Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1705.01029 · Optics Express

On-chip quantum interference with heralded photons from two independent micro-ring resonator sources in silicon photonics

Imad I. Faruque, Gary F. Sinclair, Damien Bonneau, John G. Rarity, Mark G. Thompson

Published Jul 26, 2018• 66 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

High visibility on-chip quantum interference among indistinguishable single-photons from multiples sources is a key prerequisite for integrated linear optical quantum computing. Resonant enhancement in micro-ring resonators naturally enables brighter, purer and more indistinguishable single-photon production without any tight spectral filtering. The indistinguisha-bility of heralded single-photons from multiple micro-ring resonators has not been measured in any photonic platform. Here, we report on-chip indistinguishability measurements of heralded single-photons generated from independent micro-ring resonators by using an on-chip Mach-Zehnder interferometer and spectral demultiplexer. We measured the raw heralded two-photon interference fringe visibility as 72 ± 3%. This result agrees with our model, which includes device imperfections, spectral impurity and multi-pair emissions. We identify multi-pair emissions as the main factor limiting the nonclassical interference visibility, and show a route towards achieving near unity visibility in future experiments.

DOI
10.1364/oe.26.020379

Related papers

Interference of heralded single photons generated in silicon waveguide sources

Gary F. Sinclair

Quantum interference between identical photons lies at the heart of our plan to construct a silicon photonic quantum computer. Several ground-breaking experiments have demonstrated the on-chip interference between photons generated in spiral [1] and ring resonator [2] sources. However, these two-photon experiments have relied on detecting the simultaneous arrival of a pair of photons from either source. In order that such experiments can be scaled-up, we require the multiplexing of probabilistic photon pair sources into an on-demand single photon source [3]. A first step towards this is to demonstrate heralded single photons from different sources will retain the purity and indistinguishability required to interfere with high visibility [4]. In our work we examine photon pair production by spontaneous four-wave mixing in a silicon waveguide source and determine the factors that limit the heralded two-photon interference visibility. We present a novel approach to modelling this generation process using the joint- temporal amplitude and compare our results with experimental data. [1] On-chip quantum interference between silicon photon-pair sources, Nature Photonics 8, 104, (2014). [2] Qubit entanglement between ring-resonator photon-pair sources on a silicon chip, Nature Communications 6, 7948, (2015). [3] Active temporal and spatial multiplexing of photons, Optica 3, 127, (2016) [4] Indistinguishable photon pair generation using two independent silicon wire waveguides, New Journal of Physics 13, 065005, (2011).

•Jan 1, 2016•0 citations

Heralded Quantum Interference of On-chip Micro-ring Resonator Sources in Si-photonics

Imad I. Faruque, Damien Bonneau, Gary F. Sinclair +1 more

We report a 4-photon measurement in silicon-on-isolator, demonstrating 67.31% ± 10% indistinguishability among heralded photons generated from two separate micro-resonators, and interfered on-chip. The heralded single-photon purities from each source are estimated as 86.20 ± 3.89% and 78.69 ± 2.44%.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics•Jan 1, 2017•1 citation

Indistinguishable Photon-Pairs from Pure and Bright Silicon Micro-ring Resonator Sources

Imad I. Faruque, D. Llewellyn, Yunhong Ding +11 more

We report on-chip interference fringes of very high visibility 89% from heralded single photons from separate ultra-bright silicon micro-ring resonator sources as 4-fold coincidences. The reconfigurable chip is also used to measure multipair fringes and conditional g H ( 2 ) ( 0 ) of single photons.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics•Jan 1, 2018•0 citations

Near-ideal spontaneous photon sources in silicon quantum photonics

Stefano Paesani, Massimo Borghi, Stefano Signorini +3 more

While integrated photonics is a robust platform for quantum information processing, architectures for photonic quantum computing place stringent demands on high quality information carriers. Sources of single photons that are highly indistinguishable and pure, that are either near-deterministic or heralded with high efficiency, and that are suitable for mass-manufacture, have been elusive. Here, we demonstrate on-chip photon sources that simultaneously meet each of these requirements. Our photon sources are fabricated in silicon using mature processes, and exploit a dual-mode pump-delayed excitation scheme to engineer the emission of spectrally pure photon pairs through inter-modal spontaneous four-wave mixing in low-loss spiralled multi-mode waveguides. We simultaneously measure a spectral purity of 0.9904 ± 0.0006, a mutual indistinguishability of 0.987 ± 0.002, and >90% intrinsic heralding efficiency. We measure on-chip quantum interference with a visibility of 0.96 ± 0.02 between heralded photons from different sources.

arXiv:2005.09579•Nature Communications•May 19, 2020•192 citations

Do different kinds of photon-pair sources have the same indistinguishability in quantum silicon photonics?

Jong-Moo Lee, Alessio Baldazzi, Matteo Sanna +5 more

In the same silicon photonic integrated circuit, we compare two types of integrated degenerate photon-pair sources (microring resonators and waveguides) using Hong–Ou–Mandel (HOM) interference experiments. Two nominally identical microring resonators are coupled to two nominally identical waveguides, which form the arms of a Mach–Zehnder interferometer. This is pumped by two lasers at two different wavelengths to generate, by spontaneous four-wave mixing, degenerate photon pairs. In particular, the microring resonators can be thermally tuned in or out of resonance with the pump wavelengths, thus choosing either the microring resonators or the waveguides as photon-pair sources, respectively. In this way, an on-chip HOM visibility of 94% with microring resonators and 99% with straight waveguides is measured upon filtering. We compare our experimental results with theoretical simulations of the joint spectral intensity and the purity of the degenerate photon pairs. We verify that the visibility is connected to the sources’ indistinguishability, which can be quantified by the overlap between the joint spectral amplitudes (JSA) of the photon pairs generated by the two sources. We estimate a JSA overlap of 98% with waveguides and 89% with microring resonators.

arXiv:2305.10066•Photonics Research•Aug 21, 2023•12 citations

Measurement of Quantum Interference in a Silicon Ring Resonator Photon Source

Jeffrey A. Steidle, Michael L. Fanto, Stefan F. Preble +4 more

Silicon photonic chips have the potential to realize complex integrated quantum information processing circuits, including photon sources, qubit manipulation, and integrated single-photon detectors. Here, we present the key aspects of preparing and testing a silicon photonic quantum chip with an integrated photon source and two-photon interferometer. The most important aspect of an integrated quantum circuit is minimizing loss so that all of the generated photons are detected with the highest possible fidelity. Here, we describe how to perform low-loss edge coupling by using an ultra-high numerical aperture fiber to closely match the mode of the silicon waveguides. By using an optimized fusion splicing recipe, the UHNA fiber is seamlessly interfaced with a standard single-mode fiber. This low-loss coupling allows the measurement of high-fidelity photon production in an integrated silicon ring resonator and the subsequent two-photon interference of the produced photons in a closely integrated Mach-Zehnder interferometer. This paper describes the essential procedures for the preparation and characterization of high-performance and scalable silicon quantum photonic circuits.

Journal of Visualized Experiments•Apr 4, 2017•2 citations
High visibility on-chip quantum interference among indistinguishable single-photons from multiples sources is a key prerequisite for integrated linear optical quantum computing. Resonant enhancement in micro-ring resonators naturally enables brighter, purer and more indistinguishable single-photon production without any tight spectral filtering. The indistinguisha-bility of heralded single-photons from multiple micro-ring resonators has not been measured in any photonic platform. Here, we report on-chip indistinguishability measurements of heralded single-photons generated from independent micro-ring resonators by using an on-chip Mach-Zehnder interferometer and spectral demultiplexer. We measured the raw heralded two-photon interference fringe visibility as 72 ± 3%. This result agrees with our model, which includes device imperfections, spectral impurity and multi-pair emissions. We identify multi-pair emissions as the main factor limiting the nonclassical interference visibility, and show a route towards achieving near unity visibility in future experiments.
Quantum interference between identical photons lies at the heart of our plan to construct a silicon photonic quantum computer. Several ground-breaking experiments have demonstrated the on-chip interference between photons generated in spiral [1] and ring resonator [2] sources. However, these two-photon experiments have relied on detecting the simultaneous arrival of a pair of photons from either source. In order that such experiments can be scaled-up, we require the multiplexing of probabilistic photon pair sources into an on-demand single photon source [3]. A first step towards this is to demonstrate heralded single photons from different sources will retain the purity and indistinguishability required to interfere with high visibility [4]. In our work we examine photon pair production by spontaneous four-wave mixing in a silicon waveguide source and determine the factors that limit the heralded two-photon interference visibility. We present a novel approach to modelling this generation process using the joint- temporal amplitude and compare our results with experimental data. [1] On-chip quantum interference between silicon photon-pair sources, Nature Photonics 8, 104, (2014). [2] Qubit entanglement between ring-resonator photon-pair sources on a silicon chip, Nature Communications 6, 7948, (2015). [3] Active temporal and spatial multiplexing of photons, Optica 3, 127, (2016) [4] Indistinguishable photon pair generation using two independent silicon wire waveguides, New Journal of Physics 13, 065005, (2011).
While integrated photonics is a robust platform for quantum information processing, architectures for photonic quantum computing place stringent demands on high quality information carriers. Sources of single photons that are highly indistinguishable and pure, that are either near-deterministic or heralded with high efficiency, and that are suitable for mass-manufacture, have been elusive. Here, we demonstrate on-chip photon sources that simultaneously meet each of these requirements. Our photon sources are fabricated in silicon using mature processes, and exploit a dual-mode pump-delayed excitation scheme to engineer the emission of spectrally pure photon pairs through inter-modal spontaneous four-wave mixing in low-loss spiralled multi-mode waveguides. We simultaneously measure a spectral purity of 0.9904 ± 0.0006, a mutual indistinguishability of 0.987 ± 0.002, and >90% intrinsic heralding efficiency. We measure on-chip quantum interference with a visibility of 0.96 ± 0.02 between heralded photons from different sources.
In the same silicon photonic integrated circuit, we compare two types of integrated degenerate photon-pair sources (microring resonators and waveguides) using Hong–Ou–Mandel (HOM) interference experiments. Two nominally identical microring resonators are coupled to two nominally identical waveguides, which form the arms of a Mach–Zehnder interferometer. This is pumped by two lasers at two different wavelengths to generate, by spontaneous four-wave mixing, degenerate photon pairs. In particular, the microring resonators can be thermally tuned in or out of resonance with the pump wavelengths, thus choosing either the microring resonators or the waveguides as photon-pair sources, respectively. In this way, an on-chip HOM visibility of 94% with microring resonators and 99% with straight waveguides is measured upon filtering. We compare our experimental results with theoretical simulations of the joint spectral intensity and the purity of the degenerate photon pairs. We verify that the visibility is connected to the sources’ indistinguishability, which can be quantified by the overlap between the joint spectral amplitudes (JSA) of the photon pairs generated by the two sources. We estimate a JSA overlap of 98% with waveguides and 89% with microring resonators.
Silicon photonic chips have the potential to realize complex integrated quantum information processing circuits, including photon sources, qubit manipulation, and integrated single-photon detectors. Here, we present the key aspects of preparing and testing a silicon photonic quantum chip with an integrated photon source and two-photon interferometer. The most important aspect of an integrated quantum circuit is minimizing loss so that all of the generated photons are detected with the highest possible fidelity. Here, we describe how to perform low-loss edge coupling by using an ultra-high numerical aperture fiber to closely match the mode of the silicon waveguides. By using an optimized fusion splicing recipe, the UHNA fiber is seamlessly interfaced with a standard single-mode fiber. This low-loss coupling allows the measurement of high-fidelity photon production in an integrated silicon ring resonator and the subsequent two-photon interference of the produced photons in a closely integrated Mach-Zehnder interferometer. This paper describes the essential procedures for the preparation and characterization of high-performance and scalable silicon quantum photonic circuits.