Hectometer Revivals of Quantum Interference

Markus Rambach, W. Y. Sarah Lau, Simon Laibacher, Vincenzo Tamma, Andrew G. White, and Till J. Weinhold

Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 093603 – Published 30 August 2018

Abstract

Cavity-enhanced single photon sources exhibit mode-locked biphoton states with comblike correlation functions. Our ultrabright source additionally emits single photon pairs as well as two-photon NOON states, dividing the output into an even and an odd comb, respectively. With even-comb photons we demonstrate revivals of the typical nonclassical Hong-Ou-Mandel interference up to the 84th dip, corresponding to a path length difference exceeding 100 m. With odd-comb photons we observe single photon interference fringes modulated over twice the displacement range of the Hong-Ou-Mandel interference.

Received 30 May 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.093603

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Optical parametric oscillators & amplifiers Photon pairs & parametric down-conversion Quantum cavities Quantum measurements Quantum networks Quantum states of light Single photon sources

Cavity resonators

Quantum Information, Science & TechnologyGeneral PhysicsAtomic, Molecular & Optical

Authors & Affiliations

Markus Rambach^1,*, W. Y. Sarah Lau¹, Simon Laibacher², Vincenzo Tamma^3,2, Andrew G. White¹, and Till J. Weinhold¹

¹ARC Centre for Engineered Quantum Systems, School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4067, Australia
²Institut für Quantenphysik and Center for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology (IQST), Universität Ulm, Ulm, Baden-Württemberg 89069, Germany
³Faculty of Science, SEES and Institute of Cosmology & Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO1 2UP, United Kingdom

^*mrks.rambach@gmail.com

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Vol. 121, Iss. 9 — 31 August 2018

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Images

Figure 1
Schematic showing methods for coarse, intermediate, and fine photon delays before the $50 / 50$ fiber beam splitter (FBS). PBS, polarizing beam splitter; $m \in N_{0}$ ; $T_{p}$ , physical round trip time; PZT, piezoelectric transducer; PC, polarization controller; MTS, motorized translation stage; SPD, single photon detectors. Coarse (right top): optical fibers provide delays on the scale of multiple round trips; Intermediate (left lower corner): the motorized translation stage allows scanning over nanosecond ranges; Fine (center): wavelength scale resolution is achieved with the scanning piezo controller.
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Figure 2
Coincidence probability of even-comb photons in a HOM interference experiment for selected coarse time delays $Δ t \propto T (= 8.28 ns)$ , data in blue, theory in red. Error bars are dominated by the uncertainty in the coincidence counts. Delays are introduced by a set of optical fibers of length 0, $½$ , 1, and 42 round trips, corresponding to a free space path differences up to 105 m between the photons. Intermediate time delays between data points within (a)–(d) are achieved with a pair of mirrors mounted on a motorized translation stage with step sizes between 0.5–1.3 fs ( $150 - 400 μ m$ ). See Supplemental Material [31] for additional plots.
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Figure 3
Detection probability amplitudes of the reflected-reflected (rr) and transmitted-transmitted (tt) photon paths in the HOM experiment. (a) No temporal delay, $Δ t = 0$ . Amplitudes cancel each other out perfectly. (b) Revivals occur when the photons are delayed by $Δ t = m T_{p} = m * T / 2$ ( $m \in Z$ ), here shown for $m = 1$ . Both detection probability amplitudes shift by the implemented delay but in opposite directions, overlapping the combs again.
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Figure 4
HOM interference visibilities as a function of coarse round trip delays. Experimental data (blue) and theoretical predictions (red) for 0, $½$ , 1, 2, 4, 40, and 42 RT delays. Error bars capture the uncertainties in the photon detection and counting modules.
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Figure 5
Single photon interference. (a) Theoretical coincidence probability between the two detectors ( $= HOM$ dip) at $Δ t = T / 2$ in order to indicate the rough positions used to obtain the oscillations shown in (b)–(f). The delay is implemented with a set of mirrors mounted on a translation stages, see Fig. 1. (b)–(f) The oscillations of the single photon counts on the two detectors in blue and black, respectively. The fit in red illustrates the expected periodicity of one wavelength and a maximal visibility for (d), at the bottom of the dip. The phase delay is realized by a mirror mounted on a piezoelectric transducer. (g) Interference visibilities, data in blue with error bars smaller than the dots, theory in red. Captions next to the data correspond to the relevant oscillation and positions on the HOM dip.
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