Tunable Quantum Beat of Single Photons Enabled by Nonlinear Nanophotonics

We demonstrate the tunable quantum beat of single photons through the co-development of core nonlinear nanophotonic technologies for frequency-domain manipulation of quantum states in a common physical platform. Spontaneous four-wave mixing in a nonlinear resonator is used to produce nondegenerate, quantum-correlated photon pairs. One photon from each pair is then frequency shifted, without degradation of photon statistics, using four-wave-mixing Bragg scattering in a second nonlinear resonator. Fine tuning of the applied frequency shift enables tunable quantum interference of the two photons as they are impinged on a beam splitter, with an oscillating signature that depends on their frequency difference. Our work showcases the potential of nonlinear nanophotonic devices as a valuable resource for photonic quantum-information science.