Exploring the role of polarization in fiber-based quantum sources

Abstract: Optical fibers constitute an attractive platform for the realization of nonlinear and quantum optics processes. Here we show, through theoretical considerations, how polarization effects of both third-order parametric down-conversion and four-wave-mixing in optical fibers may be exploited to enhance detection schemes. We apply our general framework specifically to the case of tapered fibers for photon triplet generation, a long-standing goal within quantum optics, and obtain explicit expectation values for its efficiency. A quantitative investigation of four-wave-mixing in a microstructured solid-core fiber provides significant consequences for the role of polarization in experimental design.