Continuous-wave generation of photon pairs in silica nanofibers using single-longitudinal- and multilongitudinal-mode pumps

In this paper, we describe experimental observation and characterization of emission of photon pairs through four-wave mixing (FWM) in a silica nanofiber, with high coincidence to accidental ratio (CAR, at best greater than 20 000 in the cw regime at pump power 24 mW and 40 000 in the pulsed regime at pump power approximate to 150 mu W) and high pair emission rate (above 1 MHz in the pulsed regime with CAR around 100 at pump power approximate to 7 mW), despite residual presence of Raman spontaneous scattering (in the vicinity of the 12th silica Raman band) on the idler side. Moreover, these pairs of photons are observed with either a single-longitudinal-mode source or a multimode source (as well as a pulsed source) showing a factor of 2 increase of emission rate with the multimode source thanks to its random temporal fluctuation coupled to the quadratic response of FWM.

Automated summary

The paper describes the experimental observation of emission of photon pairs through four-wave mixing (FWM) in a silica nanofiber, achieving high coincidence to accidental ratio (CAR) and high pair emission rate despite the presence of residual Raman spontaneous scattering. The photon pairs are observed with either a single-longitudinal-mode source or a multimode source, with the emission rate increasing by a factor of 2 with the multimode source.