Broadband infrared light source by simultaneous parametric down-conversion

Abstract Spontaneous parametric down-conversion is an essential tool for a quantum light source in the infrared region ranging 2–5 µm for the purpose of material identification, chemical analysis, and gas sensing. So far, photon pairs from the process in a nonlinear crystal have low tunability and a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Masayuki Hojo, Koichiro Tanaka
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Publishing Group 2021-09-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-97531-w
Description
Summary:Abstract Spontaneous parametric down-conversion is an essential tool for a quantum light source in the infrared region ranging 2–5 µm for the purpose of material identification, chemical analysis, and gas sensing. So far, photon pairs from the process in a nonlinear crystal have low tunability and a narrow spectral range because of the phase-matching condition. Here, we propose a novel type of spontaneous parametric down-conversion processes that overcomes these challenges, where two photon pairs are simultaneously produced in the visible and infrared regions in periodically poled stoichiometric lithium tantalite. It allows broadband and tunable generation of infrared photon pairs that can be employed as an alternative light source for quantum infrared spectroscopy.
ISSN:2045-2322