SBIR/STTR Award attributes
Quantum information technologies are poised to revolutionize and open new era in modern computation and communication. To maintain its traditional leadership in providing high-performance computing and communications to support open science, DOE convened a series of workshop, roundtable and programs to explore the challenges and opportunities associated with developing quantum networks to enable distributed quantum applications. Among all potential physical realizations of quantum information, photonic-based quantum system appears to be the most promising implementation. Additionally, well-established and matured optical telecommunication network technologies and devices can be leveraged to develop cost-effective optical quantum networks that can coexist with classical networks in shared optical fiber transmission systems. The development of bright quantum light sources is extremely important for on-going quantum network programs in DOE’s national labs, such as Oak Ridge National Lab ORNL) and Brookhaven National Lab BNL). Raytum Photonics and Quantum Optics & Quantum Information research group at University of Maryland, Baltimore County UMBC) propose to develop an ultra-bright quantum light source using entangled two-mode state. This proposal directly answers DOE’s call for photonics quantum light source in topic 6a to develop photonic quantum light sources. Our proposed innovative two-mode entangled quantum light source will significantly increase the brightness in comparison with conventional photonic quantum light source based on biphoton entanglement from SPDC. This bright quantum light source is basically a specially designed multi-mode, high-Q, ring cavity, all-fiber based Optical Parametric Oscillator OPO) that generates multi-channel non-factorizable state of entangled signal-idler cavity mode-pair. The proposed quantum light source is pumped by single frequency DBF laser at ~780nm, and uses QPM wave-guided type II MgO: PPLN for frequency down conversion. The output beams are orthogonally polarized signal-idler pairs at telecommunication wavelength ~ 1550nm. The most significant innovation of this proposal is that entanglement is between two cavity modes in OPO instead of two photons in SPDC. This makes the proposed quantum light source “ultra-bright” and is orders of magnitude higher than conventional one through SPDC. With thousands of pairs of entangled signal-idler mode, this ultra-bright quantum light source is also designed for multi-channel quantum communication. Raytum Photonics will collaborate with researchers in Oakridge National Lab to test the quantum light source in quantum communication projects.
