US Patent 9143266 Chip integrated single photon generation by active time multiplexing

Techniques for converting signal and idler photons generated by a nonlinear optical system into a deterministic stream of single photons including receiving a heralded, nondeterministic source of signal and idler photons from the nonlinear optical process, separating one or more received signal photons from one or more received temporally corresponding idler photons, determining whether at least one of the one or more signal photons should be variably delayed, and if so, determining a delay length, and variably delaying the emission of one of the one or more signal photons, if any, by the determined delay length.