Spectral study of photon pairs generated in dispersion shifted fiber with a pulsed pump

Spectral correlation of photon pairs generated in dispersion shifted fiber by a pulsed pump is theoretically analyzed and experimentally investigated. We first calculate the spectral function of photon pairs according to the deduced two-photon state generated by spontaneous four wave mixing under the assumptions close to the real experimental conditions. We then experimentally study the spectral property of the signal and idler photon pairs generated in optical fiber by photon correlation measurements, and the experimental results agree with the calculation. The investigation is useful for developing fiber-based sources of entangled photon pairs and for studying multi-photon quantum interference with multiple photon pairs. (c) 2008 Optical Society of America.