Resonant metasurfaces for generating complex quantum states

TLDR: Santiago-Cruz et al. as mentioned in this paper used a dielectric metasurface to generate entangled photons via spontaneous parametric downconversion in semiconductor metamaterials with high quality factor, quasi-bound state in the continuum resonances.

Abstract: Quantum state engineering, the cornerstone of quantum photonic technologies, mainly relies on spontaneous parametric downconversion and four-wave mixing, where one or two pump photons spontaneously decay into a photon pair. Both of these nonlinear effects require momentum conservation for the participating photons, which strongly limits the versatility of the resulting quantum states. Nonlinear metasurfaces have subwavelength thickness and allow the relaxation of this constraint; when combined with resonances, they greatly expand the possibilities of quantum state engineering. Here, we generated entangled photons via spontaneous parametric downconversion in semiconductor metasurfaces with high–quality factor, quasi-bound state in the continuum resonances. By enhancing the quantum vacuum field, our metasurfaces boost the emission of nondegenerate entangled photons within multiple narrow resonance bands and over a wide spectral range. A single resonance or several resonances in the same sample, pumped at multiple wavelengths, can generate multifrequency quantum states, including cluster states. These features reveal metasurfaces as versatile sources of complex states for quantum information. Description Another twist Metasurfaces are specially designed arrays of dielectric components that transform the function of bulk optical components into thin films. Exploiting the physics of bulk states in the continuum for the highly efficient trapping of light, Santiago-Cruz et al. demonstrate metasurfaces that operate as sources of quantum and chiral light, respectively. Patterned in gallium arsenide, the quantum source can provide entangled pairs of photons across a broad range of wavelengths, allowing for the formation of complex quantum states. The authors also used a dielectric metasurface doped with emitting molecules to produce chiral light and lasing. Both approaches will be useful for the development of integrated optical and quantum optical devices. —ISO Resonant metasurfaces generate photon pairs at multiple selected wavelengths, forming complex quantum states.