title: Monolithic source of photon pairs.
abstract: The creation of monolithically integratable sources of single and entangled photons is a top research priority with formidable challenges: The production, manipulation, and measurement of the photons should all occur in the same material platform, thereby fostering stability and scalability. Here we demonstrate efficient photon pair production in a semiconductor platform, gallium arsenide. Our results show type-I spontaneous parametric down-conversion of laser light from a 2.2 mm long Bragg-reflection waveguide, and we estimate its internal pair production efficiency to be 2.0×10(-8) (pairs/pump photon). This is the first time that significant pair production has been demonstrated in a structure that can be electrically self-pumped and which can form the basis for passive optical circuitry, bringing us markedly closer to complete integration of quantum optical technologies.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Quantum Computing and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue W, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada. rhorn@uwaterloo.ca
authors.forename: Rolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Horn
authors.forename: Payam
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Abolghasem
authors.forename: Bhavin J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Bijlani
authors.forename: Dongpeng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Helmy
authors.forename: Gregor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Weihs