  Synthesis of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen entangled state --- the primary
entangled resource in continuous-variable quantum-optical information
processing --- is a technological challenge of great importance. Here we
propose and implement a new scheme of generating this state. Two nonlinear
optical crystals, positioned back-to-back in the waist of a pump beam, function
as single-pass degenerate optical parametric amplifiers and produce single-mode
squeezed vacuum states in orthogonal polarization modes, but in the same
spatiotemporal mode. A subsequent pair of waveplates acts as a beam splitter,
entangling the two polarization modes to generate the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen
state. This technique takes advantage of the strong nonlinearity associated
with type-I phase-matching configuration while at the same time eliminating the
need for actively stabilizing the optical phase between the two squeezers,
which typically arises if these squeezers are spatially separated. We
demonstrate our method in an experiment, preparing a 1.4 dB two-mode squeezed
state and characterizing it via two-mode homodyne tomography.
