Compact narrowband photon-pair generation by slow-light spectral engineering

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Prabhu, Ashwith, Goldschmidt, Elizabeth A.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Prabhu, Ashwith
Goldschmidt, Elizabeth A.
author_facet Prabhu, Ashwith
Goldschmidt, Elizabeth A.
contents Efficiently generating photon pairs with high heralding efficiency and high single photon purity that are bandwidth matched to quantum emitters, quantum memories, and other matter-based qubits is critical for quantum networking applications. However, nonlinear optics-based sources require substantial spectral engineering to overcome the orders of magnitude bandwidth mismatch between those sources and qubit systems. A popular solution is cavity-enhanced spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC) where the cavity sets the photon bandwidth and simultaneously enhances the spectral brightness of the SPDC. Bulk, free-space configurations are generally required to achieve the MHz-scale bandwidths required to interface with most qubit systems. Replicating these in scalable integrated photonic architectures is an ongoing challenge due to the much higher propagation losses that limit the size and linewidth of chip-based resonators. We show here how an intra-cavity slow light medium, acting as an ultra-narrow filter, would enable narrowband photon pair generation in broadband cavities with high single photon purity and without compromising the heralding efficiency. We show that such metrics can be readily realized in erbium doped thin-film lithium niobate microrings using realistic design parameters.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_20447
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Compact narrowband photon-pair generation by slow-light spectral engineering
Prabhu, Ashwith
Goldschmidt, Elizabeth A.
Quantum Physics
Efficiently generating photon pairs with high heralding efficiency and high single photon purity that are bandwidth matched to quantum emitters, quantum memories, and other matter-based qubits is critical for quantum networking applications. However, nonlinear optics-based sources require substantial spectral engineering to overcome the orders of magnitude bandwidth mismatch between those sources and qubit systems. A popular solution is cavity-enhanced spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC) where the cavity sets the photon bandwidth and simultaneously enhances the spectral brightness of the SPDC. Bulk, free-space configurations are generally required to achieve the MHz-scale bandwidths required to interface with most qubit systems. Replicating these in scalable integrated photonic architectures is an ongoing challenge due to the much higher propagation losses that limit the size and linewidth of chip-based resonators. We show here how an intra-cavity slow light medium, acting as an ultra-narrow filter, would enable narrowband photon pair generation in broadband cavities with high single photon purity and without compromising the heralding efficiency. We show that such metrics can be readily realized in erbium doped thin-film lithium niobate microrings using realistic design parameters.
title Compact narrowband photon-pair generation by slow-light spectral engineering
topic Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.20447