arXiv subjects

Lixing You

Publications and source records attributed to Lixing You.

83 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Quantum teleportation with independent sources over an optical fibre network

Quantum teleportation faithfully transfers a quantum state between distant nodes in a network, enabling revolutionary information processing applications. Here we report teleporting quantum states over a 30 km optical fiber network with the input single photon state and the EPR state prepared independently. By buffering photons in 10 km coiled optical fiber, we perform Bell state measurement after entanglement distribution. With active feed-forward operation, the average quantum state fidelity and quantum process fidelity are measured to be 0.85 and 0.77, exceeding classical limits of 0.67 and 0.5, respectively. The statistical hypothesis test shows that the probability of a classical process to predict an average state fidelity no less than the one observed in our experiment is less than 2.4E-14, confirming the quantum nature of our quantum teleportation experiment. Our experiment marks a critical step towards the realization of quantum internet in the future.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Superconducting nanowire single photon detector at 532 nm and demonstration in satellite laser ranging

Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) at a wavelength of 532 nm were designed and fabricated aiming to satellite laser ranging (SLR) applications. The NbN SNSPDs were fabricated on one-dimensional photonic crystals with a sensitive-area diameter of 42 um. The devices were coupled with multimode fiber (phi=50um) and exhibited a maximum system detection efficiency of 75% at an extremely low dark count rate of <0.1 Hz. An SLR experiment using an SNSPD at a wavelength of 532 nm was successfully demonstrated. The results showed a depth ranging with a precision of ~8.0 mm for the target satellite LARES, which is ~3,000 km away from the ground ranging station at the Sheshan Observatory.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Large-sensitive-area superconducting nanowire single-photon detector at 850 nm with high detection efficiency

Satellite-ground quantum communication requires single-photon detectors of 850-nm wavelength with both high detection efficiency and large sensitive area. We developed superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) on one-dimensional photonic crystals, which acted as optical cavities to enhance the optical absorption, with a sensitive-area diameter of 50 um. The fabricated multimode fiber coupled NbN SNSPDs exhibited a maximum system detection efficiency (DE) of up to 82% and a DE of 78% at a dark count rate of 100 Hz at 850-nm wavelength as well as a system jitter of 105 ps.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2015

Dark counts of superconducting nanowire single-photon detector under illumination

An abnormal increase in the SDE was observed for superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) when the bias current (Ib) was close to the switching current (Isw). By introducing the time-correlated single-photon counting technique, we investigated the temporal histogram of the detection counts of an SNSPD under illumination. The temporal information helps us to distinguish photon counts from dark counts in the time domain. In this manner, the dark count rate (DCR) under illumination and the accurate SDE can be determined. The DCR under moderate illumination may be significantly larger than the conventional DCR measured without illumination under a high Ib, which causes the abnormal increase in the SDE. The increased DCR may be explained by the suppression of Isw under illumination.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2014

High-T_c superconductivity in ultrathin Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8+x down to halfunit-cell thickness by protection with graphene

High-T_c superconductors confined to two dimension exhibit novel physical phenomena, such as superconductor-insulator transition. In the Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8+x (Bi2212) model system, despite extensive studies, the intrinsic superconducting properties at the thinness limit have been difficult to determine. Here we report a method to fabricate high quality single-crystal Bi2212 films down to half-unit-cell thickness in the form of graphene/Bi2212 van der Waals heterostructure, in which sharp superconducting transitions are observed. The heterostructure also exhibits a nonlinear current-voltage characteristic due to the Dirac nature of the graphene band structure. More interestingly, although the critical temperature remains essentially the same with reduced thickness of Bi2212, the slope of the normal state T-linear resistivity varies by a factor of 4-5, and the sheet resistance increases by three orders of magnitude, indicating a surprising decoupling of the normal state resistance and superconductivity. The developed technique is versatile, applicable to investigate other two-dimensional (2D) superconducting materials.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Nonideal optical cavity structure of superconducting nanowire single photon detector

Optical cavity structure has been proven to be a crucial factor for obtaining high detection efficiency in superconducting nanowire single photon detector (SNSPD). Practically, complicated fabrication processes may result in a non-ideal optical cavity structure. The cross-sectional transmission electron microscope (TEM) image of SNSPD fabricated in this study shows unexpected arc-shaped optical cavities which could have originated due to the over-etching of SiO2 layer while defining NbN nanowire. The effects of the arc-shaped optical cavity structure, such as the wavelength dependence of the optical absorption efficiency for different polarization, were analyzed by performing optical simulations using finite-difference time-domain method. The central wavelength of the device is found to exhibit a blue shift owing to the arced cavity structure. This effect is equivalent to the flat cavity with a reduced height. The results may give interesting reference for SNSPD design and fabrication.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Controlled entanglement routing between two virtual pathways

We demonstrate controlled entanglement routing between bunching and antibunching path-entangled two-photon states in an unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer (UMZI), in which the routing process is controlled by the relative phase difference in the UMZI. Regarding bunching and antibunching path-entangled two-photon states as two virtual ports, we can consider the UMZI as a controlled entanglement router, which bases on the coherent manipulation of entanglement. Half of the entanglement within the input two-photon state is coherently routed between the two virtual ports, while the other is lost due to the time distinguishability introduced by the UMZI. Pure bunching or antibunching path entangled two-photon states are obtained based on this controlled entanglement router. The results show that we can employ the UMZI as general entanglement router for practical quantum information application.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Superconducting nanowire single photon detector with on-chip bandpass filter

Dark count rate is one of the key parameters limiting the performance of the superconducting nanowire single photon detector (SNSPD). We have designed a multi-layer film bandpass filter that can be integrated onto the SNSPD to suppress the dark counts contributed by the stray light and blackbody radiation of the fiber. The bandpass filter is composed of 16 SiO2/Si bilayers deposited onto the backside of a thermally oxidized Si substrate. The substrate shows an excellent bandpass filter effect and provides a high transmittance of 88% at the central wavelength of the pass band, which is the same as that of the bare substrate. The SNSPDs fabricated on the substrate integrated with the bandpass filter show conspicuous wavelength-sensitive detection efficiency. The background dark count rate is reduced by two orders of magnitude to sub-Hz compared with the conventional SNSPD (a few tens of Hz). The detector exhibits a system detection efficiency of 56% at DCR of 1 Hz, with the measured minimal noise equivalent power reaching 2e-19 w/Hz1/2.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Characterization of superconducting nanowire single-photon detector with artificial constrictions

Statistical studies on the performance of different superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) on one chip suggested that random constrictions existed in the nanowire that were barely registered by scanning electron microscopy. With the aid of advanced e-beam lithography, artificial geometric constrictions were fabricated on SNSPDs as well as single nanowires. In this way, we studied the influence of artificial constrictions on SNSPDs in a straight forward manner. By introducing artificial constrictions with different wire widths in single nanowires, we concluded that the dark counts of SNSPDs originate from a single constriction. Further introducing artificial constrictions in SNSPDs, we studied the relationship between detection efficiency and kinetic inductance and the bias current, confirming the hypothesis that constrictions exist in SNSPDs.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Jitter analysis of a superconducting nanowire single photon detector

Jitter is one of the key parameters for a superconducting nanowire single photon detector (SNSPD). Using an optimized time-correlated single photon counting system for jitter measurement, we extensively studied the dependence of system jitter on the bias current and working temperature. The signal-to-noise ratio of the single-photon-response pulse was proven to be an important factor in system jitter. The final system jitter was reduced to 18 ps by using a high-critical-current SNSPD, which showed an intrinsic SNSPD jitter of 15 ps. A laser ranging experiment using a 15-ps SNSPD achieved a record depth resolution of 3 mm at a wavelength of 1550 nm.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Time-of-flight laser ranging and imaging at 1550 nm using low-jitter superconducting nanowire single-photon detection system

We developed a time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) system based on the low-jitter superconducting nanowire single-photon detection (SNSPD) technology. The causes of jitters in the TCSPC system were analyzed. Owing to the low jitter of the SNSPD technology, a system jitter of 26.8 ps full-width at half-maximum was achieved after optimizing the system. We demonstrated time-of-flight laser ranging at 1550 nm wavelength at a stand-off distance of 115 m, based on this TCSPC system. A depth resolution of 4 mm was achieved directly by locating the centroids of each of the two return signals. Laser imaging was also performed using the TCSPC system. This low-jitter TCSPC system using the SNSPD technology presents great potential in long-range measurements and imaging applications for low-energy-level and eye-safe laser systems

physics.ins-det↗