Ultra-low power generation of twin photons in a compact silicon ring resonator

We demonstrate efficient generation of correlated photon pairs by spontaneous four wave mixing in a 5 mu m radius silicon ring resonator in the telecom band around 1550 nm. By optically pumping our device with a 200 mu W continuous wave laser, we obtain a pair generation rate of 0.2 MHz and demonstrate photon time correlations with a coincidence-to-accidental ratio as high as 250. The results are in good agreement with theoretical predictions and show the potential of silicon micro-ring resonators as room temperature sources for integrated quantum optics applications. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America