pith. sign in

arxiv: 2509.16049 · v1 · submitted 2025-09-19 · 🪐 quant-ph

Integrated Telecom Wavelength Heralded Single-Photon Source based on GHz gated detectors

Maria Ana Pereira , Mingsong Wu , Arslan Sajid Raja , Rui Ning Wang , Tobias Kippenberg , Hugo Zbinden , Tiff Brydges , Rob Thew This is my paper

Pith reviewed 2026-05-18 15:20 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification 🪐 quant-ph
keywords heralded single photon sourcetelecom wavelengthspectral puritysilicon nitrideInGaAs SPADgated detectorphoton pair source
0
0 comments X

The pith

A GHz-gated detector on an integrated source both times and spectrally filters heralded telecom photons.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

The paper shows how a continuous-wave pumped photon-pair source paired with a fast-gated InGaAs/InP avalanche diode can produce heralded single photons that are spectrally pure at telecom wavelengths. The diode supplies the timing clock while its temporal resolution acts as a spectral filter on the heralded photon. This matters because pure single photons are needed for quantum networks, yet the method stays simple and avoids bulky external filters. The demonstration uses a narrow-band silicon-nitride integrated source, proving the idea works in a compact platform.

Core claim

We introduce a heralded single-photon source that uses a CW-pumped probabilistic photon-pair generator together with a rapid-gating InGaAs/InP SPAD. The gate provides both the synchronous clock and the temporal resolution that filters the spectrum of the heralded photon, yielding high spectral purity at telecom wavelengths when combined with a narrow-band integrated silicon-nitride pair source.

What carries the argument

The GHz-gated InGaAs/InP single-photon avalanche diode, which supplies the detection clock while its finite temporal resolution performs spectral filtering on the heralded photon.

If this is right

  • High-purity heralded photons become available at telecom wavelengths with minimal additional optics.
  • The same gating approach can be retuned for other center wavelengths or bandwidth targets.
  • Integration with silicon-nitride waveguides keeps the source compact and scalable.

Where Pith is reading between the lines

These are editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

  • Removing separate spectral filters could lower total loss and raise the usable photon rate in quantum links.
  • The architecture might combine with on-chip demultiplexing to generate multiple independent heralded photons from one pump.
  • Testing the scheme at varying pump powers would reveal the practical trade-off between pair generation rate and achieved purity.

Load-bearing premise

The detector's timing resolution is fine enough to give the required spectral purity without adding unacceptable jitter or loss.

What would settle it

Measure the second-order correlation function or spectral width of the heralded photons and find the purity falls short of what the stated temporal resolution should produce.

Figures

Figures reproduced from arXiv: 2509.16049 by Arslan Sajid Raja, Hugo Zbinden, Maria Ana Pereira, Mingsong Wu, Rob Thew, Rui Ning Wang, Tiff Brydges, Tobias Kippenberg.

Figure 1
Figure 1. Figure 1: FIG. 1. Schematic of the setup used for characterising the SPAD, [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p002_1.png] view at source ↗
Figure 2
Figure 2. Figure 2: FIG. 2. Detection count histograms (normalized to the maximum) [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p003_2.png] view at source ↗
Figure 4
Figure 4. Figure 4: FIG. 4. Schematic of the experimental setup, starting with the [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p004_4.png] view at source ↗
Figure 6
Figure 6. Figure 6: FIG. 6. The heralded signal photon rate and heralding efficiency as [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p005_6.png] view at source ↗
read the original abstract

We introduce a simple and flexible concept for a heralded -- spectrally pure -- single photon source. The scheme uses a probabilistic photon pair source pumped with a CW laser, whereby a rapid gating InGaAs/InP single photon avalanche diode provides a synchronous clock and temporally resolves, and hence spectrally filters, the heralded photons. We demonstrate the concept by combining this with a narrow-band integrated silicon nitride photon-pair source. This simple architecture is capable of heralding photons with high spectral purity in the telecom band, but could be adapted to other wavelengths and bandwidth regimes.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Referee Report

1 major / 2 minor

Summary. The manuscript introduces a simple architecture for a heralded spectrally pure single-photon source at telecom wavelengths. It combines a continuous-wave pumped integrated silicon nitride (SiN) photon-pair source with GHz-gated InGaAs/InP single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs). The gating is used to provide a synchronous clock and to temporally resolve the heralded photons, thereby acting as a spectral filter to achieve high purity. The work demonstrates this concept and suggests it can be adapted to other wavelengths and bandwidth regimes.

Significance. If the results hold, this approach provides a straightforward and flexible method for generating high-purity heralded single photons in the telecom band without relying on complex external spectral filters. The integration of the SiN source and the use of high-speed gating represent practical advances that could simplify quantum photonic setups for applications in quantum communication and information processing. The paper credits the basic performance metrics of the setup, but the significance hinges on confirming the spectral purity claims through quantitative measurements.

major comments (1)
  1. [Results] Results section: The central claim that the GHz gating provides sufficient temporal resolution to achieve high spectral purity (via acting as a spectral filter) lacks supporting quantitative evidence. No joint spectral intensity, heralded photon spectrum, or g^{(2)}(0) measurement under the narrow gating window is reported to verify the purity or to show that timing jitter and losses do not degrade the heralded state.
minor comments (2)
  1. [Abstract] Abstract: The demonstration is stated without any numerical values for purity, coincidence rates, or error bars, making it difficult to assess the strength of the result from the summary alone.
  2. [Experimental Setup] Experimental Setup: Specify the exact gating frequency, window duration, and source bandwidth values, and include a brief estimate showing that the gate width is narrow compared to the inverse bandwidth as required for the filtering mechanism.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

1 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for their careful reading of our manuscript and for the constructive feedback. We address the major comment below and will revise the manuscript to strengthen the quantitative support for our claims.

read point-by-point responses

  1. Referee: [Results] Results section: The central claim that the GHz gating provides sufficient temporal resolution to achieve high spectral purity (via acting as a spectral filter) lacks supporting quantitative evidence. No joint spectral intensity, heralded photon spectrum, or g^{(2)}(0) measurement under the narrow gating window is reported to verify the purity or to show that timing jitter and losses do not degrade the heralded state.

    Authors: We agree that direct quantitative verification would strengthen the results. The narrow bandwidth of the integrated SiN photon-pair source is characterized independently, and the GHz gating is intended to temporally resolve the heralded photons, thereby providing spectral filtering consistent with the time-frequency uncertainty relation. To address the referee's concern, the revised manuscript will include a measurement of the heralded g^{(2)}(0) under the narrow gating window, along with an analysis of timing jitter and losses. We will also clarify how the source bandwidth and gating parameters together support high spectral purity. Joint spectral intensity measurements were outside the scope of this proof-of-concept work focused on source-detector integration, but we will add estimates derived from the measured source properties. revision: partial

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

No significant circularity: experimental demonstration is self-contained

full rationale

The manuscript describes an experimental architecture combining a CW-pumped integrated silicon nitride photon-pair source with GHz-gated InGaAs/InP SPAD detection to produce heralded telecom photons, where temporal gating provides both synchronization and spectral filtering. No derivation chain, equations, parameter fitting, or predictions are presented that could reduce to inputs by construction. The central claim rests on physical implementation and reported performance metrics rather than any self-citation load-bearing uniqueness theorem, ansatz smuggling, or renaming of known results. This is a standard experimental demonstration whose content is independent of the present paper's own fitted values or prior author work, yielding a self-contained result against external benchmarks.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

0 free parameters · 2 axioms · 0 invented entities

The central claim rests on standard quantum optics assumptions about photon-pair generation and detector timing properties; no new entities or free parameters are introduced in the abstract.

axioms (2)
  • domain assumption Probabilistic photon-pair sources produce correlated photons whose joint spectral properties can be filtered via timing information.
    Invoked when stating that temporal resolution provides spectral filtering.
  • domain assumption GHz-gated InGaAs/InP SPADs can operate with low jitter sufficient for telecom-band applications.
    Implicit in the use of the detector for both clock and filtering.

pith-pipeline@v0.9.0 · 5644 in / 1280 out tokens · 34070 ms · 2026-05-18T15:20:41.986455+00:00 · methodology

discussion (0)

Sign in with ORCID, Apple, or X to comment. Anyone can read and Pith papers without signing in.

Lean theorems connected to this paper

Citations machine-checked in the Pith Canon. Every link opens the source theorem in the public Lean library.

  • IndisputableMonolith/Cost/FunctionalEquation.lean washburn_uniqueness_aczel unclear
    ?
    unclear

    Relation between the paper passage and the cited Recognition theorem.

    a rapid gating InGaAs/InP single photon avalanche diode provides a synchronous clock and temporally resolves, and hence spectrally filters, the heralded photons... photon coherence length is longer than the jitter of the detector

What do these tags mean?
matches
The paper's claim is directly supported by a theorem in the formal canon.
supports
The theorem supports part of the paper's argument, but the paper may add assumptions or extra steps.
extends
The paper goes beyond the formal theorem; the theorem is a base layer rather than the whole result.
uses
The paper appears to rely on the theorem as machinery.
contradicts
The paper's claim conflicts with a theorem or certificate in the canon.
unclear
Pith found a possible connection, but the passage is too broad, indirect, or ambiguous to say the theorem truly supports the claim.

Reference graph

Works this paper leans on

26 extracted references · 26 canonical work pages

  1. [1]

    author author M. D. \ Eisaman , author J. Fan , author A. Migdall , \ and\ author S. V. \ Polyakov ,\ title title Invited review article: Single-photon sources and detectors , \ 10.1063/1.3610677 journal journal Review of Scientific Instruments \ volume 82 ,\ pages 071101 ( year 2011 ) ,\ http://arxiv.org/abs/https://pubs.aip.org/aip/rsi/article-pdf/doi/1...

    work page doi:10.1063/1.3610677 2011

  2. [2]

    Nature Nanotechnology , volume =

    author author N. Tomm , author A. Javadi , author N. O. \ Antoniadis , author D. Najer , author M. C. \ L o bl , author A. R. \ Korsch , author R. Schott , author S. R. \ Valentin , author A. D. \ Wieck , author A. Ludwig , \ and\ author R. J. \ Warburton ,\ title title A bright and fast source of coherent single photons , \ 10.1038/s41565-020-00831-x jou...

    work page doi:10.1038/s41565-020-00831-x 2021

  3. [3]

    Nature Photonics , volume =

    author author X. Ding , author Y.-P. \ Guo , author M.-C. \ Xu , author R.-Z. \ Liu , author G.-Y. \ Zou , author J.-Y. \ Zhao , author Z.-X. \ Ge , author Q.-H. \ Zhang , author H.-L. \ Liu , author L.-J. \ Wang , author M.-C. \ Chen , author H. Wang , author Y.-M. \ He , author Y.-H. \ Huo , author C.-Y. \ Lu , \ and\ author J.-W. \ Pan ,\ title title H...

    work page doi:10.1038/s41566-025-01639-8 2025

  4. [4]

    author author D. V. \ Morozov , author A. Casaburi , \ and\ author R. H. \ Hadfield ,\ title title Superconducting photon detectors , \ 10.1080/00107514.2022.2043596 journal journal Contemporary Physics \ volume 62 ,\ pages 69--91 ( year 2021 ) ,\ http://arxiv.org/abs/https://doi.org/10.1080/00107514.2022.2043596 https://doi.org/10.1080/00107514.2022.2043...

    work page doi:10.1080/00107514.2022.2043596 2022

  5. [5]

    Zhang , author P

    author author J. Zhang , author P. Eraerds , author N. Walenta , author C. Barreiro , author R. Thew , \ and\ author H. Zbinden ,\ title title 2.23 GHz gating InGaAs/InP single-photon avalanche diode for quantum key distribution , \ in\ 10.1117/12.862118 booktitle Advanced Photon Counting Techniques IV ,\ Vol.\ volume 7681 ,\ editor edited by\ editor M. A...

    work page doi:10.1117/12.862118 2010

  6. [6]

    author author P. J. \ Mosley , author J. S. \ Lundeen , author B. J. \ Smith , author P. Wasylczyk , author A. B. \ U'Ren , author C. Silberhorn , \ and\ author I. A. \ Walmsley ,\ title title Heralded generation of ultrafast single photons in pure quantum states , \ 10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.133601 journal journal Phys. Rev. Lett. \ volume 100 ,\ pages 133...

    work page doi:10.1103/physrevlett.100.133601 2008

  7. [7]

    \ Huang , author J

    author author Y.-P. \ Huang , author J. B. \ Altepeter , \ and\ author P. Kumar ,\ title title Heralding single photons without spectral factorability , \ 10.1103/PhysRevA.82.043826 journal journal Phys. Rev. A \ volume 82 ,\ pages 043826 ( year 2010 ) NoStop

    work page doi:10.1103/physreva.82.043826 2010

  8. [8]

    Halder , author A

    author author M. Halder , author A. Beveratos , author N. Gisin , author V. Scarani , author C. Simon , \ and\ author H. Zbinden ,\ title title Entangling independent photons by time measurement , \ 10.1038/nphys700 journal journal Nat. Phys. \ volume 3 ,\ pages 692–695 ( year 2007 ) NoStop

    work page doi:10.1038/nphys700 2007

  9. [9]

    Samara , author N

    author author F. Samara , author N. Maring , author A. Martin , author A. S. \ Raja , author T. J. \ Kippenberg , author H. Zbinden , \ and\ author R. Thew ,\ title title Entanglement swapping between independent and asynchronous integrated photon-pair sources , \ 10.1088/2058-9565/abf599 journal journal Quantum Sci. Technol. \ volume 6 ,\ pages 145024 ( ...

    work page doi:10.1088/2058-9565/abf599 2058

  10. [10]

    Yu , author J

    author author C. Yu , author J. Qiu , author H. Xia , author X. Dou , author J. Zhang , \ and\ author J.-W. \ Pan ,\ title title Compact and lightweight 1.5 m lidar with a multi-mode fiber coupling free-running InGaAs / InP single-photon detector , \ @noop journal journal Rev. Sci. Instrum. \ volume 89 ,\ pages 103106 ( year 2018 ) NoStop

    work page 2018

  11. [11]

    Liang , author B

    author author Y. Liang , author B. Xu , author Q. Fei , author W. Wu , author S. Xiao , author K. Huang , \ and\ author H. Zeng ,\ title title Low-timing-jitter GHz -gated InGaAs / InP single-photon avalanche photodiode for LIDAR , \ @noop journal journal IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron. \ volume 28 ,\ pages 1--7 ( year 2022 ) NoStop

    work page 2022

  12. [12]

    \ Li , author J.-T

    author author Z.-P. \ Li , author J.-T. \ Ye , author X. Huang , author P.-Y. \ Jiang , author Y. Cao , author Y. Hong , author C. Yu , author J. Zhang , author Q. Zhang , author C.-Z. \ Peng , author F. Xu , \ and\ author J.-W. \ Pan ,\ title title Single-photon imaging over 200 km , \ @noop journal journal Optica \ volume 8 ,\ pages 344 ( year 2021 ) NoStop

    work page 2021

  13. [13]

    Slenders , author M

    author author E. Slenders , author M. Castello , author M. Buttafava , author F. Villa , author A. Tosi , author L. Lanzanò , author S. V. \ Koho , \ and\ author G. Vicidomini ,\ title title Confocal-based fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy with a SPAD array detector , \ @noop journal journal Light Sci. Appl. \ volume 10 ,\ pages 31 ( year 2021 ) NoStop

    work page 2021

  14. [14]

    Bruschini , author H

    author author C. Bruschini , author H. Homulle , author I. M. \ Antolovic , author S. Burri , \ and\ author E. Charbon ,\ title title Single-photon avalanche diode imagers in biophotonics: review and outlook , \ @noop journal journal Light Sci. Appl. \ volume 8 ,\ pages 87 ( year 2019 ) NoStop

    work page 2019

  15. [15]

    Namekata , author S

    author author N. Namekata , author S. Adachi , \ and\ author S. Inoue ,\ title title Ultra-low-noise sinusoidally gated avalanche photodiode for high-speed single-photon detection at telecommunication wavelengths , \ @noop journal journal IEEE Photonics Technol. Lett. \ volume 22 ,\ pages 529--531 ( year 2010 ) NoStop

    work page 2010

  16. [16]

    Patel , author J

    author author K. Patel , author J. Dynes , author A. Sharpe , author Z. Yuan , author R. Penty , \ and\ author A. Shields ,\ title title Gigacount/second photon detection with ingaas avalanche photodiodes , \ 10.1049/el.2011.3265 journal journal Electronics Letters \ volume 48 ,\ pages 111 ( year 2012 ) NoStop

    work page doi:10.1049/el.2011.3265 2011

  17. [17]

    Liang , author E

    author author Y. Liang , author E. Wu , author X. Chen , author M. Ren , author Y. Jian , author G. Wu , \ and\ author H. Zeng ,\ title title Low-timing-jitter single-photon detection using 1- GHz sinusoidally gated InGaAs / InP avalanche photodiode , \ @noop journal journal IEEE Photonics Technol. Lett. \ volume 23 ,\ pages 887--889 ( year 2011 ) NoStop

    work page 2011

  18. [18]

    Tosi , author C

    author author A. Tosi , author C. Scarcella , author G. Boso , \ and\ author F. Acerbi ,\ title title Gate-free InGaAs / InP single-photon detector working at up to 100 mcount/s , \ @noop journal journal IEEE Photonics J. \ volume 5 ( year 2013 ) NoStop

    work page 2013

  19. [19]

    author author Z. L. \ Yuan , author B. E. \ Kardynal , author A. W. \ Sharpe , \ and\ author A. J. \ Shields ,\ title title High speed single photon detection in the near infrared , \ 10.1063/1.2760135 journal journal Applied Physics Letters \ volume 91 ,\ pages 041114 ( year 2007 ) ,\ http://arxiv.org/abs/https://pubs.aip.org/aip/apl/article-pdf/doi/10.1...

    work page doi:10.1063/1.2760135 2007

  20. [20]

    Scarcella , author G

    author author C. Scarcella , author G. Boso , author A. Ruggeri , \ and\ author A. Tosi ,\ title title InGaAs / InP single-photon detector gated at 1.3 GHz with 1.5\

    work page

  21. [21]

    Park , author S.-B

    author author C. Park , author S.-B. \ Cho , author C.-Y. \ Park , author S. Baek , \ and\ author S.-K. \ Han ,\ title title Dual anode single-photon avalanche diode for high-speed and low-noise Geiger-mode operation , \ 10.1364/OE.27.018201 journal journal Opt. Express \ volume 27 ,\ pages 18201--18209 ( year 2019 ) NoStop

    work page doi:10.1364/oe.27.018201 2019

  22. [22]

    Adaptive Wideband Beamforming With Frequency Invariance Constraints

    author author Z. Lu , author Y. Kang , author C. Hu , author Q. Zhou , author H.-D. \ Liu , \ and\ author J. C. \ Campbell ,\ title title Geiger-Mode Operation of Ge-on-Si Avalanche Photodiodes , \ 10.1109/JQE.2011.2110637 journal journal IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics \ volume 47 ,\ pages 731--735 ( year 2011 ) NoStop

    work page doi:10.1109/jqe.2011.2110637 2011

  23. [23]

    Amri , author G

    author author E. Amri , author G. Boso , author B. Korzh , \ and\ author H. Zbinden ,\ 10.1364/OL.41.005728 title Temporal jitter in free-running InGaAs/InP single-photon avalanche detectors , \ ( year 2016 ) NoStop

    work page doi:10.1364/ol.41.005728 2016

  24. [24]

    author author A. C. \ Farrell , author X. Meng , author D. Ren , author H. Kim , author P. Senanayake , author N. Y. \ Hsieh , author Z. Rong , author T.-Y. \ Chang , author K. M. \ Azizur-Rahman , \ and\ author D. L. \ Huffaker ,\ 10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b04643 title InGaAs–GaAs Nanowire Avalanche Photodiodes Toward Single-Photon Detection in Free-Running ...

    work page doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b04643 2019

  25. [25]

    author author R. W. P. \ Drever , author J. L. \ Hall , author F. V. \ Kowalski , author J. Hough , author G. M. \ Ford , author A. J. \ Munley , \ and\ author H. Ward ,\ title title Laser phase and frequency stabilization using an optical resonator , \ 10.1007/BF00702605 journal journal Applied Physics B \ volume 31 ,\ pages 97--105 ( year 1983 ) NoStop

    work page doi:10.1007/bf00702605 1983

  26. [26]

    Signorini \ and\ author L

    author author S. Signorini \ and\ author L. Pavesi ,\ title title On-chip heralded single photon sources , \ 10.1116/5.0018594 journal journal AVS Quantum Science \ volume 2 ,\ pages 041701 ( year 2020 ) ,\ http://arxiv.org/abs/https://pubs.aip.org/avs/aqs/article-pdf/doi/10.1116/5.0018594/13816872/041701\_1\_online.pdf https://pubs.aip.org/avs/aqs/articl...

    work page doi:10.1116/5.0018594 2020