Using a continuous-wave type-II optical parametric oscillator below threshold, we have demonstrated a novel source of heralded single-photons with high-fidelity. The generated state is characterized by homodyne detection and exhibits a 79% fidelity with a single-photon Fock state (91% after correction of detection loss). The low admixture of vacuum and the well-defined spatiotemporal mode are critical requirements for their subsequent use in quantum information processing.
@article{arxiv.1207.6462,
title = {A high-fidelity single-photon source based on a type-II optical parametric oscillator},
author = {Olivier Morin and Virginia D'Auria and Claude Fabre and Julien Laurat},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1207.6462},
year = {2012}
}