Polarization-entangled photon pair sources based on spontaneous four wave mixing assisted by polarization mode dispersion

Photonic-based qubits and integrated photonic circuits have enabled demonstrations of quantum information processing (QIP) that promises to transform the way in which we compute and communicate. To that end, sources of polarization-entangled photon pair states are an important enabling technology. However, such states are difficult to prepare in an integrated photonic circuit. Scalable semiconductor sources typically rely on nonlinear optical effects where polarization mode dispersion (PMD) degrades entanglement. Here, we directly generate polarization-entangled states in an AlGaAs waveguide, aided by the PMD and without any compensation steps. We perform quantum state tomography and report a raw concurrence as high as 0.91 ± 0.01 observed in a 1,100-nm-wide waveguide. The scheme allows direct Bell state generation with an observed maximum fidelity of 0.90 ± 0.01 from another (800-nm-wide) waveguide. Our demonstration paves the way for sources that allow for the implementation of polarization-encoded protocols in large-scale quantum photonic circuits.