Voltage-Programmable Photon Statistics Using a High-Extinction Thin-film Lithium Niobate Modulator

TL;DR

This paper introduces a high-extinction, broadband electro-optic device that deterministically shapes photon-number distributions at nanosecond timescales, enabling real-time control of photon statistics for classical and quantum photonics.

Contribution

The work demonstrates a photon statistics transducer using a cascaded thin-film lithium niobate modulator, achieving voltage-controlled switching between different photon statistical regimes.

Findings

Achieved over 50 dB extinction with the TFLN Mach-Zehnder modulator.

Demonstrated tunable second-order coherence g2(0) from 1.0 to 1.7.

Controlled photon flux down to sub-photon levels.

Abstract

Controlling the statistical properties of light, namely the fluctuations in photon arrival, entropy and number, is essential for both classical and quantum photonics. While integrated systems provide tunable control over amplitude, phase, and wavelength, real-time modulation of photon statistics has remained a long-standing challenge. Herein, we introduce the concept and experimental realization of a photon statistics transducer: a high-extinction, broadband electro-optic device capable of deterministically shaping photon-number distributions at nanosecond timescales. Our approach employs a cascaded thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) Mach-Zehnder amplitude modulator delivering more than 50 dB extinction, enabling precise suppression and release of coherent seed light from an integrated InP laser. By exploiting the interplay between seed suppression and erbium-doped fiber amplifier dynamics, we demonstrate smooth, voltage-controlled switching between Poissonian and super-Poissonian photon statistics, with second-order coherence g2(0) tunable from 1.0 to 1.7. Complementary measurements with superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors further show photon-flux control down to sub-photon levels, highlighting the potential for future operation with non-classical sources. The photon statistics transducer thus establishes statistical modulation as a new functional primitive in integrated photonics. Applications range from entropy generation and secure communication to neuromorphic and hybrid quantum-classical processing, where controlled randomness and entropy are essential resources. By enabling programmable transitions between statistical regimes using only electronic drive signals, our work lays the foundation for adaptive, entropy-aware photonic systems that bridge classical and quantum domains.