Mode-resolved Photon Counting via Cascaded Quantum Frequency Conversion

TL;DR

This paper introduces a chip-compatible method for mode-resolved photon counting in high-dimensional photonic signals using quantum-frequency conversion in nonlinear optical media, enabling advanced quantum information processing.

Contribution

The authors propose a novel, high-performance, chip-compatible device for mode-resolved photon counting based on sum-frequency generation in nonlinear waveguides, applicable to telecom-band signals.

Findings

Demonstrated mode-resolved photon counting using sum-frequency generation.

Applicable to any nonlinear medium with arbitrary dispersion.

Potential for high-dimensional quantum information applications.

Abstract

Resources for the manipulation and measurements of high-dimensional photonic signals are crucial for implementing qu$d$it-based applications. Here we propose potentially high-performance, chip-compatible devices for such purposes by exploiting quantum-frequency conversion in nonlinear optical media. Specifically, by using sum-frequency generation in a $\chi^{(2)}$ waveguide we show how mode-resolved photon counting can be accomplished for telecom-band photonic signals subtending multiple temporal modes. Our method is generally applicable to any nonlinear medium with arbitrary dispersion property.