remarkably, our protocol is readily to extend to the case for RSP and JRSP of mixed states with the all optical means. Therefore, our protocol is promising for communicating among optics-based multi-node quantum networks.

Photonic integrated circuit as a picosecond pulse timing discriminator.

PubMed

Lowery, Arthur James; Zhuang, Leimeng

2016-04-18

We report the first experimental demonstration of a compact on-chip optical pulse timing discriminator that is able to provide an output voltage proportional to the relative timing of two 60-ps input pulses on separate paths. The output voltage is intrinsically low-pass-filtered, so the discriminator forms an interface between high-speed optics and low-speed electronics. Potential applications include timing synchronization of multiple pulse trains as a precursor for optical time-division multiplexing, and compact rangefinders with millimeter dimensions.

Ultra compact 45 GHz CMOS compatible Germanium waveguide photodiode with low dark current.

PubMed

DeRose, Christopher T; Trotter, Douglas C; Zortman, William A; Starbuck, Andrew L; Fisher, Moz; Watts, Michael R; Davids, Paul S

2011-12-05

We present a compact 1.3 × 4 μm2 Germanium waveguide photodiode, integrated in a CMOS compatible silicon photonics process flow. This photodiode has a best-in-class 3 dB cutoff frequency of 45 GHz, responsivity of 0.8 A/W and dark current of 3 nA. The low intrinsic capacitance of this device may enable the elimination of transimpedance amplifiers in future optical data communication receivers, creating ultra low power consumption optical communications.

Waveguide-Coupled Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beyer, Andrew D.; Briggs, Ryan M.; Marsili, Francesco; Cohen, Justin D.; Meenehan, Sean M.; Painter, Oskar J.; Shaw, Matthew D.

2015-01-01

We have demonstrated WSi-based superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors coupled to SiNx waveguides with integrated ring resonators. This photonics platform enables the implementation of robust and efficient photon-counting detectors with fine spectral resolution near 1550 nm.

Broad Halpha Wing Formation in the Planetary Nebula IC 4997.

PubMed

Lee; Hyung

2000-02-10

The young and compact planetary nebula IC 4997 is known to exhibit very broad wings with a width exceeding 5000 km s-1 around Halpha. We propose that the broad wings are formed through Rayleigh-Raman scattering that involves atomic hydrogen, by which Lybeta photons with a velocity width of a few 102 km s-1 are converted to optical photons and fill the Halpha broad wing region. The conversion efficiency reaches 0.6 near the line center, where the scattering optical depth is much larger than 1, and rapidly decreases in the far wings. Assuming that close to the central star there exists an unresolved inner compact core of high density, nH approximately 109-1010 cm-3, we use the photoionization code "CLOUDY" to show that sufficient Lybeta photons for scattering are produced. Using a top-hat-incident profile for the Lybeta flux and a scattering region with a H i column density NHi=2x1020 cm-2 and a substantial covering factor, we perform a profile-fitting analysis in order to obtain a satisfactory fit to the observed flux. We briefly discuss the astrophysical implications of the Rayleigh-Raman processes in planetary nebulae and other emission objects.

Two-photon interference at telecom wavelengths for time-bin-encoded single photons from quantum-dot spin qubits

PubMed Central

Yu, Leo; Natarajan, Chandra M.; Horikiri, Tomoyuki; Langrock, Carsten; Pelc, Jason S.; Tanner, Michael G.; Abe, Eisuke; Maier, Sebastian; Schneider, Christian; Höfling, Sven; Kamp, Martin; Hadfield, Robert H.; Fejer, Martin M.; Yamamoto, Yoshihisa

2015-01-01

Practical quantum communication between remote quantum memories rely on single photons at telecom wavelengths. Although spin-photon entanglement has been demonstrated in atomic and solid-state qubit systems, the produced single photons at short wavelengths and with polarization encoding are not suitable for long-distance communication, because they suffer from high propagation loss and depolarization in optical fibres. Establishing entanglement between remote quantum nodes would further require the photons generated from separate nodes to be indistinguishable. Here, we report the observation of correlations between a quantum-dot spin and a telecom single photon across a 2-km fibre channel based on time-bin encoding and background-free frequency downconversion. The downconverted photon at telecom wavelengths exhibits two-photon interference with another photon from an independent source, achieving a mean wavepacket overlap of greater than 0.89 despite their original wavelength mismatch (900 and 911 nm). The quantum-networking operations that we demonstrate will enable practical communication between solid-state spin qubits across long distances. PMID:26597223

What are single photons good for?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sangouard, Nicolas; Zbinden, Hugo

2012-10-01

In a long-held preconception, photons play a central role in present-day quantum technologies. But what are sources producing photons one by one good for precisely? Well, in opposition to what many suggest, we show that single-photon sources are not helpful for point to point quantum key distribution because faint laser pulses do the job comfortably. However, there is no doubt about the usefulness of sources producing single photons for future quantum technologies. In particular, we show how single-photon sources could become the seed of a revolution in the framework of quantum communication, making the security of quantum key distribution device-independent or extending quantum communication over many hundreds of kilometers. Hopefully, these promising applications will provide a guideline for researchers to develop more and more efficient sources, producing narrowband, pure and indistinguishable photons at appropriate wavelengths.

Quantum-dot spin-photon entanglement via frequency downconversion to telecom wavelength.

PubMed

De Greve, Kristiaan; Yu, Leo; McMahon, Peter L; Pelc, Jason S; Natarajan, Chandra M; Kim, Na Young; Abe, Eisuke; Maier, Sebastian; Schneider, Christian; Kamp, Martin; Höfling, Sven; Hadfield, Robert H; Forchel, Alfred; Fejer, M M; Yamamoto, Yoshihisa

2012-11-15

Long-distance quantum teleportation and quantum repeater technologies require entanglement between a single matter quantum bit (qubit) and a telecommunications (telecom)-wavelength photonic qubit. Electron spins in III-V semiconductor quantum dots are among the matter qubits that allow for the fastest spin manipulation and photon emission, but entanglement between a single quantum-dot spin qubit and a flying (propagating) photonic qubit has yet to be demonstrated. Moreover, many quantum dots emit single photons at visible to near-infrared wavelengths, where silica fibre losses are so high that long-distance quantum communication protocols become difficult to implement. Here we demonstrate entanglement between an InAs quantum-dot electron spin qubit and a photonic qubit, by frequency downconversion of a spontaneously emitted photon from a singly charged quantum dot to a wavelength of 1,560 nanometres. The use of sub-10-picosecond pulses at a wavelength of 2.2 micrometres in the frequency downconversion process provides the necessary quantum erasure to eliminate which-path information in the photon energy. Together with previously demonstrated indistinguishable single-photon emission at high repetition rates, the present technique advances the III-V semiconductor quantum-dot spin system as a promising platform for long-distance quantum communication.

A stable wavelength-tunable triggered source of single photons and cascaded photon pairs at the telecom C-band

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeuner, Katharina D.; Paul, Matthias; Lettner, Thomas; Reuterskiöld Hedlund, Carl; Schweickert, Lucas; Steinhauer, Stephan; Yang, Lily; Zichi, Julien; Hammar, Mattias; Jöns, Klaus D.; Zwiller, Val

2018-04-01

The implementation of fiber-based long-range quantum communication requires tunable sources of single photons at the telecom C-band. Stable and easy-to-implement wavelength-tunability of individual sources is crucial to (i) bring remote sources into resonance, (ii) define a wavelength standard, and (iii) ensure scalability to operate a quantum repeater. So far, the most promising sources for true, telecom single photons are semiconductor quantum dots, due to their ability to deterministically and reliably emit single and entangled photons. However, the required wavelength-tunability is hard to attain. Here, we show a stable wavelength-tunable quantum light source by integrating strain-released InAs quantum dots on piezoelectric substrates. We present triggered single-photon emission at 1.55 μm with a multi-photon emission probability as low as 0.097, as well as photon pair emission from the radiative biexciton-exciton cascade. We achieve a tuning range of 0.25 nm which will allow us to spectrally overlap remote quantum dots or tuning distant quantum dots into resonance with quantum memories. This opens up realistic avenues for the implementation of photonic quantum information processing applications at telecom wavelengths.

Ultra-compact air-mode photonic crystal nanobeam cavity integrated with bandstop filter for refractive index sensing.

PubMed

Sun, Fujun; Fu, Zhongyuan; Wang, Chunhong; Ding, Zhaoxiang; Wang, Chao; Tian, Huiping

2017-05-20

We propose and investigate an ultra-compact air-mode photonic crystal nanobeam cavity (PCNC) with an ultra-high quality factor-to-mode volume ratio (Q/V) by quadratically tapering the lattice space of the rectangular holes from the center to both ends while other parameters remain unchanged. By using the three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method, an optimized geometry yields a Q of 7.2×10 6 and a V∼1.095(λ/n Si ) 3 in simulations, resulting in an ultra-high Q/V ratio of about 6.5×10 6 (λ/n Si ) -3 . When the number of holes on either side is 8, the cavity possesses a high sensitivity of 252 nm/RIU (refractive index unit), a high calculated Q-factor of 1.27×10 5 , and an ultra-small effective V of ∼0.758(λ/n Si ) 3 at the fundamental resonant wavelength of 1521.74 nm. Particularly, the footprint is only about 8×0.7  μm 2 . However, inevitably our proposed PCNC has several higher-order resonant modes in the transmission spectrum, which makes the PCNC difficult to be used for multiplexed sensing. Thus, a well-designed bandstop filter with weak sidelobes and broad bandwidth based on a photonic crystal nanobeam waveguide is created to connect with the PCNC to filter out the high-order modes. Therefore, the integrated structure presented in this work is promising for building ultra-compact lab-on-chip sensor arrays with high density and parallel-multiplexing capability.

Compact fiber optic gyroscopes for platform stabilization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dickson, William C.; Yee, Ting K.; Coward, James F.; McClaren, Andrew; Pechner, David A.

2013-09-01

SA Photonics has developed a family of compact Fiber Optic Gyroscopes (FOGs) for platform stabilization applications. The use of short fiber coils enables the high update rates required for stabilization applications but presents challenges to maintain high performance. We are able to match the performance of much larger FOGs by utilizing several innovative technologies. These technologies include source noise reduction to minimize Angular Random Walk (ARW), advanced digital signal processing that minimizes bias drift at high update rates, and advanced passive thermal packaging that minimizes temperature induced bias drift while not significantly affecting size, weight, or power. In addition, SA Photonics has developed unique distributed FOG packaging technologies allowing the FOG electronics and photonics to be packaged remotely from the sensor head or independent axis heads to minimize size, weight, and power at the sensing location(s). The use of these technologies has resulted in high performance, including ARW less than 0.001 deg/rt-hr and bias drift less than 0.004 deg/hr at an update rate of 10 kHz, and total packaged volume less than 30 cu. in. for a 6 degree of freedom FOG-based IMU. Specific applications include optical beam stabilization for LIDAR and LADAR, beam stabilization for long-range free-space optical communication, Optical Inertial Reference Units for HEL stabilization, and Ka band antenna pedestal pointing and stabilization. The high performance of our FOGs also enables their use in traditional navigation and positioning applications. This paper will review the technologies enabling our high-performance compact FOGs, and will provide performance test results.

Fiber-Coupled Cavity-QED Source of Identical Single Photons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Snijders, H.; Frey, J. A.; Norman, J.; Post, V. P.; Gossard, A. C.; Bowers, J. E.; van Exter, M. P.; Löffler, W.; Bouwmeester, D.

2018-03-01

We present a fully fiber-coupled source of high-fidelity single photons. An (In,Ga)As semiconductor quantum dot is embedded in an optical Fabry-Perot microcavity with a robust design and rigidly attached single-mode fibers, which enables through-fiber cross-polarized resonant laser excitation and photon extraction. Even without spectral filtering, we observe that the incident coherent light pulses are transformed into a stream of single photons with high purity (97%) and indistinguishability (90%), which is measured at an in-fiber brightness of 5% with an excellent cavity-mode-to-fiber coupling efficiency of 85%. Our results pave the way for fully fiber-integrated photonic quantum networks. Furthermore, our method is equally applicable to fiber-coupled solid-state cavity-QED-based photonic quantum gates.

Entangling quantum-logic gate operated with an ultrabright semiconductor single-photon source.

PubMed

Gazzano, O; Almeida, M P; Nowak, A K; Portalupi, S L; Lemaître, A; Sagnes, I; White, A G; Senellart, P

2013-06-21

We demonstrate the unambiguous entangling operation of a photonic quantum-logic gate driven by an ultrabright solid-state single-photon source. Indistinguishable single photons emitted by a single semiconductor quantum dot in a micropillar optical cavity are used as target and control qubits. For a source brightness of 0.56 photons per pulse, the measured truth table has an overlap with the ideal case of 68.4±0.5%, increasing to 73.0±1.6% for a source brightness of 0.17 photons per pulse. The gate is entangling: At a source brightness of 0.48, the Bell-state fidelity is above the entangling threshold of 50% and reaches 71.0±3.6% for a source brightness of 0.15.

Review of SERS Substrates for Chemical Sensing

PubMed Central

Mosier-Boss, Pamela A.

2017-01-01

The SERS effect was initially discovered in the 1970s. Early research focused on understanding the phenomenon and increasing enhancement to achieve single molecule detection. From the mid-1980s to early 1990s, research started to move away from obtaining a fundamental understanding of the phenomenon to the exploration of analytical applications. At the same time, significant developments occurred in the field of photonics that led to the advent of inexpensive, robust, compact, field-deployable Raman systems. The 1990s also saw rapid development in nanoscience. This convergence of technologies (photonics and nanoscience) has led to accelerated development of SERS substrates to detect a wide range of chemical and biological analytes. It would be a monumental task to discuss all the different kinds of SERS substrates that have been explored. Likewise, it would be impossible to discuss the use of SERS for both chemical and biological detection. Instead, a review of the most common metallic (Ag, Cu, and Au) SERS substrates for chemical detection only is discussed, as well as SERS substrates that are commercially available. Other issues with SERS for chemical detection have been selectivity, reversibility, and reusability of the substrates. How these issues have been addressed is also discussed in this review. PMID:28594385

Design of highly sensitive multichannel bimetallic photonic crystal fiber biosensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hameed, Mohamed Farhat O.; Alrayk, Yassmin K. A.; Shaalan, Abdelhamid A.; El Deeb, Walid S.; Obayya, Salah S. A.

2016-10-01

A design of a highly sensitive multichannel biosensor based on photonic crystal fiber is proposed and analyzed. The suggested design has a silver layer as a plasmonic material coated by a gold layer to protect silver oxidation. The reported sensor is based on detection using the quasi transverse electric (TE) and quasi transverse magnetic (TM) modes, which offers the possibility of multichannel/multianalyte sensing. The numerical results are obtained using a finite element method with perfect matched layer boundary conditions. The sensor geometrical parameters are optimized to achieve high sensitivity for the two polarized modes. High-refractive index sensitivity of about 4750 nm/RIU (refractive index unit) and 4300 nm/RIU with corresponding resolutions of 2.1×10-5 RIU, and 2.33×10-5 RIU can be obtained according to the quasi TM and quasi TE modes of the proposed sensor, respectively. Further, the reported design can be used as a self-calibration biosensor within an unknown analyte refractive index ranging from 1.33 to 1.35 with high linearity and high accuracy. Moreover, the suggested biosensor has advantages in terms of compactness and better integration of microfluidics setup, waveguide, and metallic layers into a single structure.

Time of flight imaging through scattering environments (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le, Toan H.; Breitbach, Eric C.; Jackson, Jonathan A.; Velten, Andreas

2017-02-01

Light scattering is a primary obstacle to imaging in many environments. On small scales in biomedical microscopy and diffuse tomography scenarios scattering is caused by tissue. On larger scales scattering from dust and fog provide challenges to vision systems for self driving cars and naval remote imaging systems. We are developing scale models for scattering environments and investigation methods for improved imaging particularly using time of flight transient information. With the emergence of Single Photon Avalanche Diode detectors and fast semiconductor lasers, illumination and capture on picosecond timescales are becoming possible in inexpensive, compact, and robust devices. This opens up opportunities for new computational imaging techniques that make use of photon time of flight. Time of flight or range information is used in remote imaging scenarios in gated viewing and in biomedical imaging in time resolved diffuse tomography. In addition spatial filtering is popular in biomedical scenarios with structured illumination and confocal microscopy. We are presenting a combination analytical, computational, and experimental models that allow us develop and test imaging methods across scattering scenarios and scales. This framework will be used for proof of concept experiments to evaluate new computational imaging methods.

Electrically driven monolithic subwavelength plasmonic interconnect circuits

PubMed Central

Liu, Yang; Zhang, Jiasen; Liu, Huaping; Wang, Sheng; Peng, Lian-Mao

2017-01-01

In the post-Moore era, an electrically driven monolithic optoelectronic integrated circuit (OEIC) fabricated from a single material is pursued globally to enable the construction of wafer-scale compact computing systems with powerful processing capabilities and low-power consumption. We report a monolithic plasmonic interconnect circuit (PIC) consisting of a photovoltaic (PV) cascading detector, Au-strip waveguides, and electrically driven surface plasmon polariton (SPP) sources. These components are fabricated from carbon nanotubes (CNTs) via a CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor)–compatible doping-free technique in the same feature size, which can be reduced to deep-subwavelength scale (~λ/7 to λ/95, λ = 1340 nm) compared with the 14-nm technique node. An OEIC could potentially be configured as a repeater for data transport because of its “photovoltaic” operation mode to transform SPP energy directly into electricity to drive subsequent electronic circuits. Moreover, chip-scale throughput capability has also been demonstrated by fabricating a 20 × 20 PIC array on a 10 mm × 10 mm wafer. Tailoring photonics for monolithic integration with electronics beyond the diffraction limit opens a new era of chip-level nanoscale electronic-photonic systems, introducing a new path to innovate toward much faster, smaller, and cheaper computing frameworks. PMID:29062890

Spin-photon interface and spin-controlled photon switching in a nanobeam waveguide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Javadi, Alisa; Ding, Dapeng; Appel, Martin Hayhurst; Mahmoodian, Sahand; Löbl, Matthias Christian; Söllner, Immo; Schott, Rüdiger; Papon, Camille; Pregnolato, Tommaso; Stobbe, Søren; Midolo, Leonardo; Schröder, Tim; Wieck, Andreas Dirk; Ludwig, Arne; Warburton, Richard John; Lodahl, Peter

2018-05-01

The spin of an electron is a promising memory state and qubit. Connecting spin states that are spatially far apart will enable quantum nodes and quantum networks based on the electron spin. Towards this goal, an integrated spin-photon interface would be a major leap forward as it combines the memory capability of a single spin with the efficient transfer of information by photons. Here, we demonstrate such an efficient and optically programmable interface between the spin of an electron in a quantum dot and photons in a nanophotonic waveguide. The spin can be deterministically prepared in the ground state with a fidelity of up to 96%. Subsequently, the system is used to implement a single-spin photonic switch, in which the spin state of the electron directs the flow of photons through the waveguide. The spin-photon interface may enable on-chip photon-photon gates, single-photon transistors and the efficient generation of a photonic cluster state.

Thermal Photon Radiation in High Multiplicity p + Pb Collisions at the Large Hadron Collider

DOE PAGES

Shen, Chun; Paquet, Jean-François; Denicol, Gabriel S.; ...

2016-02-18

We observed the collective behavior of hadronic particles in high multiplicity proton-lead collisions at the Large Hadron Collider, as well as in deuteron-gold collisions at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider. In our work we present the first calculation, in the hydrodynamic framework, of thermal photon radiation from such small collision systems. Owing to their compact size, these systems can reach temperatures comparable to those in central nucleus-nucleus collisions. Moreover, the thermal photons can thus shine over the prompt background, and increase the low p T direct photon spectrum by a factor of 2–3 in 0%–1% p+Pb collisions at 5.02 TeV. Thismore » thermal photon enhancement can therefore serve as a signature of the existence of a hot quark-gluon plasma during the evolution of these small collision systems, as well as validate hydrodynamic behavior in small systems.« less

True time-delay photonic beamforming with fine steerability and frequency-agility for spaceborne phased-arrays: a proof-of-concept demonstration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paul, Dilip K.; Razdan, Rajender; Goldman, Alfred M.

1996-10-01

Feasibility of photonics in beam forming and steering of large phased-array antennas onboard communications satellite/avionics systems is addressed in this paper. Specifically, a proof-of-concept demonstration of phased- array antenna feed network using fiber optic true time-delay (TTD) elements is reported for SATCOM phased-array antennas operating at C-band. Results of the photonic hardware design and performance analysis, including the measured radiation patterns of the antenna array fed by the photonic BFN, are presented. An excellent agreement between the analysis and measured data has been observed. In addition to being light- weight and compact, several unique characteristics such as rf carrier frequency agility and continuous steerability of the radiated beam achieved by the fiber optic TTD architecture are clear evidences of its superiority over other competing photonic architectures.

Electro-optical modulator in a polymerinfiltrated silicon slotted photonic crystal waveguide heterostructure resonator.

PubMed

Wülbern, Jan Hendrik; Petrov, Alexander; Eich, Manfred

2009-01-05

We present a novel concept of a compact, ultra fast electro-optic modulator, based on photonic crystal resonator structures that can be realized in two dimensional photonic crystal slabs of silicon as core material employing a nonlinear optical polymer as infiltration and cladding material. The novel concept is to combine a photonic crystal heterostructure cavity with a slotted defect waveguide. The photonic crystal lattice can be used as a distributed electrode for the application of a modulation signal. An electrical contact is hence provided while the optical wave is kept isolated from the lossy metal electrodes. Thereby, well known disadvantages of segmented electrode designs such as excessive scattering are avoided. The optical field enhancement in the slotted region increases the nonlinear interaction with an external electric field resulting in an envisaged switching voltage of approximately 1 V at modulation speeds up to 100 GHz.

Signatures of photon-scalar interaction in astrophysical situations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ganguly, Avijit K.; Jaiswal, Manoj K.

2018-01-01

Dimension-5 photon ( γ) scalar ( ϕ) interaction term usually appear in the Lagrangians of bosonic sector of unified theories of electromagnetism and gravity. This interaction makes the medium dichoric and induces optical activity. Considering a toy model of an ultra-cold magnetized compact star (white dwarf (WD) or neutron star (NS)), we have modeled the propagation of very low energy photons with such interaction, in the environment of these stars. Assuming synchro-curvature process as the dominant mechanism of emission in such environments, we have tried to understand the polarimetric implications of photon-scalar coupling on the produced spectrum of the same. Further more assuming the `emission-energy vs emission-altitude' relation, that is believed to hold in such ( i.e., cold magnetized WD or NS) environments, we have tried to point out the possible modifications to the radiation spectrum when the same is incorporated along with dimension-5 photon-scalar mixing operator.

Quantum interference in heterogeneous superconducting-photonic circuits on a silicon chip.

PubMed

Schuck, C; Guo, X; Fan, L; Ma, X; Poot, M; Tang, H X

2016-01-21

Quantum information processing holds great promise for communicating and computing data efficiently. However, scaling current photonic implementation approaches to larger system size remains an outstanding challenge for realizing disruptive quantum technology. Two main ingredients of quantum information processors are quantum interference and single-photon detectors. Here we develop a hybrid superconducting-photonic circuit system to show how these elements can be combined in a scalable fashion on a silicon chip. We demonstrate the suitability of this approach for integrated quantum optics by interfering and detecting photon pairs directly on the chip with waveguide-coupled single-photon detectors. Using a directional coupler implemented with silicon nitride nanophotonic waveguides, we observe 97% interference visibility when measuring photon statistics with two monolithically integrated superconducting single-photon detectors. The photonic circuit and detector fabrication processes are compatible with standard semiconductor thin-film technology, making it possible to implement more complex and larger scale quantum photonic circuits on silicon chips.

Monolithic integration of SOI waveguide photodetectors and transimpedance amplifiers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Shuxia; Tarr, N. Garry; Ye, Winnie N.

2018-02-01

In the absence of commercial foundry technologies offering silicon-on-insulator (SOI) photonics combined with Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) transistors, monolithic integration of conventional electronics with SOI photonics is difficult. Here we explore the implementation of lateral bipolar junction transistors (LBJTs) and Junction Field Effect Transistors (JFETs) in a commercial SOI photonics technology lacking MOS devices but offering a variety of n- and p-type ion implants intended to provide waveguide modulators and photodetectors. The fabrication makes use of the commercial Institute of Microelectronics (IME) SOI photonics technology. Based on knowledge of device doping and geometry, simple compact LBJT and JFET device models are developed. These models are then used to design basic transimpedance amplifiers integrated with optical waveguides. The devices' experimental current-voltage characteristics results are reported.

Energy correlations of photon pairs generated by a silicon microring resonator probed by Stimulated Four Wave Mixing.

PubMed

Grassani, Davide; Simbula, Angelica; Pirotta, Stefano; Galli, Matteo; Menotti, Matteo; Harris, Nicholas C; Baehr-Jones, Tom; Hochberg, Michael; Galland, Christophe; Liscidini, Marco; Bajoni, Daniele

2016-04-01

Compact silicon integrated devices, such as micro-ring resonators, have recently been demonstrated as efficient sources of quantum correlated photon pairs. The mass production of integrated devices demands the implementation of fast and reliable techniques to monitor the device performances. In the case of time-energy correlations, this is particularly challenging, as it requires high spectral resolution that is not currently achievable in coincidence measurements. Here we reconstruct the joint spectral density of photons pairs generated by spontaneous four-wave mixing in a silicon ring resonator by studying the corresponding stimulated process, namely stimulated four wave mixing. We show that this approach, featuring high spectral resolution and short measurement times, allows one to discriminate between nearly-uncorrelated and highly-correlated photon pairs.

Theory of single-photon detectors employing smart strategies of detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva, João Batista Rosa; Ramos, Rubens Viana

2005-11-01

Single-photon detectors have become more important with the advent of set-ups for optical communication using single-photon pulses, mainly quantum key distribution. The performance of quantum key distribution systems depends strongly on the performance of single-photon detectors. In this paper, aiming to overcome the afterpulsing that limits strongly the maximal transmission rate of quantum key distribution systems, three smart strategies for single-photon detection are discussed using analytical and numerical procedures. The three strategies are: hold-off time conditioned to avalanche presence, termed the Norwegian strategy, using one avalanche photodiode, using two raffled avalanche photodiodes and using two switched avalanche photodiodes. Finally we give examples using these strategies in a quantum key distribution set-up.

Controlling single-photon transport in an optical waveguide coupled to an optomechanical cavity with a Λ-type three-level atom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yu-Qing; Zhu, Zhong-Hua; Peng, Zhao-Hui; Jiang, Chun-Lei; Chai, Yi-Feng; Hai, Lian; Tan, Lei

2018-06-01

We theoretically study the single-photon transport along a one-dimensional optical waveguide coupled to an optomechanical cavity containing a Λ-type three-level atom. Our numerical results show that the transmission spectra of the incident photon can be well controlled by such a hybrid atom-optomechanical system. The effects of the optomechanical coupling strength, the classical laser beam applied to the atom, atom-cavity detuning, and atomic dissipation on the single-photon transport properties are analyzed. It is of particular interest that an analogous double electromagnetically induced transparency emerges in the single-photon transmission spectra.

Dynamics of Single-Photon Emission from Electrically Pumped Color Centers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khramtsov, Igor A.; Agio, Mario; Fedyanin, Dmitry Yu.

2017-08-01

Low-power, high-speed, and bright electrically driven true single-photon sources, which are able to operate at room temperature, are vital for the practical realization of quantum-communication networks and optical quantum computations. Color centers in semiconductors are currently the best candidates; however, in spite of their intensive study in the past decade, the behavior of color centers in electrically controlled systems is poorly understood. Here we present a physical model and establish a theoretical approach to address single-photon emission dynamics of electrically pumped color centers, which interprets experimental results. We support our analysis with self-consistent numerical simulations of a single-photon emitting diode based on a single nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond and predict the second-order autocorrelation function and other emission characteristics. Our theoretical findings demonstrate remarkable agreement with the experimental results and pave the way to the understanding of single-electron and single-photon processes in semiconductors.

Photonic quantum information: science and technology.

PubMed

Takeuchi, Shigeki

2016-01-01

Recent technological progress in the generation, manipulation and detection of individual single photons has opened a new scientific field of photonic quantum information. This progress includes the realization of single photon switches, photonic quantum circuits with specific functions, and the application of novel photonic states to novel optical metrology beyond the limits of standard optics. In this review article, the recent developments and current status of photonic quantum information technology are overviewed based on the author's past and recent works.

A scalable multi-photon coincidence detector based on superconducting nanowires.

PubMed

Zhu, Di; Zhao, Qing-Yuan; Choi, Hyeongrak; Lu, Tsung-Ju; Dane, Andrew E; Englund, Dirk; Berggren, Karl K

2018-06-04

Coincidence detection of single photons is crucial in numerous quantum technologies and usually requires multiple time-resolved single-photon detectors. However, the electronic readout becomes a major challenge when the measurement basis scales to large numbers of spatial modes. Here, we address this problem by introducing a two-terminal coincidence detector that enables scalable readout of an array of detector segments based on superconducting nanowire microstrip transmission line. Exploiting timing logic, we demonstrate a sixteen-element detector that resolves all 136 possible single-photon and two-photon coincidence events. We further explore the pulse shapes of the detector output and resolve up to four-photon events in a four-element device, giving the detector photon-number-resolving capability. This new detector architecture and operating scheme will be particularly useful for multi-photon coincidence detection in large-scale photonic integrated circuits.

A new product for photon-limited imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonsiorowski, Thomas

1986-01-01

A new commercial low-light imaging detector, the Photon Digitizing Camera (PDC), is based on the PAPA detector developed at Harvard University. The PDC generates (x, y, t)-coordinate data of each detected photoevent. Because the positional address computation is performed optically, very high counting rates are achieved even at full spatial resolution. Careful optomechanical and electronic design results in a compact, rugged detector with superb performance. The PDC will be used for speckle imaging of astronomical sources and other astronomical and low-light applications.

Improving the Efficiency of Photon Collection by Compton Rescue

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-03-01

burnished by vibratory shot peening,” Acta Physica Polonica , vol. A 110, pp. 739–46, 2006. [4] M. Cunningham et al., “First-generation hybrid compact...Department of Defense, or the United States Government. This material is declared a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright...R. Kowash (Member) Date AFIT/GAP/ENP/11-M10 Abstract A method to improve the efficiency of photon collection in thin planar HPGe de- tectors was

Optically-programmable nonlinear photonic component for dielectric-loaded plasmonic circuitry.

PubMed

Krasavin, Alexey V; Randhawa, Sukanya; Bouillard, Jean-Sebastien; Renger, Jan; Quidant, Romain; Zayats, Anatoly V

2011-12-05

We demonstrate both experimentally and numerically a compact and efficient, optically tuneable plasmonic component utilizing a surface plasmon polariton ring resonator with nonlinearity based on trans-cis isomerization in a polymer material. We observe more than 3-fold change between high and low transmission states of the device at milliwatt control powers (∼100 W/cm² by intensity), with the performance limited by switching speed of the material. Such plasmonic components can be employed in optically programmable and reconfigurable integrated photonic circuitry.

Electromagnetic effects on the light hadron spectrum

DOE PAGES

Basak, S.; Bazavov, A.; Bernard, C.; ...

2015-09-28

Calculations studying electromagnetic effects on light mesons are reported. The calculations use fully dynamical QCD, but only quenched photons, which suffices to NLO in χPT; that is, the sea quarks are electrically neutral, while the valence quarks carry charge. The non-compact formalism is used for photons. New results are obtained with lattice spacing as small as 0.045 fm and a large range of volumes. The success of chiral perturbation theory in describing these results and the implications for light quark masses are considered.

Thomson-backscattered x rays from laser-accelerated electrons.

PubMed

Schwoerer, H; Liesfeld, B; Schlenvoigt, H-P; Amthor, K-U; Sauerbrey, R

2006-01-13

We present the first observation of Thomson-backscattered light from laser-accelerated electrons. In a compact, all-optical setup, the "photon collider," a high-intensity laser pulse is focused into a pulsed He gas jet and accelerates electrons to relativistic energies. A counterpropagating laser probe pulse is scattered from these high-energy electrons, and the backscattered x-ray photons are spectrally analyzed. This experiment demonstrates a novel source of directed ultrashort x-ray pulses and additionally allows for time-resolved spectroscopy of the laser acceleration of electrons.

Processing multiphoton states through operation on a single photon: Methods and applications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lin Qing; He Bing; Bergou, Janos A.

2009-10-15

Multiphoton states are widely applied in quantum information technology. By the methods presented in this paper, the structure of a multiphoton state in the form of multiple single-photon qubit products can be mapped to a single-photon qudit, which could also be in a separable product with other photons. This makes possible the manipulation of such multiphoton states by processing single-photon states. The optical realization of unknown qubit discrimination [B. He, J. A. Bergou, and Y.-H. Ren, Phys. Rev. A 76, 032301 (2007)] is simplified with the transformation methods. Another application is the construction of quantum logic gates, where the inversemore » transformations back to the input state spaces are also necessary. We especially show that the modified setups to implement the transformations can realize the deterministic multicontrol gates (including Toffoli gate) operating directly on the products of single-photon qubits.« less

A photon-photon quantum gate based on a single atom in an optical resonator.

PubMed

Hacker, Bastian; Welte, Stephan; Rempe, Gerhard; Ritter, Stephan

2016-08-11

That two photons pass each other undisturbed in free space is ideal for the faithful transmission of information, but prohibits an interaction between the photons. Such an interaction is, however, required for a plethora of applications in optical quantum information processing. The long-standing challenge here is to realize a deterministic photon-photon gate, that is, a mutually controlled logic operation on the quantum states of the photons. This requires an interaction so strong that each of the two photons can shift the other's phase by π radians. For polarization qubits, this amounts to the conditional flipping of one photon's polarization to an orthogonal state. So far, only probabilistic gates based on linear optics and photon detectors have been realized, because "no known or foreseen material has an optical nonlinearity strong enough to implement this conditional phase shift''. Meanwhile, tremendous progress in the development of quantum-nonlinear systems has opened up new possibilities for single-photon experiments. Platforms range from Rydberg blockade in atomic ensembles to single-atom cavity quantum electrodynamics. Applications such as single-photon switches and transistors, two-photon gateways, nondestructive photon detectors, photon routers and nonlinear phase shifters have been demonstrated, but none of them with the ideal information carriers: optical qubits in discriminable modes. Here we use the strong light-matter coupling provided by a single atom in a high-finesse optical resonator to realize the Duan-Kimble protocol of a universal controlled phase flip (π phase shift) photon-photon quantum gate. We achieve an average gate fidelity of (76.2 ± 3.6) per cent and specifically demonstrate the capability of conditional polarization flipping as well as entanglement generation between independent input photons. This photon-photon quantum gate is a universal quantum logic element, and therefore could perform most existing two-photon operations. The demonstrated feasibility of deterministic protocols for the optical processing of quantum information could lead to new applications in which photons are essential, especially long-distance quantum communication and scalable quantum computing.

Frequency-multiplexed bias and readout of a 16-pixel superconducting nanowire single-photon detector array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doerner, S.; Kuzmin, A.; Wuensch, S.; Charaev, I.; Boes, F.; Zwick, T.; Siegel, M.

2017-07-01

We demonstrate a 16-pixel array of microwave-current driven superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors with an integrated and scalable frequency-division multiplexing architecture, which reduces the required number of bias and readout lines to a single microwave feed line. The electrical behavior of the photon-sensitive nanowires, embedded in a resonant circuit, as well as the optical performance and timing jitter of the single detectors is discussed. Besides the single pixel measurements, we also demonstrate the operation of a 16-pixel array with a temporal, spatial, and photon-number resolution.

Optically controlled laser-plasma electron accelerator for compact gamma-ray sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalmykov, S. Y.; Davoine, X.; Ghebregziabher, I.; Shadwick, B. A.

2018-02-01

Generating quasi-monochromatic, femtosecond γ-ray pulses via Thomson scattering (TS) demands exceptional electron beam (e-beam) quality, such as percent-scale energy spread and five-dimensional brightness over 1016 A m-2. We show that near-GeV e-beams with these metrics can be accelerated in a cavity of electron density, driven with an incoherent stack of Joule-scale laser pulses through a mm-size, dense plasma (n 0 ˜ 1019 cm-3). Changing the time delay, frequency difference, and energy ratio of the stack components controls the e-beam phase space on the femtosecond scale, while the modest energy of the optical driver helps afford kHz-scale repetition rate at manageable average power. Blue-shifting one stack component by a considerable fraction of the carrier frequency makes the stack immune to self-compression. This, in turn, minimizes uncontrolled variation in the cavity shape, suppressing continuous injection of ambient plasma electrons, preserving a single, ultra-bright electron bunch. In addition, weak focusing of the trailing component of the stack induces periodic injection, generating, in a single shot, a train of bunches with controllable energy spacing and femtosecond synchronization. These designer e-beams, inaccessible to conventional acceleration methods, generate, via TS, gigawatt γ-ray pulses (or multi-color pulse trains) with the mean energy in the range of interest for nuclear photonics (4-16 MeV), containing over 106 photons within a microsteradian-scale observation cone.

Optimal arrangements of fiber optic probes to enhance the spatial resolution in depth for 3D reflectance diffuse optical tomography with time-resolved measurements performed with fast-gated single-photon avalanche diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puszka, Agathe; Di Sieno, Laura; Dalla Mora, Alberto; Pifferi, Antonio; Contini, Davide; Boso, Gianluca; Tosi, Alberto; Hervé, Lionel; Planat-Chrétien, Anne; Koenig, Anne; Dinten, Jean-Marc

2014-02-01

Fiber optic probes with a width limited to a few centimeters can enable diffuse optical tomography (DOT) in intern organs like the prostate or facilitate the measurements on extern organs like the breast or the brain. We have recently shown on 2D tomographic images that time-resolved measurements with a large dynamic range obtained with fast-gated single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) could push forward the imaged depth range in a diffusive medium at short source-detector separation compared with conventional non-gated approaches. In this work, we confirm these performances with the first 3D tomographic images reconstructed with such a setup and processed with the Mellin- Laplace transform. More precisely, we investigate the performance of hand-held probes with short interfiber distances in terms of spatial resolution and specifically demonstrate the interest of having a compact probe design featuring small source-detector separations. We compare the spatial resolution obtained with two probes having the same design but different scale factors, the first one featuring only interfiber distances of 15 mm and the second one, 10 mm. We evaluate experimentally the spatial resolution obtained with each probe on the setup with fast-gated SPADs for optical phantoms featuring two absorbing inclusions positioned at different depths and conclude on the potential of short source-detector separations for DOT.

Design and properties of high-power highly-coherent single-frequency VECSEL emitting in the near- to mid-IR for photonic applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garnache, A.; Laurain, A.; Myara, M.; Sellahi, M.; Cerutti, L.; Perez, J. P.; Michon, A.; Beaudoin, G.; Sagnes, I.; Cermak, P.; Romanini, D.

2017-11-01

We demonstrate high power (multiwatt) low noise single frequency operation of tunable compact verical-external- cavity surface-emitting-lasers exhibiting a low divergence high beam quality, of great interest for photonics applications. The quantum-well based lasers are operating in CW at RT at 1μm and 2.3μm exploiting GaAs and Sb technologies. For heat management purpose the VECSEL membranes were bonded on a SiC substrate. Both high power diode pumping (using GaAs commercial diode) at large incidence angle and electrical pumping are developed. The design and physical properties of the coherent wave are presented. We took advantage of thermal lens-based stability to develop a short (0.5-5mm) external cavity without any intracavity filter. We measured a low divergence circular TEM00 beam (M2 = 1.2) close to diffraction limit, with a linear light polarization (> 30 dB). The side mode suppression ratio is > 45 dB. The free running laser linewidth is 37 kHz limited by pump induced thermal fluctuations. Thanks to this high-Q external cavity approach, the frequency noise is low and the dynamics is in the relaxation-oscillation-free regime, exhibiting low intensity noise (< 0.1%), with a cutoff frequency ∽ 41MHz above which the shot noise level is reached. The key parameters limiting the laser power and coherence will be discussed. These design/properties can be extended to other wavelengths.

On-chip detection of non-classical light by scalable integration of single-photon detectors

PubMed Central

Najafi, Faraz; Mower, Jacob; Harris, Nicholas C.; Bellei, Francesco; Dane, Andrew; Lee, Catherine; Hu, Xiaolong; Kharel, Prashanta; Marsili, Francesco; Assefa, Solomon; Berggren, Karl K.; Englund, Dirk

2015-01-01

Photonic-integrated circuits have emerged as a scalable platform for complex quantum systems. A central goal is to integrate single-photon detectors to reduce optical losses, latency and wiring complexity associated with off-chip detectors. Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) are particularly attractive because of high detection efficiency, sub-50-ps jitter and nanosecond-scale reset time. However, while single detectors have been incorporated into individual waveguides, the system detection efficiency of multiple SNSPDs in one photonic circuit—required for scalable quantum photonic circuits—has been limited to <0.2%. Here we introduce a micrometer-scale flip-chip process that enables scalable integration of SNSPDs on a range of photonic circuits. Ten low-jitter detectors are integrated on one circuit with 100% device yield. With an average system detection efficiency beyond 10%, and estimated on-chip detection efficiency of 14–52% for four detectors operated simultaneously, we demonstrate, to the best of our knowledge, the first on-chip photon correlation measurements of non-classical light. PMID:25575346

Optimal antibunching in passive photonic devices based on coupled nonlinear resonators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferretti, S.; Savona, V.; Gerace, D.

2013-02-01

We propose the use of weakly nonlinear passive materials for prospective applications in integrated quantum photonics. It is shown that strong enhancement of native optical nonlinearities by electromagnetic field confinement in photonic crystal resonators can lead to single-photon generation only exploiting the quantum interference of two coupled modes and the effect of photon blockade under resonant coherent driving. For realistic system parameters in state of the art microcavities, the efficiency of such a single-photon source is theoretically characterized by means of the second-order correlation function at zero-time delay as the main figure of merit, where major sources of loss and decoherence are taken into account within a standard master equation treatment. These results could stimulate the realization of integrated quantum photonic devices based on non-resonant material media, fully integrable with current semiconductor technology and matching the relevant telecom band operational wavelengths, as an alternative to single-photon nonlinear devices based on cavity quantum electrodynamics with artificial atoms or single atomic-like emitters.

Generation of single photons with highly tunable wave shape from a cold atomic ensemble

PubMed Central

Farrera, Pau; Heinze, Georg; Albrecht, Boris; Ho, Melvyn; Chávez, Matías; Teo, Colin; Sangouard, Nicolas; de Riedmatten, Hugues

2016-01-01

The generation of ultra-narrowband, pure and storable single photons with widely tunable wave shape is an enabling step toward hybrid quantum networks requiring interconnection of remote disparate quantum systems. It allows interaction of quantum light with several material systems, including photonic quantum memories, single trapped ions and opto-mechanical systems. Previous approaches have offered a limited tuning range of the photon duration of at most one order of magnitude. Here we report on a heralded single photon source with controllable emission time based on a cold atomic ensemble, which can generate photons with temporal durations varying over three orders of magnitude up to 10 μs without a significant change of the readout efficiency. We prove the nonclassicality of the emitted photons, show that they are emitted in a pure state, and demonstrate that ultra-long photons with nonstandard wave shape can be generated, which are ideally suited for several quantum information tasks. PMID:27886166

Compact ultrafast semiconductor disk laser for nonlinear imaging in living organisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aviles-Espinosa, Rodrigo; Filippidis, G.; Hamilton, Craig; Malcolm, Graeme; Weingarten, Kurt J.; Südmeyer, Thomas; Barbarin, Yohan; Keller, Ursula; Artigas, David; Loza-Alvarez, Pablo

2011-03-01

Ultrashort pulsed laser systems (such as Ti:sapphire) have been used in nonlinear microscopy during the last years. However, its implementation is not straight forward as they are maintenance-intensive, bulky and expensive. These limitations have prevented their wide-spread use for nonlinear imaging, especially in "real-life" biomedical applications. In this work we present the suitability of a compact ultrafast semiconductor disk laser source, with a footprint of 140x240x70 mm, to be used for nonlinear microscopy. The modelocking mechanism of the laser is based on a quantumdot semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM). The laser delivers an average output power of 287 mW with 1.5 ps pulses at 500 MHz, corresponding to a peak power of 0.4 kW. Its center wavelength is 965 nm which is ideally suited for two-photon excitation of the widely used Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) marker as it virtually matches its twophoton action cross section. We reveal that it is possible to obtain two photon excited fluorescence images of GFP labeled neurons and secondharmonic generation images of pharynx and body wall muscles in living C. elegans nematodes. Our results demonstrate that this compact laser is well suited for long-term time-lapse imaging of living samples as very low powers provide a bright signal. Importantly this non expensive, turn-key, compact laser system could be used as a platform to develop portable nonlinear bio-imaging devices, facilitating its wide-spread adoption in "real-life" applications.

Observation of quantum entanglement between a photon and a single electron spin confined to an InAs quantum dot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaibley, John; Burgers, Alex; McCracken, Greg; Duan, Luming; Berman, Paul; Steel, Duncan; Bracker, Allan; Gammon, Daniel; Sham, Lu

2013-03-01

A single electron spin confined to a single InAs quantum dot (QD) can serve as a qubit for quantum information processing. By utilizing the QD's optically excited trion states in the presence of an externally applied magnetic field, the QD spin can be rapidly initialized, manipulated and read out. A key resource for quantum information is the ability to entangle distinct QD spins. One approach relies on intermediate spin-photon entanglement to mediate the entanglement between distant QD spin qubits. We report a demonstration of quantum entanglement between a photon's polarization state and the spin state of a single electron confined to a single QD. Here, the photon is spontaneously emitted from one of the QD's trion states. The emitted photon's polarization along the detection axis is entangled with the resulting spin state of the QD. By performing projective measurements on the photon's polarization state and correlating these measurements with the state of the QD spin in two different bases, we obtain a lower bound on the entanglement fidelity of 0.59 (after background correction). The fidelity bound is limited almost entirely by the timing resolution of our single photon detector. The spin-photon entanglement generation rate is 3 ×103 s-1. Supported by: NSF, MURI, AFOSR, DARPA, ARO.

A semiconductor photon-sorter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bennett, A. J.; Lee, J. P.; Ellis, D. J. P.; Farrer, I.; Ritchie, D. A.; Shields, A. J.

2016-10-01

Obtaining substantial nonlinear effects at the single-photon level is a considerable challenge that holds great potential for quantum optical measurements and information processing. Of the progress that has been made in recent years one of the most promising methods is to scatter coherent light from quantum emitters, imprinting quantum correlations onto the photons. We report effective interactions between photons, controlled by a single semiconductor quantum dot that is weakly coupled to a monolithic cavity. We show that the nonlinearity of a transition modifies the counting statistics of a Poissonian beam, sorting the photons in number. This is used to create strong correlations between detection events and to create polarization-correlated photons from an uncorrelated stream using a single spin. These results pave the way for semiconductor optical switches operated by single quanta of light.

Critical Current Statistics of a Graphene-Based Josephson Junction Infrared Single Photon Detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walsh, Evan D.; Lee, Gil-Ho; Efetov, Dmitri K.; Heuck, Mikkel; Crossno, Jesse; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; Ohki, Thomas A.; Kim, Philip; Englund, Dirk; Fong, Kin Chung

Graphene is a promising material for single photon detection due to its broadband absorption and exceptionally low specific heat. We present a photon detector using a graphene sheet as the weak link in a Josephson junction (JJ) to form a threshold detector for single infrared photons. Calculations show that such a device could experience temperature changes of a few hundred percent leading to sub-Hz dark count rates and internal efficiencies approaching unity. We have fabricated the graphene-based JJ (gJJ) detector and measure switching events that are consistent with single photon detection under illumination by an attenuated laser. We study the physical mechanism for these events through the critical current behavior of the gJJ as a function of incident photon flux.

Photon correlation in single-photon frequency upconversion.

PubMed

Gu, Xiaorong; Huang, Kun; Pan, Haifeng; Wu, E; Zeng, Heping

2012-01-30

We experimentally investigated the intensity cross-correlation between the upconverted photons and the unconverted photons in the single-photon frequency upconversion process with multi-longitudinal mode pump and signal sources. In theoretical analysis, with this multi-longitudinal mode of both signal and pump sources system, the properties of the signal photons could also be maintained as in the single-mode frequency upconversion system. Experimentally, based on the conversion efficiency of 80.5%, the joint probability of simultaneously detecting at upconverted and unconverted photons showed an anti-correlation as a function of conversion efficiency which indicated the upconverted photons were one-to-one from the signal photons. While due to the coherent state of the signal photons, the intensity cross-correlation function g(2)(0) was shown to be equal to unity at any conversion efficiency, agreeing with the theoretical prediction. This study will benefit the high-speed wavelength-tunable quantum state translation or photonic quantum interface together with the mature frequency tuning or longitudinal mode selection techniques.

Photonic quantum information: science and technology

PubMed Central

TAKEUCHI, Shigeki

2016-01-01

Recent technological progress in the generation, manipulation and detection of individual single photons has opened a new scientific field of photonic quantum information. This progress includes the realization of single photon switches, photonic quantum circuits with specific functions, and the application of novel photonic states to novel optical metrology beyond the limits of standard optics. In this review article, the recent developments and current status of photonic quantum information technology are overviewed based on the author’s past and recent works. PMID:26755398

Indistinguishable near-infrared single photons from an individual organic molecule

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Trebbia, Jean-Baptiste; Tamarat, Philippe; Lounis, Brahim

2010-12-15

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 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 postselected polarization-entangled photon pairs as a test bench for applications in quantum information.

QUANTUM CRYPTOGRAPHY: Single Photons.

PubMed

Benjamin, S

2000-12-22

Quantum cryptography offers the potential of totally secure transfer of information, but as Benjamin discusses in this Perspective, its practical implementation hinges on being able to generate single photons (rather than two or more) at a time. Michler et al. show how this condition can be met in a quantum dot microdisk structure. Single molecules were also recently shown to allow controlled single-photon emission.

Joining the quantum state of two photons into one

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vitelli, Chiara; Spagnolo, Nicolò; Aparo, Lorenzo; Sciarrino, Fabio; Santamato, Enrico; Marrucci, Lorenzo

2013-07-01

Photons are the ideal carriers of quantum information for communication. Each photon can have a single or multiple qubits encoded in its internal quantum state, as defined by optical degrees of freedom such as polarization, wavelength, transverse modes and so on. However, as photons do not interact, multiplexing and demultiplexing the quantum information across photons has not been possible hitherto. Here, we introduce and demonstrate experimentally a physical process, named `quantum joining', in which the two-dimensional quantum states (qubits) of two input photons are combined into a single output photon, within a four-dimensional Hilbert space. The inverse process is also proposed, in which the four-dimensional quantum state of a single photon is split into two photons, each carrying a qubit. Both processes can be iterated, and hence provide a flexible quantum interconnect to bridge multiparticle protocols of quantum information with multidegree-of-freedom ones, with possible applications in future quantum networking.

Evaluation of potential site for mineral processing plant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Izwan Ishak, Muhamad Noor; Sipaun, Susan Maria; Mustapha, Ismail; Fahmi Engku Chik, Engku Mohd; Abdullah, Nurliyana; Affandi Mahmood, Airwan

2018-01-01

Nuclear moisture-density gauge is a type of instrument for measuring density and moisture of the material in a relatively thin zone beneath a surface of the material by using low activity of neutron and gamma radiation source. Density and moisture content data of the compacted layers are needed to determine the degree of compaction of soils, aggregate, concrete, asphalt or other materials used in civil engineering works. A gamma radiation source is mounted inside gauge housing with the source rod vertically extended to various depth positions. Direct transmission gamma radiation technique is used to obtain the count reading for the number of photons emitted before it is converted into density reading by microprocessor. This paper presents the inspection technique and results for the measurement of soil moisture and density carried out at potential site for mineral processing plant, Malaysian Nuclear Agency. Primarily, the experiment was conducted to ensure the compaction of ground is suitable for the plant construction. From the calculation, the percentages of soil wet density compaction (%WD Compact) are within acceptable limits with respect to the standard compacted wet soil density measured in the laboratory.

Hyperuniform Disordered photonic bandgap materials, from 2D to 3D, and their applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Man, Weining; Florescu, Marian; Sahba, Shervin; Sellers, Steven

Recently, hyperuniform disordered systems attracted increasing attention due to their unique physical properties and the potential possibilities of self-assembling them. We had introduced a class of 2D hyperuniform disordered (HUD) photonic bandgap (PBG) materials enabled by a novel constrained optimization method for engineering the material's isotropic photonic bandgap. The intrinsic isotropy in these disordered structures is an inherent advantage associated with the lack of crystalline order, offering unprecedented freedom for functional defect design impossible to achieve in photonic crystals. Beyond our previous experimental work using macroscopic samples with microwave radiation, we demonstrated functional devices based on submicron-scale planar hyperuniform disordered PBG structures further highlight their ability to serve as highly compact, flexible and energy-efficient platforms for photonic integrated circuits. We further extended the design, fabrication, and characterization of the disordered photonic system into 3D. We also identify local self-uniformity as a novel measure of a disordered network's internal structural similarity, which we found crucial for photonic band gap formation. National Science Foundations award DMR-1308084.

Experimental Realization of Efficient, Room Temperature Single-Photon Sources with Definite Circular and Linear Polarizations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boutsidis, Christos

In this thesis I present experimental demonstrations of room-temperature, single-photon sources with definite linear and circular polarizations. Definite photon polarization increases the efficiency of quantum communication systems. In contrast with cryogenic-temperature single-photon sources based on epitaxial quantum dots requiring expensive MBE and nanofabrication, my method utilizes a mature liquid crystal technology, which I made consistent with single-emitter fluorescence microscopy. The structures I have prepared are planar-aligned cholesteric liquid crystals forming 1-D photonic bandgaps for circularly-polarized light, which were used to achieve definite circularly-polarized fluorescence of single emitters doped in this environment. I also used planar-aligned nematic liquid crystals to align single molecules with linear dipole moments and achieved definite linearly-polarized fluorescence. I used single nanocrystal quantum dots, single nanodiamond color-centers, rare-earth-doped nanocrystals, and single terrylene and DiIC18(3) dye molecules as emitters. For nanocrystal quantum dots I observed circular polarization dissymmetry factors as large as ge = --1.6. In addition, I observed circularly-polarized resonances in the fluorescence of emitters within a cholesteric microcavity, with cavity quality factors of up to Q ˜ 250. I also showed that the fluorescence of DiIC18(3) dye molecules in planar-aligned nematic cells exhibits definite linear polarization, with a degree of polarization of rho = --0.58 +/- 0.03. Distributed Bragg reflectors form another type of microcavity that can be used to realize a single-photon source. I characterized the fluorescence from nanocrystal quantum dots doped in the defect layers of such microcavites, both organic and inorganic. Finally, to demonstrate the single-photon properties of single-emitter-doped cholesteric and nematic liquid crystal structures and distributed Bragg reflector microcavities, I present observations of photon antibunching from emitters doped in each of these structures. These experimental observations include photon antibunching from: nanocrystal quantum dots and nanodiamond color-centers doped in a cholesteric microcavity; terrylene and DiIC 18(3) dye molecules doped in nematic structures, and nanocrystal quantum dots doped in the distributed Bragg reflector microcavity. A value of the zero-time second-order coherence as low as g(2)(0) = 0.001 +/- 0.03 was measured. These results represent an important step forward in the realization of room temperature single-photon sources with definite polarization for secure quantum communication.

On-chip III-V monolithic integration of heralded single photon sources and beamsplitters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belhassen, J.; Baboux, F.; Yao, Q.; Amanti, M.; Favero, I.; Lemaître, A.; Kolthammer, W. S.; Walmsley, I. A.; Ducci, S.

2018-02-01

We demonstrate a monolithic III-V photonic circuit combining a heralded single photon source with a beamsplitter, at room temperature and telecom wavelength. Pulsed parametric down-conversion in an AlGaAs waveguide generates counterpropagating photons, one of which is used to herald the injection of its twin into the beamsplitter. We use this configuration to implement an integrated Hanbury-Brown and Twiss experiment, yielding a heralded second-order correlation gher(2 )(0 )=0.10 ±0.02 that confirms single-photon operation. The demonstrated generation and manipulation of quantum states on a single III-V semiconductor chip opens promising avenues towards real-world applications in quantum information.

Compact fixed wavelength femtosecond oscillators as an add-on for tunable Ti:sapphire lasers extend the range of applications towards multimodal imaging and optogenetics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hakulinen, T.; Klein, J.

2016-03-01

Two-photon (2P) microscopy based on tunable Ti:sapphire lasers has become a widespread tool for 3D imaging with sub-cellular resolution in living tissues. In recent years multi-photon microscopy with simpler fixed-wavelength femtosecond oscillators using Yb-doped tungstenates as gain material has raised increasing interest in life-sciences, because these lasers offer one order of magnitude more average power than Ti:sapphire lasers in the wavelength range around 1040 nm: Two-photon (2P) excitation of mainly red or yellow fluorescent dyes and proteins (e.g. YFP, mFruit series) simultaneously has been proven with a single IR laser wavelength. A new approach is to extend the usability of existing tunable Titanium sapphire lasers by adding a fixed IR wavelength with an Yb femtosecond oscillator. By that means a multitude of applications for multimodal imaging and optogenetics can be supported. Furthermore fs Yb-lasers are available with a repetition rate of typically 10 MHz and an average power of typically 5 W resulting in pulse energy of typically 500 nJ, which is comparably high for fs-oscillators. This makes them an ideal tool for two-photon spinning disk laser scanning microscopy and holographic patterning for simultaneous photoactivation of large cell populations. With this work we demonstrate that economical, small-footprint Yb fixed-wavelength lasers can present an interesting add-on to tunable lasers that are commonly used in multiphoton microscopy. The Yb fs-lasers hereby offer higher power for imaging of red fluorescent dyes and proteins, are ideally enhancing existing Ti:sapphire lasers with more power in the IR, and are supporting pulse energy and power hungry applications such as spinning disk microscopy and holographic patterning.

Near-IR photon number resolving detector design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bogdanski, Jan; Huntington, Elanor H.

2013-05-01

Photon-Number-Resolving-Detection (PNRD) capability is crucial for many Quantum-Information (QI) applications, e.g. for Coherent-State-Quantum-Computing, Linear-Optics-Quantum-Computing. In Quantum-Key-Distribution and Quantum-Secret-Sharing over 1310/1550 nm fiber, two other important, defense and information security related, QI applications, it's crucial for the information transmission security to guarantee that the information carriers (photons) are single. Thus a PNRD can provide an additional security level against eavesdropping. Currently, there are at least a couple of promising PNRD technologies in the Near-Infrared, but all of them require cryogenic cooling. Thus a compact, portable PNRD, based on commercial Avalanche-Photo-Diodes (APDs), could be a very useful instrument for many QI experiments. For an APD-based PNRD, it is crucial to measure the APD-current in the beginning of the avalanche. Thus an efficient cancellation of the APD capacitive spikes is a necessary condition for the very weak APD current measurement. The detector's principle is based on two commercial, pair-matched InGaAs/InP APDs, connected in series. It leads to a great cancelation of the capacitive spikes caused by the narrow (300 ps), differential gate-pulses of maximum 4V amplitude assuming that both pulses are perfectly matched in regards to their phases, amplitudes, and shapes. The cancellation scheme could be used for other APD-technologies, e.g. Silicon, extending the detection spectrum from visible to NIR. The design distinguishes itself from other, APD-based, schemes by its scalability feature and its computer controlled cancellation of the capacitive spikes. Furthermore, both APDs could be equally used for the detection purpose, which opens a possibility for the odd-even photon number parity detection.

Hybrid Circuit Quantum Electrodynamics: Coupling a Single Silicon Spin Qubit to a Photon

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-01

HYBRID CIRCUIT QUANTUM ELECTRODYNAMICS: COUPLING A SINGLE SILICON SPIN QUBIT TO A PHOTON PRINCETON UNIVERSITY JANUARY 2015 FINAL...SILICON SPIN QUBIT TO A PHOTON 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER FA8750-12-2-0296 5b. GRANT NUMBER N/A 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) Jason R. Petta...architectures. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Quantum Computing, Quantum Hybrid Circuits, Quantum Electrodynamics, Coupling a Single Silicon Spin Qubit to a Photon

Tapered fiber coupling of single photons emitted by a deterministically positioned single nitrogen vacancy center

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liebermeister, Lars, E-mail: lars.liebermeister@physik.uni-muenchen.de; Petersen, Fabian; Münchow, Asmus v.

2014-01-20

A diamond nano-crystal hosting a single nitrogen vacancy (NV) center is optically selected with a confocal scanning microscope and positioned deterministically onto the subwavelength-diameter waist of a tapered optical fiber (TOF) with the help of an atomic force microscope. Based on this nano-manipulation technique, we experimentally demonstrate the evanescent coupling of single fluorescence photons emitted by a single NV-center to the guided mode of the TOF. By comparing photon count rates of the fiber-guided and the free-space modes and with the help of numerical finite-difference time domain simulations, we determine a lower and upper bound for the coupling efficiency ofmore » (9.5 ± 0.6)% and (10.4 ± 0.7)%, respectively. Our results are a promising starting point for future integration of single photon sources into photonic quantum networks and applications in quantum information science.« less

On-chip generation of high-dimensional entangled quantum states and their coherent control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kues, Michael; Reimer, Christian; Roztocki, Piotr; Cortés, Luis Romero; Sciara, Stefania; Wetzel, Benjamin; Zhang, Yanbing; Cino, Alfonso; Chu, Sai T.; Little, Brent E.; Moss, David J.; Caspani, Lucia; Azaña, José; Morandotti, Roberto

2017-06-01

Optical quantum states based on entangled photons are essential for solving questions in fundamental physics and are at the heart of quantum information science. Specifically, the realization of high-dimensional states (D-level quantum systems, that is, qudits, with D > 2) and their control are necessary for fundamental investigations of quantum mechanics, for increasing the sensitivity of quantum imaging schemes, for improving the robustness and key rate of quantum communication protocols, for enabling a richer variety of quantum simulations, and for achieving more efficient and error-tolerant quantum computation. Integrated photonics has recently become a leading platform for the compact, cost-efficient, and stable generation and processing of non-classical optical states. However, so far, integrated entangled quantum sources have been limited to qubits (D = 2). Here we demonstrate on-chip generation of entangled qudit states, where the photons are created in a coherent superposition of multiple high-purity frequency modes. In particular, we confirm the realization of a quantum system with at least one hundred dimensions, formed by two entangled qudits with D = 10. Furthermore, using state-of-the-art, yet off-the-shelf telecommunications components, we introduce a coherent manipulation platform with which to control frequency-entangled states, capable of performing deterministic high-dimensional gate operations. We validate this platform by measuring Bell inequality violations and performing quantum state tomography. Our work enables the generation and processing of high-dimensional quantum states in a single spatial mode.

Two-Photon Flow Cytometry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhog, Cheng Frank; Ye, Jing Yong; Norris, Theodore B.; Myc, Andrzej; Cao, Zhengyl; Bielinska, Anna; Thomas, Thommey; Baker, James R., Jr.

2004-01-01

Flow cytometry is a powerful technique for obtaining quantitative information from fluorescence in cells. Quantitation is achieved by assuring a high degree of uniformity in the optical excitation and detection, generally by using a highly controlled flow such as is obtained via hydrodynamic focusing. In this work, we demonstrate a two-beam, two- channel detection and two-photon excitation flow cytometry (T(sup 3)FC) system that enables multi-dye analysis to be performed very simply, with greatly relaxed requirements on the fluid flow. Two-photon excitation using a femtosecond near-infrared (NIR) laser has the advantages that it enables simultaneous excitation of multiple dyes and achieves very high signal-to-noise ratio through simplified filtering and fluorescence background reduction. By matching the excitation volume to the size of a cell, single-cell detection is ensured. Labeling of cells by targeted nanoparticles with multiple fluorophores enables normalization of the fluorescence signal and thus ratiometric measurements under nonuniform excitation. Quantitative size measurements can also be done even under conditions of nonuniform flow via a two-beam layout. This innovative detection scheme not only considerably simplifies the fluid flow system and the excitation and collection optics, it opens the way to quantitative cytometry in simple and compact microfluidics systems, or in vivo. Real-time detection of fluorescent microbeads in the vasculature of mouse ear demonstrates the ability to do flow cytometry in vivo. The conditions required to perform quantitative in vivo cytometry on labeled cells will be presented.

Hard x-ray and gamma-ray imaging and spectroscopy using scintillators coupled to silicon drift detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lechner, P.; Eckhard, R.; Fiorini, C.; Gola, A.; Longoni, A.; Niculae, A.; Peloso, R.; Soltau, H.; Strüder, L.

2008-07-01

Silicon Drift Detectors (SDDs) are used as low-capacitance photon detectors for the optical light emitted by scintillators. The scintillator crystal is directly coupled to the SDD entrance window. The entrance window's transmittance can be optimized for the scintillator characteristic by deposition of a wavelength-selective anti-reflective coating. Compared to conventional photomultiplier tubes the SDD readout offers improved energy resolution and avoids the practical problems of incompatibility with magnetic fields, instrument volume and requirement of high voltage. A compact imaging spectrometer for hard X-rays and γ-rays has been developed by coupling a large area (29 × 26 mm2) monolithic SDD array with 77 hexagonal cells to a single non-structured CsI-scintillator of equal size. The scintillation light generated by the absorption of an energetic photon is seen by a number of detector cells and the position of the photon interaction is reconstructed by the centroid method. The measured spatial resolution of the system (<= 500 μm) is considerably smaller than the SDD cell size (3.2 mm) and in the order required at the focal plane of high energy missions. The energy information is obtained by summing the detector cell signals. Compared to direct converting pixelated detectors, e.g. CdTe with equal position resolution the scintillator-SDD combination requires a considerably lower number of readout channels. In addition it has the advantages of comprehensive material experience, existing technologies, proven long term stability, and practically unlimited availability of high quality material.

On-chip generation of high-dimensional entangled quantum states and their coherent control.

PubMed

Kues, Michael; Reimer, Christian; Roztocki, Piotr; Cortés, Luis Romero; Sciara, Stefania; Wetzel, Benjamin; Zhang, Yanbing; Cino, Alfonso; Chu, Sai T; Little, Brent E; Moss, David J; Caspani, Lucia; Azaña, José; Morandotti, Roberto

2017-06-28

Optical quantum states based on entangled photons are essential for solving questions in fundamental physics and are at the heart of quantum information science. Specifically, the realization of high-dimensional states (D-level quantum systems, that is, qudits, with D > 2) and their control are necessary for fundamental investigations of quantum mechanics, for increasing the sensitivity of quantum imaging schemes, for improving the robustness and key rate of quantum communication protocols, for enabling a richer variety of quantum simulations, and for achieving more efficient and error-tolerant quantum computation. Integrated photonics has recently become a leading platform for the compact, cost-efficient, and stable generation and processing of non-classical optical states. However, so far, integrated entangled quantum sources have been limited to qubits (D = 2). Here we demonstrate on-chip generation of entangled qudit states, where the photons are created in a coherent superposition of multiple high-purity frequency modes. In particular, we confirm the realization of a quantum system with at least one hundred dimensions, formed by two entangled qudits with D = 10. Furthermore, using state-of-the-art, yet off-the-shelf telecommunications components, we introduce a coherent manipulation platform with which to control frequency-entangled states, capable of performing deterministic high-dimensional gate operations. We validate this platform by measuring Bell inequality violations and performing quantum state tomography. Our work enables the generation and processing of high-dimensional quantum states in a single spatial mode.

Gain Evaluation of Micro-Channel-Plate Photomultipliers in the Upgraded High-B Test Facility at Jefferson Lab

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barber, Corinne; DIRC at EIC Collaboration

2015-10-01

The High-B test facility at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility allows researchers to evaluate the gain of compact photon sensors, such as Micro-Channel-Plate Photomultipliers (MCP-PMTs), in magnetic fields up to 5 T. These ongoing studies support the development of a Detector of Internally Reflected Cherenkov light (DIRC) to be used in an Electron Ion Collider (EIC). Here, we present our summer 2015 activities to upgrade and improve the facility, and we show results for MCP-PMT gain changes in high B-fields. To monitor the light stability delivered to the MCP-PMTs being tested, we implemented a Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) in the setup and calibrated the ADC reading this sensor. A 405-nm Light-Emitting Diode (LED) housed in an optical tube compatible with neutral density filters was also installed. The filters provide an alternative way of reducing the light output of the LED to operate the MCP-PMTs in a single-photon mode. We calibrated a set of filters by means of a photodiode and measured the photon flux at multiple positions relative to the LED. This information helped us to design 3D-printed holders unique to each MCP-PMT so that the photocathode receives the greatest amount of light. The improvements to the setup allow for more precise PMT gain evaluation. This team includes 7 collaborators/co-authors besides myself: Yordanka Ilieva, Kijun Park, Greg Kalicy, Carl Zorn, Pawel Nadel-Turonski, Tongtong Cao, and Lee.

On-chip synthesis of circularly polarized emission of light with integrated photonic circuits.

PubMed

He, Li; Li, Mo

2014-05-01

The helicity of circularly polarized (CP) light plays an important role in the light-matter interaction in magnetic and quantum material systems. Exploiting CP light in integrated photonic circuits could lead to on-chip integration of novel optical helicity-dependent devices for applications ranging from spintronics to quantum optics. In this Letter, we demonstrate a silicon photonic circuit coupled with a 2D grating emitter operating at a telecom wavelength to synthesize vertically emitting, CP light from a quasi-TE waveguide mode. Handedness of the emitted circular polarized light can be thermally controlled with an integrated microheater. The compact device footprint enables a small beam diameter, which is desirable for large-scale integration.

The Endcap Disc DIRC of PANDA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Düren, M.; Etzelmüller, E.; Föhl, K.; Hayrapetyan, A.; Kröck, B.; Merle, O.; Rieke, J.; Schmidt, M.; Wasem, T.; Britting, A.; Eyrich, W.; Lehmann, A.; Pfaffinger, M.; Uhlig, F.; Belias, A.; Dzhygadlo, R.; Gerhardt, A.; Götzen, K.; Kalicy, G.; Krebs, M.; Lehmann, D.; Nerling, F.; Patsyuk, M.; Peters, K.; Schepers, G.; Schmitt, L.; Schwarz, C.; Schwiening, J.; Traxler, M.; Zühlsdorf, M.; Cowie, E.; Keri, T.; Achenbach, P.; Cardinali, M.; Hoek, M.; Lauth, W.; Schlimme, S.; Sfienti, C.; Thiel, M.

2017-12-01

The Endcap Disc DIRC (EDD) for PANDA has been designed to identify traversing pions, kaons and protons in the future PANDA experiment. Its central part is a 2 cm thick fused silica plate. Focussing optics are attached to the outer rim of the plate, outside of the acceptance of the experiment. Fast, high-resolution MCP-PMTs, designed to register single Cherenkov photons, have been tested in magnetic field. Filters limit the spectral acceptance of the sensors to reduce dispersion effects and to extend their lifetime. A compact and fast readout is realized with ASICs. Analytical reconstruction algorithms allow for fast particle identification. The angular resolution of a DIRC prototype has been simulated in Monte Carlo and confirmed in a test beam. The final detector will be able to provide a 4 σπ / K separation up to a momentum of 4 GeV / c .

Multichannel low power time-to-digital converter card with 21 ps precision and full scale range up to 10 μs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tamborini, D., E-mail: davide.tamborini@polimi.it; Portaluppi, D.; Villa, F.

We present a Time-to-Digital Converter (TDC) card with a compact form factor, suitable for multichannel timing instruments or for integration into more complex systems. The TDC Card provides 10 ps timing resolution over the whole measurement range, which is selectable from 160 ns up to 10 μs, reaching 21 ps rms precision, 1.25% LSB rms differential nonlinearity, up to 3 Mconversion/s with 400 mW power consumption. The I/O edge card connector provides timing data readout through either a parallel bus or a 100 MHz serial interface and further measurement information like input signal rate and valid conversion rate (typically usefulmore » for time-correlated single-photon counting application) through an independent serial link.« less

COMPACT NON-CONTACT TOTAL EMISSION DETECTION FOR IN-VIVO MULTI-PHOTON EXCITATION MICROSCOPY

PubMed Central

Glancy, Brian; Karamzadeh, Nader S.; Gandjbakhche, Amir H.; Redford, Glen; Kilborn, Karl; Knutson, Jay R.; Balaban, Robert S.

2014-01-01

Summary We describe a compact, non-contact design for a Total Emission Detection (c-TED) system for intra-vital multi-photon imaging. To conform to a standard upright two-photon microscope design, this system uses a parabolic mirror surrounding a standard microscope objective in concert with an optical path that does not interfere with normal microscope operation. The non-contact design of this device allows for maximal light collection without disrupting the physiology of the specimen being examined. Tests were conducted on exposed tissues in live animals to examine the emission collection enhancement of the c-TED device compared to heavily optimized objective-based emission collection. The best light collection enhancement was seen from murine fat (5×-2× gains as a function of depth), while murine skeletal muscle and rat kidney showed gains of over two and just under two-fold near the surface, respectively. Gains decreased with imaging depth (particularly in the kidney). Zebrafish imaging on a reflective substrate showed close to a two-fold gain throughout the entire volume of an intact embryo (approximately 150 μm deep). Direct measurement of bleaching rates confirmed that the lower laser powers (enabled by greater light collection efficiency) yielded reduced photobleaching in vivo. The potential benefits of increased light collection in terms of speed of imaging and reduced photo-damage, as well as the applicability of this device to other multi-photon imaging methods is discussed. PMID:24251437

Measurements of wavelength-dependent double photoelectron emission from single photons in VUV-sensitive photomultiplier tubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faham, C. H.; Gehman, V. M.; Currie, A.; Dobi, A.; Sorensen, P.; Gaitskell, R. J.

2015-09-01

Measurements of double photoelectron emission (DPE) probabilities as a function of wavelength are reported for Hamamatsu R8778, R8520, and R11410 VUV-sensitive photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). In DPE, a single photon strikes the PMT photocathode and produces two photoelectrons instead of a single one. It was found that the fraction of detected photons that result in DPE emission is a function of the incident photon wavelength, and manifests itself below ~250 nm. For the xenon scintillation wavelength of 175 nm, a DPE probability of 18-24% was measured depending on the tube and measurement method. This wavelength-dependent single photon response has implications for the energy calibration and photon counting of current and future liquid xenon detectors such as LUX, LZ, XENON100/1T, Panda-X and XMASS.

Quantum interference in heterogeneous superconducting-photonic circuits on a silicon chip

PubMed Central

Schuck, C.; Guo, X.; Fan, L.; Ma, X.; Poot, M.; Tang, H. X.

2016-01-01

Quantum information processing holds great promise for communicating and computing data efficiently. However, scaling current photonic implementation approaches to larger system size remains an outstanding challenge for realizing disruptive quantum technology. Two main ingredients of quantum information processors are quantum interference and single-photon detectors. Here we develop a hybrid superconducting-photonic circuit system to show how these elements can be combined in a scalable fashion on a silicon chip. We demonstrate the suitability of this approach for integrated quantum optics by interfering and detecting photon pairs directly on the chip with waveguide-coupled single-photon detectors. Using a directional coupler implemented with silicon nitride nanophotonic waveguides, we observe 97% interference visibility when measuring photon statistics with two monolithically integrated superconducting single-photon detectors. The photonic circuit and detector fabrication processes are compatible with standard semiconductor thin-film technology, making it possible to implement more complex and larger scale quantum photonic circuits on silicon chips. PMID:26792424

Changing optical band structure with single photons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albrecht, Andreas; Caneva, Tommaso; Chang, Darrick E.

2017-11-01

Achieving strong interactions between individual photons enables a wide variety of exciting possibilities in quantum information science and many-body physics. Cold atoms interfaced with nanophotonic structures have emerged as a platform to realize novel forms of nonlinear interactions. In particular, when atoms are coupled to a photonic crystal waveguide, long-range atomic interactions can arise that are mediated by localized atom-photon bound states. We theoretically show that in such a system, the absorption of a single photon can change the band structure for a subsequent photon. This occurs because the first photon affects the atoms in the chain in an alternating fashion, thus leading to an effective period doubling of the system and a new optical band structure for the composite atom-nanophotonic system. We demonstrate how this mechanism can be engineered to realize a single-photon switch, where the first incoming photon switches the system from being highly transmissive to highly reflective, and analyze how signatures can be observed via non-classical correlations of the outgoing photon field.

Indistinguishable and efficient single photons from a quantum dot in a planar nanobeam waveguide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

KiršanskÄ--, Gabija; Thyrrestrup, Henri; Daveau, Raphaël S.; Dreeßen, Chris L.; Pregnolato, Tommaso; Midolo, Leonardo; Tighineanu, Petru; Javadi, Alisa; Stobbe, Søren; Schott, Rüdiger; Ludwig, Arne; Wieck, Andreas D.; Park, Suk In; Song, Jin D.; Kuhlmann, Andreas V.; Söllner, Immo; Löbl, Matthias C.; Warburton, Richard J.; Lodahl, Peter

2017-10-01

We demonstrate a high-purity source of indistinguishable single photons using a quantum dot embedded in a nanophotonic waveguide. The source features a near-unity internal coupling efficiency and the collected photons are efficiently coupled off chip by implementing a taper that adiabatically couples the photons to an optical fiber. By quasiresonant excitation of the quantum dot, we measure a single-photon purity larger than 99.4 % and a photon indistinguishability of up to 94 ±1 % by using p -shell excitation combined with spectral filtering to reduce photon jitter. A temperature-dependent study allows pinpointing the residual decoherence processes, notably the effect of phonon broadening. Strict resonant excitation is implemented as well as another means of suppressing photon jitter, and the additional complexity of suppressing the excitation laser source is addressed. The paper opens a clear pathway towards the long-standing goal of a fully deterministic source of indistinguishable photons, which is integrated on a planar photonic chip.

Site-controlled InGaN/GaN single-photon-emitting diode

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Lei; Deng, Hui, E-mail: dengh@umich.edu; Teng, Chu-Hsiang

2016-04-11

We report single-photon emission from electrically driven site-controlled InGaN/GaN quantum dots. The device is fabricated from a planar light-emitting diode structure containing a single InGaN quantum well, using a top-down approach. The location, dimension, and height of each single-photon-emitting diode are controlled lithographically, providing great flexibility for chip-scale integration.

Asymmetric Bidirectional Controlled Teleportation via Seven-Photon Entangled State

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nie, Yi-you; Sang, Ming-huang

2017-11-01

We propose a protocol of asymmetric bidirectional controlled teleportation by using a seven-photon entangled state. In our protocol, Alice can teleport an arbitrary single-photon state to Bob and at the same time Bob can teleport an arbitrary two-photon state to Alice via the control of the supervisor Charlie. In addition, ones only carry out the Bell-state measurements and single-photon measurement.

Deterministic photon-emitter coupling in chiral photonic circuits.

PubMed

Söllner, Immo; Mahmoodian, Sahand; Hansen, Sofie Lindskov; Midolo, Leonardo; Javadi, Alisa; Kiršanskė, Gabija; Pregnolato, Tommaso; El-Ella, Haitham; Lee, Eun Hye; Song, Jin Dong; Stobbe, Søren; Lodahl, Peter

2015-09-01

Engineering photon emission and scattering is central to modern photonics applications ranging from light harvesting to quantum-information processing. To this end, nanophotonic waveguides are well suited as they confine photons to a one-dimensional geometry and thereby increase the light-matter interaction. In a regular waveguide, a quantum emitter interacts equally with photons in either of the two propagation directions. This symmetry is violated in nanophotonic structures in which non-transversal local electric-field components imply that photon emission and scattering may become directional. Here we show that the helicity of the optical transition of a quantum emitter determines the direction of single-photon emission in a specially engineered photonic-crystal waveguide. We observe single-photon emission into the waveguide with a directionality that exceeds 90% under conditions in which practically all the emitted photons are coupled to the waveguide. The chiral light-matter interaction enables deterministic and highly directional photon emission for experimentally achievable on-chip non-reciprocal photonic elements. These may serve as key building blocks for single-photon optical diodes, transistors and deterministic quantum gates. Furthermore, chiral photonic circuits allow the dissipative preparation of entangled states of multiple emitters for experimentally achievable parameters, may lead to novel topological photon states and could be applied for directional steering of light.

Deterministic photon-emitter coupling in chiral photonic circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Söllner, Immo; Mahmoodian, Sahand; Hansen, Sofie Lindskov; Midolo, Leonardo; Javadi, Alisa; Kiršanskė, Gabija; Pregnolato, Tommaso; El-Ella, Haitham; Lee, Eun Hye; Song, Jin Dong; Stobbe, Søren; Lodahl, Peter

2015-09-01

Engineering photon emission and scattering is central to modern photonics applications ranging from light harvesting to quantum-information processing. To this end, nanophotonic waveguides are well suited as they confine photons to a one-dimensional geometry and thereby increase the light-matter interaction. In a regular waveguide, a quantum emitter interacts equally with photons in either of the two propagation directions. This symmetry is violated in nanophotonic structures in which non-transversal local electric-field components imply that photon emission and scattering may become directional. Here we show that the helicity of the optical transition of a quantum emitter determines the direction of single-photon emission in a specially engineered photonic-crystal waveguide. We observe single-photon emission into the waveguide with a directionality that exceeds 90% under conditions in which practically all the emitted photons are coupled to the waveguide. The chiral light-matter interaction enables deterministic and highly directional photon emission for experimentally achievable on-chip non-reciprocal photonic elements. These may serve as key building blocks for single-photon optical diodes, transistors and deterministic quantum gates. Furthermore, chiral photonic circuits allow the dissipative preparation of entangled states of multiple emitters for experimentally achievable parameters, may lead to novel topological photon states and could be applied for directional steering of light.

High-Q Microsphere Cavity for Laser Stabilization and Optoelectronic Microwave

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ilchenko, V.; Yao, X.; Maleki, L.

1999-01-01

With submillimeter size and optical Q up to 10(sup 10), microspheres with whispering-gallery (WG) modes are attractive new component for fiber-optics/photonics applications and a potential core in ultra-compact high-spectral-purity optical and microwave oscillators.

Tunable room-temperature single-photon emission at telecom wavelengths from sp 3 defects in carbon nanotubes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

He, Xiaowei; Hartmann, Nicolai F.; Ma, Xuedan

Generating quantum light emitters that operate at room temperature and at telecom wavelengths remains a significant materials challenge. To achieve this goal requires light sources that emit in the near-infrared wavelength region and that, ideally, are tunable to allow desired output wavelengths to be accessed in a controllable manner. Here, we show that exciton localization at covalently introduced aryl sp 3 defect sites in single-walled carbon nanotubes provides a route to room-temperature single-photon emission with ultrahigh single-photon purity (99%) and enhanced emission stability approaching the shot-noise limit. Moreover, we demonstrate that the inherent optical tunability of single-walled carbon nanotubes, presentmore » in their structural diversity, allows us to generate room-temperature single-photon emission spanning the entire telecom band. Furthermore, single-photon emission deep into the centre of the telecom C band (1.55 um) is achieved at the largest nanotube diameters we explore (0.936 nm).« less

Tunable room-temperature single-photon emission at telecom wavelengths from sp 3 defects in carbon nanotubes

DOE PAGES

He, Xiaowei; Hartmann, Nicolai F.; Ma, Xuedan; ...

2017-07-31

Generating quantum light emitters that operate at room temperature and at telecom wavelengths remains a significant materials challenge. To achieve this goal requires light sources that emit in the near-infrared wavelength region and that, ideally, are tunable to allow desired output wavelengths to be accessed in a controllable manner. Here, we show that exciton localization at covalently introduced aryl sp 3 defect sites in single-walled carbon nanotubes provides a route to room-temperature single-photon emission with ultrahigh single-photon purity (99%) and enhanced emission stability approaching the shot-noise limit. Moreover, we demonstrate that the inherent optical tunability of single-walled carbon nanotubes, presentmore » in their structural diversity, allows us to generate room-temperature single-photon emission spanning the entire telecom band. Furthermore, single-photon emission deep into the centre of the telecom C band (1.55 um) is achieved at the largest nanotube diameters we explore (0.936 nm).« less

Fast Purcell-enhanced single photon source in 1,550-nm telecom band from a resonant quantum dot-cavity coupling

PubMed Central

Birowosuto, Muhammad Danang; Sumikura, Hisashi; Matsuo, Shinji; Taniyama, Hideaki; van Veldhoven, Peter J.; Nötzel, Richard; Notomi, Masaya

2012-01-01

High-bit-rate nanocavity-based single photon sources in the 1,550-nm telecom band are challenges facing the development of fibre-based long-haul quantum communication networks. Here we report a very fast single photon source in the 1,550-nm telecom band, which is achieved by a large Purcell enhancement that results from the coupling of a single InAs quantum dot and an InP photonic crystal nanocavity. At a resonance, the spontaneous emission rate was enhanced by a factor of 5 resulting a record fast emission lifetime of 0.2 ns at 1,550 nm. We also demonstrate that this emission exhibits an enhanced anti-bunching dip. This is the first realization of nanocavity-enhanced single photon emitters in the 1,550-nm telecom band. This coupled quantum dot cavity system in the telecom band thus provides a bright high-bit-rate non-classical single photon source that offers appealing novel opportunities for the development of a long-haul quantum telecommunication system via optical fibres. PMID:22432053

Fast Purcell-enhanced single photon source in 1,550-nm telecom band from a resonant quantum dot-cavity coupling.

PubMed

Birowosuto, Muhammad Danang; Sumikura, Hisashi; Matsuo, Shinji; Taniyama, Hideaki; van Veldhoven, Peter J; Nötzel, Richard; Notomi, Masaya

2012-01-01

High-bit-rate nanocavity-based single photon sources in the 1,550-nm telecom band are challenges facing the development of fibre-based long-haul quantum communication networks. Here we report a very fast single photon source in the 1,550-nm telecom band, which is achieved by a large Purcell enhancement that results from the coupling of a single InAs quantum dot and an InP photonic crystal nanocavity. At a resonance, the spontaneous emission rate was enhanced by a factor of 5 resulting a record fast emission lifetime of 0.2 ns at 1,550 nm. We also demonstrate that this emission exhibits an enhanced anti-bunching dip. This is the first realization of nanocavity-enhanced single photon emitters in the 1,550-nm telecom band. This coupled quantum dot cavity system in the telecom band thus provides a bright high-bit-rate non-classical single photon source that offers appealing novel opportunities for the development of a long-haul quantum telecommunication system via optical fibres.

Signatures of compact halos of sterile-neutrino dark matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kühnel, Florian; Ohlsson, Tommy

2017-11-01

We investigate compact halos of sterile-neutrino dark matter and examine observable signatures with respect to neutrino and photon emission. Primarily, we consider two cases: primordial black-hole halos and ultracompact minihalos. In both cases, we find that there exists a broad range of possible parameter choices such that detection in the near future with x-ray and gamma-ray telescopes might be well possible. In fact, for energies above 10 TeV, the neutrino telescope IceCube would be a splendid detection machine for such macroscopic dark-matter candidates.

Compact Ozone Lidar for Atmospheric Ozone and Aerosol Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marcia, Joel; DeYoung, Russell J.

2007-01-01

A small compact ozone differential absorption lidar capable of being deployed on a small aircraft or unpiloted atmospheric vehicle (UAV) has been tested. The Ce:LiCAF tunable UV laser is pumped by a quadrupled Nd:YLF laser. Test results on the laser transmitter demonstrated 1.4 W in the IR and 240 mW in the green at 1000 Hz. The receiver consists of three photon-counting channels, which are a far field PMT, a near field UV PMT, and a green PMT. Each channel was tested for their saturation characteristics.

Low-noise quantum frequency down-conversion of indistinguishable photons (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kambs, Benjamin; Kettler, Jan; Bock, Matthias; Becker, Jonas; Arend, Carsten; Jetter, Michael; Michler, Peter; Becher, Christoph

2016-04-01

Single-photon sources based on quantum dots have been shown to exhibit almost ideal properties such as high brightness and purity in terms of clear anti-bunching as well as high two-photon interference visibilities of the emitted photons, making them promising candidates for different quantum information applications such as quantum computing, quantum communication and quantum teleportation. However, as most single-photon sources also quantum dots typically emit light at wavelengths of electronic transitions within the visible or the near infrared range. In order to establish quantum networks with remote building blocks, low-loss single photons at telecom wavelengths are preferable, though. Despite recent progress on emitters of telecom-photons, the most efficient single-photon sources still work at shorter wavelengths. On that matter, quantum frequency down-conversion, being a nonlinear optical process, has been used in recent years to alter the wavelength of single photons to the telecom wavelength range while conserving their nonclassical properties. Characteristics such as lifetime, first-order coherence, anti-bunching and entanglement have been shown to be conserved or even improved due to background suppression during the conversion process, while the conservation of indistinguishability was yet to be shown. Here we present our experimental results on quantum frequency down-conversion of single photons emitted by an InAs/GaAs quantum dot at 903.6 nm following a pulsed excitation of a p-shell exciton at 884 nm. The emitted fluorescence photons are mixed with a strong pump-field at 2155 nm inside a periodically poled lithium niobate ridge waveguide and converted to 1557 nm. Common issues of a large background due to Raman-scattered pump-light photons spectrally overlapping with the converted single photons could largely be avoided, as the pump-wavelength was chosen to be fairly longer than the target wavelength. Additional narrowband spectral filtering at the telecom regime as a result of the small conversion bandwidth and using a high-performance fiber-Bragg-grating solely left the detector dark counts as the only noise source in our setup. Therefore, we could achieve conversion efficiencies of more than 20 %. In order to test the indistinguishability, sequentially emitted photons were fed into a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and spatially as well as temporally overlapped at the output beam splitter. Cross-correlation measurements between both output-ports of the beam splitter exhibit two-photon interference contrasts of more than 40 % prior to and after the down-conversion step. Accordingly, we demonstrate that the process of quantum frequency conversion preserves photon indistinguishability and can be used to establish a versatile source of indistinguishable single photons at the telecom C-Band. Furthermore our scheme allows for converting photons in a wavelength band from 900 nm to 910 nm to the same telecom target wavelength. This enables us to test indistinguishability of frequency-converted photons, originally stemming from different sources with dinstinguishable wavelengths.

Review of silicon photonics: history and recent advances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Winnie N.; Xiong, Yule

2013-09-01

Silicon photonics has attracted tremendous attention and research effort as a promising technology in optoelectronic integration for computing, communications, sensing, and solar harvesting. Mainly due to the combination of its excellent material properties and the complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) fabrication processing technology, silicon has becoming the material choice for photonic and optoelectronic circuits with low cost, ultra-compact device footprint, and high-density integration. This review paper provides an overview on silicon photonics, by highlighting the early work from the mid-1980s on the fundamental building blocks such as silicon platforms and waveguides, and the main milestones that have been achieved so far in the field. A summary of reported work on functional elements in both passive and active devices, as well as the applications of the technology in interconnect, sensing, and solar cells, is identified.

Lightwave Circuits in Lithium Niobate through Hybrid Waveguides with Silicon Photonics

PubMed Central

Weigel, Peter O.; Savanier, Marc; DeRose, Christopher T.; Pomerene, Andrew T.; Starbuck, Andrew L.; Lentine, Anthony L.; Stenger, Vincent; Mookherjea, Shayan

2016-01-01

We demonstrate a photonic waveguide technology based on a two-material core, in which light is controllably and repeatedly transferred back and forth between sub-micron thickness crystalline layers of Si and LN bonded to one another, where the former is patterned and the latter is not. In this way, the foundry-based wafer-scale fabrication technology for silicon photonics can be leveraged to form lithium-niobate based integrated optical devices. Using two different guided modes and an adiabatic mode transition between them, we demonstrate a set of building blocks such as waveguides, bends, and couplers which can be used to route light underneath an unpatterned slab of LN, as well as outside the LN-bonded region, thus enabling complex and compact lightwave circuits in LN alongside Si photonics with fabrication ease and low cost. PMID:26927022

Lightwave Circuits in Lithium Niobate through Hybrid Waveguides with Silicon Photonics.

PubMed

Weigel, Peter O; Savanier, Marc; DeRose, Christopher T; Pomerene, Andrew T; Starbuck, Andrew L; Lentine, Anthony L; Stenger, Vincent; Mookherjea, Shayan

2016-03-01

We demonstrate a photonic waveguide technology based on a two-material core, in which light is controllably and repeatedly transferred back and forth between sub-micron thickness crystalline layers of Si and LN bonded to one another, where the former is patterned and the latter is not. In this way, the foundry-based wafer-scale fabrication technology for silicon photonics can be leveraged to form lithium-niobate based integrated optical devices. Using two different guided modes and an adiabatic mode transition between them, we demonstrate a set of building blocks such as waveguides, bends, and couplers which can be used to route light underneath an unpatterned slab of LN, as well as outside the LN-bonded region, thus enabling complex and compact lightwave circuits in LN alongside Si photonics with fabrication ease and low cost.

Photonic crystal microchip laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gailevicius, D.; Koliadenko, V.; Purlys, V.; Peckus, M.; Taranenko, V.; Staliunas, K.

2017-02-01

The microchip lasers, being sources of coherent light, suffer from one serious drawback: low spatial quality of the beam, strongly reducing the brightness of emitted radiation. Attempts to improve the beam quality, such as pump-beam guiding, external feedback, either strongly reduce the emission power, or drastically increase the size and complexity of the lasers. Here we propose that specially designed photonic crystal in the cavity of a microchip laser, can significantly improve the beam quality. We experimentally show that a microchip laser, due to spatial filtering functionality of intracavity photonic crystal, improves the beam quality factor M2 reducing it by factor of 2, and thus increase the brightness of radiation by a factor of 4. This comprises a new kind of laser, the "photonic crystal microchip laser", a very compact and efficient light source emitting high spatial high brightness radiation.

Single Quantum Dot with Microlens and 3D-Printed Micro-objective as Integrated Bright Single-Photon Source

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Integrated single-photon sources with high photon-extraction efficiency are key building blocks for applications in the field of quantum communications. We report on a bright single-photon source realized by on-chip integration of a deterministic quantum dot microlens with a 3D-printed multilens micro-objective. The device concept benefits from a sophisticated combination of in situ 3D electron-beam lithography to realize the quantum dot microlens and 3D femtosecond direct laser writing for creation of the micro-objective. In this way, we obtain a high-quality quantum device with broadband photon-extraction efficiency of (40 ± 4)% and high suppression of multiphoton emission events with g(2)(τ = 0) < 0.02. Our results highlight the opportunities that arise from tailoring the optical properties of quantum emitters using integrated optics with high potential for the further development of plug-and-play fiber-coupled single-photon sources. PMID:28670600

Realization of a Cascaded Quantum System: Heralded Absorption of a Single Photon Qubit by a Single-Electron Charged Quantum Dot.

PubMed

Delteil, Aymeric; Sun, Zhe; Fält, Stefan; Imamoğlu, Atac

2017-04-28

Photonic losses pose a major limitation for the implementation of a quantum state transfer between nodes of a quantum network. A measurement that heralds a successful transfer without revealing any information about the qubit may alleviate this limitation. Here, we demonstrate the heralded absorption of a single photonic qubit, generated by a single neutral quantum dot, by a single-electron charged quantum dot that is located 5 m away. The transfer of quantum information to the spin degree of freedom takes place upon the emission of a photon; for a properly chosen or prepared quantum dot, the detection of this photon yields no information about the qubit. We show that this process can be combined with local operations optically performed on the destination node by measuring classical correlations between the absorbed photon color and the final state of the electron spin. Our work suggests alternative avenues for the realization of quantum information protocols based on cascaded quantum systems.

Time-reversal-symmetric single-photon wave packets for free-space quantum communication.

PubMed

Trautmann, N; Alber, G; Agarwal, G S; Leuchs, G

2015-05-01

Readout and retrieval processes are proposed for efficient, high-fidelity quantum state transfer between a matter qubit, encoded in the level structure of a single atom or ion, and a photonic qubit, encoded in a time-reversal-symmetric single-photon wave packet. They are based on controlling spontaneous photon emission and absorption of a matter qubit on demand in free space by stimulated Raman adiabatic passage. As these processes do not involve mode selection by high-finesse cavities or photon transport through optical fibers, they offer interesting perspectives as basic building blocks for free-space quantum-communication protocols.

Optical Parametric Amplification of Single Photon: Statistical Properties and Quantum Interference

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Xue-Xiang; Yuan, Hong-Chun

2014-05-01

By using phase space method, we theoretically investigate the quantum statistical properties and quantum interference of optical parametric amplification of single photon. The statistical properties, such as the Wigner function (WF), average photon number, photon number distribution and parity, are derived analytically for the fields of the two output ports. The results indicate that the fields in the output ports are multiphoton states rather than single photon state due to the amplification of the optical parametric amplifiers (OPA). In addition, the phase sensitivity is also examined by using the detection scheme of parity measurement.

Transition of lasing modes in polymeric opal photonic crystal resonating cavity.

PubMed

Shi, Lan-Ting; Zheng, Mei-Ling; Jin, Feng; Dong, Xian-Zi; Chen, Wei-Qiang; Zhao, Zhen-Sheng; Duan, Xuan-Ming

2016-06-10

We demonstrate the transition of lasing modes in the resonating cavity constructed by polystyrene opal photonic crystals and 7 wt. % tert-butyl Rhodamine B doped polymer film. Both single mode and multiple mode lasing emission are observed from the resonating cavity. The lasing threshold is determined to be 0.81  μJ/pulse for single mode lasing emission and 2.25  μJ/pulse for multiple mode lasing emission. The single mode lasing emission is attributed to photonic lasing resulting from the photonic bandgap effect of the opal photonic crystals, while the multiple mode lasing emission is assigned to random lasing due to the defects in the photonic crystals. The result would benefit the development of low threshold polymeric solid state photonic crystal lasers.

Coherent state amplification using frequency conversion and a single photon source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kasture, Sachin

2017-11-01

Quantum state discrimination lies at the heart of quantum communication and quantum cryptography protocols. Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) using coherent states and homodyne detection has been shown to be a feasible method for quantum communication over long distances. However, this method is still limited because of optical losses. Noiseless coherent state amplification has been proposed as a way to overcome this. Photon addition using stimulated Spontaneous Parametric Down-conversion followed by photon subtraction has been used as a way to implement amplification. However, this process occurs with very low probability which makes it very difficult to implement cascaded stages of amplification due to dark count probability in the single photon detectors used to herald the addition and subtraction of single photons. We discuss a scheme using the χ (2) and χ (3) optical non-linearity and frequency conversion (sum and difference frequency generation) along with a single photon source to implement photon addition. Unlike the photon addition scheme using SPDC, this scheme allows us to tune the success probability at the cost of reduced amplification. The photon statistics of the converted field can be controlled using the power of the pump field and the interaction time.

A 64-pixel NbTiN superconducting nanowire single-photon detector array for spatially resolved photon detection.

PubMed

Miki, Shigehito; Yamashita, Taro; Wang, Zhen; Terai, Hirotaka

2014-04-07

We present the characterization of two-dimensionally arranged 64-pixel NbTiN superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SSPD) array for spatially resolved photon detection. NbTiN films deposited on thermally oxidized Si substrates enabled the high-yield production of high-quality SSPD pixels, and all 64 SSPD pixels showed uniform superconducting characteristics within the small range of 7.19-7.23 K of superconducting transition temperature and 15.8-17.8 μA of superconducting switching current. Furthermore, all of the pixels showed single-photon sensitivity, and 60 of the 64 pixels showed a pulse generation probability higher than 90% after photon absorption. As a result of light irradiation from the single-mode optical fiber at different distances between the fiber tip and the active area, the variations of system detection efficiency (SDE) in each pixel showed reasonable Gaussian distribution to represent the spatial distributions of photon flux intensity.

Single-photon imager based on a superconducting nanowire delay line

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Qing-Yuan; Zhu, Di; Calandri, Niccolò; Dane, Andrew E.; McCaughan, Adam N.; Bellei, Francesco; Wang, Hao-Zhu; Santavicca, Daniel F.; Berggren, Karl K.

2017-03-01

Detecting spatial and temporal information of individual photons is critical to applications in spectroscopy, communication, biological imaging, astronomical observation and quantum-information processing. Here we demonstrate a scalable single-photon imager using a single continuous superconducting nanowire that is not only a single-photon detector but also functions as an efficient microwave delay line. In this context, photon-detection pulses are guided in the nanowire and enable the readout of the position and time of photon-absorption events from the arrival times of the detection pulses at the nanowire's two ends. Experimentally, we slowed down the velocity of pulse propagation to ∼2% of the speed of light in free space. In a 19.7 mm long nanowire that meandered across an area of 286 × 193 μm2, we were able to resolve ∼590 effective pixels with a temporal resolution of 50 ps (full width at half maximum). The nanowire imager presents a scalable approach for high-resolution photon imaging in space and time.

Electrically driven quantum light emission in electromechanically tuneable photonic crystal cavities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petruzzella, M.; Pagliano, F. M.; Zobenica, Ž.; Birindelli, S.; Cotrufo, M.; van Otten, F. W. M.; van der Heijden, R. W.; Fiore, A.

2017-12-01

A single quantum dot deterministically coupled to a photonic crystal environment constitutes an indispensable elementary unit to both generate and manipulate single-photons in next-generation quantum photonic circuits. To date, the scaling of the number of these quantum nodes on a fully integrated chip has been prevented by the use of optical pumping strategies that require a bulky off-chip laser along with the lack of methods to control the energies of nano-cavities and emitters. Here, we concurrently overcome these limitations by demonstrating electrical injection of single excitonic lines within a nano-electro-mechanically tuneable photonic crystal cavity. When an electrically driven dot line is brought into resonance with a photonic crystal mode, its emission rate is enhanced. Anti-bunching experiments reveal the quantum nature of these on-demand sources emitting in the telecom range. These results represent an important step forward in the realization of integrated quantum optics experiments featuring multiple electrically triggered Purcell-enhanced single-photon sources embedded in a reconfigurable semiconductor architecture.

On-chip interference of single photons from an embedded quantum dot and an external laser

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Prtljaga, N., E-mail: n.prtljaga@sheffield.ac.uk; Bentham, C.; O'Hara, J.

2016-06-20

In this work, we demonstrate the on-chip two-photon interference between single photons emitted by a single self-assembled InGaAs quantum dot and an external laser. The quantum dot is embedded within one arm of an air-clad directional coupler which acts as a beam-splitter for incoming light. Photons originating from an attenuated external laser are coupled to the second arm of the beam-splitter and then combined with the quantum dot photons, giving rise to two-photon quantum interference between dissimilar sources. We verify the occurrence of on-chip Hong-Ou-Mandel interference by cross-correlating the optical signal from the separate output ports of the directional coupler.more » This experimental approach allows us to use a classical light source (laser) to assess in a single step the overall device performance in the quantum regime and probe quantum dot photon indistinguishability on application realistic time scales.« less

Tomography of a displacement photon counter for discrimination of single-rail optical qubits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Izumi, Shuro; Neergaard-Nielsen, Jonas S.; Andersen, Ulrik L.

2018-04-01

We investigate the performance of a detection strategy composed of a displacement operation and a photon counter, which is known as a beneficial tool in optical coherent communications, to the quantum state discrimination of the two superpositions of vacuum and single photon states corresponding to the {\\hat{σ }}x eigenstates in the single-rail encoding of photonic qubits. We experimentally characterize the detection strategy in vacuum-single photon two-dimensional space using quantum detector tomography and evaluate the achievable discrimination error probability from the reconstructed measurement operators. We furthermore derive the minimum error rate obtainable with Gaussian transformations and homodyne detection. Our proof-of-principle experiment shows that the proposed scheme can achieve a discrimination error surpassing homodyne detection.

Solid-state single-photon emitters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aharonovich, Igor; Englund, Dirk; Toth, Milos

2016-10-01

Single-photon emitters play an important role in many leading quantum technologies. There is still no 'ideal' on-demand single-photon emitter, but a plethora of promising material systems have been developed, and several have transitioned from proof-of-concept to engineering efforts with steadily improving performance. Here, we review recent progress in the race towards true single-photon emitters required for a range of quantum information processing applications. We focus on solid-state systems including quantum dots, defects in solids, two-dimensional hosts and carbon nanotubes, as these are well positioned to benefit from recent breakthroughs in nanofabrication and materials growth techniques. We consider the main challenges and key advantages of each platform, with a focus on scalable on-chip integration and fabrication of identical sources on photonic circuits.

Cooling in the single-photon strong-coupling regime of cavity optomechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nunnenkamp, A.; Børkje, K.; Girvin, S. M.

2012-05-01

In this Rapid Communication we discuss how red-sideband cooling is modified in the single-photon strong-coupling regime of cavity optomechanics where the radiation pressure of a single photon displaces the mechanical oscillator by more than its zero-point uncertainty. Using Fermi's golden rule we calculate the transition rates induced by the optical drive without linearizing the optomechanical interaction. In the resolved-sideband limit we find multiple-phonon cooling resonances for strong single-photon coupling that lead to nonthermal steady states including the possibility of phonon antibunching. Our study generalizes the standard linear cooling theory.

Atom-atom entanglement by single-photon detection.

PubMed

Slodička, L; Hétet, G; Röck, N; Schindler, P; Hennrich, M; Blatt, R

2013-02-22

A scheme for entangling distant atoms is realized, as proposed in the seminal paper by [C. Cabrillo et al., Phys. Rev. A 59, 1025 (1999)]. The protocol is based on quantum interference and detection of a single photon scattered from two effectively one meter distant laser cooled and trapped atomic ions. The detection of a single photon heralds entanglement of two internal states of the trapped ions with high rate and with a fidelity limited mostly by atomic motion. Control of the entangled state phase is demonstrated by changing the path length of the single-photon interferometer.

Elliptical quantum dots as on-demand single photons sources with deterministic polarization states

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Teng, Chu-Hsiang; Demory, Brandon; Ku, Pei-Cheng, E-mail: peicheng@umich.edu

In quantum information, control of the single photon's polarization is essential. Here, we demonstrate single photon generation in a pre-programmed and deterministic polarization state, on a chip-scale platform, utilizing site-controlled elliptical quantum dots (QDs) synthesized by a top-down approach. The polarization from the QD emission is found to be linear with a high degree of linear polarization and parallel to the long axis of the ellipse. Single photon emission with orthogonal polarizations is achieved, and the dependence of the degree of linear polarization on the QD geometry is analyzed.

High-fidelity frequency down-conversion of visible entangled photon pairs with superconducting single-photon detectors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ikuta, Rikizo; Kato, Hiroshi; Kusaka, Yoshiaki

We experimentally demonstrate a high-fidelity visible-to-telecommunicationwavelength conversion of a photon by using a solid-state-based difference frequency generation. In the experiment, one half of a pico-second visible entangled photon pair at 780 nm is converted to a 1522-nm photon. Using superconducting single-photon detectors with low dark count rates and small timing jitters, we observed a fidelity of 0.93±0.04 after the wavelength conversion.