High-quality asynchronous heralded single-photon source at telecom wavelength

We report on the experimental realization and characterization of an asynchronous heralded single-photon source based on spontaneous parametric down-conversion. Photons at 1550 nm are heralded as being inside a single-mode fibre with more than 60% probability, and the multi-photon emission probability is reduced by a factor of up to more than 500 compared to Poissonian light sources. These figures of merit, together with the choice of telecom wavelength for the heralded photons, are compatible with practical applications needing very efficient and robust single-photon sources.

[1]  Nicolas Gisin,et al.  Quantum key distribution over 30 km of standard fiber using energy-time entangled photon pairs: a comparison of two chromatic dispersion reduction methods , 2004 .

[2]  M. Scully,et al.  The Quantum Theory of Light , 1974 .

[3]  Hong,et al.  Experimental realization of a localized one-photon state. , 1986, Physical review letters.

[4]  B. Buxton,et al.  The Quantum Theory of Light (2nd edn) Rodney , 1984 .

[5]  Charles H. Bennett,et al.  Teleporting an unknown quantum state via dual classical and Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen channels. , 1993, Physical review letters.

[6]  Yoshihisa Yamamoto,et al.  Efficient source of single photons: a single quantum dot in a micropost microcavity. , 2002 .

[7]  Costas Fotakis,et al.  LASERS, OPTICS, AND OPTOELECTRONICS 2865 Single-mode solid-state single photon source based on isolated quantum dots in pillar microcavities , 2001 .

[8]  G. Rempe,et al.  Photon statistics of a non-stationary periodically driven single-photon source , 2004, quant-ph/0406034.

[9]  E. Kapon,et al.  Single-Photon Emission from Site-Controlled Pyramidal Quantum Dots , 2004 .

[10]  Adriana Passaseo,et al.  Comparison of radiative and structural properties of 1.3 μm InxGa(1−x)As quantum-dot laser structures grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition and molecular-beam epitaxy: Effect on the lasing properties , 2003 .

[11]  Direct measurement of the photon statistics of a triggered single photon source. , 2002, Physical review letters.

[12]  J. D. Franson,et al.  Single photons on pseudodemand from stored parametric down-conversion , 2002, quant-ph/0205103.

[13]  R. H. Brown,et al.  A Test of a New Type of Stellar Interferometer on Sirius , 1956, Nature.

[14]  Gilles Brassard,et al.  Quantum Cryptography , 2005, Encyclopedia of Cryptography and Security.

[15]  Christian Kurtsiefer,et al.  Stable Solid-State Source of Single Photons , 2000 .

[16]  N. Gisin,et al.  Long-distance entanglement-based quantum key distribution , 2000, quant-ph/0008039.

[17]  Michael Pepper,et al.  Electrically Driven Single-Photon Source , 2001, Science.

[18]  W. Moerner,et al.  Single photons on demand from a single molecule at room temperature , 2000, Nature.

[19]  De Martini F,et al.  Single-mode generation of quantum photon states by excited single molecules in a microcavity trap. , 1996, Physical review letters.