Entangled frequency combs: The ability to generate optical frequency combs in which the output light is made up of millions of sharp lines precisely spaced apart has been important for optical applications and for fundamental science. Reimer et al. now show that frequency combs can be taken into the quantum regime. They took individual teeth of the combs and quantum-mechanically entangled them to form complex optical states. Because the method is compatible with existing fiber and semiconductor technology, the results demonstrate a possible scalable and practical platform for quantum technologies. Science , this issue p. 1176
New propagation regimes for light arise from the ability to tune the dielectric permittivity to extremely low values. Here, we demonstrate a universal approach based on the low linear permittivity values attained in the -near-zero (ENZ) regime for enhancing the nonlinear refractive index, which enables remarkable light-induced changes of the material properties. Experiments performed on Al-doped ZnO (AZO) thin films show a sixfold increase of the Kerr nonlinear refractive index () at the ENZ wavelength, located in the 1300 nm region. This in turn leads to ultrafast light-induced refractive index changes of the order of unity, thus representing a new paradigm for nonlinear optics.
The ability to generate complex optical photon states involving entanglement between multiple optical modes is not only critical to advancing our understanding of quantum mechanics but will play a key role in generating many applications in quantum technologies. These include quantum communications, computation, imaging, microscopy and many other novel technologies that are constantly being proposed. However, approaches to generating parallel multiple, customisable bi- and multi-entangled quantum bits (qubits) on a chip are still in the early stages of development. Here, we review recent advances in the realisation of integrated sources of photonic quantum states, focusing on approaches based on nonlinear optics that are compatible with contemporary optical fibre telecommunications and quantum memory platforms as well as with chip-scale semiconductor technology. These new and exciting platforms hold the promise of compact, low-cost, scalable and practical implementations of sources for the generation and manipulation of complex quantum optical states on a chip, which will play a major role in bringing quantum technologies out of the laboratory and into the real world.
Low-frequency currents induced by ultrashort laser-driven ionization can emit extremely broadband, single-cycle terahertz pulses. We present a model that predicts a strong wavelength dependence of the THz emission in good agreement with our experimental study. This reveals that the combined effects of plasma currents rising proportionally to the square of the pump wavelength and wavelength-dependent focusing conditions lead to 30 times higher THz emission at 1800 nm compared to an 800 nm wavelength. Unrivaled single-cycle electric field strengths of are achieved with this compact table-top setup.
We report an integrated photon pair source based on a CMOS-compatible microring resonator that generates multiple, simultaneous, and independent photon pairs at different wavelengths in a frequency comb compatible with fiber communication wavelength division multiplexing channels (200 GHz channel separation) and with a linewidth that is compatible with quantum memories (110 MHz). It operates in a self-locked pump configuration, avoiding the need for active stabilization, making it extremely robust even at very low power levels.