Parametric downconversion with optimized spectral properties in nonlinear photonic crystals

TL;DR

This paper explores how nonlinear photonic crystals can be engineered to produce nearly factorable photon pairs via spontaneous parametric down-conversion, compensating for material dispersion and enhancing spectral properties.

Contribution

It demonstrates the potential to tailor spectral properties of photon pairs in nonlinear photonic crystals, enabling nearly factorable states across various materials and spectral regions.

Findings

Photonic crystal properties can compensate for material dispersion.

Photon pairs can be nearly factorable in principle.

The approach is limited by fabrication capabilities.

Abstract

We study the joint spectral properties of photon pairs generated by spontaneous parametric down-conversion in a one-dimensional nonlinear photonic crystal in a collinear, degenerate, type-II geometry. We show that the photonic crystal properties may be exploited to compensate for material dispersion and obtain photon pairs that are nearly factorable, in principle, for arbitrary materials and spectral regions, limited by the ability to fabricate the nonlinear crystal with the required periodic variation in the refractive indices for the ordinary and extraordinary waves.