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  • Letter
  • Open Access

How to use the dispersion in the χ(3) tensor for broadband generation of polarization-entangled photons

Valeria Vento1,2, Francesco Ciccarello1,2, Sakthi Priya Amirtharaj1,*, and Christophe Galland1,2,†

  • *Present address: Centre for Quantum Information, Communication and Computing, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600036, India.
  • †Contact author: chris.galland@epfl.ch
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Phys. Rev. Research 7, L022017 – Published 16 April, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.7.L022017

Abstract

Polarization-entangled photon pairs are a widely used resource in quantum optics and technologies and are often produced using a nonlinear process. Most sources based on spontaneous parametric down-conversion have relatively narrow optical bandwidths because the pump, signal, and idler frequencies must satisfy a phase-matching condition. Extending the bandwidth—for example, to achieve spectral multiplexing—requires changing some experimental parameters such as temperature, crystal angle, poling period, etc. Here we demonstrate broadband (tens of THz for each photon) generation of polarization-entangled photon pairs by spontaneous four-wave mixing in a diamond crystal, with a simple colinear geometry requiring no further optical engineering. Our approach leverages the quantum interference between electronic and vibrational contributions to the χ(3) tensor. Entanglement is characterized by a single realization of a Bell test over the entire bandwidth using fiber dispersion spectroscopy and fast single-photon detectors. The results agree with the biphoton wave function predicted from the knowledge of the χ(3) and Raman tensors and demonstrate the general applicability of our approach to other crystalline materials.

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Phys. Rev. Research 7, L022017– Published 16 April, 2025
  • Received 9 August 2024
  • Accepted 28 March 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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