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A single photon up-conversion interface

June 11, 2018

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.