Source-linked AI summary
Integrated spatial multiplexing of heralded single photon sources
Matthew J. Collins, Chunle Xiong, Isabella H. Rey, Trung D. Vo, Jiakun He, Shayan Shahnia, Christopher Reardon, M. J. Steel, Thomas F. Krauss, Alex S. Clark, Benjamin J. Eggleton
TL;DR
Non-deterministic photon sources limit scalable single-photon quantum technologies. This work spatially multiplexes monolithic silicon sources, achieving higher heralded single-photon output without increasing multi-pair noise.
Problem
Non-deterministic single-photon sources limit the complexity of photonic quantum-technology demonstrations and motivate more deterministic outputs from multiple indistinguishable sources.
Method
The authors route photons from two monolithic silicon correlated-photon-pair sources to a common output using an optical switch, including sources pumped through an integrated 50:50 coupler.
Results
62.4% and 63.1% enhancement to the probability of generating a single photon was achieved without affecting the noise level in two experiments.
Takeaways & Limitations
Integrated spatial multiplexing breaks the intrinsic single-source limit by decoupling single-photon output from multi-pair noise and provides a basis for scalable multiplexed sources.
Abstract
from arXiv · showhide
The non-deterministic nature of photon sources is a key limitation for single photon quantum processors. Spatial multiplexing overcomes this by enhancing the heralded single photon yield without enhancing the output noise. Here the intrinsic statistical limit of an individual source is surpassed by spatially multiplexing two monolithic silicon correlated photon pair sources, demonstrating a 62.4% increase in the heralded single photon output without an increase in unwanted multi-pair generation. We further demonstrate the scalability of this scheme by multiplexing photons generated in two waveguides pumped via an integrated coupler with a 63.1% increase in the heralded photon rate. This demonstration paves the way for a scalable architecture for multiplexing many photon sources in a compact integrated platform and achieving efficient two photon interference, required at the core of optical quantum computing and quantum communication protocols.