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Photonics for Quantum (PfQ)

Components for integrated quantum photonics

Val Zwiller

Published Jul 16, 2021• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We develop quantum devices for the generation, manipulation and detection of light at the single photon level. Quantum dot devices allow for the generation of single and entangled photons at various frequencies including telecom wavelengths. We also develop single photon detectors with high efficiency based on NbTIN superconducting nanostructures, low noise and high time resolution to enable a range of applications including quantum communication, quantum sensing and integrated photonics. To allow for complex systems, integrated quantum optics circuits where we combine quantum sources and superconducting detectors are under development.

DOI
10.1117/12.2603540

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We develop quantum devices for the generation, manipulation and detection of light at the single photon level. Quantum dot devices allow for the generation of single and entangled photons at various frequencies including telecom wavelengths. We also develop single photon detectors with high efficiency based on NbTIN superconducting nanostructures, low noise and high time resolution to enable a range of applications including quantum communication, quantum sensing and integrated photonics. To allow for complex systems, integrated quantum optics circuits where we combine quantum sources and superconducting detectors are under development.
The monolithic integration of single-photon sources, passive optical circuits, and single-photon detectors enables complex and scalable quantum photonic integrated circuits, for application in linear-optics quantum computing and quantum communications. Here, we demonstrate a key component of such a circuit, a waveguide single-photon detector. Our detectors, based on superconducting nanowires on GaAs ridge waveguides, provide high efficiency (∼20%) at telecom wavelengths, high timing accuracy (∼60 ps), and response time in the ns range and are fully compatible with the integration of single-photon sources, passive networks, and modulators.
Quantum photonic circuits based on nanophotonic components hold promise for overcoming scalability limitations in optical quantum systems. Functional systems will require the co-integration of single photon sources, detectors and tunable photonic components. Waveguide integrated single photon detectors based on superconducting nanowires (SNSPDs) have been shown to fulfill the demanding requirements for on-chip quantum photonics. Because they provide very wide optical detection bandwidth, their use with optically pumped single photon sources poses severe challenges for on-chip filtering. We overcome these challenges by co-integrating electrically driven single photon sources with superconducting detectors. Single photon sources with nanoscale footprint are realized by depositing electrically contacted carbon nanotubes (CNTs) across nanophotonic waveguides. CNTs under electrical current bias are shown to emit non-classical light which is coupled efficiently into the underlying photonic framework. The CNTs are shown to provide high count rates in the MHz range. The statistical characterization of the CNT light source crucially relies on the high timing resolution of the SNSPDs which allows for measuring photon statistics for emitters with sub-100ps lifetime. The combination of top-down nanofabrication with deposition by electrophoresis provides a waferscale approach for realizing non-classical circuits on chip. Such hybrid quantum photonic devices therefore hold promise for realizing complex integrated devices without additional optical input ports.
Nanowires offer new opportunities for nanoscale and integrated quantum optics; the quantum dot geometry in semiconducting nanowires as well as the material composition and environment can be engineered with unprecedented freedom to improve the light extraction efficiency. Quantum dots in nanowires are shown to be efficient single photon sources, in addition because of the very small fine structure splitting, we demonstrate the generation of entangled pairs of photons from a nanowire and discuss the limits to entanglement fidelity. Another type of nanowire under study in our group is superconducting nanowires for single photon detection, reaching efficiencies, time resolution and dark counts beyond currently available detectors. We will discuss our first attempts at combining semiconducting nanowire based single photon emitters and superconducting nanowire single photon detectors on a chip to realize integrated quantum circuits.
Single-photon detection possibility is a fundamental requirement for quantum technologies, including communication, computing and sensing. To achieve scalability and practical deployment, increasing attention is being directed toward integration of detectors with photonic integrated circuits, which offer compactness and compatibility with mass production. Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors have emerged as the leading solution, combining near-unity efficiency, high temporal performance and the ability to be embedded across a wide range of photonic material platforms. In this review we trace the development of integrated superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors from early demonstrations to recent advances, outlining the progress in device architectures, material engineering and integration strategies. We also discuss performance benchmarks, emerging alternative designs, the future opportunities and challenges for this rapidly evolving field.
Quantum information science aims to harness uniquely quantum mechanical properties to enhance measurement and information technologies, and to explore fundamental aspects of quantum physics. Of the various approaches to quantum computing [1], photons are particularly appealing for their low-noise properties and ease of manipulation at the single qubit level [2,3]. Encoding quantum information in photons is also an appealing approach to quantum communication, metrology (eg. [4]), measurement (eg. [5]) and other quantum technologies [6]. However, the implementation of optical quantum circuits with bulk optics has reached practical limits. We have developed an integrated waveguide approach to photonic quantum circuits for high performance, miniaturization and scalability [7]. Here we report high-fidelity silica-on-silicon integrated optical realizations of key quantum photonic circuits, including two-photon quantum interference and a controlled-NOT logic gate [8]. We have demonstrated controlled manipulation of up to four photons on-chip, including highfidelity single qubit operations, using a lithographically patterned resistive phase shifter [9]. We have used this architecture to implement a small-scale compiled version of Shor's quantum factoring algorithm [10], demonstrated heralded generation of tunable four photon entangled states from a six photon input [11], a reconfigurable two-qubit circuit [12], and combined waveguide photonic circuits with superconducting single photon detectors [13]. We describe complex quantum interference behavior in multi-mode interference devices with up to eight inputs and outputs [14], and quantum walks of correlated particles in arrays of coupled waveguides [15]. Finally, we give an overview of our recent work on fundamental aspects of quantum measurement [16,17] and diamond [18,19] and nonlinear [20,21] photon sources.