Scalable generation of heralded single photons via active feed-forward switching of a fiber delay line

Abstract:Quasi-deterministic single-photon generation is a key requirement for many photonic quantum technologies. Photon sources based on spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) are widely used for producing high-quality photons; however, the probabilistic nature of the process limits the generation of synchronized multi-photon states. Here, we demonstrate temporal synchronization of multiple photon-generation events using a free-space-fiber hybrid delay line with feed-forward control, enabling fast and efficient switching and scalable operation. Narrow-band, telecom-wavelength photons compatible for fiber transmission are heralded from a monolithic cavity SPDC source and synchronized across 20 time bins. This yields a sixfold enhancement in synchronized rates and enables multi-photon synchronization, with only a marginal increase of higher-order photon-number contributions.

arXiv:2606.16741 [quant-ph]

(or arXiv:2606.16741v1 [quant-ph] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2606.16741 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)

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