Measuring the quantum nature of light with a single source and a single detector
Gesine A. Steudle, Stefan Schietinger, David Höckel, Sander N. Dorenbos, Iman Esmaeil Zadeh, Val Zwiller, Oliver J. Benson · Physical Review A · 2012
An elementary experiment in optics consists of a light source and a detector. Yet, if the source generates nonclassical correlations such an experiment is capable of unambiguously demonstrating the quantum nature of light. We realized such an experiment with a defect center in diamond and a superconducting detector. Previous experiments relied on more complex setups, such as the Hanbury Brown and Twiss configuration, where a beam splitter directs light to two photodetectors, creating the false impression that the beam splitter is a fundamentally required element. As an additional benefit, our results provide a simplification of the widely used photon-correlation techniques.