Photonics plays a significant role in the emerging quantum information industry, and entangled photon pairs are the workhorse of many key applications in quantum optics, where each application utilizes a certain property of the quantum state.

The development of new effective sources of entangled photon pairs (EPS) is crucial for practical applications in the ever-growing field of quantum technologies, spanning from fundamental research in quantum information science, quantum communications, cryptography, sensing, imaging, and more.

There are several types of entangled photon sources which are based on different quantum states and one important source is based on polarization-entangled photon pairs, which are composed of a superposition of perpendicularly polarized signal and idler.

Unlike squeezed light, which is in principle achieved by a single-pass in a nonlinear gain medium (such as a PPKTP Crystal), polarization-entanglement requires the addition and subtraction of photons, for example by passing through more than one crystal. A recent review paper by the group of Alexander Ling [1] surveys the evolution of sources of polarization-entangled photon pairs throughout the years, as well as their possible applications in quantum communications and cryptography.

Many of the different sources shown in this review paper rely on the PPKTP Crystals that we produce at Raicol – mainly type-0 and type-II phase-matched crystals. However, the sources differ from one another in the way the crystal is utilized.

For example, in a recent quantum cryptography experiment by the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) [2], a polarization-entangled photon source, based on type-II PPKTP Crystal placed inside a Sagnac interferometer, was used to demonstrate quantum cryptography over a distance of 1,120km. Similarly, a different bell state can also be generated using the same Sagnac configuration, with a type-0 crystal placed instead of the type-II.