Hybrid quantum information processing combines the advantages of discrete and continues variable protocols by realizing protocols consisting of photon counting and homodyne measurements. However, the mode structure of pulsed sources and the properties of the detection schemes often require the use of optical filters in order to combine both detection methods in a common experiment. This limits the efficiency and the overall achievable squeezing of the experiment. In our work, we use photon subtraction to implement the distillation of pulsed squeezed states originating from a genuinely spatially and temporally single-mode parametric down-conversion source in non-linear waveguides. Due to the distillation, we witness an improvement of 0.17 dB from an initial squeezing value of −1.648 ± 0.002 dB, while achieving a purity of 0.58, and confirm the non-Gaussianity of the distilled state via the higher-order cumulants. With this, we demonstrate the source’s suitability for scalable hybrid quantum network applications with pulsed quantum light.
Binary homodyne detection for observing quadrature squeezing in satellite links
Christian R. Müller,
Kaushik P. Seshadreesan,
C. Peuntinger,
C. Marquardt
Optical satellite links open up new prospects for realizing quantum physical experiments over unprecedented length scales. We analyze and affirm the feasibility of detecting quantum squeezing in an optical mode with homodyne detection of only one bit resolution, as is found in satellites already in orbit. We show experimentally that, in combination with a coherent displacement, a binary homodyne detector can still detect quantum squeezing efficiently even under high loss. The sample overhead in comparison to nondiscretized homodyne detection is merely a factor of 3.3.
Binary Homodyne Detection for Observing Quadrature Squeezing in Satellite Links
Christian R. Mueller,
Kaushik P Seshadreesan,
Christian Peuntinger,
Christoph Marquardt
Physical Review Research
(2)
033523
(2020)
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Optical satellite links open up new prospects for realizing quantum physical experiments over unprecedented length scales. We analyze and affirm the feasibility of detecting quantum squeezing in an optical mode with homodyne detection of only one bit resolution, as is found in satellites already in orbit. We show experimentally that, in combination with a coherent displacement, a binary homodyne detector can still detect quantum squeezing efficiently even under high loss. The sample overhead in comparison to non-discretized homodyne detection is merely a factor of 3.3.
Nonlinear power dependence of the spectral properties of an optical parametric oscillator below threshold in the quantum regime
Golnoush Shafiee,
Dmitry V. Strekalov,
Alexander Otterpohl,
Florian Sedlmeir,
Gerhard Schunk,
Ulrich Vogl,
Harald Schwefel,
Gerd Leuchs,
Christoph Marquardt
New Journal of Physics
22
(7)
073045
(2020)
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Photon pairs and heralded single photons, obtained from cavity- assisted parametric down conversion (PDC), play an important role in quantum communications and technology. This motivated a thorough study of the spectral and temporal properties of parametric light, both above the Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO) threshold, where the semiclassical approach is justified, and deeply below it, where the linear cavity approximation is applicable. The pursuit of a higher two- photon emission rate leads into an interesting intermediate regime where the OPO still operates considerably below the threshold but the nonlinear cavity phenomena cannot be neglected anymore. Here, we investigate this intermediate regime and show that the spectral and temporal properties of the photon pairs, as well as their emission rate, may significantly differ from the widely accepted linear model. The observed phenomena include frequency pulling and broadening in the temporal correlation for the down converted optical fields. These factors need to be taken into account when devising practical applications of the high-rate cavity-assisted SPDC sources.
Quantum-limited measurements of intensity noise levels in Yb-doped fiber amplifiers
Alexandra Popp,
Victor Distler,
Kevin Jaksch,
Florian Sedlmeir,
Christian Müller,
Nicoletta Haarlammert,
Thomas Schreiber,
Christoph Marquardt,
Andreas Tünnermann, et al.
Applied Physics B
126
(8)
130
(2020)
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We investigate the frequency-resolved intensity noise spectrum of an Yb-doped fiber amplifier down to the fundamental limit of quantum noise. We focus on the kHz and low MHz frequency regime with special interest in the region between 1 and 10 kHz. Intensity noise levels up to ≥60 dB above the shot noise limit are found, revealing great optimization potential. Additionally, two seed lasers with different noise characteristics were amplified, showing that the seed source has a significant impact and should be considered in the design of high power fiber amplifiers.
Efficient generation of temporally shaped photons using nonlocal spectral filtering
We study the generation of single-photon pulses with the tailored temporal shape via nonlocal spectral filtering. A shaped photon is heralded from a time-energy entangled photon pair upon spectral filtering and time-resolved detection of its entangled counterpart. We show that the temporal shape of the heralded photon is defined by the time-inverted impulse response of the spectral filter and does not depend on the heralding instant. Thus one can avoid postselection of particular heralding instants and achieve a substantially higher heralding rate of shaped photons as compared to the generation of photons via nonlocal temporal modulation. Furthermore, the method can be used to generate shaped photons with a coherence time in the ns-μs range and is particularly suitable to produce photons with the exponentially rising temporal shape required for efficient interfacing to a single quantum emitter in free space.
Contact
Research Group Christoph Marquardt
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light Staudtstr. 2 91058 Erlangen, Germany