Time-bin entangled qubits for quantum communication created by femtosecond pulses

Abstract

We create pairs of nondegenerate time-bin entangled photons at telecom wavelengths with ultrashort pump pulses. Entanglement is shown by performing Bell kind tests of the Franson type with visibilities of up to 91%. As time-bin entanglement can easily be protected from decoherence as encountered in optical fibers, this experiment opens the road for complex quantum communication protocols over long distances. We also investigate the creation of more than one photon pair in a laser pulse and present a simple tool to quantify the probability of such events to happen.