title: Dual-channel, single-photon upconversion detector at 1.3 μm.
abstract: We demonstrate a two-channel, upconversion detector for counting 1300-nm-wavelength photons. By using two pumps near 1550 nm, photons near 1300 nm are converted to two spectrally distinct channels near 710 nm using sum-frequency generation (SFG) in a periodically poled LiNbO3 (PPLN) waveguide. We used spectral-conversion engineering to design the phase-modulated PPLN waveguide for simultaneous quasi-phasematching of two SFG processes. The two channels exhibit 31% and 25% full-system photon detection efficiency, and very low dark count rates (650 and 550 counts per second at a peak external conversion efficiency of 70%) through filtering using a volume Bragg grating. We investigate applications of the dual-channel upconversion detector as a frequency-shifting beamsplitter, and as a time-to-frequency converter to enable higher-data-rate quantum communications.
authors.affiliation: E L Ginzton Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA. jpelc@stanford.edu
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Pelc
authors.forename: Paulina S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Slattery
authors.forename: Lijun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Fejer
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D053844:Lasers, Solid-State; D010783:Photometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D017785:Photons; D014159:Transducers