Title :
"Experimental realization of Wheeler\´s delayed-choice Gedanken Experiment"
Author :
Jacques, Vincent ; Wu, E ; Grosshans, Frédéric ; Treussart, François ; Aspect, Alain ; Grangier, Philippe ; Roch, Jean-François
Author_Institution :
ENS Cachan, Cachan
Abstract :
We report an almost ideal realization of wheeler\´s "delayed-choice" experiment where the light pulses are true single photons, allowing unambiguous which-way measurements. The clock-triggered single-photon source at the heart of the experiment, previously developed for quantum key distribution, is based on the pulsed, optically excited photoluminescence of a single N-V colour centre in a diamond nanocrystal. This system, which consists in a substitutional nitrogen atom (N) associated to a vacancy (V) in an adjacent lattice site of the diamond crystalline matrix, has an unsurpassed efficiency and photostability at room temperature.
Keywords :
colour centres; diamond; elemental semiconductors; photoluminescence; photons; quantum cryptography; adjacent lattice site; clock-triggered source; colour centre; diamond crystalline matrix; diamond nanocrystal; gedanken experiment; light pulses; optically excited photoluminescence; quantum key distribution; realization; single photons; wheeler delayed-choice; Atom optics; Atomic measurements; Clocks; Delay; Heart; Nanocrystals; Nitrogen; Optical pulses; Photoluminescence; Pulse measurements;
Conference_Titel :
Lasers and Electro-Optics, 2007 and the International Quantum Electronics Conference. CLEOE-IQEC 2007. European Conference on
Conference_Location :
Munich
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-0931-0
Electronic_ISBN :
978-1-4244-0931-0
DOI :
10.1109/CLEOE-IQEC.2007.4386903
