  We propose a method for producing on-demand single-photon states based on
collision-induced exchanges of photons and unbalanced linear absorption between
two single-mode light fields. These two effects result in an effective
nonlinear absorption of photons in one of the modes, which can lead to single
photon states. A quantum nonlinear attenuator based on such a mechanism can
absorb photons in a normal input light pulse and terminate the absorption at a
single-photon state. Because the output light pulses containing single photons
preserve the properties of the input pulses, we expect this method to be a
means for building a highly controllable single photon source.
