Correlated Photon Pair Generation in Silicon Wire Waveguides at 1.5 μm

Correlated photon pairs at 1.5 μm are generated in a silicon wire waveguide (SWW) with a length of only 1.6 mm. Experimental results show that the single−side count rates on both sides increase quadratically with pump light, indicating that photons are generated from the spontaneous four-wave mixing (SFWM) processes. The quantum correlation property of the generated photons is demonstrated by the ratio between coincident and accidental coincident count rates. The highest ratio measured at room temperature is to be about 19, showing that generated photon pairs have strong quantum correlation property and low noise. What is more, the wavelength correlation property of the coincident count is also measured to demonstrate the correlated photon pair generation. The experimental results demonstrate that SWWs have great potential in on-chip integrated low-noise correlated photon pair sources at 1.5 μm.