arXiv subjects

Shi-Kai Liu

Publications and source records attributed to Shi-Kai Liu.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Up-conversion detection of mid-infrared light carrying orbital angular momentum

Frequency up-conversion is an effective method of mid-infrared (MIR) detection by converting the long-wavelength photons to the visible domain, where efficient detectors are readily available. Here, we generate the MIR light carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) from a difference frequency generation process and perform the up-conversion of it via sum frequency conversion in a bulk quasi-phase-matching crystal. The maximum quantum conversion efficiencies from MIR to visible are 34.0%, 10.4%, and 3.5% for light with topological charges of 0, 1, and 2, respectively, which is achieved by utilizing an optimized strong pump light. We also verify the OAM conservation with a specially designed interferometer, and the results agree well with the numerical simulations. Our study opens up the possibilities for generating, manipulating, and detecting MIR light that carries OAM, and will have great potential for optical communications and remote sensing in the MIR regime.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

Angular-spectrum-dependent interference

Optical interference is not only a fundamental phenomenon that has enabled new theories of light to be derived but it has also been used in interferometry for the measurement of small displacements, refractive index changes and surface irregularities. In a two-beam interferometer, variations in the interference fringes are used as a diagnostic for anything that causes the optical path difference (OPD) to change; therefore, for a specified OPD, greater variation in the fringes indicates better measurement sensitivity. Here, we introduce and experimentally validate an interesting optical interference phenomenon that uses photons with a structured frequency-angular spectrum, which are generated from a spontaneous parametric down-conversion process in a nonlinear crystal. This interference phenomenon is manifested as interference fringes that vary much more rapidly with increasing OPD than the corresponding fringes for equal-inclination interference; the phenomenon is parameterised using an equivalent wavelength, which under our experimental conditions is 29.38 nm or about 1/27 of the real wavelength. This phenomenon not only enriches the knowledge with regard to optical interference but also offers promise for applications in interferometry.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

Interference fringes in a nonlinear Michelson interferometer based on spontaneous parametric down-conversion

Quantum nonlinear interferometers (QNIs) can measure the infrared physical quantities of a sample by detecting visible photons. A QNI with Michelson geometry based on the spontaneous parametric down-conversion in a second-order nonlinear crystal is studied systematically. A simplified theoretical model of the QNI is presented. The interference visibility, coherence length, equal-inclination interference, and equal-thickness interference for the QNI are demonstrated theoretically and experimentally. As an application example of the QNI, the refractive index and the angle between two surfaces of a BBO crystal are measured using equal-inclination interference and equal-thickness interference.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Frequency up-conversion of an infrared image via a flat-top pump beam

The infrared imaging detection is an important and promising technology having wide applications. In this work, we report on the frequency up-conversion detection of an image based on sum frequency generation in a nonlinear crystal with a flat-top beam acting as the pump instead of a Gaussian beam, the up-converted image at 525 nm falls in the sensitive band of visible detectors and human eyes. Both theoretical simulations and the experimental results clearly demonstrate that using a flat-top beam as a pump can improve the fidelity of an image after the up-conversion compared with a Gaussian pump beam. Our scheme will be very promising for infrared image detection based on frequency up-conversion.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2019

Classical analogy of a cat state using vortex light

Cat states are systems in a superposition of macroscopically distinguishable states; this superposition can be of either classically or quantum distinct state, regardless of the number of particles or modes involved. Here, we constructed an experimental model that simulates an optical cat state by engineering the classical orbital angular momentum of light, referred to here as an analogous cat state (a-CS). In our scheme, the behaviors of the a-CS in position space show many similarities to the quantum version of the optical cat state in phase space, for example, movement, rotation, and interference. Experimentally, the a-CS, which has two spatially localized Gaussian intensity lobes, can be evolved from "kitten" to "cat" by engineering the acquired phase hologram. Additionally, we simulated the "decoherence" of the a-CS influenced by atmospheric turbulence. The a-CS provides a reliable tool for visualizing and studying the behaviors of quantum cat states in phase space.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Generating single longitudinal mode entangled photons in telecom band via a submillimeter monolithic cavity

A high-quality, compact, and narrow-bandwidth entangled photon source (EPS) is indispensable for realization of many quantum communication protocols. Usually, a free space cavity containing a nonlinear crystal is used to generate a narrow bandwidth EPS through spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC). One major drawback is that this occupies a large space and requires complex optical and electrical control systems. Here we present a simple and compact method to generate a single-longitudinal-mode time-energy EPS via type II SPDC in a submillimeter Fabry-Perot cavity. We characterize the quality of the EPS by measuring the coincidence to accidental coincidence ratio, the two-photon time cross-correlation function and the two-photon interference fringes. All measured results clearly demonstrate that the developed source is of high quality when compared with EPSs generated using other configurations. We believe this source is very promising for applications in the quantum communication field.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Coherent manipulation of a three-dimensional maximally entangled state

Maximally entangled photon pairs with a spatial degree of freedom is a potential way for realizing high-capacity quantum computing and communication. However, methods to generate such entangled states with high quality, high brightness, and good controllability are needed. Here, a scheme is experimentally demonstrated that generates spatially maximally entangled photon pairs with an orbital angular momentum degree of freedom via spontaneous parametric down-conversion in a nonlinear crystal. Compared with existing methods using post-selection, the technique can directly modulate the spatial spectrum of down-converted photon pairs by engineering the input pump beam. In addition, the relative phase between spatially entangled photon pairs can be easily manipulated by preparing the relative phase of input pump states.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Nonlinear frequency conversion and manipulation of vector beams in a Sagnac loop

Vector beams (VBs) are widely investigated for its special intensity and polarization distributions, which is useful for optical micromanipulation, optical micro-fabrication, optical communication, and single molecule imaging. To date, it is still a challenge to realize nonlinear frequency conversion (NFC) and manipulation of such VBs because of the polarization sensitivity in most of nonlinear processes. Here, we report an experimental realization of NFC and manipulation of VBs which can be used to expand the available frequency band. The main idea of our scheme is to introduce a Sagnac loop to solve the polarization dependence of NFC in nonlinear crystals. Furthermore, we find that a linearly polarized vector beam should be transformed to an exponential form before performing the NFC. The experimental results are well agree with our theoretical model. The present method is also applicable to other wave bands and second order nonlinear processes, and may also be generalized to the quantum regime for single photons.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2018

Topological charge independent frequency conversion of twisted light

Light with orbital angular momentum (OAM), or twisted light, is widely investigated in the fields of optical communications, quantum information science and nonlinear optics by harnessing its unbounded dimension. For light-matter interacting with twisted light like quantum memory and nonlinear frequency conversion, efficiencies in these processes are usually decreasing exponentially with topological charges, which severely degrades the fidelity of the output states. Here we conceive and develop a method to eliminate the dependence of conversion efficiency on topological charges in second harmonic generation (SHG) process by utilizing a special designed image technique. The independence of SHG conversion efficiency on topological charge is verified for different topological charges, this independence is valid for various pump power. This method can be generalized to other light matter interaction processes and will revolute the field of light matter interaction with twisted light to achieve higher efficiency and higher fidelity.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2018

Up-conversion imaging processing with field-of-view and edge enhancement

Spiral phase contrast is an important and convenient imaging processing technology in edge detection, and a broader field-of-view (FOV) of imaging is a long-pursuing aim to see more regions of the illumination objects. Compared with near-infrared (NIR) spectrum, the up-conversion imaging in visible spectrum benefits from the advantages of higher efficiency detection and lower potential speckle. FOV enhanced and spiral phase contrast up-conversion imaging processing methods by using second order nonlinear frequency up-conversion from NIR spectrum to visible spectrum in two different configurations are presented in this work. By changing the temperature of crystal, controllable spatial patterns of imaging with more than 4.5 times enhancement of FOV is realized in both configurations. Additionally, we present numerical simulations of the phenomenon, which agree well with the experimental observations. Our results provide a very promising way in imaging processing, which may be widely used in biomedicine, remote sensing and up-conversion monitoring.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2018

Revealing photons behaviors in a birefringent interferometer

The interferometer is one of the most important devices for revealing the nature of light and for precision optical metrology. Though lots of experiments were performed for probing photons behaviors in various configurations, a complete study of photons behavior in a birefringent interferometer has not ever been performed. Based on an environmental turbulence immune Mach-Zehnder interferometer, tunable photonic beatings by rotating a birefringent crystal versus the temperature of the crystal for both single-photon and two-photon are observed. Furthermore, the two-photon interference fringes beat two times faster than the single-photon interference fringes. This beating effect is used to determine the thermal dispersion coefficients of the two principal refractive axes with a single measurement, the two-photon interference shows super-resolution and high sensitivity. Obvious differences between two-photon and single photon interference are also revealed in an unbalanced situations. In addition, influences of the photon bandwidth to the beating behaviors that come from polarization-dependent decoherence are also investigated. Our findings will be important for better understanding the behavior of two-photon interference in a birefringent interferometer and for precision optical metrology with quantum enhancement.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

All-optical quantum signal demultiplexer

Dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) is one of the most successful methods for enhancing data transmission rates in both classical and quantum communication networks. Although signal multiplexing and demultiplexing are equally important, traditional multiplexing and demultiplexing methods are based on passive devices such as arrayed waveguides and fiber Bragg cascade filters, which, although widely used in commercial devices, lack any active tuning ability. In this work, we propose a signal demultiplexing method based on sum frequency generation (SFG) with two significant features: first, any signal from the common communication channel can be demultiplexed to a single user by switching the pump wavelength; second, a cheap high-performance detector can be used for signal detection. These two features were demonstrated by demultiplexing multi-channel energy-time entanglement generated by a micro-cavity silicon chip. High interference visibilities over three channels after demultiplexing showed that entanglement was preserved and verified the high performance of the demultiplexer, which will find wide application in high-capacity quantum communication networks.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

On-chip multiplexed multiple entanglement sources in a single silicon nanowire

Silicon-on-chip (SOI) photonic circuit is the most promising platform for scalable quantum information technology for its low loss, small footprint, CMOS-compatible and telecom communications techniques compatible. Multiple multiplexed entanglement sources include: energy-time, time-bin and polarization entangled sources based on 1-cm length single silicon nanowire, all these sources are compatible with (100GHz) dense-wave-division-multiplexing (DWDM) system. Different methods such as two photon interference pattern, Bell-Inequality and quantum state tomography are used to characterize the quality of these entangled sources. Multiple entanglements are generated over more than 5 channel pairs with high raw (net) visibilities around 97% (100%). The emission spectral brightness of these entangled sources reaches 4.2*105 /(s.nm.mW). The quality of the photon pair generated in continuous and pulse pump regimes are compared. High qualities of these multiplexed entanglement sources make them very promising to be used in future minimized quantum communication and computation systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Super-resolving phase measurement with short wavelength NOON states by quantum frequency up-conversion

Precise measurements are the key to advances in all fields of science. Quantum entanglement shows higher sensitivity than achievable by classical methods. Most physical quantities including position, displacement, distance, angle, and optical path length can be obtained by optical phase measurements. Reducing the photon wavelength of the interferometry can further enhance the optical path length sensitivity and imaging resolution. By quantum frequency up conversion, we realized a short wavelength two photon number entangled state. Nearly perfect Hong Ou Mandel interference is achieved after both 1547-nm photons are up converted to 525 nm. Optical phase measurement of two photon entanglement state yields a visibility greater than the threshold to surpass the standard quantum limit. These results offer new ways for high precision quantum metrology using short wavelength quantum entanglement number state.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Generation and reverse transformation of twisted light by spatial light modulator

A spatial light modulator (SLM) is one of the most useful and convenient device to generate structural light beams such as twisted light and complexed images used in modern optical science. The unbounded dimension of twisted light makes it promising in harnessing information carrying ability of a single photon, which greatly enhances the channel capacity in optical communications. We perform a detail theoretical study of the birth, evolution and reverse transformation of twisted light generated from a phase-only SLM based on diffraction theory, analytical expressions are obtained to show the special evolution behaviors of the light beam with the propagation distance. Beam intensity distributions calculated theoretically are in well agreement with experimental observations. Our findings clearly reveal how twisted light gradually emerges from a Gaussian spatial shape to a ring shape, and also the ring shape will gradually evolve to a quasi-Gaussian shape conversely, in the reverse transformation. These results will provide guidelines for using SLM in many optical experiments and OAM-mode multiplexing in optical communications.

physics.optics↗