We characterize a source of photon pairs based on cascade decay in a cold Rb-87 ensemble. This source is particularly suited to generate of photons for interaction with Rb-87 based atomic systems. We experimentally investigate the dependence of pair generation rate, single photon heralding efficiency, and bandwidth as a function of the number of atoms, detuning and intensity of the pump beams. The observed power and detuning behaviors can be explained by the steady state solution of an established three-level model of an atom. Measurements presented here provide a useful insight on the optimization of this kind of photon pair sources.
@article{arxiv.1806.02079,
title = {Characterization of a photon pair source based on a cold atomic ensemble using a cascade level scheme},
author = {Alessandro Cerè and Bharath Srivathsan and Gurpreet Kaur Gulati and Brenda Chng and Christian Kurtsiefer},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1806.02079},
year = {2018}
}