Optical quantum states based on hot atomic ensembles and their applications

The four-wave mixing process in atomic ensembles has many important applications in quantum information.We review recent progress on the generation of optical quantum states from the four-wave mixing process in hot atomic ensembles,including the production of two-beam,multi-beam,and multiplexed quantum correlated or entangled states.We also review the applications of these optical quantum states in implementing quantum information protocols,constructing SU(1,1)quantum interferometers,and realizing quantum plasmonic sensing.These applications indicate that the four-wave mixing process in hot atomic ensembles is a promising platform for quantum information processing,especially for implementing alloptical quantum information protocols,constructing SU(1,1)interferometers,and realizing quantum sensing.

Quantum optical ABCD theorem in two-mode case

By introducing the entangled Fresnel operator （EFO） this paper demonstrates that there exists ABCD theorem for two-mode entangled case in quantum optics. The canonical operator method as mapping of ray-transfer ABCD matrix is explicitly shown by EFO＇s normally ordered expansion through the coherent state representation and the technique of integration within an ordered product of operators.

Tuning of the Electron Spin Relaxation Anisotropy via Optical Gating in GaAs/AlGaAs Quantum Wells

The carrier-density-dependent spin relaxation dynamics for modulation-doped GaAs/Al0.3 Gao,TAs quantum wells is studied using the time-resolved magneto-Kerr rotation measurements. The electron spin relaxation time and its in-plane anisotropy are studied as a function of the optically injected electron density, Moreover, the relative strength of the Rashba and the Dresselhaus spin-rbit coupling fields, and thus the observed spin relaxation time anisotropy, is further tuned by the additional excitation of a 532nm continuous wave laser, demonstrating an effective spin relaxation manipulation via an optical gating method.

Intersubband optical absorption of electrons in double parabolic quantum wells of Al_xGa_(1-x)As/Al_yGa_(1-y)As

Some realizable structures of double parabolic quantum wells（DPQWs） consisting of Al_xGa_（1-x）As/Al_yGa_（1-y）As are constructed to discuss theoretically the optical absorption due to the intersubband transition of electrons for both symmetric and asymmetric cases with three energy levels of conduction bands. The electronic states in these structures are obtained using a finite element difference method. Based on a compact density matrix approach, the optical absorption induced by intersubband transition of electrons at room temperature is discussed. The results reveal that the peak positions and heights of intersubband optical absorption coefficients（IOACs） of DPQWs are sensitive to the barrier thickness, depending on Al component. Furthermore, external electric fields result in the decrease of peak, and play an important role in the blue shifts of absorption spectra due to electrons excited from ground state to the first and second excited states. It is found that the peaks of IOACs are smaller in asymmetric DPQWs than in symmetric ones. The results also indicate that the adjustable extent of incident photon energy for DPQW is larger than for a square one of a similar size. Our results are helpful in experiments and device fabrication.

First-Principles Calculation on Geometric,Electronic and Optical Properties of Fully Fluorinated Stanene:a Large-Gap Quantum Spin Hall Insulator

The searches for large-gap quantum spin Hall insulators are important for both practical and fundamental inter- ests. In this work, we present a theoretical observation of the two-dimensional fully fluorinated stanene （SnF） by means of density functional theory. Remarkably, a significant spin-orbit coupling is observed for the SnF monolayer in the valence band at the F point, with a considerable indirect band gap of 278 meV. The direct gap of the SnF monolayer is at the F point, which is slightly larger by as much as 381 meV. In addition, the elastic modulus of the SnF monolayer is about 20J/m^2, which is comparable with the in-plane stiffness of black phos- phorus monolayer along the x-direction （~28.94 J/m^2）. Finally, the optical properties of stanene, SnF monolayer and stanene/SnF bilayer are calculated, in which the stanene/SnF bilayer is supposed to be an attractive sunlight absorber.

Controlling the Directed Quantum Transport of Ultracold Atoms in an Optical Lattice with a Periodic Driving Field

We propose a new method to control the directed quantum transport of ultracold atoms in a one-dimensional optical lattice. In this proposal, the effective tunneling between the neighboring sites can be adjusted via coherent destruction of tunneling by tuning the phase of the external field, instead of using the driving field intensity or the frequency, thus the directed quantum transport of ultracold atoms can be coherently controlled in a nmch easier manner. Our proposal overcomes the major drawback of the method used by Creffield et al [Phys. Rev. Lett. 99 （2007） 110501], and can be implemented, in principle, in any one-dimensional optical lattice. Some potential applications of the scheme are also discussed.

Effect of Si δ-Doping on the Linear and Nonlinear Optical Absorptions and Refractive Index Changes in InAlN/GaN Single Quantum Wells

In the framework of effective mass approximation, we theoretically investigate the electronic structure of the Si δ-doped InAIN/GaN single quantum well by solving numerically the coupled equations Schrodinger-Poisson self-consistently. The linear, nonlinear optical absorption coefficients and relative refractive index changes are calculated as functions of the doping concentration and its thickness. The obtained results show that the position and the amplitude of the linear and total optical absorption coefficients and the refractive index changes can be modified by varying the doping concentration and its thickness. In addition, it is found that the maximum of the optical absorption can be red-shifted or blue-shifted by varying the doping concentration. The obtained results are important for the design of various electronic components such as high-power FETs and infrared photonic devices.

Measuring small longitudinal phase shifts via weak measurement amplification

Weak measurement amplification,which is considered as a very promising scheme in precision measurement,has been applied to various small physical quantities estimations.Since many physical quantities can be converted into phase signals,it is interesting and important to consider measuring small longitudinal phase shifts by using weak measurement.Here,we propose and experimentally demonstrate a novel weak measurement amplification-based small longitudinal phase estimation,which is suitable for polarization interferometry.We realize one order of magnitude amplification measurement of a small phase signal directly introduced by a liquid crystal variable retarder and show that it is robust to the imperfection of interference.Besides,we analyze the effect of magnification error which is never considered in the previous works,and find the constraint on the magnification.Our results may find important applications in high-precision measurements,e.g.,gravitational wave detection.

Effects of Turbulent Aberrations on Probability Distribution of Orbital Angular Momentum for Optical Communication

Effects of atmospheric turbulence tilt, defocus, astigmatism and coma aberrations on the orbital angular momentum measurement probability of photons propagating in weak turbulent regime are modeled with Rytov approximation. By considering the resulting wave as a superposition of angular momentum eigenstates, the or- bital angular momentum measurement probabilities of the transmitted digit are presented. Our results show that the effect of turbulent tilt aberration on the orbital angular momentum measurement probabilities of photons is the maximum among these four kinds of aberrations. As the aberration order increases, the effects of turbulence aberrations on the measurement probabilities of orbital angular momentum generally decrease, whereas the effect o[ turbulence defocus can be ignored. For tilt aberration, as the difference between the measured orbital angular momentum and the original orbital angular momentum increases, the orbital angular momentum measurement probability decreases.

A concise review of Rydberg atom based quantum computation and quantum simulation

Quantum information processing based on Rydberg atoms emerged as a promising direction two decades ago.Recent experimental and theoretical progresses have shined exciting light on this avenue.In this concise review,we will briefly introduce the basics of Rydberg atoms and their recent applications in associated areas of neutral atom quantum computation and simulation.We shall also include related discussions on quantum optics with Rydberg atomic ensembles,which are increasingly used to explore quantum computation and quantum simulation with photons.

Three-Dimensional Analytical Formula for Oblique and Off-Axis Gaussian Beams Propagating through a Cat-Eye Optical Lens

Based on the Collins formula in a cylindrical coordinate system and the method of introducing a hard aperture function into a finite sum of complex Gaussian functions, an approximate three-dimensional analytical formula for oblique and off-axis Gaussian beams propagating through a cat-eye optical lens is derived. Numerical results show that a reasonable choice of the obliquity factor would result in a better focus beam with a higher central intensity at the return place than that without obliquity, whereas the previous conclusion based on geometry optics is that the highest central intensity could be obtained when there is no obliquity.

Highly Efficient Continuous-Wave Mid-Infrared Intracavity Singly Resonant Optical Parametric Oscillator Based on MgO：PPLN

We present a compact all-solid-state cw mid-infrared intracavity singly resonant optical parametric oscillator （OPO） that is based on a self-fabricated 1-mm-thick 40-mm-long doped MgO periodically poled lithium niobate （MgO：PPLN）. At a diode pump power of 15.6 W, the compact intracavity Nd：YVO4/MgO：PPLN OPO produced 1.9 W output power at 3.19μm, corresponding to conversion efficiency of 12.2% from the laser diode pump to OPO idler output.

Quantum photonics based on metasurfaces

From metamaterials to metasurfaces,optical nano-structure has been widely investigated for novel and high efficiency functionalities.Apart from the intrisinsic properties of composite material,rich capabilities can be derived from the judi-cious design of metasurfaces,which enable more excellent and highly integrated optical devices than traditional bulk op-tical elements.In the meantime,the abundant manipulation abilites of light in the classical domain can be carried over in-to quantum domain.In this review,we highlight recent development of quantum optics based on metasurfaces,ranging from quantum plasmonics,generation,manipulation and appplication of quantum light to quantum vaccum engineering etc.Finally,some promising avenues for quantum optics with the help of optical metasurface are presented.

A 10.7 μm InGaAs/InAlAs Quantum Cascade Detector

A 10.7μm quantum cascade detector based on lattice matched InGaAs/InAlAs/InP is demonstrated and characterized in terms of responsivity, resistivity and detectivity. The device operates in the 8 14μm atmospheric window up to 140 K and shows a peak reponsivity of 14.4mA/W at 78K. With a resistance-area product value of 159Ωcm^2, the Johnson noise limited detectivity D^＊J is 2.8 × 10^9 Jones （cmHz^1/2W^-1） at 78K.

Impact of Fiber Dispersion on Performance of Entanglement-Based Dispersive Optics Quantum Key Distribution

Dispersive optics quantum key distribution(DO-QKD)based on energy-time entangled photon pairs is an important QKD scheme.In DO-QKD,the arrival time of photons is used in key generation and security analysis,which would be greatly affected by fiber dispersion.In this work,we establish a theoretical model of the entanglement-based DO-QKD system,considering the protocol,physical processes(such as fiber transmission and single-photon detection),and the analysis of security tests.Based on this theoretical model,we investigate the influence of chromatic dispersion introduced by transmission fibers on the performance of DO-QKD.By analyzing the benefits and costs of dispersion compensation,the system performance under G.652 and G.655 optical fibers are shown,respectively.The results show that dispersion compensation is unnecessary for DO-QKD systems in campus networks and even metro networks.Whereas,it is still required in DO-QKD systems with longer fiber transmission distances.

Six-State Quantum Key Distribution Using Photons with Orbital Angular Momentum

A new implementation of high-dimensional quantum key distribution （QKD） protocol is discussed. Using three mutual unbiased bases, we present a d？level six-state QKD protocol that exploits the orbital angular momentum with the spatial mode of the light beam. The protocol shows that the feature of a high capacity since keys are encoded using photon modes in d-level Hilbert space. The devices for state preparation and measurement are also discussed. This protocol has high security and the alignment of shared reference frames is not needed between sender and receiver.

Equivalent Method of Solving Quantum Efficiency of Reflection-Mode Exponential Doping GaAs Photocathode

The mathematical expression of the electron diffusion and drift length LDE of exponential doping photocathode is deduced. In the quantum efficiency equation of the reflection-mode uniform doping cathode, substituting LDE for LD, the equivalent quantum efficiency equation of the reflection-mode exponential doping cathode is obtained. By using the equivalent equation, theoretical simulation and experimental analysis shows that the equivalent index formula and formula-doped cathode quantum efficiency results in line. The equivalent equation avoids complicated calculation, thereby simplifies the process of solving the quantum efficiency of exponential doping photocathode.

Strain-Compensated InGaAs/InAlAs Quantum Cascade Detector of 4.5 μm Operating at Room Temperature

We present a strain-compensated InP-based InGaAs/InAlAs photovoltaic quantum cascade detector grown by solid source molecular beam epitaxy. The detector is based on a vertical intersubband transition and electron transfer on a cascade of quantum levels which is designed to provide longitudinal optical phonon extraction stairs. By careful structure design and growth, the whole epilayer has a residual strain toward InP substrate of only -2.8× 10^-4. A clear narrow band detection spectrum centered at 4.5 μm has been observed above room temperature for a device with 200／times 200 ×μm^2 square mesa.

A 10Gb/s Directly-Modulated 1.3μm InAs/GaAs Quantum-Dot Laser

We demonstrate 10 Gb/s directly-modulated 1.3 μm InAs quantum-dot （QD） lasers grown on GaAs substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The active region of the QD lasers consists of five-stacked InAs QD layers. Ridge-waveguide lasers with a ridge width of 4 μm and a cavity length of 600 μm are fabricated with standard lithography and wet etching techniques. It is found that the lasers emit at 1293 nm with a very low threshold current of 5 mA at room temperature. Furthermore, clear eye-opening patterns under 10 Gb/s modulation rate at temperatures of up to 50oC are achieved by the QD lasers. The results presented here have important implications for realizing low-cost, low-power-consumption, and high-speed light sources for next-generation communication systems.

Fidelity of quantum information for V-type three-level atom interacting with a number state light field in Kerr medium

In this paper the evolution characteristics of the fidelity of quantum information for the V-type three-level atom interacting with number state light field in Kerr meddium are investigated. It shows that the periodicity of the evolutions of fidelity of quantum information is influenced by the Kerr coefficient, the photon number of the initial field and intensity of light. The evolutions of the fidelity of quantum information are modulated by the initial number state field. The Rabi oscillation frequency and the modulation frequency of fidelity for the field and the system vary with the value of the Kerr coefficient. The evolutions of fidelity of quantum information obviously show the quantum collapse and revival behaviours in the system of atom interacting with light field.