Characterization of the non-classical nature of conditionally prepared single photons

Abstract

A reliable single photon source is a prerequisite for linear optical quantum computation and for secure quantum key distribution. A criterion yielding a conclusive test of the single photon character of a given source, attainable with realistic detectors, is therefore highly desirable. In the context of heralded single photon sources, such a criterion should be sensitive to the effects of higher photon number contributions, and to vacuum introduced through optical losses, which tend to degrade source performance. In this paper we present, theoretically and experimentally, a criterion meeting the above requirements.

4 pages; 3 figures

References in corpus (2)

• High quality asynchronous heralded single photon source at telecom wavelength
• Quantum key distribution over 30km of standard fiber using energy-time entangled photon pairs: a comparison of two chromatic dispersion reduction methods

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