Heralding efficiency and brightness optimization of a micro-ring resonator via tunable coupling

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the optimization of heralding efficiency and brightness in a micro-ring resonator for quantum photonics by tuning coupling parameters, achieving high pair rates and validating theoretical models.

Contribution

It introduces a tunable coupling method to optimize photon source brightness and heralding efficiency in micro-ring resonators, supported by experimental validation.

Findings

Maximum pair rate of over 93,000 coincidences/sec

Heralding efficiency of 97.87% near maximal over-coupling

Strong agreement between experimental results and theoretical predictions

Abstract

Efficient and bright single photon sources on photonic chips are key to scaling quantum technologies. Spontaneous four wave mixing in micro-ring resonators creates excellent narrowband and tunable photon sources. We experimentally demonstrate the optimization of heralding efficiency and brightness by tuning the coupling of the pump, signal and idler modes into the resonator whilst operating in a pulsed pump regime. We observe a maximum detected pair rate of over 93,000~coincidences per second in a moderately over-coupled regime, alongside a high intrinsic idler heralding efficiency of 97.87$\pm$8.97\% when operating close to maximal over-coupling. The measured dependence on coupling strength is in strong agreement with theoretical predictions, experimentally validating the predicted trade-off between brightness and heralding efficiency.