1.Information Quantum Technology Laboratory, International Cooperation Research Center of China Communication and Sensor Networks for Modern Transportation, School of Information Science and Technology, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China 2.Photonics Laboratory and Institute of Functional Materials, College of Science, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
Fund Project:Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11974290, U1330201).
Received Date:11 April 2019
Accepted Date:12 September 2019
Available Online:27 November 2019
Published Online:05 December 2019
Abstract:The method by measuring one photon of an entangled two-photon pair to simultaneously herald another photon as the single photon, is one of the important ways to prepare the desired single-photon source. However, achieving high herald efficiency is still an open problem. In this paper, with the polarization entangled photon pairs generated by the parametric down-conversion process in the I-type phase-matched BBO (β-BaB2O4) nonlinear crystal, we investigate how the herald efficiency of the single-photon along the ideal path depends on the selection of the heralded basis of the photon in the signal path. An extended Hanbury-Brown-Twiss experimental system is built with a fiber polarizing beam splitter and three single-photon detectors, to experimentally measure the herald efficiency of the heralded single-photon source. Our results show that with the present polarization entangled-photon system whose quality is relatively low, the herald efficiency with the $|+/-\rangle$ heralded basis is enhanced 4% compared with that with the $|H/V\rangle$ heralded basis. Keywords:parametric down conversion/ entangled photon pairs/ heralded single photon source/ heralded efficiency
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1.引 言众所周知, 单光子是量子信息研究中最理想也是最典型的单量子体系. 因此, 单光子源是实现绝对安全光量子保密通信、线性光学量子计算和高精度光子精密测量的必要工具. 鉴于目前商用严格单光子源的缺乏, 在很多相关研究比如光量子密钥分发实验中, 一般采用的是相干光强衰减得到的光子脉冲作为“单光子源”. 但是, 在物理上这种光源并不是真正的单光子源(而是所谓的“赝单光子源”). 尽管这种源的每个脉冲平均只含一个光子能量, 但本质上还是相干光, 其光子数的分布满足泊松统计, 光场二阶关联函数仍是1而不是单光子源物理上要求的小于1甚至是0. 本质上, 真正的单光子源应该是单个“原子”在某个时刻发射且仅发射一个光子的光源. 近年来, 人们在激发单量子点[1]、单荧光分子[2]和钻石中孤立的色心空位[3]等人造量子体系中开展了制备真正单光子源的大量研究工作. 但由于工艺、技术和条件(比如极低温)上的要求相对较高, 故不易推广应用. 还有, 这些方法所得到的单光子其波长基本上不可调, 并且辐射出来的单光子也较难收集. 因此, 在许多需要单光子的光量子信息处理实验研究中大量采用一种称之为宣布式的单光子源(即通过触发纠缠光子对中的一个, 实现另一个光子的宣布), 其原理如图1所示: 图 1 利用纠缠光子对制备宣布式单光子源的原理示意图 激光抽运非线性晶体使其发生参量下转换, 产生纠缠的信号光(s, 图中下面一路)和闲置光(i, 图中上面一路); 探测信号光子从而将其孪生的闲置光子“宣布”为单光子 Figure1. Schematic diagram of the preparation of a heralded single photon source using entangled photons. The laser pumped nonlinear crystal causes parametric down-conversion to produce entangled signal light (s, the lower path in the figure) and idle light (i, the upper one in the figure); Detecting signal photons to “herald” the twinned photon into single photons.
上, 它就是宣布得到的单光子波函数. 这里$ \varphi(\omega_{{\rm i}, \iota'}, t_{\rm s}) $是闲置光子的谱函数. 显然, 通过这种方法“宣布”得到单光子的效率理论上就等于信号光子的探测成功概率. 实验中, 采用如图2所示的偏振纠缠光子对产生系统. 这里, 参量下转换由两片光轴正交粘合在一起的I型BBO非线性晶体完成, 理想情况下所产生的偏振纠缠光子对可表示为[17] 图 2 利用I类BBO非线性晶体产生纠缠光子对的原理简图 圆锥表示光场分布, 与上下光路的交叉点为光子信号的采集点, 所采集的光子偏振为$|HH\rangle$或者为$|VV\rangle$ Figure2. Schematic diagram of generating entangled photon pairs using class I BBO nonlinear crystals. The cone represents the light field distribution, and the intersection with the upper and lower light paths is the collection point of the photon signal, and the acquired photon polarization is $|HH\rangle$ or $|VV\rangle$.
首先通过图3所示的简单实验系统来表征宣布单光子所利用的偏振纠缠光子对的关联品质. 根据第2节中的分析知道, 抽运BBO晶体所产生的纠缠光子对, 理想情况下应该是双光子偏振态$ |H\rangle|H\rangle $和$ |V\rangle|V\rangle $的等概率线性叠加. 但实际实验中, 偏振纠缠光子态仍有少量不希望出现的双光子偏振态$ |H\rangle|V\rangle $和$ |V\rangle|H\rangle $成分. 因此, 测量$ |H\rangle|H\rangle $和$ |V\rangle|V\rangle $态时所得到的双光子符合计数率应远大于测量$ |H\rangle|V\rangle $和$ |V\rangle|H\rangle $态时所得到的符合计数率. 图 3 纠缠光子对偏振关联测量原理图 透镜(Lens)之前的极化分束器(PBS)的作用是滤掉水平偏振的激光(取其反射光进入透镜, 这里省略了反射光路), BBO晶体之前的半波片(HWP)用于产生偏振叠加抽运光, BBO用于产生纠缠双光子, 半波片、滤波片(Filter)、PBS和探测器构成光子的偏振探测系统, 符合计数器记录并显示两个单光子探测器的符合信号 Figure3. Schematic diagram of entangled photon pair polarization correlation measurement. The polarized beam splitter (PBS) before Lens is used to filter out horizontally polarized lasers, the half-wave plate (HWP) before the BBO crystal is used to generate polarized superimposed pump light, and BBO is used to generate entangled photon pairs. A half-wave plate, a filter, a PBS, and a detector constitute a photon polarization detection system, coincidence counter records and display the coincidence signals for two single photon detectors.
实验上, 单光子品质可通过测量光场的二阶相干度(即光场的强度-强度关联函数)来表征. 理想的单光子源, 其二阶相干度为0; 相干光的二阶相干度为1而混沌光则为2. 因此, 实验制备的单光子光场, 其二阶相干度应小于1, 越趋于0表示单光子品质越好. 我们知道, 光场的二阶相干度可通过著名的Hanbury Brown和Twiss (HBT)[19-21]实验来测得. 图5为HBT实验简图. 图 5 HBT实验原理图 一束光通过50/50分束器后被均分为两路(其中一路经过延时$\tau$), 最后两路信号分别被两个探测器所探测, 其同时性由符合计数特性表征 Figure5. Schematic diagram of the HBT experiment, wherein a laser beam is splitted, after a 50/50 beam splitter, into two paths; one of them is delayed by a duration $\tau$, then the signals of the two paths are detected by the two detectors, respectively. The simultaneity of the detected signals is characterized by the coincidence countings.
表1不同延时的符合计数结果 Table1.Coincidence results for different delays.
图6为根据测量数据所得到的不同延时下的二阶相干度拟合曲线. 这里, 每个数据都是同样条件下10次测量结果的平均值, 其标准偏差由无偏估计公式 图 6 不对信号光宣布而直接测量闲置光场二阶相干度的实验结果 Figure6. The measured second-order coherence for the idle light field without being heralded by the signal light.