Regina Kruse

Spatio-spectral characteristics of parametric down-conversion in waveguide arrays

High dimensional quantum states are of fundamental interest for quantum information processing. They give access to large Hilbert spaces and, in turn, enable the encoding of quantum information on multiple modes. One method to create such quantum states is parametric down-conversion (PDC) in waveguide arrays (WGAs) which allows for the creation of highly entangled photon pairs in controlled, easily accessible spatial modes, with unique spectral properties.In this paper we examine both theoretically and experimentally the PDC process in a lithium niobate WGA. We measure the spatial and spectral properties of the emitted photon pairs, revealing correlations between spectral and spatial degrees of freedom of the created photons. Our measurements show that, in contrast to prior theoretical approaches, spectrally dependent coupling effects have to be taken into account in the theory of PDC in WGAs. To interpret the results, we developed a theoretical model specifically taking into account spectrally dependent coupling effects, which further enables us to explore the capabilities and limitations for engineering the spatial correlations of the generated quantum states.

Driven Quantum Walks

We introduce the concept of a driven quantum walk. This work is motivated by recent theoretical and experimental progress that combines quantum walks and parametric down-conversion, leading to fundamentally different phenomena. We compare these striking differences by relating the driven quantum walks to the original quantum walk. Next, we illustrate typical dynamics of such systems and show that these walks can be controlled by various pump configurations and phase matchings. Finally, we end by proposing an application of this process based on a quantum search algorithm that performs faster than a classical search.

Gaussian Boson sampling

We present the protocol for Gaussian Boson Sampling with single-mode squeezed states. We eliminate heralding and show that our proposal with the Hafnian matrix function can retain the higher photon number contributions at the input.

Dual-path source engineering in integrated quantum optics

Quantum optics in combination with integrated optical devices shows great promise for efficient manipulation of single photons. New physical concepts, however, can only be found when these fields truly merge and reciprocally enhance each other. Here we work at the merging point and investigate the physical concept behind a two-coupled-waveguide system with an integrated parametric down-conversion process. We use the eigenmode description of the linear system and the resulting modification in momentum conservation to derive the state generation protocol for this type of device. With this new concept of state engineering, we are able to effectively implement a two-in-one waveguide source that produces the useful two-photon NOON state without extra overhead such as phase stabilization or narrow-band filtering. Experimentally, we benchmark our device by measuring a two-photon NOON state fidelity of

Direct calibration of click-counting detectors

\mathcal{F} = (84.2 \pm 2.6) \%

Probing free-space quantum channels with laboratory-based experiments

and observe the characteristic interferometric pattern directly given by the doubled phase dependence with a visibility of

Probing measurement-induced effects in quantum walks via recurrence

V_{\mathrm{NOON}} = (93.3 \pm 3.7) \%

Driven Boson Sampling

.

Heralded orthogonalisation of coherent states and their conversion to discrete-variable superpositions

We introduce and experimentally implement a method for the absolute detector calibration of photon-number-resolving time-bin multiplexing layouts based on the measured click statistics of superconduncting nano-wire detectors. In particular, the quantum efficiencies, the dark count rates, and the positive operator-valued measures of these measurement schemes are directly obtained with high accuracy. The method is based on the moments of the click counting statistics for coherent states with different coherent amplitudes. The strength of our analysis is that we can directly conclude -- on a quantitative basis -- that the detection strategy under study is well described by a linear response function for the light-matter interaction and that it is sensitive to the polarization of the incident light field. Moreover, our method is further extended to a two-mode detection scenario. Finally, we present possible applications for such well characterized detectors, such as sensing of atmospheric loss channels and phase sensitive measurements.

Limits of the time-multiplexed photon-counting method

Atmospheric channels are a promising candidate to establish secure quantum communication on a global scale. However, due to their turbulent nature, it is crucial to understand the impact of the atmosphere on the quantum properties of light and examine it experimentally. In this paper, we introduce a method to probe atmospheric free-space links with quantum light on a laboratory scale. In contrast to previous works, our method models arbitrary intensity losses caused by turbulence to emulate general atmospheric conditions. This allows us to characterize turbulent quantum channels in a well-controlled manner. To implement this technique, we perform a series of measurements with different constant attenuations and simulate the fluctuating losses by combining the obtained data. We directly test the proposed method with an on-chip source of nonclassical light and a time-bin-multiplexed detection system. With the obtained data, we characterize the nonclassicality of the generated states for different atmospheric noise models and analyze a post-selection protocol. This general technique in atmospheric quantum optics allows for studying turbulent quantum channels and predicting their properties for future applications.