Proposal for Energy-Time Entanglement of Quasiparticles in a Solid-State Device

We present a proposal for the experimental observation of energy-time entanglement of quasiparticles in mesoscopic physics. This type of entanglement arises whenever correlated particles are produced at the same time and this time is uncertain in the sense of quantum uncertainty, as has been largely used in photonics. We discuss its feasibility for electron-hole pairs. In particular, we argue that junctions between materials in which electrons and holes, respectively, propagate ballistically and behave as “entanglers” for energy-time entanglement when irradiated with a continuous laser.

Figure 1

The Franson interferometer, drawn for photonics. Gray segments are 50-50 couplers; $\alpha$ and $\beta$ are dephasing elements (small delays). The difference between the two arms on each side, $\Delta L=L-S$, must satisfy requirement (1).

Figure 2

Qualitative description of the 2DEG-2DHG junction. (a) The design. (b),(${\mathrm{b}}^{\prime }$) The gap along the vertical axis. (c) Schematic description of the junction and of its behavior when irradiated with a laser spot (gray area).