Dispersive Hong-Ou-Mandel Interference with Finite Coincidence Windows

TL;DR

This paper investigates how finite coincidence windows in detectors affect Hong-Ou-Mandel interference, revealing that they can reintroduce sensitivity to dispersion effects and alter the interference pattern.

Contribution

The study provides an analytical model and experimental validation showing how finite detection windows influence HOM interference in dispersive media.

Findings

Finite coincidence windows break dispersion cancellation conditions.

Characteristic oscillations emerge in the HOM dip due to window effects.

Experimental data confirms the model and enables dispersion parameter extraction.

Abstract

Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interference is a fundamental tool for assessing photon indistinguishability in quantum information processing. While the effect of chromatic dispersion on HOM interference has been widely studied, the interplay between dispersion and the finite detection window of realistic measurement devices remains under-explored. In this work, we demonstrate that the rectangular coincidence window inherent to modern time-tagging modules, which effectively acts as a temporal filter, breaks the standard dispersion cancellation condition and restores sensitivity to symmetric group velocity dispersion. We derive an analytical model for type-II SPDC processes that predicts a modification of the HOM dip shape, specifically the emergence of characteristic oscillations and dip broadening. We experimentally validate this theoretical framework using a ppKTP source and transmission through optical fibers of lengths up to 29 km. The experimental data show excellent agreement with the model, confirming the presence of window-induced oscillations and allowing for the precise extraction of the fiber dispersion parameter. These findings underscore the importance of accounting for finite timing resolution in the design and characterization of dispersive quantum communication links.