Ultra-low power generation of twin photons in a compact silicon ring resonator

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates efficient, room-temperature generation of correlated photon pairs using a compact silicon ring resonator, achieving high pair rates and strong correlations suitable for integrated quantum optics.

Contribution

It introduces a silicon micro-ring resonator capable of generating correlated photon pairs efficiently at low power, advancing integrated quantum photonics.

Findings

Pair generation rate of 0.2 MHz at 200 μW pump power

Coincidence-to-accidental ratio of 250

Good agreement with theoretical models

Abstract

We demonstrate efficient generation of correlated photon pairs by spontaneous four wave mixing in a 5 \mu m radius silicon ring resonator in the telecom band around 1550 nm. By optically pumping our device with a 200 \mu W continuous wave laser, we obtain a pair generation rate of 0.2 MHz and demonstrate photon time correlations with a coincidence-to-accidental ratio as high as 250. The results are in good agreement with theoretical predictions and show the potential of silicon micro-ring resonators as room temperature sources for integrated quantum optics applications.