Mohammed F. Saleh

Photonic Circuits for Generating Modal, Spectral, and Polarization Entanglement

We consider the design of photonic circuits that make use of Ti:LiNbO3 diffused channel waveguides to generate photons with various combinations of modal, spectral, and polarization entanglement. Down-converted photon pairs are generated via spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) in a two-mode waveguide (TMW). We study a class of photonic circuits comprising: 1) a nonlinear periodically poled TMW structure; 2) a set of single-mode waveguide (SMW)- and TMW-based couplers arranged in such a way that they suitably separate the three photons comprising the SPDC process; and, for some applications, 3) a holographic Bragg grating that acts as a dichroic reflector. The first circuit produces two frequency-degenerate down-converted photons, each with even spatial parity, in two separate SMWs. Changing the parameters of the elements allows this same circuit to produce two nondegenerate down-converted photons that are entangled in frequency or simultaneously entangled in frequency and polarization. The second photonic circuit is designed to produce modal entanglement by distinguishing the photons on the basis of their frequencies. A modified version of this circuit can be used to generate photons that are doubly entangled in mode number and polarization. The third photonic circuit is designed to manage dispersion by converting modal, spectral, and polarization entanglement into path entanglement.

Modal and polarization qubits in Ti:LiNbO(3) photonic circuits for a universal quantum logic gate

Lithium niobate photonic circuits have the salutary property of permitting the generation, transmission, and processing of photons to be accommodated on a single chip. Compact photonic circuits such as these, with multiple components integrated on a single chip, are crucial for efficiently implementing quantum information processing schemes.We present a set of basic transformations that are useful for manipulating modal qubits in Ti:LiNbO(3) photonic quantum circuits. These include the mode analyzer, a device that separates the even and odd components of a state into two separate spatial paths; the mode rotator, which rotates the state by an angle in mode space; and modal Pauli spin operators that effect related operations. We also describe the design of a deterministic, two-qubit, single-photon, CNOT gate, a key element in certain sets of universal quantum logic gates. It is implemented as a Ti:LiNbO(3) photonic quantum circuit in which the polarization and mode number of a single photon serve as the control and target qubits, respectively. It is shown that the effects of dispersion in the CNOT circuit can be mitigated by augmenting it with an additional path. The performance of all of these components are confirmed by numerical simulations. The implementation of these transformations relies on selective and controllable power coupling among single- and two-mode waveguides, as well as the polarization sensitivity of the Pockels coefficients in LiNbO(3).

Ultrabroadband coherence-domain imaging using parametric downconversion and superconducting single-photon detectors at 1064 nm

Coherence-domain imaging systems can be operated in a single-photon-counting mode, offering low detector noise; this in turn leads to increased sensitivity for weak light sources and weakly reflecting samples. We have demonstrated that excellent axial resolution can be obtained in a photon-counting coherence-domain imaging (CDI) system that uses light generated via spontaneous parametric downconversion (SPDC) in a chirped periodically poled stoichiometric lithium tantalate (chirped-PPSLT) structure, in conjunction with a niobium nitride superconducting single-photon detector (SSPD). The bandwidth of the light generated via SPDC, as well as the bandwidth over which the SSPD is sensitive, can extend over a wavelength region that stretches from 700 to 1500 nm. This ultrabroad wavelength band offers a near-ideal combination of deep penetration and ultrahigh axial resolution for the imaging of biological tissue. The generation of SPDC light of adjustable bandwidth in the vicinity of 1064 nm, via the use of chirped-PPSLT structures, had not been previously achieved. To demonstrate the usefulness of this technique, we construct images for a hierarchy of samples of increasing complexity: a mirror, a nitrocellulose membrane, and a biological sample comprising onion-skin cells.

Raman-induced temporal condensed matter physics in gas-filled photonic crystal fibers.

Raman effect in gases can generate an extremely long-living wave of coherence that can lead to the establishment of an almost perfect temporal periodic variation of the medium refractive index. We show theoretically and numerically that the equations, regulate the pulse propagation in hollow-core photonic crystal fibers filled by Raman-active gas, are exactly identical to a classical problem in quantum condensed matter physics - but with the role of space and time reversed - namely an electron in a periodic potential subject to a constant electric field. We are therefore able to infer the existence of Wannier-Stark ladders, Bloch oscillations, and Zener tunneling, phenomena that are normally associated with condensed matter physics, using purely optical means.

High-energy, shock-front-assisted resonant radiation in the normal dispersion regime

We present a simple yet effective theory that predicts the existence of resonant radiation bands in the deep normal group-velocity dispersion region of a medium, even in the absence of a zero-group-velocity dispersion point. This radiation is evident when the medium is pumped with high-energy ultrashort pulses, and it is driven by the interplay between the Kerr and the shock terms in the nonlinear Schrodinger equation. Accurate experiments performed in bulk silica fully support the theoretical phase-matching condition found by our theory.

Guiding 2.94 μm using low-loss microstructured antiresonant triangular-core fibers

We introduce a new simple design of hollow-core microstructured fiber targeted to guide mid-infrared light at a wavelength of 2.94 μm. The fiber has a triangular-core supported via silica-glass webs enclosed by a large hollow capillary tube. The fiber specific dimensions are determined by the anti-resonant guiding mechanism. For a triangular-core with side length 100 μm, the fiber has a minimum transmission loss 0.08 ± 0.005 dB/m and dispersion 2.3 ps/km/nm at the operational wavelength of 2.94 μm.

Shock-induced PT-symmetric potentials in gas-filled photonic-crystal fibers

We have investigated the interaction between a strong soliton and a weak probe with certain configurations that allow optical trapping in gas-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fibers in the presence of the shock effect. We have shown theoretically and numerically that the shock term can lead to an unbroken parity-time

Second-order parametric interactions in 1-D photonic-crystal microcavity structures.

\left(\mathcal{PT}\right)

Soliton dynamics in gas-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fibers

symmetry potential in these kinds of fibers. Reciprocity breaking, a remarkable feature of the

Strong Raman-induced noninstantaneous soliton interactions in gas-filled photonic crystal fibers

\mathcal{PT}