Hojo Masayuki, Tanaka Koichiro
Department of Physics, Science, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-Oiwake, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8224, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2021 Sep 9;11(1):17986. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-97531-w.
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.
自发参量下转换是一种用于产生波长范围在2-5微米红外区域的量子光源的重要工具，可用于材料识别、化学分析和气体传感。到目前为止，由于相位匹配条件，非线性晶体中该过程产生的光子对具有低可调谐性和窄光谱范围。在此，我们提出了一种新型的自发参量下转换过程，该过程克服了这些挑战，即在周期性极化的化学计量钽酸锂中同时在可见光和红外区域产生两个光子对。它允许宽带且可调谐地产生红外光子对，可作为量子红外光谱的替代光源。
