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Coherent metamaterial absorption of two-photon states with 40% efficiency

Coherent metamaterial absorption of two-photon states with 40% efficiency
Coherent metamaterial absorption of two-photon states with 40% efficiency

Multiphoton absorption processes have a nonlinear dependence on the amplitude of the incident optical field, i.e., the number of photons. However, multiphoton absorption is generally weak and multiphoton events occur with extremely low probability. Consequently, it is extremely challenging to engineer quantum nonlinear devices that operate at the single photon level and the majority of quantum technologies have to rely on single photon interactions. Here we demonstrate experimentally and theoretically that exploiting coherent absorption of N=2 NOON states makes it possible to enhance the number of two-photon states that are absorbed by at most a factor of 2 with respect to a linear absorption process. An absorbing metasurface placed inside a Sagnac-style interferometer into which we inject an N=2 NOON state, exhibits two-photon absorption with 40.5% efficiency, close to the theoretical maximum. This high probability of simultaneous absorption of two photons holds the promise for applications in fields that require multiphoton upconversion but are hindered by high peak intensities.

2469-9926
1-5
Lyons, Ashley
6e8ef6ab-d565-4922-a159-0dc766df038c
Oren, Dikla
5fd7dab2-a274-4ea6-9fa7-32648cb56fd6
Roger, Thomas
b7d10549-0531-4dde-b335-c998b6fd38e8
Savinov, Vassili
147c7954-4636-4438-a305-cd78539f7c0a
Valente, João
b1d50ead-5c3d-4416-ad05-3beb1b373146
Vezzoli, Stefano
a72f5f1c-8add-4b1b-9dab-01dfb83180e6
Zheludev, Nikolay I.
32fb6af7-97e4-4d11-bca6-805745e40cc6
Segev, Mordechai
6b565c01-0ef0-4287-a38a-0841eac5f601
Faccio, Daniele
4bc95171-0d90-4392-8333-528cbcb80e84
Lyons, Ashley
6e8ef6ab-d565-4922-a159-0dc766df038c
Oren, Dikla
5fd7dab2-a274-4ea6-9fa7-32648cb56fd6
Roger, Thomas
b7d10549-0531-4dde-b335-c998b6fd38e8
Savinov, Vassili
147c7954-4636-4438-a305-cd78539f7c0a
Valente, João
b1d50ead-5c3d-4416-ad05-3beb1b373146
Vezzoli, Stefano
a72f5f1c-8add-4b1b-9dab-01dfb83180e6
Zheludev, Nikolay I.
32fb6af7-97e4-4d11-bca6-805745e40cc6
Segev, Mordechai
6b565c01-0ef0-4287-a38a-0841eac5f601
Faccio, Daniele
4bc95171-0d90-4392-8333-528cbcb80e84

Lyons, Ashley, Oren, Dikla, Roger, Thomas, Savinov, Vassili, Valente, João, Vezzoli, Stefano, Zheludev, Nikolay I., Segev, Mordechai and Faccio, Daniele (2019) Coherent metamaterial absorption of two-photon states with 40% efficiency. Physical Review A, 99 (1), 1-5, [011801]. (doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.99.011801).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Multiphoton absorption processes have a nonlinear dependence on the amplitude of the incident optical field, i.e., the number of photons. However, multiphoton absorption is generally weak and multiphoton events occur with extremely low probability. Consequently, it is extremely challenging to engineer quantum nonlinear devices that operate at the single photon level and the majority of quantum technologies have to rely on single photon interactions. Here we demonstrate experimentally and theoretically that exploiting coherent absorption of N=2 NOON states makes it possible to enhance the number of two-photon states that are absorbed by at most a factor of 2 with respect to a linear absorption process. An absorbing metasurface placed inside a Sagnac-style interferometer into which we inject an N=2 NOON state, exhibits two-photon absorption with 40.5% efficiency, close to the theoretical maximum. This high probability of simultaneous absorption of two photons holds the promise for applications in fields that require multiphoton upconversion but are hindered by high peak intensities.

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e-pub ahead of print date: 14 January 2019

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 430142
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/430142
ISSN: 2469-9926
PURE UUID: e4c59b43-3403-46c1-af77-145138b29665
ORCID for Vassili Savinov: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-7203-7222
ORCID for Nikolay I. Zheludev: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-1013-6636

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Date deposited: 12 Apr 2019 16:30
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 03:14

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Contributors

Author: Ashley Lyons
Author: Dikla Oren
Author: Thomas Roger
Author: Vassili Savinov ORCID iD
Author: João Valente
Author: Stefano Vezzoli
Author: Mordechai Segev
Author: Daniele Faccio

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