Photon-pair generation in nonlinear metal-dielectric one-dimensional photonic structures

Abstract

Nonlinear metal-dielectric layered structures are shown to be able to efficiently generate entangled photon pairs using spontaneous parametric down-conversion. Increase of electric-field amplitudes in these structures enhanced by the presence of metal layers is sufficient to compensate for losses inside thin metal layers. As an example, photon pairs emitted from a structure composed of alternating nonlinear dielectric GaN layers and metal Ag layers are analyzed in spectral, temporal as well as spatial domains. Also correlations and entanglement between two photons in a pair are determined. Very narrow photon-pair spectra together with strong directionality of photon-pair emission are observed making the photons suitable for photon-atom interactions. Highly enhanced electric-field amplitudes provide high photon-pair generation efficiencies.

Role of volume and surface spontaneous parametric down-conversion in the generation of photon pairs in layered media

“…In the Schrödinger picture, a perturbation solution of the Schrödinger equation in the nonlinear coupling constant was found. In the first order, it describes the generation of one photon pair [14,15,38]. On the other hand, linear Heisenberg equations occur in the Heisenberg picture.…”