Work

Down-converted photon pairs in a high-Q silicon nitride microresonator

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Entangled photon pairs from spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) 1 are central to many quantum applications 2–6 . SPDC is typically performed in non-centrosymmetric systems 7 with an inherent second-order nonlinearity ( χ (2) ) 8–10 . We demonstrate strong narrowband SPDC with an on-chip rate of 0.8 million pairs per second in Si 3 N 4 . Si 3 N 4 is the pre-eminent material for photonic integration and also exhibits the lowest waveguide loss (which is essential for integrated quantum circuits). However, being amorphous, silicon nitride lacks an intrinsic χ (2) , which limits its role in photonic quantum devices. We enabled SPDC in Si 3 N 4 by combining strong light-field enhancement inside a high optical Q -factor microcavity with an optically induced space-charge field. We present narrowband photon pairs with a high spectral brightness. The quantum nature of the down-converted photon pairs is verified through coincidence measurements. This light source, based on Si 3 N 4 integrated photonics technology, unlocks new avenues for quantum systems on a chip.

Source: Nature

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08662-3