Collinear source of polarization-entangled photon pairs at non-degenerate wavelengths

We report on a simple but highly efficient source of polarization-entangled photon pairs at non-degenerate wavelengths. The fully collinear configuration of the source enables very high coupling efficiency into a single optical mode and allows the use of long nonlinear crystals. With optimized dispersion compensation it is possible to use a free-running laser diode as pump source and to reach an entanglement fidelity of 99.4 % at rates as high as 27000 pairs/s per mW of pump power. This greatly enhances the practicality of the source for applications in quantum communication and metrology.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted in Applied Physics Letter

Impact of the slit geometry on the performance of wire-grid polarisers

Wire-grid polarisers are versatile and scalable components which can be engineered to achieve small sizes and extremely high extinction ratios. Yet the measured performances are always significantly below the predicted values obtained from numerical simulations. Here we report on a detailed comparison between theoretical and experimental performances. We show that the discrepancy can be explained by the true shape of the plasmonic structures. Taking into account the fabrication details, a new optimisation model enables us to achieve excellent agreement with the observed response and to re-optimise the grating parameters to ensure experimental extinction ratios well above 1,000 at 850 nm.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Secure communication with single-photon two-qubit states

We propose a cryptographic scheme that is deterministic: Alice sends single photons to Bob, and each and every photon detected supplies one key bit -- no photon is wasted. This is in marked contrast to other schemes in which a random process decides whether the next photon sent will contribute to the key or not. The determinism is achieved by preparing the photons in two-qubit states, rather than the one-qubit states used in conventional schemes. In particular, we consider the realistic situation in which one qubit is the photon polarization, the other a spatial alternative. Further, we show how one can exploit the deterministic nature for direct secure communication, that is: without the need for establishing a shared key first.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure, 3 tables; final versio

Experimental Schmidt Decomposition and Entanglement Detection

We introduce an experimental procedure for the detection of quantum entanglement of an unknown quantum state with as few measurements as possible. The method requires neither a priori knowledge of the state nor a shared reference frame between the observers. The scheme starts with local measurements, possibly supplemented with suitable filtering, that can be regarded as calibration. Consecutive correlation measurements enable detection of the entanglement of the state. We utilize the fact that the calibration stage essentially establishes the Schmidt decomposition for pure states. Alternatively we develop a decision tree which reveals entanglement within few steps. These methods are illustrated and verified experimentally for various two-qubit entangled states.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, journal versio

Experimental Observation of Four-Photon Entangled Dicke State with High Fidelity

We present the experimental observation of the symmetric four-photon entangled Dicke state with two excitations $|D_{4}^{(2)}>$. A simple experimental set-up allowed quantum state tomography yielding a fidelity as high as $0.844 \pm 0.008$. We study the entanglement persistency of the state using novel witness operators and focus on the demonstration of a remarkable property: depending on the orientation of a measurement on one photon, the remaining three photons are projected into both inequivalent classes of genuine tripartite entanglement, the GHZ and W class. Furthermore, we discuss possible applications of $|D_{4}^{(2)}>$ in quantum communication.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitte

Linear Optics C-Phase gate made simple

Linear optics quantum logic gates are the best tool to generate multi-photon entanglement. Simplifying a recent approach [Phys. Rev. A 65, 062324; Phys. Rev. A 66, 024308] we were able to implement the conditional phase gate with only one second order interference at a polarization dependent beam splitter, thereby significantly increasing its stability. The improved quality of the gate is evaluated by analysing its entangling capability and by performing full process tomography. The achieved results ensure that this device is well suited for implementation in various multi photon quantum information protocols.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Analysis of a single-atom dipole trap

We describe a simple experimental technique which allows to store a single Rubidium 87 atom in an optical dipole trap. Due to light-induced two-body collisions during the loading stage of the trap the maximum number of captured atoms is locked to one. This collisional blockade effect is confirmed by the observation of photon anti-bunching in the detected fluorescence light. The spectral properties of single photons emitted by the atom were studied with a narrow-band scanning cavity. We find that the atomic fluorescence spectrum is dominated by the spectral width of the exciting laser light field. In addition we observe a spectral broadening of the atomic fluorescence light due to the Doppler effect. This allows us to determine the mean kinetic energy of the trapped atom corresponding to a temperature of 105 micro Kelvin. This simple single-atom trap is the key element for the generation of atom-photon entanglement required for future applications in quantum communication and a first loophole-free test of Bell's inequality.Comment: Version 2; formula in equ. 3 correcte