Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 10, 2026
09:23
Quantum State Engineering of Light with Continuous-wave Optical Parametric Oscillators
Published on: May 30, 2014
15.0K
Quantum light sources with configurable lifetime leveraging parity-time symmetry
Nuo Chen1, Wen-Xiu Li2,3, Yun-Ru Fan4,5
1School of Optical and Electronic Information & Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Nature Communications
|November 27, 2025
Summary
We developed chip-scale quantum light sources using parity-time (PT) symmetry to control photon lifetimes. This breakthrough enables configurable lifetimes for quantum circuits, advancing quantum computing and communications.
Area of Science:
- Quantum optics and photonics
- Solid-state physics
- Quantum information science
Background:
- Configurable photon lifetimes are crucial for scalable quantum circuits in computing, communication, and metrology.
- Existing quantum light sources face challenges due to the trade-off between efficiency and photon lifetime.
- Parity-time (PT) symmetry offers a novel approach to overcome these limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and demonstrate chip-scale quantum light sources with widely tunable photon lifetimes.
- To leverage PT symmetry in coupled microresonators for precise control over photon lifetime.
- To achieve high-performance entangled photon pair generation with configurable lifetimes.
Main Methods:
- Utilized PT-symmetric coupling between two microresonators with different circumferences.
- Controlled the alignment between microresonators to tune the intracavity photon density of states.
- Measured photon lifetimes and characterized generated energy-time entangled photon pairs.
Main Results:
- Achieved a near 20-fold tuning range for photon lifetimes (7.1 ± 1.5 to 129.6 ± 1.9 ps).
- Demonstrated shortest lifetimes near the exceptional point (EP).
- Generated energy-time entangled photon pairs with 87.1 ± 1.1% interference visibility and g(2)H(0) = 0.069 ± 0.001.
Conclusions:
- PT symmetry enables high-performance quantum light sources with configurable photon lifetimes.
- The demonstrated device is suitable for applications in high-speed quantum communication and programmable quantum computing.
- This work opens avenues for quantum coherent tomography and other advanced quantum technologies.
Related Concept Videos
01:23Photoluminescence: Fluorescence and Phosphorescence
3.4K
Photoluminescence is a process where a molecule absorbs light energy and re-emits it in the form of light. This phenomenon occurs when a substance absorbs photons, promoting its electrons to higher energy level excited states, followed by a relaxation process in which the electrons return to their original ground state energy levels and emit light. Photoluminescence is widely observed in various materials, including semiconductors, and organic and inorganic compounds.
A pair of electrons in a...
A pair of electrons in a...
3.4K
01:14Photoluminescence: Applications
970
Photoluminescence offers a wide range of applications due to its inherent sensitivity and selectivity. This technique allows for both direct and indirect analyses of the analyte. Direct quantitative analysis is possible when the analyte exhibits a favorable quantum yield for fluorescence or phosphorescence. However, an indirect analysis may be feasible if the analyte is not fluorescent or phosphorescent, or if the quantum yield is unfavorable. Indirect methods include reacting the analyte with...
970
01:26Variables Affecting Phosphorescence and Fluorescence
1.2K
Fluorescence and phosphorescence are essential phenomena in fields like analytical chemistry, biological imaging, and materials science, where they detect molecular properties and visualize cellular structures. Understanding the variables that influence these luminescent behaviors is crucial for maximizing accuracy and efficiency in their applications. These variables can broadly be grouped into chemical structure, solvent properties, and external conditions, each playing a distinct role in...
1.2K
01:35Light as Energy
94.4K
The energy required to carry out photosynthesis is light— typically electromagnetic radiation from the sun. The range of all possible wavelengths is known as the electromagnetic spectrum.
Photons
A photon is a discrete electromagnetic particle or bundle of energy. Photons are characterized by their frequency, wavelength, and amplitude, similar to the properties of a wave. Waves with higher frequencies transmit more energy and have shorter wavelengths than longer wavelengths that transmit...
Photons
A photon is a discrete electromagnetic particle or bundle of energy. Photons are characterized by their frequency, wavelength, and amplitude, similar to the properties of a wave. Waves with higher frequencies transmit more energy and have shorter wavelengths than longer wavelengths that transmit...
94.4K
02:12The Wave Nature of Light
60.6K
The nature of light has been a subject of inquiry since antiquity. In the seventeenth century, Isaac Newton performed experiments with lenses and prisms and was able to demonstrate that white light consists of the individual colors of the rainbow combined together. Newton explained his optics findings in terms of a "corpuscular" view of light, in which light was composed of streams of extremely tiny particles traveling at high speeds according to Newton's laws of motion.
60.6K
01:25Fluorescence and Phosphorescence: Instrumentation
1.4K
Fluorometers and spectrofluorometers are two types of instruments used for measuring molecular fluorescence. These instruments differ in how they select excitation and emission wavelengths and the type of light sources they utilize. Fluorometers use absorption interference filters to choose excitation and emission wavelengths. The excitation source in a fluorometer is typically a low-pressure mercury vapor lamp that emits intense lines distributed throughout the ultraviolet and visible regions.
1.4K