Compact and stable source of polarization-entangled photon-pairs based on a folded linear displacement interferometer

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McCarthy, Sarah E. and Anwar, Ali and Oi, Daniel K. L. and McKnight, Loyd J. (2025) Compact and stable source of polarization-entangled photon-pairs based on a folded linear displacement interferometer. Optics Express, 33 (18). pp. 38657-38668. ISSN 1094-4087 (https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.563574)

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Abstract

The realization of quantum networks requires the development of robust, low-size, weight, and power (SWaP) systems suitable for operation under harsh environments in remote and mobile nodes such as satellites. We present a source of polarization-entangled photon-pairs in a folded linear displacement interferometer based on spontaneous parametric down conversion using a Type-0 periodically poled potassium titanyl phosphate crystal. Featuring a compact and stable double-pass geometry using a corner-cube retroreflector, the source has a detected pair rate of 2.5 M pairs/s/mW with a Bell state fidelity of 94.1% ± 2.1%. The qualities and demonstrated performance of the source make it suitable for deployment in entanglement-based quantum networks.

ORCID iDs

McCarthy, Sarah E., Anwar, Ali, Oi, Daniel K. L. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0965-9509 and McKnight, Loyd J. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2121-0907;
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