Programmable two-photon quantum interference in 10^3 channels in opaque scattering media
| Abstract | We investigate two-photon quantum interference in an opaque scatteringmedium that intrinsically supports 10^6 transmission channels. Byadaptive spatial phase-modulation of the incident wavefronts, thephotons are directed at targeted speckle spots or output channels. From10^3 experimentally available coupled channels, we select twochannels and enhance their transmission, to realize the equivalent of afully programmable 2x2 beam splitter. By sending pairs of single photonsfrom a parametric down-conversion source through the opaque scatteringmedium, we observe two-photon quantum interference. The programmed beamsplitter need not fulfill energy conservation over the two selectedoutput channels and hence could be non-unitary. Consequently, we havethe freedom to tune the quantum interference from bunching(Hong-Ou-Mandel-like) to antibunching. Our results establish opaquescattering media as a platform for high-dimensional quantum interferencethat is notably relevant for boson sampling and physical-key-basedauthentication. |
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| Authors | T. A. W. Wolterink, R. Uppu, G. Ctistis, W. L. Vos, K. J. Boller, and P. W. H. Pinkse |
| Year of publication | 2016 |
| Date published | 05/2016 |
| Journal | Phys. Rev. A |
| Volume | 93 |
| Pages | 053817: 1-6 |
| DOI number | 10.1103/PhysRevA.93.053817 |
| Keywords | optical networks, quantum interference, quantum optics, scatteringmedia, Wavefront shaping |