Flat-optics generation of broadband photon pairs with tunable polarization entanglement

The concept of `flat optics' is quickly conquering different fields of photonics, but its implementation in quantum optics is still at infancy. In particular, polarization entanglement, which is central to quantum photonics due to the simplicity of polarization qubit encoding and control, is so far not realized on flat platforms. Meanwhile, relaxed phase matching of flat nonlinear optical sources enables enormous freedom in tailoring their polarization properties. Here we use this freedom to generate photon pairs with tunable polarization entanglement via spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) in a $400$ nm GaP film. By changing the pump polarization, we tune the polarization state of photon pairs from maximally entangled to almost disentangled, which is impossible in a single bulk source of SPDC. Polarization entanglement, in combination with the broadband frequency spectrum, results in an ultranarrow (12 fs) Hong-Ou-Mandel effect and promises extensions to hyperentanglement.

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