arXiv subjects

B. Pressl

Publications and source records attributed to B. Pressl.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2019

Optimizing the spectro-temporal properties of photon pairs from Bragg-reflection waveguides

Bragg-reflection waveguides (BRWs) fabricated from AlGaAs provide an interesting non-linear optical platform for photon-pair generation via parametric down-conversion (PDC). In contrast to many conventional PDC sources, BRWs are made of high refractive index materials and their characteristics are very sensitive to the underlying layer structure. First, we show that the design parameters like the phasematching wavelength and the group refractive indices of the interacting modes can be reliably controlled even in the presence of fabrication tolerances. We then investigate, how these characteristics can be taken advantage of when designing quantum photonic applications with BRWs. We especially concentrate on achieving a small differential group delay between the generated photons of a pair and then explore the performance of our design when realizing a Hong-Ou-Mandel interference experiment or generating spectrally multi-band polarization entangled states. Our results show that the versatility provided by engineering the dispersion in BRWs is important for employing them in different quantum optics tasks.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Temporally versatile polarization entanglement from Bragg-reflection waveguides

Bragg-reflection waveguides emitting broadband parametric down-conversion (PDC) have been proven to be well suited for the on-chip generation of polarization entanglement in a straightforward fashion [R. T. Horn et al., Sci. Rep. 3, 2314 (2013)]. Here, we investigate how the properties of the created states can be modified by controlling the relative temporal delay between the pair of photons created via PDC. Our results offer an easily accessible approach for changing the coherence of the polarization entanglement, in other words, to tune the phase of the off-diagonal elements of the density matrix. Furthermore, we provide valuable insight in the engineering of these states directly at the source.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Uncovering dispersion properties in semiconductor waveguides to study photon-pair generation

We investigate the dispersion properties of ridge Bragg-reflection waveguides to deduce their phasematching characteristics. These are crucial for exploiting them as sources of parametric down-conversion (PDC). In order to estimate the phasematching bandwidth we first determine the group refractive indices of the interacting modes via Fabry-Perot experiments in two distant wavelength regions. Second, by measuring the spectra of the emitted PDC photons we gain access to their group index dispersion. Our results offer a simple approach for determining the PDC process parameters in the spectral domain and provide an important feedback for designing such sources, especially in the broadband case.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Broadband indistinguishability from bright parametric downconversion in a semiconductor waveguide

Parametric downconversion (PDC) in semiconductor Bragg-reflection waveguides (BRW) is routinely exploited for photon-pair generation in the telecommunication range. Contrary to many conventional PDC sources, BRWs offer possibilities to create spectrally broadband but nevertheless indistinguishable photon pairs in orthogonal polarizations that simultaneously incorporate high frequency entanglement. We explore the characteristics of co-propagating twin beams created in a type-II ridge BRW. Our PDC source is bright and efficient, which serves as a benchmark of its performance and justifies its exploitation for further use in quantum photonics. We then examine the coalescence of the twin beams and investigate the effect of their inevitable multi-photon contributions on the observed photon bunching. Our results show that BRWs have a great potential for producing broadband indistinguishable photon pairs as well as multi-photon states.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Modally Resolved Fabry-Perot Experiment with Semiconductor Waveguides

Based on the interaction between different spatial modes, semiconductor Bragg-reflection waveguides provide a highly functional platform for non-linear optics. Therefore, the control and engineering of the properties of each spatial mode is essential. Despite the multimodeness of our waveguide, the well-established Fabry-Perot technique for recording fringes in the optical transmission spectrum can successfully be employed for a detailed linear optical characterization when combined with Fourier analysis. A prerequisite for the modal sensitivity is a finely resolved transmission spectrum that is recorded over a broad frequency band. Our results highlight how the features of different spatial modes, such as their loss characteristics and dispersion properties, can be separated from each other allowing their comparison. The mode-resolved measurements are important for optimizing the performance of such multimode waveguides by tailoring the properties of their spatial modes.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Liquid-nitrogen cooled, free-running single-photon sensitive detector at telecommunication wavelengths

The measurement of light characteristics at the single- and few photon level plays a key role in many quantum optics applications. Often photodetection is preceded with the transmission of quantum light over long distances in optical fibers with their low loss window near 1550nm. Nonetheless, the detection of the photonic states at telecommunication wavelengths via avalanche photodetectors has long been facing severe restrictions. Only recently, demonstrations of the first free-running detector techniques in the telecommunication band have lifted the demand of synchronizing the signal with the detector. Moreover, moderate cooling is required to gain single-photon sensitivity with these detectors. Here we implement a liquid-nitrogen cooled negative-feedback avalanche diode (NFAD) at telecommunication wavelengths and investigate the properties of this highly flexible, free-running single-photon sensitive detector. Our realization of cooling provides a large range of stable operating temperatures and has advantages over the relatively bulky commercial refrigerators that have been used before. We determine the region of NFAD working parameters most suitable for single-photon sensitive detection enabling a direct plug-in of our detector to a true photon counting task.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2011

Multi-dimensional laser spectroscopy of exciton-polaritons with spatial light modulators

We describe an experimental system that allows one to easily access the dispersion curve of exciton-polaritons in a microcavity. Our approach is based on two spatial light modulators (SLM), one for changing the excitation angles (momenta), and the other for tuning the excitation wavelength. We show that with this setup, an arbitrary number of states can be excited accurately and that re-configuration of the excitation scheme can be done at high speed.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗