Quantum State Engineering with Novel Nonlinear Interferometric Techniques

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Classical physics underpins many of the technological advances in computers, optical communications, and mobile devices that have made profound impacts in daily life, the economy, and society. However, as technology pushes forward, following Moore's law in computer engineering, it is gradually reaching limits where classical physics will no longer suffice. At this point, electrical and optical engineers will need to use quantum physics, which, up to the end of 20th century, had been mostly the subject of fundamental study. A key component for quantum technologies will be the ability to engineer quantum states of light, or photons. This research project will address the problem of quantum state engineering by exploring new ways to control the shape of single-photon quantum states using quantum interference. Because single-photon states are a basic building block for quantum technologies, this project will support the development of practical and versatile quantum devices for applications such as quantum information processing. The table-top experiments in this project are also an ideal platform for training and preparing next generation quantum physicists. Undergraduate students and graduate students will be involved in this research program. This project will deepen their understanding of quantum physics, which in turn will promote further applications using quantum interference techniques.Photon indistinguishability is essential to achieve complete quantum interference, which is the key in many protocols in optical quantum information processing with linear optical elements. The achievement of photon indistinguishability in experiments is through mode matching of photon states. While spatial modes of optical fields are relatively easy to manage, the temporal modes are much more complicated, especially for ultra-short pulses. In this research program, this team will employ a recently developed nonlinear quantum interferometric technique to achieve custom engineering of the spectral and temporal modes of the quantum states produced from ultra-fast nonlinear optical interactions. The essence of the technique is in the manipulation of the spectral phase shift that controls the nonlinear interaction via quantum interference and leads to interference filtering and eventually engineering of the spectral profiles of the output states for single mode operation. This team will implement the technique experimentally and demonstrate its effectiveness with a multi-photon interference experiment to achieve the efficient production of transform-limited single-photon states in single modes. Quantum state engineering is important for experimental implementations of quantum information protocols. It can be used to tailor the temporal modes of the optical fields to fit the experimental requirement and thus has very practical significance in the study of quantum information processing. This investigation provides a new approach for quantum state engineering.This project is jointly funded by the Quantum Information Science (QIS) Program in the Physics Division in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate, and the Electronics, Photonics and Magnetic Devices (EPMD) Program in the Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems Division in the Engineering Directorate.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.