Optimization of periodic single-photon sources

TL;DR

This paper presents a comprehensive theoretical framework for optimizing periodic single-photon sources, accounting for losses, and proposes a new time-multiplexed scheme with high potential efficiency.

Contribution

It introduces a unified model for spatial and time-multiplexed single-photon sources, optimizing their performance considering loss mechanisms, and proposes a novel bulk optics time-multiplexed scheme.

Findings

Multiplexing systems can be optimized for maximal single-photon probability.

The proposed scheme could achieve 85% single-photon probability.

Optimal parameters depend on loss characteristics and input photon number.

Abstract

We introduce a theoretical framework which is suitable for the description of all spatial and time-multiplexed periodic single-photon sources realized or proposed thus far. Our model takes into account all possibly relevant loss mechanisms. This statistical analysis of the known schemes shows that multiplexing systems can be optimized in order to produce maximal single-photon probability for various sets of loss parameters by the appropriate choice of the number of multiplexed units of spatial multiplexers or multiplexed time intervals and the input mean photon pair number, and reveals the physical reasons of the existence of the optimum. We propose a novel time-multiplexed scheme to be realized in bulk optics, which, according to the present analysis, would have promising performance when experimentally realized. It could provide a single-photon probability of 85\% with a choice of experimental parameters which are feasible according to the experiments known from the literature.