In this work, we discuss a novel compact source that generates six pairs of entangled photons via spontaneous parametric down-conversion from a single pass of a pump beam through a crystal assembly. The experimental demonstrations reported are at 810 nm so as to utilize high quantum efficiency Si-APD detectors, but the design can be readily implemented in other wavelength regimes including the telecom bands near 1550 nm. An immediate application of this source enables particular multi-qubit cluster states to be generated in a highly compact unidirectional configuration. This can significantly simplify the interferometric stability, as well as feed-forward methods required in photon-based quantum logic circuitry.

Date Published: 3 June 2011
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 8057, Quantum Information and Computation IX, 805705 (3 June 2011);

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8057:
Quantum Information and Computation IX
Eric Donkor; Andrew R. Pirich; Howard E. Brandt, Editor(s)