Quantum computing is set to revolutionize information technologies. In this talk I will outline the photonics approach to quantum computing, introducing the silicon photonic quantum circuit and highlighting approaches to manufacturability and scalability.
Quantum computing promises to transform almost every industry, and as such there is currently a huge industrial and academic effort to realize the world’s first useful quantum computer, requiring ~1,000,000 physical qubits. Of the various technological approaches being pursued, photons are particularly appealing due to their low noise properties, ease of manipulation and compatibility with existing and established CMOS manufacturing techniques – through silicon photonics. In this talk I will outline the photonic approach to quantum computing, introducing the integrated quantum photonic circuit and highlighting routes to a scalable quantum technology platform.
It is increasingly accepted that all commercially useful quantum computing applications require error-correction and therefore at least 1 million physical qubits. The manufacturing capability and expertise of the semiconductor industry are needed to deliver a commercially useful quantum computer on any reasonable time or money scale. In this talk, we will show how unique technology in the areas of silicon photonics and quantum system architecture enable the path to manufacturability and scalability of a fault-tolerant, general-purpose 1-milliion qubit quantum computer.
Quantum technology is poised to enable a step change in human capability for computing, communications and sensing. Photons are indispensable as carriers of quantum information-they travel at the fastest possible speed and readily protected from decoherence. However, the system requires thousands of near-transparent components with ultra-low-latency control. To be implemented, a new paradigm photonic system is required: one with in-built coherence, stability, the ability to define arbitrary circuits, and a path to manufacturability. Silicon photonics has unparalleled density and component performance, which, with CMOS compatible fabrication, place it in a strong position for a scalable quantum photonics platform. This paper is a progress report on silicon quantum photonics, focused on developments in the past five years. We provide an introduction on silicon quantum photonic component and the challenges in the field, summarise the current state-of-the-art and identify outstanding technical challenges, as well as promising avenues of future research. We also resolve a conflict in the definition of Hong-Ou-Mandel interference visibility in integrated quantum photonic experiments, needed for fair comparison of photon quality across different platforms. Our aim is the development of scalability on the platform, to which end we point the way to ever-closer integration, toward silicon quantum photonic systems-on-a-chip.