We adapt an algorithm for CNOT circuits synthesis based on the Bruhat decomposition to the design of linear optical circuits with Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZI). The synthesis algorithm reduces to designing sorting networks with nearest neighbor swapping operations as elementary gates. We recover previous designs from the literature but with additional theoretical properties regarding the compiler that implements unitaries on the interferometer. Notably the compiler can always decide whether a unitary can be implemented on a given interferometer and, if so, returns the shallowest possible implementation. We also show natural extensions of our framework for boson sampling experiments and for the coupling of multiple integrated interferometers to design larger linear optical systems. In both cases, the designs are optimal in terms of number of optical components. Finally, we propose a greedy design which exploits the arbritrary-but-fixed coupling of separate integrated interferometers to perform shallow boson sampling. We discuss the optimal interferometer dimensions to maximize the transmission. Beyond boson sampling, our developed framework allows a resource-favourable implemention of any non-adaptive linear optical quantum algorithm, by providing the shallowest possible interferometer for implementing this algorithm.
We adapt an algorithm for CNOT circuits synthesis based on the Bruhat decomposition to the design of linear optical circuits with Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZI). The synthesis algorithm reduces to designing sorting networks with nearest neighbor swapping operations as elementary gates. We recover previous designs from the literature but with additional theoretical properties regarding the compiler that implements unitaries on the interferometer. Notably the compiler can always decide whether a unitary can be implemented on a given interferometer and, if so, returns the shallowest possible implementation. We also show natural extensions of our framework for boson sampling experiments and for the coupling of multiple integrated interferometers to design larger linear optical systems. In both cases, the designs are optimal in terms of number of optical components. Finally, we propose a greedy design which exploits the arbritrary-but-fixed coupling of separate integrated interferometers to perform shallow boson sampling. We discuss the optimal interferometer dimensions to maximize the transmission. Beyond boson sampling, our developed framework allows a resource-favourable implemention of any non-adaptive linear optical quantum algorithm, by providing the shallowest possible interferometer for implementing this algorithm.
Linear optical quantum computing (LOQC) offers a quantum computation paradigm based on well-established and robust technology and flexible environmental conditions following DiVincenzo's criteria. Within this framework, integrated photonics can be utilized to achieve gate-based quantum computing, defining qubits by path-encoding, quantum gates through the use of Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs), and measurements through single-photon detectors. In particular, universal two-qubit gates can be achieved by suitable structures of MZIs together with post-selection or heralding. The most resource-efficient choice is given by the post-selected Controlled-Z (CZ) gate. However, this implementation is characterized by a design which has a non-regular structure and cannot be cascaded. This limits the implementation of large-scale LOQC. Starting from these issues, we suggest an approach to move toward a universal and scalable LOQC on the integrated photonic platform. First of all, choosing the post-selected CZ as a universal two-qubit gate, we extend the path-encoded dual-rail qubit to a triplet of waveguides, composed of an auxiliary waveguide and the pair of waveguides corresponding to the qubit basis states. Additionally, we introduce a swap photonic network that maps the regularly-labeled structure of the new path-encoded qubits to the structure needed for the post-selected CZ. We also discuss the optical swap gate that allows the connection of non-nearest neighbor path-encoded qubits. In this way, we can deterministically exchange the locations of the qubits and execute controlled quantum gates between any path-encoded qubits. Next, by truncating the auxiliary waveguides after any post-selected CZ, we find that it is possible to cascade this optical gate when it acts on different pairs that share only one qubit. Finally, we show the Bell state and the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state generation circuits implementing the regular structure, the cascading procedure of post-selected CZ and the optical swap.
Universal linear optical (ULO) circuit is a versatile device that plays a fundamental role in quantum computation, optical machine learning, and MIMO processing for optical communications. The design of the ULO, i.e., a universal multiport interferometer, was initially proposed by Reck et al. in 1994 [1] and improved in terms of circuit depth and robustness to optical losses by Clements et al. in 2016 [2]. Recently, a further compactified circuit design was proposed Bell and Walmsley [3]. In Bell's scheme, the circuit layout consists of a network of symmetric Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZI) with two variable phase shifters in each arm. The design significantly reduces the whole device length compared to the conventional designs, where the circuit consists of a network of asymmetric MZIs, each of which has a phase shifter in one arm and an external phase shifter outside of itself. This downsizing becomes significantly important toward the realization of large-scale ULOs in the limited chip area, particularly when each phase shifter is long or when the spacing between phase shifters cannot be made small. This time we experimentally demonstrate that Bell's scheme can express arbitrary unitary matrices as well as Clements' scheme.
Universal multiport interferometers (UMIs) have emerged as a key tool for performing arbitrary linear transformations on optical modes, enabling precise control over the state of light in essential applications of classical and quantum information processing such as neural networks and boson sampling. While UMI architectures based on Mach–Zehnder interferometer networks are well established, alternative approaches that involve interleaving fixed multichannel mixing layers and phase masks have recently gained interest due to their high robustness to losses and fabrication errors. However, these approaches currently lack optimal analytical methods to compute design parameters with a low optical depth. In this work, we introduce a constructive decomposition of unitary matrices using a sequence of 2 N +5 phase masks interleaved with 2 N +4 discrete Fourier transform matrices. This decomposition can be leveraged to design universal interferometers based on phase masks and multimode interference couplers, implementing a discrete Fourier transform, offering an analytical alternative to conventional numerical-optimization-based designs and reducing by a factor of 3 the previous best-known analytical methods.
Linear optics underpins fundamental tests of quantum mechanics and quantum technologies. We demonstrate a single reprogrammable optical circuit that is sufficient to implement all possible linear optical protocols up to the size of that circuit. Our six-mode universal system consists of a cascade of 15 Mach-Zehnder interferometers with 30 thermo-optic phase shifters integrated into a single photonic chip that is electrically and optically interfaced for arbitrary setting of all phase shifters, input of up to six photons, and their measurement with a 12-single-photon detector system. We programmed this system to implement heralded quantum logic and entangling gates, boson sampling with verification tests, and six-dimensional complex Hadamards. We implemented 100 Haar random unitaries with an average fidelity of 0.999 ± 0.001. Our system can be rapidly reprogrammed to implement these and any other linear optical protocol, pointing the way to applications across fundamental science and quantum technologies.
We present a general design framework for arbitrary optical unitary gates based on Riemannian gradient descent on a product manifold, in which the unitary constraint is preserved throughout the optimization. The proposed method is applied to the design of all-optical binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) decoders, yielding one- to six-bit decoders that realise one-hot decoding. The optimised three-bit decoder is further decomposed into a Clements Mach--Zehnder interferometer (MZI) mesh, and circuit-level simulation confirms close agreement with the theoretical prediction. These results demonstrate that the proposed framework provides a scalable and physically implementable approach to the design of arbitrary linear-optical circuits.
Quantum integrated photonics requires large-scale linear optical circuitry, and for many applications, it is desirable to have a universally programmable circuit, able to implement an arbitrary unitary transformation on a number of modes. This has been achieved using the Reck scheme, consisting of a network of Mach–Zehnder interferometers containing a variable phase shifter in one path as well as an external phase shifter after each Mach–Zehnder. It subsequently became apparent that with symmetric Mach–Zehnders containing a phase shifter in both paths, the external phase shifters are redundant, resulting in a more compact circuit. The rectangular Clements scheme improves on the Reck scheme in terms of circuit depth, but it has been thought that an external phase-shifter was necessary after each Mach–Zehnder. Here, we show that the Clements scheme can be realized using symmetric Mach–Zehnders, requiring only a small number of external phase-shifters that do not contribute to the depth of the circuit. This will result in a significant saving in the length of these devices, allowing more complex circuits to fit onto a photonic chip, and reducing the propagation losses associated with these circuits. We also discuss how similar savings can be made to alternative schemes, which have robustness to imbalanced beam-splitters.