Title:	Photon sources and their applications in quantum science and technologies
Other Titles:	Chapter - 1
Authors:	Sinha, Urbasi Behera, Saumya Ranjan Layal, Mehak
Issue Date:	2023
Citation:	Progress in Optics, 2023, Vol. 68, p1-65
Abstract:	Single and entangled photons are ubiquitous workhorses for several quantum science and technology applications. Moreover, a photonic platform is a natural choice for testing foundational aspects of quantum mechanics. Most seminal experiments in quantum mechanics, including the work that led to the 2022 Nobel prize in Physics, have been done using photons Aspect et al., 1981, Aspect et al., 1982; Bouwmeester et al., 1997; Clauser & Shimony, 1978; Freedman & Clauser, 1972; Giustina et al., 2015, Giustina et al., 2017. How do we create single photons or, for that matter, entangled photons? A large part of this chapter will be devoted to discussing the means to generate single photons. We will see that there are two broad generation schemes: probabilistic and deterministic. In the former, one cannot deterministically generate single photons on demand, while the latter lends itself to such possibilities. We will specifically discuss spontaneous parametric downconversion (SPDC) and four wave mixing (FWM) as examples of probabilistic photon generation and quantum dots (QD) as well as color centers in diamond, including nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers, as examples of deterministic photon generation. We will study in detail the various properties that determine the quality of the photon source. In the second part of the chapter, we will discuss the usage of single and entangled photons in different quantum technology applications. We will specifically focus our attention on two major applications, i.e., Quantum Communications and Quantum Computing. Next, we go on to discuss the various properties that single photons need to satisfy.
Description:	Restricted Access
URI:	http://hdl.handle.net/2289/8156
Alternative Location:	https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.po.2023.01.002
Copyright:	2023 Elsevier B.V.
Appears in Collections:	Books and Book Chapters

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