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Squeezed light sources, featuring significant degrees of squeezing, flexible time-frequency attributes, and a compact salable form factor, serve as crucial building blocks in an expanding range of applications, spanning from quantum computing to quantum sensing and communications. In this study, we introduce and demonstrate a novel approach to generating squeezed light that exclusively employs standard telecommunication fiber-optic components. The technique leverages the entanglement properties of spontaneous four-wave mixing (SFWM) to generate high squeezing with flexible time-frequency properties. Notably, a record squeezing of 7.5 \(\pm\)0.1 dB is measured within an all-fiber, all-guided-wave platform. The entanglement-assisted squeezing methodology empowers the attainment of squeezing for arbitrary time-frequency modes within the SFWM phase-matching bandwidth, extending beyond coherent laser modes, for the first time. In particular, we measured 5.1 dB and 1.1 dB squeezing on partially coherent and chaotic time-frequency modes that are defined by randomly modulated laser sources and filtered amplified spontaneous emission light, respectively.

Entanglement and correlation of quantum light can enhance LiDAR sensitivity in the presence of strong background noise. However, the power of such quantum sources is fundamentally limited to a stream of single photons and cannot compete with the detection range of high-power classical LiDAR transmitters. To circumvent this, we develop and demonstrate a quantum-inspired LiDAR prototype based on coherent measurement of classical time-frequency correlations. This system uses a high-power classical source and maintains the high noise rejection advantage of quantum LiDARs. In particular, we show that it can achieve over 100dB rejection (with 100ms integration time) of indistinguishable(with statistically identical properties in every degrees of freedom) in-band noise while still being sensitive to single photon signals. In addition to the LiDAR demonstration, we also discuss the potential of the proposed LiDAR receiver for quantum information applications. In particular, we propose the chaotic quantum frequency conversion technique for coherent manipulation of high dimensional quantum states of light. It is shown that this technique can provide improved performance in terms of selectivity and efficiency as compared to pulse-based quantum frequency conversion., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures

Non-local effects have the potential to radically move forward quantum enhanced LiDAR to provide an advantage over classical LiDAR not only in laboratory environments but practical implementation. In this work, we demonstrate a 43dB lower signal-to-noise ratio using a quantum enhanced LiDAR based on time-frequency entanglement compared with a classical phase-insensitive LiDAR system. Our system can tolerate more than 3 orders of magnitude higher noise than classical singlephoton counting LiDAR systems before detector saturation. To achieve these advantages, we use non-local cancellation of dispersion to take advantage of the strong temporal correlations in photon pairs in spite of the orders of magnitude larger detector temporal uncertainty. We go on to incorporate this scheme with purpose-built scanning collection optics to image non-reflecting targets in an environment with noise., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

We report parametric gain by utilizing $ \chi^{(2)} $ non-linearities in a semiconductor Bragg Reflection Waveguide (BRW) waveguide chip. Under the two-mode degenerate type II phase matching, it can be shown that more than 18 dBs of parametric gain for both TE and TM modes is tenable in 100s of micrometers of device length. Polarization insensitive parametric gain can be attained within the 1550 nm region of the spectrum. These AlGaAs BRW waveguides exhibit sub-photon per pulse sensitivity. This is in sharp contrast to other types of parametric gain devices which utilize $ \chi^{(3)} $, where the pump wavelength is in the vicinity of the signal wavelength. This sensitivity, which reached 0.1~photon/pulse, can usher a new era for on-chip quantum information processing using compact, micrometer-scale devices., Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures

Phase sensitive amplifiers (PSAs) have the potential to empower substantial advances in emerging generations of optical communication systems as well as classical and quantum on-chip signal processing. The core building block of a PSA is a nonlinear medium. While the second-order nonlinearity ($\chi^{(2)}$) is stronger than the third-order nonlinearity ($\chi^{(3)}$), it is used less often in semiconductors for parametric amplification owing to the challenges of effectively phase matching the interacting waves as well as two-photon absorption of the pump. In this work, we demonstrate the successful design, fabrication, and characterization of the first $\chi^{(2)}$-based semiconductor PSA using an efficient phase matching approach and a pulsed pump, based on an aluminium gallium arsenide (AlGaAs) waveguide platform. Non-centrosymmetric semiconductors such as AlGaAs offer appreciable $\chi^{(2)}$. Such waveguides also achieve more than one order of magnitude greater pump field confinement when compared to other materials with large $\chi^{(2)}$ such as Periodically Poled Lithium Niobate (PPLN). Our AlGaAs PSA achieves an on-chip in-phase gain, a sensitivity of 0.005 photons per pulse, and approaches theoretical minimal noise figure (NF) of 0~dB. With the capability of operating on signal states with sub-single photons per pulse, our PSA could usher in a new era of on-chip quantum circuits.