Abstract

Squeezed light is a quantum feature which exhibits noise properties below the shot noise level (SNL), i.e. the ultimate limit for classical intensity measurements. This characteristic makes squeezing a good candidate for a large variety of applications encompassing metrology, quantum processing and communication [1]. Up to date, squeezed light is mostly generated by means of bulk optical parametric oscillators, which require complex stabilisation techniques [2], and detected with bulk homodyne like interferometers in free space, thus implying delicate alignement and spatial mode-matching procedures. These constraints demand new strategies for developing compact and easy-to-align squeezing experiments [3]. Our work addresses these issues by demonstrating a compact, versatile, telecom-compliant and easy-to-handle squeezing experiment by merging integrated optics and off-the-shelf fibred optical components. The squeezing generation and the homodyne interferometric part are fully integrated on a single chip (see Fig.1(a)), with no significant loss between these two stages and no spatial mode matching concerns. Moreover, with the only exception of homodyne photodiodes, all the other building blocks of our experiment are realized by means of guided-wave components.

© 2019 IEEE