Effect of chromatic-dispersion-induced chirp on the temporal coherence properties of individual beams from spontaneous four-wave mixing
Xiaoxin Ma, Xiaoying Li, Liang Cui, Xueshi Guo, Lei Yang · Physical Review A · 2011
Temporal coherence of individual signal or idler beam, determined by the spectral correlation property of photon pairs, is important for realizing quantum interference among independent sources. Based on spontaneous four-wave mixing in optical fibers, we study the effect of chirp on the temporal coherence property by introducing a different amount of chirp into either the pulsed pump or individual signal (idler) beam. The investigation shows that the pump chirp induces additional frequency correlation into photon pairs; the mutual spectral correlation of photon pairs and the coherence of individual beam can be characterized by measuring the intensity correlation function ${g}^{(2)}$ of the individual beam. To improve the coherence degree, the pump chirp should be minimized. Moreover, a Hong-Ou-Mandel--type two-photon interference experiment with the signal beams generated in two different fibers illustrates that the chirp of the individual signal (idler) beam does not change the temporal coherence degree, but affects the temporal mode matching. To achieve high visibility among multiple sources, apart from improving the coherence degree, mode matching should be optimized by managing the chirps of individual beams.