Filtration and Extraction of Quantum States from Classical Inputs

Abstract: We propose using nonlinear Mach-Zehnder interferometer (NMZI) to efficiently prepare photonic quantum states from a classical input. We first analytically investigate the simple NMZI that can filtrate single photon state from weak coherent state by preferrentially blocking two-photon component. As a generalization, we show that the cascaded NMZI can deterministically extract arbitrary quantum state from a strong coherent state. Finally, we numerically demonstrate that the cascaded NMZI can be very efficient in both the input power and the level of cascade. The protocol of quantum state preparation with NMZI can be extended to various systems of bosonic modes.