arXiv · 2003.02202
On-demand indistinguishable single photons from an efficient and pure source based on a Rydberg ensemble
Abstract
Single photons coupled to atomic systems have shown to be a promising platform for developing quantum technologies. Yet a bright on-demand, highly pure and highly indistinguishable single-photon source compatible with atomic platforms is lacking. In this work, we demonstrate such a source based on a strongly interacting Rydberg system. The large optical nonlinearities in a blockaded Rydberg ensemble convert coherent light into a single-collective excitation that can be coherently retrieved as a quantum field. We observe a single-transverse-mode efficiency up to 0.18(2), $g^{(2)}=2.0(1.5)\times10^{-4}$, and indistinguishability of 0.982(7), making this system promising for scalable quantum information applications. Accounting for losses, we infer a generation probability up to 0.40(4). Furthermore, we investigate the effects of contaminant Rydberg excitations on the source efficiency. Finally, we introduce metrics to benchmark the performance of on-demand single-photon sources.
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Dalia P. Ornelas-Huerta, Alexander N. Craddock, Elizabeth A. Goldschmidt, Andrew J. Hachtel, Yidan Wang, P. Bienias, Alexey V. Gorshkov, Steve L. Rolston, James V. Porto. 2020-03-04. On-demand indistinguishable single photons from an efficient and pure source based on a Rydberg ensemble. https://doi.org/10.1364/optica.391485
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