Parasitic nonlinearities in photon pair generation via integrated spontaneous four-wave mixing: critical problem or distraction?

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the nonlinear effects in integrated photon pair sources using spontaneous four-wave mixing, providing guidelines for optimal pump power levels to minimize unwanted nonlinearities and improve source performance.

Contribution

It derives practical expressions for pump power thresholds to control nonlinear effects in integrated photon pair sources, aiding in their optimal design.

Findings

Low pump powers suppress cross-phase modulation and multi-pair events.

Derived rules of thumb for designing photon pair sources.

Guidelines applicable across various materials and structures.

Abstract

We consider integrated photon pair sources based on spontaneous four-wave mixing and derive expressions for the pump powers at which various nonlinear processes become relevant for a variety of source materials and structures. These expressions serve as rules of thumb in identifying reasonable parameter regimes for the design of such sources. We demonstrate that if pump powers are kept low enough to suppress cross-phase modulation, multi-pair events as well as many other nonlinear effects are often also constrained to negligible levels.