Single photon detection is one of the most important issues in the quantum photonics. Accompany with the mature of quantum information, the past few decades have seen a dramatic increase in interest in new single-photon detector technologies, such as cooled Si avalanche diode, up-conversion detection technique or superconducting nano-wire single photon detector.
Among these, HCP provides the photon up-converter as the detection/transmission interface via our unique PPLN waveguide and integrated laser at specific wavelength as the pump laser.
In previous case, the pump beam is generated from a intra-cavity optical parametric oscillator (ICOPO) centered at around 1700nm with a spectral linewidth less than 100MHz. The single photon signal at 1550nm is combined with the pump into a reverse-proton exchanged PPLN waveguide (RPE-PPLN waveguide), giving a up-converted photon signal at ~810nm that is able to be detected by a Si photon counter or transmitted in free space. The long-wavelength pump avoid the QPM disorder noise and the Raman noise which are not avoidable at the short wavelength pumping photon up-conversion. As a result, our SPiC achieve SFG power efficiency up to 30% and dark count noise less than 1kHz.
Pelc, Jason S., et al. Optics express 19.22 (2011): 21445-21456.
As a quantum interface of photon wavelength conversion, HC Photonics provides the up/down conversion unit for your specific photon wavelength upon request. The pump can be provided by the customer or selecting one from our OPO-S, which the signal covers from 1450 to 1850 nm.