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Spectral properties of an efficient entangled photon source based on bulk PPKTP

Pérez Gumà, Daniel

Abstract

English: The main objective of this thesis is to study and characterize the spectral properties of spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC) generated in bulk periodically poled potassium titanyl phosphate (PPKTP). The work carried out is an essential step towards the implementation of a high brigthness photon-pair source for long distance quantum key distribution (QKD) experiments in a free-space environment.

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MSc in Pho onics PHOTONICSBCN Uni e si a Poli ècnica de Ca alunya (UPC) Uni e si a Au ònoma de Ba celona (UAB) Uni e si a de Ba celona (UB) Ins i u de Ciències Fo òniques (ICFO) h p://www.pho onicsbcn.eu Mas e in Pho onics MASTER THESIS WORK SPECTRAL PROPERTIES OF AN EFFICIENT ENTANGLED PHOTON SOURCE BASED ON BULK PPKTP Daniel Pé ez Gumà Supe ised by D . Vale io P une i, (ICFO) P esen ed on da e 1s Sep embe 2011 Regis e ed a Spec al p ope ies o an e icien en angled pho on sou ce based on bulk PPKTP Daniel P´e ez Gum`a ICFO - Ins i u de Ci`encies Fo `oniques, Medi e anean Technology Pa k, 08860 Cas ellde els (Ba celona), Spain E-mail: [email p o ec ed] Abs ac . The main objec i e o his hesis is o s udy and cha ac e ize he spec al p ope ies o spon aneous pa ame ic down con e sion (SPDC) gene a ed in bulk pe iodically poled po assium i anyl phospha e (PPKTP). The wo k ca ied ou is an essen ial s ep owa ds he implemen a ion o a high b ig hness pho on-pai sou ce o long dis ance quan um key dis ibu ion (QKD) expe imen s in a ee-space en i onmen . Keywo ds. Quan um key dis ibu ion,spon aneous pa ame ic down con e sion,PPKTP 1. In oduc ion and mo i a ion Nowadays socie y needs o as and secu e communica ions is undeniable. Up o he p esen ime communica ion and c yp og aphy echniques a e being used aking ad an age o ou knowledge abou he ealm o classical physics. In his con ex classical elec odynamics is he solid g ound in which all cu en communica ion sys ems a e based: wi i local a ea ne wo ks, mobile communica ions, op ical ne wo ks, blue oo h, e c. . . Howe e , quan um physics has become an in ensi ely s udied esea ch ield o e he las cen u y. I u ns ou some scien i ic and echnological b eak h oughs sugges ha cu en classical c yp og aphy could be de ea ed by nea - u u e quan um sys ems. This is he eason why he scien i ic communi y is pu suing he c ea ion o quan um communica ion sys ems. 1.1. The end o classical c yp og aphy Classical c yp og aphy su e s om wo main laws: ei he he secu i y o a p o ocol is no uncondi ional (i.e. 100% secu e) o he key exchange be ween he pa ies is e y unp ac ical. The i s issue is usually ela ed o public-key sys ems, whe e he secu i y o he key is based on wha is called a one way unc ion. One-way unc ions a e ma hema ical ope a ions ha a e e y easy o compu e in one way, bu e y di icul o e e se. Spec al p ope ies o an e icien en angled pho on sou ce based on bulk PPKTP 2 An example o his echnique is he widely used RSA p o ocol whe e he secu i y is based on he di icul y o inding he p ime ac o s o la ge in ege s. Finding he p ime ac o s o a numbe using a classical compu e is a p oblem ha has exponen ially g owing complexi y wi h espec o he key leng h. Howe e , i has been demons a ed ha he e exis s a leas one ou ine (Sho ’s algo i hm) implemen able in a quan um compu e ha can sol e his one-way unc ion in polynomial ime. The e o e, he pa h owa ds quan um compu a ion ende s classical public-key sys ems. The second issue is usually ela ed o sec e -key sys ems. In his case he secu i y o he da a is based on he assump ion ha only he wo pa ies in ol ed know he key. This is e y unp ac ical because one en i y migh wan o exchange in o ma ion secu ely wi h many pa ies, he e o e needing many di e en keys. Mo eo e , only he ace- o- ace key exchange would be 100% secu e, which is expensi e and ime consuming. QKD can sol e he p oblems men ioned be o e. Thanks o he laws o quan um mechanics, he secu i y o he keys is assu ed and hei c ea ion is emo ely nego ia ed. Quan um p o ocols a e based on he exchange o quan um pa icles be ween he wo pa ies namely Alice and Bob. A se ies o measu emen s o he s a es o such pa icles by Alice and Bob enable he c ea ion o he secu e key [2]. 1.2. Ou line o he p ojec In sec ion 2 he design o he en angled pho on sou ce is desc ibed. The nume ical model and i s main pa ame e s a e commen ed as well. In sec ion 3 he expe imen al se -up is shown and discussed. Finally in sec ion 4 he esul s ob ained in he labo a o y a e analyzed and compa ed wi h he nume ical model. 2. Theo y Cu en ly, SPDC is he mos widely used physical p ocess o c ea e en angled pho on pai s. This phenomenon is pu ely quan um, aking place a he pa icle le el. SPDC can be unde s ood as a spon aneous decay o one pho on a eling in a nonlinea op ical medium in o a pai o lowe ene gy pho ons called signal and idle . The p ocess is allowed only when ene gy and momen um a e conse ed. The ene gy conse a ion can be exp essed in e ms o he pho on ene gy as ¯hωp= ¯hωs+ ¯hωi(1) whe e ωp,s,i is he angula equency o he pump, signal and idle pho ons espec i ely. The echnique aiming a achie ing momen um conse a ion is called phase ma ching. The e a e wo app oaches ha can ul ill he momen um conse a ion law: bi e ingence and quasi phase ma ching (QPM). In his p ojec he QPM app oach has been chosen mainly because o wo ad an ages wi h espec he bi e ingence echnique. Fi s , he highes nonlinea coe icien o he c ys al can be used (in ou c ys al we will exploi d33). Secondly, aligning he di ec ion o p opaga ion wi h one o he c ys allog aphic axes, he beam does no su e he walk-o e ec because he wa e ec o Spec al p ope ies o an e icien en angled pho on sou ce based on bulk PPKTP 3 and he poyn ing ec o a e pa allel. The e o e, he beam is be e con ined and as a consequence he nonlinea in e ac ion is mo e e icien . The QPM is achie ed in ou case by means o a e oelec ic pe iodic poling echnique o he PPKTP c ys al. The pe iodically e e sed c ys allog aphic axes o ien a ion enables he phase misma ch compensa ion be ween he pump, signal and idle . The domain in e sion is enginee ed applying s ong elec ic ields by means o pa e ned elec odes. The ini ial design o he pho on sou ce de e mined a alue o 3.425µm o he poling pe iod. The pe iodically poled c ys al s uc u e has he key ole in he momen um conse a ion equa ion. The phase ma ching condi ion o a collinea in e ac ion can be w i en as [3] kp=ks+ki+2π Λ(2) whe e kp,s,i a e he pump, signal and idle momen a and Λ is he poling pe iod o he PPKTP c ys al. The e o e, he momen a misma ch can be exp essed as ∆k= 2π np(λp, T) λp −ns(λs, T) λs −ni(λi, T) λi −1 Λ!(3) whe e he dependence o he e ac i e indices np,s,i wi h espec o he wa eleng h and he empe a u e ha e been w i en. Using a con inuous wa e (CW) pump, he spec um o he SPDC is [1] S(λs,i)∝sinc2∆kL 2(4) whe e Lis he leng h o he PPKTP c ys al, and ∆kis he exp ession (3). The SPDC p ocess in ou expe imen s co esponds o ype 0 (pump,signal and idle ha e he pola iza ion along he zaxis o he c ys al). En anglemen is c ea ed by c ossing he c ys allog aphic z-axis o wo iden ical PPKTP c ys als a 90 deg ees wi h espec o each o he . Signal and idle om he i s and second c ys als a e supe posed and he elec ic ield can be w i en as a quan um supe posi ion o bo h con ibu ions, ha ing o hogonal pola iza ions due o he c ys al o ien a ions. The mos gene al o m o he quan um s a e gene a ed in his con igu a ion may be w i en as |Hsi ⊗ |Hii+eiφ |Vsi ⊗ |Vii(5) whe e Hand Vs and o he ho izon al and e ical pola iza ions, and he subindices e e o signal o idle wa eleng hs. The phase φcan be con olled o p oduce di e en Bell s a es. The quali y o he en anglemen depends on he indis inguishabli y o he ield coming om he i s and he second c ys al. Any measu able p ope y being di e en lowe s he amoun o en anglemen . Fo his eason, a igo ous cha ac e iza ion o he SPDC spec a as well as compa ison wi h he model calcula ion will be p esen ed in he ollowing. Spec al p ope ies o an e icien en angled pho on sou ce based on bulk PPKTP 4 The nume ical model is an implemen a ion in MATLAB o he spec um p o ile o SPDC shown in equa ion (4). The unknown pa ame e s needed o be ound in o de o cha ac e ize he se -up a e he e ac i e index o he pump np(λp, T) and he e ec i e leng h o he c ys als Le . In sec ion 4 he me hods ollowed o ind hese pa ame e s a e de ailed. 3. Se -up The expe imen al se -up is shown in igu e 1. Two di e en lase s we e ixed, one being single-mode and he o he mul i-mode. The ligh is coupled in o single mode ibe s (SMFs). The lase is selec ed connec ing he desi ed ibe wi h he launching ibe (do ed-line ibe s indica e ha hey a e used o no depending on he expe imen ). The pola iza ion o he pump is con olled wi h he qua e -wa e pla e (QWP) and he hal - wa e pla e (HWP). The luo escence il e p e en s possible long-wa eleng h adia ion o c oss he c ys al and each he a alanche pho odiodess (APDs). The ocusing lens plus he collima ing lens enable o p ope ly ocus he pump beam inside he c ys al. The pump cu il e plays he same ole as he luo escence il e , bu in his case he pump beam is blocked. In bo h cases he goal is p o ec ing he APDs om high powe adia ion. Finally he wa eleng h di ision mul iplexe (WDM) spli s he SPDC ield in wo di e en ibe s, being one co esponding o he signal and he o he o he idle . Fo he expe imen s in which he spec um o he SPDC is eco ded, he ligh is sen di ec ly o a monoch oma o . Figu e 1. Se -up o he expe imen s. Two di e en pumping lase s can be used, one being single mode and he o he mul imode. The beam is p ope ly ocused inside he PPKTP c ys al wi h a ocusing and collima ing lenses. Two di e en SPDC de ec ion s ages a e used, one being he monoch oma o ( o spec al analysis) and he o he he WDM plus he APDs ( o pho on coincidences analysis) Spec al p ope ies o an e icien en angled pho on sou ce based on bulk PPKTP 5 4. Resul s 4.1. The mal and wa eleng h expansion o he e ac i e index o he pump The sellmeie equa ions used [4] [5] in he nume ical model ha e p e iously been epo ed o ha e limi ed applicabili y in he pump wa eleng h egion [6], and only apply o signal and idle . Since he PPKTP is hea ed a di e en empe a u es inside he o en and pumped wi h a mul imode lase , a he mal and wa eleng h expansions o he e ac i e index a e needed o comple e he nume ical model. Fi s he 4 h o de wa eleng h expansion is compu ed a a ixed empe a u e (50℃). The ixed wa eleng h a ound which he polynomial expansion is calcula ed co esponds o he single mode lase cen e wa eleng h: 405.42nm. In igu e 2(a) he esul is shown. As i can be seen he cen e wa eleng hs o he di e en modes ma ch, which alida es he polynomial exp ession ound. The spec al ampli udes p o ided by he simula ion seem o be unp ecise. The eason is ha he mul imode pump spec um has a noisy beha io which a ec s he empo al e olu ion o he ampli udes o he modes. Since he spec um eco ding p ocess in ol es a ime in eg a ion, he inal ampli ude has a andom componen . (a) (b) Figu e 2. (a) Mul imode spec al in ensi y o SPDC a 50℃used o compu e he wa eleng h expansion o he e ac i e index (b) Mul imode pump spec um o he wa eleng h expansion expe imen Once he wa eleng h dependence o he index o e ac ion is known, he he mal coe icien s a e compu ed. The me hod o do i consis s o ma ching he signal and idle cen e wa eleng hs wi hin a su icien ly wide ange o empe a u es. The e e ence empe a u e is 50℃because he wa eleng h expansion has been calcula ed a his alue. The single mode lase is used his ime. The 2nd o de expansion p o ides a e y good ag eemen be ween he simula ion and he expe imen al da a as i can be seen in igu e 3. To check ha he he mal and wa eleng h expansion wo k ine oge he , a mul imode SPDC spec um is eco ded expe imen ally and simula ed a 48.3℃. Figu e 4 con i ms a good ag eemen o he join expansion wi h he expe imen . Spec al p ope ies o an e icien en angled pho on sou ce based on bulk PPKTP 6 Figu e 3. Expe imen ally obse ed cen e wa eleng hs o signal and idle pho ons as a unc ion o empe a u e. Simula ed da a shown using he op imized he mal expansion o he pump e ac i e index Figu e 4. Mul imode SPDC spec um a 48.3℃o he 20mm PPKTP c ys al. The cen e wa eleng hs o he mul iple peaks a e ma ched, he e o e his expe imen alida es he he mal-wa eleng h join expansion o he index o e ac ion a he pump wa eleng h egion. The exp ession o he pump e ac i e index wi h he mal and wa eleng h expansions can be inally w i en as np(λ, T) = np(λ0, T0) + A(T−T0) + B(T−T0)2+C(λ−λ0) + D(λ−λ0)2+E(λ−λ0)3+F(λ−λ0)4(6) whe e T0= 50℃and λ0= 405.42nm. 4.2. Bandwid h Ha ing analyzed he cen e wa eleng h o he peaks, he o he impo an pa ame e om he communica ions poin o iew is he spec al ull wid h hal maximum (FWHM). Spec al p ope ies o an e icien en angled pho on sou ce based on bulk PPKTP 7 Like he cen e wa eleng h, he FWHM is empe a u e dependen [1], bu also he leng h o he c ys al de ines he bandwid h. The longe he c ys al he na owe he peaks. F om expe imen s eco ded o di e en empe a u es we de e mined he e ec i e leng h o he c ys als. The speci ica ions o he manu ac u e only assu e ha he e ec i e leng h is highe han 90% o he physical leng h, bu do no p o ide he exac alues. In igu e 5 he FWHM o signal and idle a e depic ed o he L= 6.2mm c ys al as a unc ion o empe a u e. The simula ion ma ches he expe imen al esul s a almos all empe a u es. Only o e y low empe a u es nea he degene acy poin he simula ion p o ides sligh ly highe alues han he expe imen s. The e ec i e leng h ha p o ides a be e i ing o he expe imen co esponds o 98% o he physical leng h. Figu e 5. Expe imen al FWHM o signal and idle as a unc ion o he empe a u e o he 6.2mm PPKTP c ys al. The e ec i e leng h ha be e i s he simula ion wi h he expe imen al poin s co esponds o Le = 6.08 (98% o he physical leng h) In [1] he esul o he heo e ical FWHM wi h espec o he c ys al leng h is p o ided. I u ns ou he bandwid h o he signal/idle is in e sely p opo ional o he c ys al leng h. A nume ical simula ion has been ca ied ou o check he ag eemen o he expe imen al esul s wi h he nume ical model. In igu e 6 he FWHM dependency wi h espec o he c ys al e ec i e leng h is shown a T= 50℃. Fo la ge c ys al leng hs he non negligible 1.2nm esolu ion o he monoch oma o s masks he eal 1 L dependence, and he expe imen ally eco ded FWHMs a e sligh ly highe han he alues ob ained wi h heo y. 4.3. Angle de uning Up o now he beha io o he sys em wi h espec o empe a u e, c ys al leng h and pump wa eleng h ha e been analyzed. Ano he ole ance ha needs o be es ed is he angle o incidence o he pump beam. The quali y o he op omechanics used o ix he componen s ely on he ole ance o misalignmen s. To check his issue a sweep o he angle o incidence o he pump has been pe o med. The cen e wa eleng h o he idle peaks is shown in igu e 7. The highes cen e wa eleng h co esponds o Spec al p ope ies o an e icien en angled pho on sou ce based on bulk PPKTP 8 Figu e 6. FWHM o signal and idle a 50℃in on o he e ec i e leng h o he PPKTP c ys al. Expe imen al da a is shown o he 20mm c ys al (18mm e ec i e leng h) and he 6.2mm c ys al (6.08mm e ec i e leng h). no mal incidence, which means ha he poling pe iod seen by he beam co esponds o he alue p o ided by he manu ac u e . When he incidence angle is de uned (bo h posi i ely and nega i ely), he e ec i e poling pe iod inc eases and his modi ies he QPM equa ion, o cing signal and idle o mo e apa as hey do when he empe a u e o he c ys al is inc eased. Figu e 7. Expe imen al cen e wa eleng h d i as a unc ion o he ho izon al angle o incidence o he pump beam. This e ec is caused, as a i s app oxima ion, by he inc ease o he e ec i e poling pe iod when he incidence o he pump is no no mal o he inpu ace o he c ys al. 4.4. E iciency o he sou ce using a WDM One o he in e es ing pa ame e s o he sou ce is he numbe o pho ons pe second emi ed. The highes b igh ness (coincidences[MHz]/pump powe [mW]) eco ded du ing he p ojec was 5.66MHz mW , ha ing a spec al b ig hness (coincidences[MHz]/pump powe