Quantum interference between spectral bandwidth mismatched photons

Abstract:Two-photon interference is a cornerstone of photonic quantum technologies. However, its practical use in hybrid architectures is constrained by the need for photon indistinguishability, particularly in linewidth and the associated time scale. While narrowband filtering can improve interference visibility, it introduces significant photon loss - a critical limitation for applications. Here, we experimentally demonstrate an efficient approach to enable non-classical two-photon interference between spectral-bandwidth mismatched photons using an electro-optic time lens. We increase the visibility of Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interference between spectral bandwidth mismatched photons from $(31.0\pm1.7)\%$, to $(91.7\pm2.6)\%$, with correction for accidental coincidences, achieving highly non-classical two-photon interference visibility without spectral filtering. Moreover, we demonstrate a simultaneous correction of the central wavelength mismatch of $\pm1.1$ nm, while maintaining the non-classical interference visibility. This result opens the possibility to efficiently integrate quantum systems operating at different time scales for hybrid quantum communication, teleportation, entanglement swapping, distributed sensing, and hybrid quantum computing.

arXiv:2601.12129 [quant-ph]

(or arXiv:2601.12129v2 [quant-ph] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2601.12129 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite

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