A blueprint for a simultaneous test of quantum mechanics and general relativity in a space-based quantum optics experiment

In this paper we propose an experiment designed to observe a general-relativistic effect on single photon interference. The experiment consists of a folded Mach-Zehnder interferometer, with the arms distributed between a single Earth orbiter and a ground station. By compensating for other degrees of freedom and the motion of the orbiter, this setup aims to detect the influence of general relativistic time dilation on a spatially superposed single photon. The proposal details a payload to measure the required effect, along with an extensive feasibility analysis given current technological capabilities

Travelling-wave resonant four-wave mixing breaks the limits of cavity-enhanced all-optical wavelength conversion

Wave mixing inside optical resonators, while experiencing a large enhancement of the nonlinear interaction efficiency, suffers from strong bandwidth constraints, preventing its practical exploitation for processing broad-band signals. Here we show that such limits are overcome by the new concept of travelling-wave resonant four-wave mixing (FWM). This approach combines the efficiency enhancement provided by resonant propagation with a wide-band conversion process. Compared with conventional FWM in bare waveguides, it exhibits higher robustness against chromatic dispersion and propagation loss, while preserving transparency to modulation formats. Travelling-wave resonant FWM has been demonstrated in silicon-coupled ring resonators and was exploited to realize a 630-μm-long wavelength converter operating over a wavelength range wider than 60 nm and with 28-dB gain with respect to a bare waveguide of the same physical length. Full compatibility of the travelling-wave resonant FWM with optical signal processing applications has been demonstrated through signal retiming and reshaping at 10 Gb s−

Low-power continuous-wave nonlinear optics in doped silica glass integrated waveguide structures

Photonic integrated circuits are a key component of future telecommunication networks, where demands for greater bandwidth, network flexibility, and low energy consumption and cost must all be met. The quest for all-optical components has naturally targeted materials with extremely large nonlinearity, including chalcogenide glasses and semiconductors, such as silicon and AlGaAs (ref. 4). However, issues such as immature fabrication technology for chalcogenide glass and high linear and nonlinear losses for semiconductors motivate the search for other materials. Here we present the first demonstration of nonlinear optics in integrated silica-based glass waveguides using continuous-wave light. We demonstrate four-wave mixing, with low (5 mW) continuous-wave pump power at λ=1,550nm, in high-index, doped silica glass ring resonators. The low loss, design flexibility and manufacturability of our device are important attributes for low-cost, high-performance, nonlinear all-optical photonic integrated circuits