119 research outputs found
Compensating for Beamsplitter Asymmetries in Quantum Interference Experiments
The visibility of the quantum interference "dip" seen in the Hong-Ou-Mandel
experiment is optimized when a symmetric 50/50 beamsplitter is used in the
interferometer. Here we show that the reduction in visibility caused by an
asymmetric beamsplitter can be compensated by manipulating the polarization
states of the two input photons. We experimentally demonstrate this by using a
highly asymmetric 10/90 beamsplitter, and converting an initial dip visibility
of 22% to a compensated value of 99%.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure
Hybrid quantum repeater using bright coherent light
We describe a quantum repeater protocol for long-distance quantum
communication. In this scheme, entanglement is created between qubits at
intermediate stations of the channel by using a weak dispersive light-matter
interaction and distributing the outgoing bright coherent light pulses among
the stations. Noisy entangled pairs of electronic spin are then prepared with
high success probability via homodyne detection and postselection. The local
gates for entanglement purification and swapping are deterministic and
measurement-free, based upon the same coherent-light resources and weak
interactions as for the initial entanglement distribution. Finally, the
entanglement is stored in a nuclear-spin-based quantum memory. With our system,
qubit-communication rates approaching 100 Hz over 1280 km with fidelities near
99% are possible for reasonable local gate errors.Comment: title changed, final published versio
Hybrid quantum repeater based on dispersive CQED interactions between matter qubits and bright coherent light
We describe a system for long-distance distribution of quantum entanglement,
in which coherent light with large average photon number interacts dispersively
with single, far-detuned atoms or semiconductor impurities in optical cavities.
Entanglement is heralded by homodyne detection using a second bright light
pulse for phase reference. The use of bright pulses leads to a high success
probability for the generation of entanglement, at the cost of a lower initial
fidelity. This fidelity may be boosted by entanglement purification techniques,
implemented with the same physical resources. The need for more purification
steps is well compensated for by the increased probability of success when
compared to heralded entanglement schemes using single photons or weak coherent
pulses with realistic detectors. The principle cause of the lower initial
fidelity is fiber loss; however, spontaneous decay and cavity losses during the
dispersive atom/cavity interactions can also impair performance. We show that
these effects may be minimized for emitter-cavity systems in the weak-coupling
regime as long as the resonant Purcell factor is larger than one, the cavity is
over-coupled, and the optical pulses are sufficiently long. We support this
claim with numerical, semiclassical calculations using parameters for three
realistic systems: optically bright donor-bound impurities such as 19-F:ZnSe
with a moderate-Q microcavity, the optically dim 31-P:Si system with a high-Q
microcavity, and trapped ions in large but very high-Q cavities.Comment: Please consult the published version, where assorted typos are
corrected. It is freely available at http://stacks.iop.org/1367-2630/8/18
Lasing of donor-bound excitons in ZnSe microdisks
Excitons bound to flourine atoms in ZnSe have the potential for several
quantum optical applications. Examples include optically accessible quantum
memories for quantum information processing and lasing without inversion. These
applications require the bound-exciton transitions to be coupled to cavities
with high cooperativity factors, which results in the experimental observation
of low-threshold lasing. We report such lasing from fluorine-doped ZnSe quantum
wells in 3 and 6 micron microdisk cavities. Photoluminescence and selective
photoluminescence spectroscopy confirm that the lasing is due to bound-exciton
transitions.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; introduction rewritte
Entanglement generation by Fock-state filtration
We demonstrate a Fock-state filter which is capable of preferentially
blocking single photons over photon pairs. The large conditional nonlinearities
are based on higher-order quantum interference, using linear optics, an ancilla
photon, and measurement. We demonstrate that the filter acts coherently by
using it to convert unentangled photon pairs to a path-entangled state. We
quantify the degree of entanglement by transforming the path information to
polarisation information, applying quantum state tomography we measure a tangle
of T=(20+/-9)%.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
New high-efficiency source of photon pairs for engineering quantum entanglement
We have constructed an efficient source of photon pairs using a
waveguide-type nonlinear device and performed a two-photon interference
experiment with an unbalanced Michelson interferometer. Parametric
down-converted photons from the nonlinear device are detected by two detectors
located at the output ports of the interferometer. Because the interferometer
is constructed with two optical paths of different length, photons from the
shorter path arrive at the detector earlier than those from the longer path. We
find that the difference of arrival time and the time window of the coincidence
counter are important parameters which determine the boundary between the
classical and quantum regime. When the time window of the coincidence counter
is smaller than the arrival time difference, fringes of high visibility
(80 10%) were observed. This result is only explained by quantum theory
and is clear evidence for quantum entanglement of the interferometer's optical
paths.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, IQEC200
Experimental Controlled-NOT Logic Gate for Single Photons in the Coincidence Basis
We report a proof-of-principle demonstration of a probabilistic
controlled-NOT gate for single photons. Single-photon control and target qubits
were mixed with a single ancilla photon in a device constructed using only
linear optical elements. The successful operation of the controlled-NOT gate
relied on post-selected three-photon interference effects which required the
detection of the photons in the output modes.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; minor change
Reduced Deadtime and Higher Rate Photon-Counting Detection using a Multiplexed Detector Array
We present a scheme for a photon-counting detection system that can be
operated at incident photon rates higher than otherwise possible by suppressing
the effects of detector deadtime. The method uses an array of N detectors and a
1-by-N optical switch with a control circuit to direct input light to live
detectors. Our calculations and models highlight the advantages of the
technique. In particular, using this scheme, a group of N detectors provides an
improvement in operation rate that can exceed the improvement that would be
obtained by a single detector with deadtime reduced by 1/N, even if it were
feasible to produce a single detector with such a large improvement in
deadtime. We model the system for continuous and pulsed light sources, both of
which are important for quantum metrology and quantum key distribution
applications.Comment: 6 figure
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