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Efficient single-photon pair generation by spontaneous parametric down-conversion in nonlinear plasmonic
Boyuan Jin1, Dhananjay Mishra1, Christos Argyropoulos1
1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, USA. christos.argyropoulos@unl.edu.
Nanoscale
|November 22, 2021
Summary
Researchers developed an ultrathin plasmonic metasurface for highly efficient spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC), boosting single-photon pair generation rates for quantum technologies.
Area of Science:
- Nonlinear Optics
- Quantum Plasmonics
- Nanophotonics
Background:
- Spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) is crucial for generating entangled photon pairs.
- Existing SPDC sources suffer from low efficiency and weak photon generation rates.
- There is a need for scalable, efficient, and compact SPDC sources.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design a novel plasmonic metasurface for enhanced SPDC.
- To achieve ultrathin, scalable, and efficient single-photon generation.
- To explore applications in quantum communications and quantum plasmonics.
Main Methods:
- Designed a plasmonic metasurface using silver nanostripes on lithium niobate.
- Coincided metasurface resonances with SPDC signal and idler frequencies.
- Utilized circular polarized excitation to further boost efficiency.
Main Results:
- Achieved significant enhancement of the SPDC process.
- Demonstrated very high photon-pair generation rates.
- Observed highly directional emission perpendicular to the metasurface.
Conclusions:
- The proposed metasurface design offers a scalable, ultrathin, and efficient SPDC source.
- This technology can lead to critical components for free-space quantum optical communications.
- Findings have broader implications for quantum plasmonics applications.
