arXiv · 2609.02200
Observation of Hong-Ou-Mandel interference between photon and polariton
Abstract
Light-matter interactions underlie many quantum technologies, yet whether quasiparticles formed from such interactions preserve the full quantum state of light remains unresolved. Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), a class of polaritons formed by interacting photons with free-electron oscillations at metal-dielectric interfaces, are prime candidates to explore this question. Here we demonstrate quantum interference between single photons and SPPs using an Au-SiN$_{\mathrm{x}}$ integrated photonic-plasmonic device. Our results reveal that SPPs retain the indistinguishability of their excitation photons, establishing SPP as a viable quantum information carrier and opening a potential route toward photonic-plasmonic quantum circuitry.
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Yun-Ru Fan, Ying-Ao Su, Kai Guo, Bo-Yu Fan, Yao-Qing Zhang, Hai-Zhi Song, Hao Li, Yong Geng, Kun Chen, Deng-Ke Zhang, Li-Xing You, Yan-Yu Wei, Guang-Can Guo, Qiang Zhou. 2026-09-02. Observation of Hong-Ou-Mandel interference between photon and polariton. https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.02200
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