We describe the results of a parametric down-conversion experiment in which the detection of one photon of a pair causes the other photon to be switched into a storage loop. The stored photon can then be switched out of the loop at a later time chosen by the user, providing a single photon for potential use in a variety of quantum information processing applications. Although the stored single photon is only available at periodic time intervals, those times can be chosen to match the cycle time of a quantum computer by using pulsed down-conversion. The potential use of the storage loop as a photonic quantum memory device is also discussed.
@article{arxiv.quant-ph/0205103,
title = {Single Photons on Pseudo-Demand from Stored Parametric Down-Conversion},
author = {T. B. Pittman and B. C. Jacobs and J. D. Franson},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:quant-ph/0205103},
year = {2009}
}