This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 10118, including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, Introduction (if any), and Conference Committee listing.

The talk discusses recent technological progress in fabrication of NV fluorescent nanodiamond probes for intracellular sensing. Highly luminescent nanodiamond can be fabricated, by electron or proton irradiation. This includes irradiation using liquid targets yielding high homogeneity in concentration of NV centers over the irradiation batch. The surface functionalization methods, including selective substitution of surface groups by fluorine, stabilize NV- luminescence and provide probes, sensitive to NV0 - NV- charge switching. The charge sensing, using NV0 - NV conversion is further explained and used as sensitive method for detection of charge molecules and used for real time monitoring of DNA delivery. Finally prospects for using NV diamond probes, including particles with size < 10 nm for intracellular sensing, are discussed.

Optically active nanodiamond particles remain one of the most popular research topics due to the photoluminescent properties of crystallographic defects in the diamond lattice, referred to as color centers. A number of groups are currently undertaking efforts to commercialize this material. Recently, our group succeeded in large-scale production of fluorescent diamond particles containing nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers in hundred-gram per batch scales using irradiation with 2-3 MeV electrons. Production of ND-NV fractions with median sizes ranging between 10 nm and 100 nm was achieved. While 100 nm fluorescent nanodiamonds (FNDs) are ~10x brighter than a conventional dye (Atto 532), the brightness of FNDs drops with decreasing particle size. Because of this, significant efforts must be undertaken to elucidate the size/brightness compromise and identify relevant application niches for FND in bioimaging and biolabeling. In order for a new material to be considered for applications in the overcrowded optical reagent market, the reagent must be convenient to use by an end user from the biomedical community, be validated both in vitro and in vivo, and offer measurable and significant (rather than incremental) benefit to end users in specific applications. This paper reports on the characteristics of the ultrasmall (10-40nm) and larger fluorescent nanodiamonds as well as our efforts toward their adaptation for use in the biological science community.

Continuous-variable quantum information processing with optical field quadrature amplitudes is advantageous in deterministic creation of Gaussian entanglement. On the other hand, non-Gaussian state preparation and operation are currently limited, but heralding schemes potentially overcome this difficulty. Here, we summarize our recent progress in continuous-variable quantum optical experiments. In particular, we have recently succeeded in creation of ultra-large-scale cluster-type entanglement with full inseparability, multiplexed in the time domain; storage and on-demand release of heralded single-photon states, which is applied to synchronization of two heralded single-photon states; real-time quadrature measurements regarding non-Gaussian single-photon states with exponentially rising wavepackets; squeezing with relatively broader bandwidth by using triangle optical parametric oscillator.

Quantum information can be encoded in a scalable manner over the continuous variables (CV) that are the canonically conjugate quantum amplitudes of the electromagnetic field, which are mathematical equivalents of the position and momentum of the quantum harmonic oscillator. Previous results in our group in Charlottesville and the groups of Akira Furusawa in Tokyo, of Nicolas Treps in Paris, and of Ping-Koy Lam in Canberra, have shown that CV quantum information is massively scalable. In addition, Nicolas Menicucci in Melbourne has shown that there exists a fault tolerance threshold for CV quantum computing with the Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill qubit error encoding. Here, we report on our exploration of the extension of scalable CV encoding by way of intramode, rather than intermode, squeezing and entanglement. As is well known, single-mode squeezing can only be considered along with the "quasi-mode" approximation which assimilates the modes of the optical parametric oscillator cavity used in the experiment to delta functions. As Hans Bachor and Tim Ralph noted, when one ambles beyond this approximation, single-mode squeezing can be described as intramode two-mode squeezing. Here, we aim at generalizing this situation to the case of multipartite entangled cluster states.

The nature of a quantum network, in particular in the continuous variable regime, is governed not only by the light quantum state but also by the measurement process. It can then be chosen after the light source has been generated. Multimode entanglement is not anymore an intrinsic property of the source but a complex interplay between source, measurement and eventually post processing. This new avenue paves the way for adaptive and scalable quantum information processing. However, to reach this ambitious goal, multimode degaussification has to be implemented. Single-photon subtraction and addition have proved to be such key operations, but are usually performed with linear optics elements on single-mode resources. We present a device able to perform mode dependant non Gaussian operation on a spectrally multimode squeezed vacuum states. Sum frequency generation between the state and a bright control beam whose spectrum has been engineered through ultrafast pulse-shaping is performed. The detection of a single converted photon heralds the success of the operation. The resulting multimode quantum state is analysed with standard homodyne detection whose local oscillator spectrum is independently engineered. The device can be characterized through quantum process tomography using weak multimode coherent states as inputs. Its single-mode character can be quantified and its inherent subtraction modes can be measured. The ability to simultaneously control the state engineering and its detection ensures both flexibility and scalability in the production of highly entangled non-Gaussian quantum states.

Continuous variables (CV) have become important across all facets of quantum information. From quantum sensing to quantum computing to quantum key distribution, the benefits of deterministic quantum state generation clearly make a compelling case to seek full CV-based quantum information solutions from top to bottom. Long range quantum networks have become of interest for their potential use in all three quantum information scenarios: second generation, distributed quantum sensors over quantum networks, multi-user QKD protocols across long range networks, and distributed quantum computing. However, a long range CV quantum network is impossible without overcoming two major roadblocks. First, to enable quantum state measurement or tomography at network nodes, coherent detection is required, which itself requires sending a powerful local oscillator across the network. Sending such a local oscillator across long distances presents a practical limitation: it cannot coexist on the same network infrastructure as with quantum signals. Second, very long range networks require robust quantum states and third-generation quantum repeaters, which themselves require a nonGaussian gate in the CV world. We will present our recent results on long range CV network generation made possible by feed forward phase recovery schemes for “locally” generated local oscillators. In addition, we will present our work on deterministic quantum network generation with highly accessible, cost effective, integrated sources of quantum entanglement. Finally, in order to enable all applications across true quantum networks, a non Gaussian quantum gate is required. We will outline our proposed cubic phase gate and our experimental progress towards achieving this goal.

We experimentally demonstrate a RF-assisted four-state continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) system in the presence of turbulence. The atmospheric turbulence channel is emulated by two spatial light modulators (SLMs) on which two randomly generated azimuthal phase patterns are recorded yielding Andrews’ azimuthal phase spectrum. Frequency and phase locking are not required in our system thanks to the proposed digital phase noise cancellation (PNC) stage. Besides, the transmittance fluctuation can be monitored accurately by the DC level in this PNC stage, which is free of post-processing noise. The mean excess noise is measured to be 0.014, and the maximum secret key rate of >20Mbit/s can be obtained with the transmittance of 0.85, while employing the commercial PIN photodetectors.

This presentation first reviews the historical development of the field of nonlinear optics, starting from its inception in 1961. It then reviews some of its more recent developments, including especially how nonlinear optics has become a crucial tool for the developing field of quantum technologies. Fundamental quantum processes enabled by nonlinear optics, such as the creation of squeezed and entangled light states, are reviewed. We then illustrate these concepts by means of specific applications, such as the development of secure communication systems based on the quantum states of light. We are also interested in studying the properties of structured light fields. These structured light beams have recently been shown to possess exotic properties of their own, such as vacuum propagation velocities differing from the light velocity c for plane waves. These beams can also be tailored in such a way that they carry orbital angular momentum, which can be used to apply a torque to mechanical objects and as a carrier of information in a classical and quantum telecommunication system. Light can carry angular momentum both by means of its spin angular momentum (as manifested for example in circular polarization) and by means of its orbital angular momentum (OAM), whose origin is a helical structure of its wavefront. The orbital angular momentum of light has recently been recognized to constitute a crucial attribute for many photonic technologies, including the trapping and manipulation of small particles and for multiplexing in optical telecommunication. In this presentation we review some of the fundamental properties of OAM including its quantum features such as entanglement. We then go on to describe a secure telecommunication system in which information is encoded in OAM, and which can carry more than one bit of information per photon.

The problem of distributing a secret key by quantum channels is one of the preeminent problems in quantum information. To construct such a quantum channel, it is useful to use quantum repeaters, which shorten the distance over which individual photons need to be sent, and thus overcoming the problem of attenuation. Here, we present a method by which a quantum repeater network may be constructed using only existing technology. By taking advantage of the robustness of the processes of double-heralding and brokering, a thorough analysis of the system shows that this gives secret key rates on the order of kilohertz, even over distances of thousands of kilometres.

Compared with many other methods which only give time sub-optimal designs, the quantum brachistochrone equation has a great potential to provide accurate time-optimal protocols for essentially any quantum control problem. So far it has been of limited use, however, due to the inadequacy of conventional numerical methods to solve it. Here, using differential geometry, we reformulate the quantum brachistochrone curves as geodesics on the unitary group. This identification allows us to design a numerical method that can efficiently solve the brachistochrone problem by first solving a family of geodesic equations.

We perform a multidimensional characterization of a polarization-entangled photon-pair source using stimulated emission tomography (SET). We measure the frequency-resolved polarization density matrix, which is composed of thousands of individual polarization density matrices, each corresponding to a different frequency pair. The measurement exhibits detailed information about correlations that would be difficult to observe using traditional quantum state tomography. This demonstration exhibits the power of SET to characterize a source of quantum states with multi-dimensional correlations and hyper-entanglement. The SET technique can be applied to a variety of photon-pair-based sources for the optimization and engineering of quantum states.

High-dimensional entangled states offer the promise of increased data transfer and better security than conventional two-dimensional (qubit) systems, and thus realising and detecting such states is a topical and actively researched field. Yet despite the promise, few studies have managed to extend the tools beyond qubits. In this talk I will review the present state-of-the-art in creating and detecting high-dimensional quantum states based on the spatial modes of light. In particular, I will consider tools to engineer such states, present new results on their propagation through turbulence, and then discuss the challenges in the detection schemes that presently are used. Finally, I will show how it is possible to perform entanglement swapping and teleportation of such states, essential tools to cover long distances in a secure quantum communication network.

Encoding many qubits in different degrees of freedom (DOFs) of single photons is one of the routes towards enlarging the Hilbert space spanned by a photonic quantum state. Hyperentangled photon states (i.e. states showing entanglement in multiple DOFs) have demonstrated significant implications for both fundamental physics tests and quantum communication and computation. Increasing the number of qubits of photonic experiments requires miniaturization and integration of the basic elements and functions to guarantee the set-up stability. This motivates the development of technologies allowing the control of different photonic DOFs on a chip. Femtosecond laser writing on a glass makes possible to use both path and polarization of photon states enabling precise control of both degrees of freedom. We demonstrate the contextual use of path and polarization qubits propagating within a laser written integrated quantum circuit and use them to engineer a four qubit hyperentangled cluster state. We also characterized the cluster state and exploited it to perform the Grover's search algorithm following the one-way quantum computation model. In addition, we tested the non-local properties of the cluster state by using multipartite non-locality tests.

An authorized user receiving bunched photon states from the output of a hyper-entangled photon server can make use on average of one fourth of the total transmitted events to gain situational awareness of the communications channel. Another user receiving bunched states can do the same. Both users then gain greater situational awareness on the confidentiality and integrity of the remaining half of the total transmission events wherein they both perform non-local correlated measurements on anti-bunched photon states. Keyed communication in quantum noise¹ (KCQ) is used to enhance confidentiality and efficiency. This depiction forms a baseline for more realistic models; all optical elements are perfect and propagation through channels is noiseless.

Recently, we showed the first high-resolution spectroscopy and manipulation of single Pr3+ ions in the solid state using rare-earth doped crystals. The special feature of these systems is access to the hyperfine splitting caused by the interaction of the 4f electrons and the nucleus, leading to sets of sublevels with exceptionally long coherence times at cryogenic temperatures, on the order of minutes and hours. This ground state splitting can serve as a lambda level scheme, a key ingredient for many prospective applications in quantum optics, in particular for qubit storage and manipulation. In this presentation, we discuss our latest results and future challenges in reducing spectral diffusion and line broadening down to the expected natural linewidth, prospects for the use of microcavities or plasmonic nano-antennas to enhance the photon yield, and schemes for on-chip integration.

Quantum light-matter interfaces that reversibly map the quantum state of photons onto the quantum states of atoms, are essential components in the quantum engineering toolbox with applications in quantum communication, computing, and quantum-enabled sensing. In this talk I present our progress towards developing on-chip quantum light-matter interfaces based on nanophotonic resonators fabricated in rare-earth-doped crystals known to exhibit the longest optical and spin coherence times in the solid state. We recently demonstrated coherent control of neodymium (Nd3+) ions coupled to yttrium orthosilicate Y2SiO5 (YSO) photonic crystal nano-beam resonator. The coupling of the Nd3+ 883 nm 4I9/2-4F3/2 transition to the nano-resonator results in a 40 fold enhancement of the transition rate (Purcell effect), and increased optical absorption (~80%) - adequate for realizing efficient optical quantum memories via cavity impedance matching. Optical coherence times T2 up to 100 μs with low spectral diffusion were measured for ions embedded in photonic crystals, which are comparable to those observed in unprocessed bulk samples. This indicates that the remarkable coherence properties of REIs are preserved during nanofabrication process. Multi-temporal mode photon storage using stimulated photon echo and atomic frequency comb (AFC) protocols were implemented in these nano-resonators. Our current technology can be readily transferred to Erbium (Er) doped YSO devices, therefore opening the possibility of efficient on-chip optical quantum memory at 1.5 μm telecom wavelength. Integration with superconducting qubits can lead to devices for reversible quantum conversion of optical photons to microwave photons.

Rare earth quantum light-matter interfaces (QLMIs) are uniquely suited for various quantum communication applications, including quantum memories and quantum optical to microwave transducers. Among rare earths, erbium QLMIs are particularly appealing due to erbium’s long lived telecom wavelength resonance, allowing integration with existing optical communication technology and infrastructure. Micro-resonator QLMIs have various advantages over bulk rare earth crystal memories. They provide the opportunity for on-chip integration; for example, optical resonators can be integrated with microwave resonators for quantum optical-microwave transduction. For spectral hole-burning based quantum memories, coupling rare earth ions to a resonator can provide improved memory initialization via Purcell enhancement of optical lifetimes, while impedance matching the resonator to the ions can raise the theoretical memory efficiency to 100%. We present hybrid nanoscale quantum light matter interfaces in the form of amorphous silicon ring resonators on yttrium orthosilicate (YSO) substrate doped with erbium ions. While working with rare earth crystal hosts can be challenging, the fabrication process for these devices is simple and robust, using traditional thin film fabrication technologies. Our devices have measured quality factors of over 105 in the 11 µm diameter rings, and evanescent coupling to an ensemble of erbium ions characterized by a cooperativity of 0.54. We present simulation and experimental results of the optical properties of these cavities, and their coupling to erbium ions, including a demonstration of Purcell enhancement of the erbium telecom transition. We then analyze their potential as quantum memories and in optical to microwave transducers.

The integration of rare-earth ions in an on-chip photonic platform would enable quantum repeaters and scalable quantum networks. While ensemble-based quantum memories have been routinely realized, implementing single rare-earth ion qubit remains an outstanding challenge due to its weak photoluminescence. Here we demonstrate a nanophotonic platform consisting of yttrium vanadate (YVO) photonic crystal nanobeam resonators coupled to a spectrally dilute ensemble of Nd ions. The cavity acts as a memory when prepared with spectral hole burning, meanwhile it permits addressing of single ions when high-resolution spectroscopy is employed. For quantum memory, atomic frequency comb (AFC) protocol was implemented in a 50 ppm Nd:YVO nanocavity cooled to 480 mk. The high-fidelity quantum storage of time-bin qubits is demonstrated with a 80% efficient WSi superconducting nanowire single photon detector (SNSPD). The small mode volume of the cavity results in a peak atomic spectral density of <10 ions per homogeneous linewidth, suitable for probing single ions when detuned from the center of the inhomogeneous distribution. The high-cooperativity coupling of a single ion yields a strong signature (20%) in the cavity reection spectrum, which could be detected by our efficient SNSPD. We estimate a signal-to-noise ratio exceeding 10 for addressing a single Nd ion with its 879.7nm transition. This, combines with the AFC memory, constitutes a promising platform for preparation, storage and detection of rare-earth qubits on the same ship.

Rare-earth ions doped in crystals are renowned for their excellent coherence properties and large inhomogeneous broadening, which make them ideal for quantum interfaces with broadband photons. These properties have made them one of the leading technologies in quantum optical memories and a promising candidate for optical-to-microwave conversion. To take advantage of the full bandwidth of the rare-earth ensemble, one must overcome the decoherence of a broadband collective excitation due to inhomogeneous broadening. To this end, techniques based on controllable rephasing, such as atomic frequency comb (AFC) or controlled reversible inhomogeneous broadening (CRIB) memories, have been developed with great success. Recently, an alternative method was proposed to suppress the decoherence of an inhomogeneous ensemble via strong coupling to a cavity, a phenomenon called cavity protection. This technique has been demonstrated in the microwave domain with an NV spin ensemble, but has not been demonstrated in the optical domain. Here, we demonstrate cavity protection in the optical domain at the single photon level using an ensemble of rare earths ions coupled to a nanophotonic resonator. The reduction in decoherence due to the cavity-protection effect enables transfer of ultrafast (~50 GHz) frequency qubits into the collective ion excitation and retrieval with 98.7% fidelity. Building on these results to transfer these excitations to long-lived spin states would enable broadband, on-demand quantum memories. Furthermore, this works compliments the work done coupling rare-earths to superconducting resonators in the microwave regime with potential for applications in optical-to-microwave transducers.

Future quantum networks will allow the secure distribution of encryption keys over extended distances, blind quantum computing, and networked quantum computers and atomic clocks. I will discuss our experimental work on two key ingredients of such networks: a solid-state storage device for quantum states of light, and a detector that promises detecting the presence of photons without destroying them. Both devices employ a Thulium-doped LiNbO3 crystal cooled to a temperature of around 1K.

Photonic quantum memories are important devices in quantum information science, and are crucial for several applications including quantum repeaters and quantum networks. Rare-earth (RE) doped crystals are promising candidates as quantum memories for light as they offer coherence properties comparable to those of atomic systems, but free of the drawbacks deriving from atomic motion. The research on RE based quantum memories has been so far mostly focused on the mapping of photonic quantum bits to optical collective excitations, but this leads to short lived and mostly pre-determined storage. However, some RE ions, as Praseodymium and Europium, exhibit the suitable energy level scheme, with three long-lived hyperfine ground states, to enable the spin-wave storage by transferring the collective optical excitations into collective spin excitations. Proof of principle spin-wave quantum memories have been reported in rare-earth doped crystals, using weak coherent states as input [1,2]. Here, I will present our recent results on the realization of multimode spin-wave quantum memories in a Praseodymium doped crystal, using non-classical input light. [1] M. Gündoğan, P. M. Ledingham, K. Kutluer, M. Mazzera and H. de Riedmatten , A solid state spin-wave quantum memory for time-bin qubits, Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 230501 (2015) [2] P. Jobez, C. Laplane, N. Timoney, N. Gisin, A. Ferrier, P. Goldner, and M. Afzelius, Coherent Spin Control at the Quantum Level in an Ensemble-Based Optical Memory, Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 230502 (2015)

The reversible mapping of quantum states of light in cryogenically cooled rare earth doped crystals, represents one of the most promising routes towards the realization of efficient and high fidelity quantum memories. The miniaturization of these devices in robust and monolithic integrated-optics platforms would be beneficial both in terms of experimental scalability and of enhanced light-matter interaction, arising from the waveguide field confinement. Here, for the first time, we fabricate single mode channel waveguides for visible light at 606 nm in a Praseodymium-doped Yttrium Orthosilicate crystal, which is one of the most employed materials for light storage experiments, thanks to its excellent coherence properties. For the waveguide fabrication, we use the direct technique called femtosecond laser micromachining, in which a femtosecond laser beam is focused inside the crystal volume, and produces a permanent and very localized material modification. In particular, we fabricate the waveguide cladding by inscribing a pair of parallel damage tracks which confine light in the in-between region. With this approach, the waveguide core is not directly exposed to the laser irradiation and consequently its bulk properties result only marginally affected. Measurements of the optical coherence time in waveguide gave results comparable to those obtained in a bulk sample and this confirms that the fabrication procedure does not affect the coherence of the active ions. We performed the storage and the on-demand recall of bright coherent pulses in waveguide, using the atomic frequency comb (AFC) protocol extended to the ground state.

Optically active semiconductor quantum dots offer high quality spin-photon interfaces for quantum optics applications. This interface can be used to generate distant entanglement between confined spins based on projective measurements. I will review current progress on this topic highlighting the crucial role played by coherent scattering.

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are promising artificial atoms for quantum information processing: they can generate single photons flying quantum bits; they show single photon sensitivity promising to develop quantum gates and the spin of a carrier in a QD can be a quantum memory. The scalability of a quantum network requires efficient interfaces between stationary and flying quantum bits. In the last few years, our group has made important progresses in this direction using cavity quantum electrodynamics. With a deterministic positioning of a single QD in a microcavity, we control the QD spontaneous emission on demand [1]. With such technique highly efficient single photon sources with brightness as large as 80% are demonstrated [2]. By minimizing the charge noise around the QD in a gated structure [3], we demonstrate the generation of fully indistinguishable photon. The source brightness is shown to exceed by one or two orders of magnitude the one of a parametric down-conversion source of same quality [4]. Symmetrically, these devices perform as excellent interfaces between a flying quantum bit and a stationary one, where coherent control of a quantum bit can be done when only few photons [5]. References [1] A. Dousse, et al. , Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 267404 (2008) [2] O. Gazzano, et al. , Nature Communications 4, 1425 (2013) [3] A. Nowak. et al., Nature Communications 5, 3240 (2014) [4] N. Somaschi, et al. Nature Photonics 10.1038/nphoton.2016.23 (2016). [5] V. Giesz, et al., Nature Communications doi:10.1038/ncomms11986 (2016)

In recent years, silicon-vacancy (SiV–) center has gained significant attention due to its outstanding properties: strong zero-phonon line (ZPL) emission (~70%), robustness to the fabrication process, nearly lifetime limited optical linewidths, and lifetime-comparable spectral diffusions in nano-structures. Metallic nano-resonator can strongly enhance the spontaneous decay rate and pumping intensity, which is suitable for enhancing single photon emission. In this work, we use circular and bow-tie apertures to engineer the emission of SiV– centers. Simulations show that the Purcell enhancements for circular aperture with diameter of 110 nm and for bowtie aperture with 20 nm gap are ~15 and ~90, respectively. We used e-beam lithography followed by reactive ion etching (RIE) to create diamond pillars with embedded SiV– centers. Next, gold was deposited using e-beam evaporation followed by 650°C annealing for 7 minutes. Finally, sonication and lift-off were performed to get clean diamond gold apertures. Preliminary measurements show that SiV– centers inside circular apertures can have lifetime as short as 0.2 ns, which represents a ~9-fold reduction over a ~1.8 ns value typical for SiV– in bulk diamond. Given that the non-radiative relaxation might be large in SiV– center, the actual Purcell enhancement should be larger than 9. Interestingly, SiV– transitions inside apertures span a relatively wide wavelength range (10 nm) compared to that of bulk (< 1 nm), likely caused by large local strain introduced by our fabrication process.

Recent demonstrations of entanglement between two remote Nitrogen-Vacancy centers, have opened the way for their use in distributed quantum networks. An efficient spin-photon interface will now be required to help realize this system as a technology. Here we demonstrate the tunable enhancement of the zero phonon line of a single nitrogen-vacancy colour centre in nanodiamond at cryogenic temperatures. A plano-hemispherical open cavity, fabricated using focused ion beam milling provides mode volumes as small as 1.25 cubic microns and quality factor Q ~ 3000. It will be shown how the open geometry and independently adjustable mirrors allows for precise placement of the emitter in the centre of the cavity mode, and crucially enables in-situ tuning of the cavity resonances. At optimal coupling, the signal from individual zero phonon line transitions is enhanced by a factor of 6.25 through the Purcell effect and the overall emission rate of the NV- centre is increased by 40% compared with that measured from the same centre in the absence of cavity field confinement. This Purcell enhancement is mapped out as a function of cavity mode volume. These results represent a proof of principle for a tunable cryogenic spin-photon interface. However by far the best NV optical and spin coherences are to be found in bulk material and efforts towards the production of diamond membranes are currently being made, with dimensions suitable for open-cavity coupling. Efforts towards this and preliminary results will also be discussed.

Detection noise poses a challenge for achieving Heisenberg-limited phase estimation. We discuss a "twisting echo" protocol¹ that addresses this problem by using interactions to amplify a spectroscopic signal. The echo protocol enables phase sensitivity near the Heisenberg limit while permitting detection noise on the order of the quantum noise of an unentangled state. For comparison with conventional schemes requiring direct detection of entangled states, we calculate the dependence of metrological gain on detection noise in Ramsey spectroscopy with squeezed, twin Fock, and GHZ states. The twisting echo outperforms all of these alternatives if the detection uncertainty is at or above the single-atom level.

It is well-known that the super-sensitivity of phase estimation in two-photon interferometery is diminished by the effect of decoherence. Specific to the paradigm of local phase estimation, any presence of decoherence removes all sensitivity to small shifts in the neighborhood of certain phases. For estimates of the phase difference between two arms of an interferometer using two-photon coincidence measurements, all sensitivity is lost for phase differences in the neighborhood of π/2. The benefit of employing an ancillary optical degree of freedom alongside the principal interfering degree of freedom was recently found to fortify super-sensing two-photon states against the debilitating effect of spectral distinguishability: an effect that reduces the visibility of two-photon interference. In the present work, we investigate the use of an ancillary degree of freedom when measuring a phase shift by use of a two-photon Mach-Zehnder-interferometer contaminated by a depolarizing channel causing decoherence: an effect that reduces both two-photon and single-photon interference visibility. We model our input state as single photons entering both input ports of an interferometer. The principal interferometer-path modes are coupled to polarization, and decoherence is modeled by replacing the density matrix describing this input with a maximally mixed state with some probability p. We calculate the sensitivity through the quantum fisher information, finding that the process of fortifying input states retains sensing at or above the standard quantum limit in the neighborhood of phase differences around π/2, for all probabilities below 1/4 — an advantage impossible without employing the ancillary degree of freedom.

Quantum emitters, such as q-dots and dye molecules, in the immediate vicinity of plasmonic nanostructures, resonantly excite surface plasmon-polaritons (SPPs) under incoherent pump. The efficiency in the excitation of SPPs per emitter increases with the number of the emitters, because the SPP field synchronizes emission of the coupled emitters, in analogy with the superadiance (SR) in free space. Using fully quantum mechanical model for two emitters coupled with a metal nanorod, we predict up to 15% increase in the emission yield of single emitter compared to only one emitter near the nanorod. Such emission enhancement is stationary and should be observable even with strong dissipation and dephasing under incoherent pump of emitters. Solid-state quantum emitters with blinking behaviors may be utilized to demonstrate such plasmonic SR emission enhancement. Plasmonic SR may find implications in the excitation of nonradiative modes in plasmonic waveguides, in lowing threshold of plasmonic nanolasers.

Quantum communication or more specifically quantum information processing is considered as the future of information science and technology. In this paper we propose a scheme to implement quantum communication at the device level using integrated optics. We implement the quantum communication protocol BB84, in a waveguide based circuit using integrated optics. We also propose a high dimensional quantum key distribution method implementation using integrated optics. In the earlier one polarized photons are used as the carriers of quantum information, while in second one electromagnetic modes in the waveguide are used to carry quantum information. The high dimensional quantum communication method is used to increase the information content of protocol thus increasing on the data rates. This is done by encoding into a larger state space. We have used electromagnetic modes for encoding since the polarization method is not efficient to carry information in a larger state space.

Single photon sources are a key element for quantum computing, quantum key distribution (QKD) and quantum communications. In particular, producing single photons at telecommunications wavelengths is valuable for QKD protocols and would enable realizing the quantum internet. The preferred method for their generation has long been spontaneous down conversion in bulk crystals, which suffers from connection loss to fiber networks. In-fiber spontaneous four-wave mixing provides a viable alternative as a photon pair source due to being compatible with existing fiber networks.

We present an all-fiber photon pair source based on degenerate four-wave mixing in a 400 m Highly-Nonlinear fiber, with signal and idler wavelengths generated at 1552.5 nm and 1557 nm respectively. The source consists of CW pump laser operating at 1554.75 nm, which is slightly detuned from the zero group velocity dispersion wavelength into the normal dispersion regime. After pair generation in the highly-nonlinear fiber, three arrayed waveguide gratings are employed to spatially separate signal and idler, and provides a 120 dB pump power reduction. Firstly the source is modelled and experimentally characterized in the well known classical regime of stimulated four-wave mixing. The effect of fiber cooling on spontaneous Raman scattering is modelled and characterized, and a 30% reduction in spontaneous emission is found when cooling the fiber to -77°C. In the low power regime the coincidence to accidental count ratio is simulated and measured. An increase in the coincidence to accidental count ratio is observed when cooling the fiber.

We have developed an entangled photon pair source based on a domain-engineered, type-II periodically poled lithium niobate crystal that produces signal and idler photons at 1533 nm and 1567 nm. We characterized the spectral correlations of the generated entangled photons using fiber-assisted signal-photon spectroscopy. We observed interference between the two down-conversion paths after erasing polarization distinguishability of the down-converted photons. The observed interference signature is closely related to the spectral correlations between photons in a Hong- Ou-Mandel interferometer. These measurements suggest good indistinguishability between the two downconversion paths, which is required for high entanglement visibility.