Photon blockade effect from synergistic optical parametric amplification and driving force in Kerr-medium single-mode cavity

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how photon blockade can be controlled and enhanced in a Kerr-nonlinear cavity with an optical parametric amplifier, using analytical and numerical methods to optimize single-photon emission.

Contribution

It provides analytical conditions for photon blockade in a hybrid Kerr cavity system with OPA, and explores phase control and robustness across parameters.

Findings

Photon blockade is achievable with suitable parameters.

Driving phase controls and can reverse the blockade region.

Photon blockade remains robust over a wide Kerr nonlinearity range.

Abstract

This work investigates photon blockade control in a hybrid quantum system containing a Kerr-nonlinear cavity coupled to an optical parametric amplifier (OPA). The dynamics are governed by a master equation derived from an effective Hamiltonian that includes cavity decay. To obtain analytical solutions, the system's quantum state is expanded in the Fock basis up to the two-photon level. Solving the steady-state Schrodinger equation yields probability amplitudes and the analytical conditions for optimal photon blockade. Results confirm that photon blockade is achievable with suitable parameters. Excellent agreement is found between the analytical solutions and numerical simulations for the steady-state, equal-time second-order correlation function, validating both the analytical method and the blockade effect. Numerically, the average intracavity photon number increases significantly under resonance, providing a theoretical pathway for enhancing single-photon source brightness. Furthermore, the driving phase is shown to regulate the optimal blockade region: it shifts the parabolic region within the two-dimensional parameter space of driving strength and OPA nonlinearity and can even reverse its opening direction. The influence of Kerr nonlinearity is also examined. Photon blockade remains robust across a wide range of Kerr strengths. Physical analysis attributes the effect to destructive quantum interference between two distinct excitation pathways that suppress two-photon states. While Kerr nonlinearity shifts the system's energy levels, it does not disrupt this interference mechanism, explaining the effect's stability over a broad parameter range.