Spontaneous parametric down conversion without poling for silicon carbide and lithium niobate photonics

Abstract State-of-the-art photon sources based on spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) currently rely on artificial structuring of the material nonlinearity to satisfy phase-matching conditions. This technique, known as periodic poling, is available only in a limited number of material plat...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tim F. Weiss, Hamed Arianfard, Yang Yang, Alberto Peruzzo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-03-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-92705-2
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Summary:Abstract State-of-the-art photon sources based on spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) currently rely on artificial structuring of the material nonlinearity to satisfy phase-matching conditions. This technique, known as periodic poling, is available only in a limited number of material platforms and introduces additional fabrication steps and errors, which are detrimental to up-scaling efforts. Here, we present a device architecture that enables SPDC of a wide range of frequencies without the need for periodic poling. We present explicit designs and calculations for 4H Silicon Carbide on-insulator, in which SPDC photon generation is so far unavailable, and thin-film Lithium Niobate on-insulator, a state-of-the-art quantum photonics platform. Our design, based on mode conversion and subsequent modal phase-matched SPDC, facilitates a CMOS compatible $$\chi ^{(2)}$$ platform, and simplifies photon sources by removing the requirement of periodic poling and the associated additional fabrication complexity.
ISSN:2045-2322