Correlated photon pair generation in AlGaAs nanowaveguides via spontaneous four-wave mixing

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel AlGaAs nanowaveguide source for correlated photon pairs using spontaneous four-wave mixing, with high CAR ratios and low noise, suitable for integrated quantum photonics.

Contribution

It demonstrates a dispersion-engineered AlGaAs nanowaveguide source for correlated photon pairs with high CAR, advancing integrated quantum photonic circuits.

Findings

Achieved a CAR up to 177.

Experimental results match theoretical predictions.

Propagation losses and SpRS effects analyzed.

Abstract

We demonstrate a source of correlated photon pairs which will have applications in future integrated quantum photonic circuits. The source utilizes spontaneous four-wave mixing (SFWM) in a dispersion-engineered nanowaveguide made of AlGaAs, which has merits of negligible two-photon absorption and low spontaneous Raman scattering (SpRS). We observe a coincidence-to-accidental (CAR) ratio up to 177, mainly limited by propagation losses. Experimental results agree well with theoretical predictions of the SFWM photon pair generation and the SpRS noise photon generation. We also study the effects from the SpRS, propagation losses, and waveguide lengths on the quality of our source.