# Modelling spontaneous four-wave mixing in periodically-tapered waveguides

## TL;DR

This paper presents a quantum model demonstrating how periodically-tapered waveguides can significantly enhance spontaneous photon-pair emission, offering a promising approach for efficient quantum light sources in nonlinear photonics.

## Contribution

It introduces a robust quantum model for spontaneous four-wave mixing in periodically-tapered waveguides, highlighting the potential for enhanced photon-pair generation with feasible fabrication.

## Key findings

- Enhanced photon-pair generation with few tapering periods
- Feasibility of implementation with current fabrication technologies
- Potential for spectral tailoring of output photons

## Abstract

Periodically-tapered-waveguides technique is an emerging potential route to establish quasi-phase-matching schemes for efficient on-demand parametric interactions in third-order nonlinear materials. In this paper, I investigate this method in enhancing spontaneous photon-pairs emission in fibres and planar waveguides with sinusoidally-varying cross sections. I have developed a general robust quantum model to study this process under continuous or pulsed-pump excitations. The model shows a great enhancement in photon-pairs generation in waveguides with a small number of tapering periods that are feasible via the current fabrication technologies. I envisage that this work will open a new area of research to investigate how the tapering patterns can be fully optimised to tailor the spectral properties of the output photons in third-order nonlinear guided structures.