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:2305.08990 · Science Advances

A Bi-CMOS electronic photonic integrated circuit quantum light detector

Joel F. Tasker, Jonathan Frazer, Giacomo Ferranti, Jonathan C. F. Matthews

Published May 17, 2024• 24 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) integration of quantum technology provides a route to manufacture at volume, simplify assembly, reduce footprint, and increase performance. Quantum noise-limited homodyne detectors have applications across quantum technologies, and they comprise photonics and electronics. Here, we report a quantum noise-limited monolithic electronic-photonic integrated homodyne detector, with a footprint of 80 micrometers by 220 micrometers, fabricated in a 250-nanometer lithography bipolar CMOS process. We measure a 15.3-gigahertz 3-decibel bandwidth with a maximum shot noise clearance of 12 decibels and shot noise clearance out to 26.5 gigahertz, when measured with a 9-decibel-milliwatt power local oscillator. This performance is enabled by monolithic electronic-photonic integration, which goes below the capacitance limits of devices made up of separate integrated chips or discrete components. It exceeds the bandwidth of quantum detectors with macroscopic electronic interconnects, including wire and flip chip bonding. This demonstrates electronic-photonic integration enhancing quantum photonic device performance.

DOI
10.1126/sciadv.adk6890

Related papers

9 GHz measurement of squeezed light by interfacing silicon photonics and integrated electronics/Main text

Joel F. Tasker, Jonathan Frazer, Giacomo Ferranti +1 more

Photonic quantum technology can be enhanced by monolithic fabrication of both the underpinning quantum hardware and the corresponding electronics for classical readout and control. Together, this enables miniaturisation and mass-manufacture of small quantum devices---such as quantum communication nodes, quantum sensors and sources of randomness---and promises the precision and scale of fabrication required to assemble useful quantum computers. Here we combine CMOS compatible silicon and germanium-on-silicon nano-photonics with silicon-germanium integrated amplification electronics to improve performance of on-chip homodyne detection of quantum light. We observe a 3 dB bandwidth of 1.7 GHz, shot-noise limited performance beyond 9 GHz and minaturise the required footprint to 0.84 mm. We use the device to observe quantum squeezed light, from 100 MHz to 9 GHz, generated in a lithium niobate waveguide. This demonstrates that an all-integrated approach yields faster homodyne detectors for quantum technology than has been achieved to-date and opens the way to full-stack integration of photonic quantum devices.

•Sep 25, 2020•0 citations

Integrated balanced homodyne detector using CMOS capacitive-feedback TIA for quantum measurements

Sarah Bastiaens, Cedric Bruynsteen, Simone Cammarata +5 more

A low-noise, high-speed balanced homodyne detector is demonstrated, combining a capacitive-feedback transimpedance amplifier implemented in 28 nm CMOS with a custom photonic integrated circuit fabricated in imec's iSiPP200 silicon photonics platform. The receiver achieves a 3-dB bandwidth of 7.6 GHz, a maximum shot noise clearance of 27 dB, a shot noise-limited bandwidth of 13.7 GHz and a common-mode rejection ratio up to 54.8 dB. These results demonstrate the suitability of CMOS capacitive-feedback transimpedance amplifiers for demanding quantum and coherent sensing optical applications, including continuous-variable quantum key distribution, quantum random number generation, and optical coherence tomography.

quant-pharXiv:2609.37671•Sep 30, 2026•0 citations

Integrated balanced homodyne photonic–electronic detector for beyond 20 GHz shot-noise-limited measurements

Cédric Bruynsteen, Michael Vanhoecke, Johan Bauwelinck +1 more

Optical homodyne detection is used in numerous quantum and classical applications that demand high levels of sensitivity. However, performance is typically limited due to the use of bulk optics and discrete receiver electronics. To address these performance issues, in this work we present a co-integrated balanced homodyne detector consisting of a silicon photonics optical front end and a custom integrated transimpedance amplifier designed in a 100 nm GaAs pHEMT technology. The high level of co-design and integration provides enhanced levels of stability, bandwidth, and noise performance. The presented detector shows a linear operation up to 28 dB quantum shot noise clearance and a high degree of common-mode rejection, at the same time achieving a shot-noise-limited bandwidth of more than 20 GHz. The high performance of the developed devices provide enhanced operation to many sensitive quantum applications such as continuous variable quantum key distribution, quantum random number generation, or high-speed quantum tomography.

Optica•Jul 23, 2021•90 citations

Strategies and components for quantum limited precision measurement in integrated quantum photonics

Jonathan Frazer, Joel F. Tasker, Jake Biele +11 more

Integrated photonics is providing a compelling route for quantum limited and quantum enhanced technologies, including computing communications and optical sensing. This is because chip-scale integrated photonics can offer miniaturization as well as possible scalability in manufacture. Here we will discuss recent results in developing integrated homodyne detection integrated in silicon photonics. We discuss its combination with integrated electronics to demonstrate high bandwidth performance and its use to measure squeezed light over a broad bandwidth, out to 9GHz. This demonstrates a performance enhancement that is relevant to quantum technology and is due to miniaturization. We will discuss possible applications of of integrated quantum noise listed homodyne detection, including a strategy to perform quantum limited absorption estimation using integrated photonics and coherent states.

Optical and Quantum Sensing and Precision Metrology II•Mar 9, 2022•0 citations

Generation and detection of squeezed light on a single silicon photonic chip

Oliver M. Green, Bethany Puzio, Rowan A. Hoggarth +5 more

The ability to generate and detect quantum states of light on a single integrated photonic device is essential to scale quantum photonics into useful quantum technologies. Integrating the required capabilities into complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor compatible monolithic chips can reduce cost and unlock new functionality through miniaturisation. In this work we demonstrate a single silicon-on-insulator photonic integrated circuit for the monolithic generation and detection of quantum light on a commercially available platform that operates entirely at room temperature. Specifically, we leverage spontaneous four-wave mixing in silicon waveguides to produce squeezed light which is subsequently detected by photodiodes operating in a pulsed homodyne detector configuration on the same chip as the source. We directly measure $0.25(1)$ dB of squeezing, including contributions from waveguide propagation loss and detection inefficiency, and include a detailed analysis of the impact of nonlinear loss on the squeezing levels achievable using this platform.

quant-pharXiv:2607.15461•Jul 20, 2026•0 citations

A Low-Noise Hybrid-Integrated Balanced Homodyne Receiver with 2.5 GHz Bandwidth and 15 dB Quantum Shot Noise Clearance

Yihao Yang, Chao Zeng Cheng, Ruixuan Yang +5 more

The rapid development of continuous-variable quantum communication has driven an increasing demand for high-performance quantum signal processing modules. Among these, the balanced homodyne detector (BHD) has emerged as a leading solution for practical quantum state measurement due to its capability to provide complete quantum mechanical characterization. However, its performance is often constrained by limited bandwidth and high noise levels, primarily due to the reliance on bulk optical components and discrete receiver electronics. The dominant noise source in these systems typically stems from electronic noise, while imbalances in the optical path further degrade the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the BHD. In this work, we present an adjustable integrated optical path to enhance the balance within the BHD system, along with a low-noise transimpedance amplifier (TIA) by employing optoelectronic co-design. Our design achieves a bandwidth of 2.5 GHz, an input-referred noise current of only 2 pA/√Hz in 180 nm CMOS technology, and a measured quantum shot noise clearance of 15 dB generated from a 700 μA photocurrent. This is the maximum quantum shot noise clearance at the same BHD photocurrent reported to date above the GHz bandwidth.

Micromachines•Dec 17, 2025•0 citations
Complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) integration of quantum technology provides a route to manufacture at volume, simplify assembly, reduce footprint, and increase performance. Quantum noise-limited homodyne detectors have applications across quantum technologies, and they comprise photonics and electronics. Here, we report a quantum noise-limited monolithic electronic-photonic integrated homodyne detector, with a footprint of 80 micrometers by 220 micrometers, fabricated in a 250-nanometer lithography bipolar CMOS process. We measure a 15.3-gigahertz 3-decibel bandwidth with a maximum shot noise clearance of 12 decibels and shot noise clearance out to 26.5 gigahertz, when measured with a 9-decibel-milliwatt power local oscillator. This performance is enabled by monolithic electronic-photonic integration, which goes below the capacitance limits of devices made up of separate integrated chips or discrete components. It exceeds the bandwidth of quantum detectors with macroscopic electronic interconnects, including wire and flip chip bonding. This demonstrates electronic-photonic integration enhancing quantum photonic device performance.
Photonic quantum technology can be enhanced by monolithic fabrication of both the underpinning quantum hardware and the corresponding electronics for classical readout and control. Together, this enables miniaturisation and mass-manufacture of small quantum devices---such as quantum communication nodes, quantum sensors and sources of randomness---and promises the precision and scale of fabrication required to assemble useful quantum computers. Here we combine CMOS compatible silicon and germanium-on-silicon nano-photonics with silicon-germanium integrated amplification electronics to improve performance of on-chip homodyne detection of quantum light. We observe a 3 dB bandwidth of 1.7 GHz, shot-noise limited performance beyond 9 GHz and minaturise the required footprint to 0.84 mm. We use the device to observe quantum squeezed light, from 100 MHz to 9 GHz, generated in a lithium niobate waveguide. This demonstrates that an all-integrated approach yields faster homodyne detectors for quantum technology than has been achieved to-date and opens the way to full-stack integration of photonic quantum devices.
A low-noise, high-speed balanced homodyne detector is demonstrated, combining a capacitive-feedback transimpedance amplifier implemented in 28 nm CMOS with a custom photonic integrated circuit fabricated in imec's iSiPP200 silicon photonics platform. The receiver achieves a 3-dB bandwidth of 7.6 GHz, a maximum shot noise clearance of 27 dB, a shot noise-limited bandwidth of 13.7 GHz and a common-mode rejection ratio up to 54.8 dB. These results demonstrate the suitability of CMOS capacitive-feedback transimpedance amplifiers for demanding quantum and coherent sensing optical applications, including continuous-variable quantum key distribution, quantum random number generation, and optical coherence tomography.
Optical homodyne detection is used in numerous quantum and classical applications that demand high levels of sensitivity. However, performance is typically limited due to the use of bulk optics and discrete receiver electronics. To address these performance issues, in this work we present a co-integrated balanced homodyne detector consisting of a silicon photonics optical front end and a custom integrated transimpedance amplifier designed in a 100 nm GaAs pHEMT technology. The high level of co-design and integration provides enhanced levels of stability, bandwidth, and noise performance. The presented detector shows a linear operation up to 28 dB quantum shot noise clearance and a high degree of common-mode rejection, at the same time achieving a shot-noise-limited bandwidth of more than 20 GHz. The high performance of the developed devices provide enhanced operation to many sensitive quantum applications such as continuous variable quantum key distribution, quantum random number generation, or high-speed quantum tomography.
Integrated photonics is providing a compelling route for quantum limited and quantum enhanced technologies, including computing communications and optical sensing. This is because chip-scale integrated photonics can offer miniaturization as well as possible scalability in manufacture. Here we will discuss recent results in developing integrated homodyne detection integrated in silicon photonics. We discuss its combination with integrated electronics to demonstrate high bandwidth performance and its use to measure squeezed light over a broad bandwidth, out to 9GHz. This demonstrates a performance enhancement that is relevant to quantum technology and is due to miniaturization. We will discuss possible applications of of integrated quantum noise listed homodyne detection, including a strategy to perform quantum limited absorption estimation using integrated photonics and coherent states.
The ability to generate and detect quantum states of light on a single integrated photonic device is essential to scale quantum photonics into useful quantum technologies. Integrating the required capabilities into complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor compatible monolithic chips can reduce cost and unlock new functionality through miniaturisation. In this work we demonstrate a single silicon-on-insulator photonic integrated circuit for the monolithic generation and detection of quantum light on a commercially available platform that operates entirely at room temperature. Specifically, we leverage spontaneous four-wave mixing in silicon waveguides to produce squeezed light which is subsequently detected by photodiodes operating in a pulsed homodyne detector configuration on the same chip as the source. We directly measure 0.25(1)0.25(1)0.25(1) dB of squeezing, including contributions from waveguide propagation loss and detection inefficiency, and include a detailed analysis of the impact of nonlinear loss on the squeezing levels achievable using this platform.
The rapid development of continuous-variable quantum communication has driven an increasing demand for high-performance quantum signal processing modules. Among these, the balanced homodyne detector (BHD) has emerged as a leading solution for practical quantum state measurement due to its capability to provide complete quantum mechanical characterization. However, its performance is often constrained by limited bandwidth and high noise levels, primarily due to the reliance on bulk optical components and discrete receiver electronics. The dominant noise source in these systems typically stems from electronic noise, while imbalances in the optical path further degrade the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the BHD. In this work, we present an adjustable integrated optical path to enhance the balance within the BHD system, along with a low-noise transimpedance amplifier (TIA) by employing optoelectronic co-design. Our design achieves a bandwidth of 2.5 GHz, an input-referred noise current of only 2 pA/√Hz in 180 nm CMOS technology, and a measured quantum shot noise clearance of 15 dB generated from a 700 μA photocurrent. This is the maximum quantum shot noise clearance at the same BHD photocurrent reported to date above the GHz bandwidth.