In this Letter, we propose a new approach to process high-dimensional quantum information encoded in a photon frequency domain. In contrast to previous approaches based on nonlinear optical processes, no active control of photon energy is required. Arbitrary unitary transformation and projection measurement can be realized with passive photonic circuits and time-resolving detection. A systematic circuit design for a quantum frequency comb with arbitrary size has been given. The criteria to verify quantum frequency correlation has been derived. By considering the practical condition of the detector's finite response time, we show that high-fidelity operation can be readily realized with current device performance. This work will pave the way towards scalable and high-fidelity quantum information processing based on high-dimensional frequency encoding.
In this Letter, we propose a new approach to process high-dimensional quantum information encoded in a photon frequency domain. In contrast to previous approaches based on nonlinear optical processes, no active control of photon energy is required. Arbitrary unitary transformation and projection measurement can be realized with passive photonic circuits and time-resolving detection. A systematic circuit design for a quantum frequency comb with arbitrary size has been given. The criteria to verify quantum frequency correlation has been derived. By considering the practical condition of the detector's finite response time, we show that high-fidelity operation can be readily realized with current device performance. This work will pave the way towards scalable and high-fidelity quantum information processing based on high-dimensional frequency encoding.
We propose a linear optical quantum computation scheme using time-frequency degrees of freedom. In this scheme, a qubit is encoded in single-photon frequency combs, and manipulation of the qubits is performed using time-resolving detectors, beam splitters, and optical interleavers. This scheme does not require active devices such as high-speed switches and electro-optic modulators and is robust against temporal and spectral errors, which are mainly caused by the detectors' finite resolution. We show that current technologies almost meet the requirements for fault-tolerant quantum computation.
Today’s quantum technology relies on the realization of large-scale non-classical systems in practical formats to enable quantum-accelerated computing, secure communications and enhanced sensing. Optical on-chip quantum frequency combs, characterized by many equidistantly spaced frequency modes, allow the storage of large amounts of quantum information. The combination with control techniques, using accessible state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure, can constitute a powerful frequency-domain quantum circuit with new functionalities and represents an approach towards realizing practical large-scale controllable quantum systems. In this presentation, we will review approaches for the efficient realization of quantum frequency combs in on-chip waveguide structures and micro-resonators. We will show their applicability for the realization of quantum systems with considerably enhanced complexity, particularly generating and manipulating on-chip multi-photon and high-dimensional quantum states as well as discrete high-dimensional cluster states, laying at the basis of measurement based-quantum computing. Building on this, the realization of frequency-domain Hong-Ou-Mandel interference of independent photons, fundamental to quantum information processing, as well as an outlook on frequency-domain circuits will be discussed.
We propose a quantum information processing platform that utilizes the ultrafast time-bin encoding of photons. This approach offers a pathway to scalability by leveraging the inherent phase stability of collinear temporal interferometric networks at the femtosecond-to-picosecond timescale. The proposed architecture encodes information in ultrafast temporal bins processed using optically induced nonlinearities and birefringent materials while keeping photons in a single spatial mode. We demonstrate the potential for scalable photonic quantum information processing through two independent experiments that showcase the platform's programmability and scalability, respectively. The scheme's programmability is demonstrated in the first experiment, where we successfully program 362 different unitary transformations in up to eight dimensions in a temporal circuit. In the second experiment, we show the scalability of ultrafast time-bin encoding by building a passive optical network, with increasing circuit depth, of up to 36 optical modes. In each experiment, fidelities exceed 97%, while the interferometric phase remains passively stable for several days.
High-dimensional encoding in time-frequency and photon-number degrees of freedom promises photon-efficient quantum communication, but requires detectors that are both temporal-mode selective and photon-number resolving. Here we demonstrate time-correlated single-photon detection combining both capabilities. A train of shaped pump pulses drives quantum frequency up-conversion to select a chosen temporal mode, and the converted photons are counted with a photon-number-resolving detector. Applying to a photon-pair source by spontaneous parametric downconversion into signal and idler bands, we demonstrate direct sampling of the high-dimensional correlated quantum states on compound time-frequency and photon number bases. Our measurements show that the up-converted photons in each band exhibit thermal photon-number statistics, indicating strong single-mode selection. We reconstruct joint temporal intensities conditioned on one and two photon pairs, revealing signal-idler correlations in both time-frequency and photon number. Together, these results establish a unified technology framework linking high-dimensional quantum correlations, mode-selective photon measurement, and photon-number resolved detection. This approach provides a route to characterizing multimode photon-pair sources and to larger time-frequency and photon-number alphabets for high-dimensional quantum communication and information processing.
Entangled optical quantum states are essential towards solving questions in fundamental physics and are at the heart of applications in quantum information science. For advancing the research and development of quantum technologies, practical access to the generation and manipulation of photon states carrying significant quantum resources is required. Recently, integrated photonics has become a leading platform for the compact and cost-efficient generation and processing of optical quantum states. Despite significant advances, most on-chip nonclassical light sources are still limited to basic bi-photon systems formed by two-dimensional states (i.e., qubits). An interesting approach bearing large potential is the use of the time or frequency domain to enabled the scalable onchip generation of complex states. In this manuscript, we review recent efforts in using on-chip optical frequency combs for quantum state generation and telecommunications components for their coherent control. In particular, the generation of bi- and multi-photon entangled qubit states has been demonstrated, based on a discrete time domain approach. Moreover, the on-chip generation of high-dimensional entangled states (quDits) has recently been realized, wherein the photons are created in a coherent superposition of multiple pure frequency modes. The time- and frequency-domain states formed with on-chip frequency comb sources were coherently manipulated via off-the-shelf telecommunications components. Our results suggest that microcavity-based entangled photon states and their coherent control using accessible telecommunication infrastructures can open up new venues for scalable quantum information science.
High-dimensional encoding in time-frequency and photon-number degrees of freedom promises photon-efficient quantum communication, but requires detectors that are both temporal-mode selective and photon-number resolving. Here we demonstrate time-correlated single-photon detection combining both capabilities. A train of shaped pump pulses drives quantum frequency up-conversion to select a chosen temporal mode, and the converted photons are counted with a photon-number-resolving detector. Applying to a photon-pair source by spontaneous parametric downconversion into signal and idler bands, we demonstrate direct sampling of the high-dimensional correlated quantum states on compound time-frequency and photon number bases. Our measurements show that the up-converted photons in each band exhibit thermal photon-number statistics, indicating strong single-mode selection. We reconstruct joint temporal intensities conditioned on one and two photon pairs, revealing signal-idler correlations in both time-frequency and photon number. Together, these results establish a unified technology framework linking high-dimensional quantum correlations, mode-selective photon measurement, and photon-number resolved detection. This approach provides a route to characterizing multimode photon-pair sources and to larger time-frequency and photon-number alphabets for high-dimensional quantum communication and information processing.