Mid-infrared coincidence measurements on twin photons at room temperature

作者：Mancinelli M; Trenti A; Piccione S; Fontana G; Dam J S; Tidemand Lichtenberg P; Pedersen C; Pavesi L

来源：Nature Communications, 2017, 8(1): 15184.

DOI：10.1038/ncomms15184

Quantum measurements using single-photon detectors are opening interesting new perspectives in diverse fields such as remote sensing, quantum cryptography and quantum computing. A particularly demanding class of applications relies on the simultaneous detection of correlated single photons. In the visible and near infrared wavelength ranges suitable single-photon detectors do exist. However, low detector quantum efficiency or excessive noise has hampered their mid-infrared (MIR) counterpart. Fast and highly efficient single-photon detectors are thus highly sought after for MIR applications. Here we pave the way to quantum measurements in the MIR by the demonstration of a room temperature coincidence measurement with non-degenerate twin photons at about 3.1 mu m. The experiment is based on the spectral translation of MIR radiation into the visible region, by means of efficient up-converter modules. The up-converted pairs are then detected with low-noise silicon avalanche photodiodes without the need for cryogenic cooling.

• 出版日期2017-5-15