Compact and stable source of polarization-entangled photon-pairs based on a folded linear displacement interferometer (2503.19838v2)

Abstract: The realization of quantum networks requires the development of robust low size, weight and power (SWaP) systems suitable for operation under harsh environments in remote and mobile nodes such as satellites. We present a source of polarization-entangled photon-pairs in a folded linear displacement interferometer based on spontaneous parametric down conversion using a Type-0 periodically poled potassium titanyl phosphate crystal. Featuring a compact and stable double-pass geometry using a corner-cube retroreflector, the source has a detected pair rate of 2.5 M pairs/s/mW with a Bell state fidelity of 94.1% +/- 2.1%. The qualities and demonstrated performance of the source make it suitable for deployment in entanglement-based quantum networks.