(100 Word Limit): Quantum information science promises profoundly disruptive information and communication technologies. Photons are ideal carriers of quantum information: Their low noise, high speed transmission, and ease of manipulation at the single photon level make them indispensable for quantum communication, which offers security based on the laws of physics, quantum metrology, which promises the ultimate precision measurements, and quantum information processing, which promises exponentially greater computational power for particular tasks. Recently integrated optical devices have been applied to these technologies. We give an overview of quantum technologies and progress towards their realisation in integrated optics. Presenter Bio (100 Word Limit): O’Brien is director of the Centre for Quantum Photonics, University of Bristol. His Ph.D. from the University of New South Wales in 2002 was for experimental work on correlated and confined electrons in organic conductors, superconductors and semiconductor nanostructures, and progress towards silicon quantum computing. At the University of Queensland (2001-2006) he worked on quantum optics and quantum information science with photons. CQP’s efforts are focused on the fundamental and applied quantum mechanics at the heart of quantum information science and technology, from prototypes for scalable quantum computing to quantum communication, and quantum metrology.
(100 Word Limit): Quantum information science promises profoundly disruptive information and communication technologies. Photons are ideal carriers of quantum information: Their low noise, high speed transmission, and ease of manipulation at the single photon level make them indispensable for quantum communication, which offers security based on the laws of physics, quantum metrology, which promises the ultimate precision measurements, and quantum information processing, which promises exponentially greater computational power for particular tasks. Recently integrated optical devices have been applied to these technologies. We give an overview of quantum technologies and progress towards their realisation in integrated optics. Presenter Bio (100 Word Limit): O’Brien is director of the Centre for Quantum Photonics, University of Bristol. His Ph.D. from the University of New South Wales in 2002 was for experimental work on correlated and confined electrons in organic conductors, superconductors and semiconductor nanostructures, and progress towards silicon quantum computing. At the University of Queensland (2001-2006) he worked on quantum optics and quantum information science with photons. CQP’s efforts are focused on the fundamental and applied quantum mechanics at the heart of quantum information science and technology, from prototypes for scalable quantum computing to quantum communication, and quantum metrology.
Quantum information science has emerged to consider what additional power and functionality can be realized in the encoding, transmission, and processing of information by specifically harnessing quantum mechanical effects. Anticipated technologies include quantum key distribution, which offers perfectly secure communication; quantum metrology, which allows more precise measurements than could ever be achieved without quantum mechanics; and quantum lithography, which could enable fabrication of devices with features much smaller than the wavelength of light. Perhaps the most profound future technology is a quantum computer that promises exponentially faster operation for particular tasks. Of the various physical systems being pursued, an all-optical quantum computer, which encodes quantum information in single photons, has emerged as a leading approach. Here we give a brief review of this field, focusing on some of our recent work.
The impact of quantum technology will be profound and far-reaching: secure communication networks for consumers, corporations and government; precision sensors for biomedical technology and environmental monitoring; quantum simulators for the design of new materials, pharmaceuticals and clean energy devices; and ultra-powerful quantum computers for addressing otherwise impossibly large datasets for machine learning and artificial intelligence applications. However, engineering quantum systems and controlling them is an immense technological challenge: they are inherently fragile; and information extracted from a quantum system necessarily disturbs the system itself. Of the various approaches to quantum technologies, photons are particularly appealing for their low-noise properties and ease of manipulation at the single qubit level. We have developed an integrated waveguide approach to photonic quantum circuits for high performance, miniaturization and scalability. We will described our latest progress in generating, manipulating and interacting single photons in waveguide circuits on silicon chips.
The impact of quantum technology will be profound and far-reaching: secure communication networks for consumers, corporations and government; precision sensors for biomedical technology and environmental monitoring; quantum simulators for the design of new materials, pharmaceuticals and clean energy devices; and ultra-powerful quantum computers for addressing otherwise impossibly large datasets for machine learning and artificial intelligence applications. However, engineering quantum systems and controlling them is an immense technological challenge: they are inherently fragile; and information extracted from a quantum system necessarily disturbs the system itself. Of the various approaches to quantum technologies, photons are particularly appealing for their low-noise properties and ease of manipulation at the single qubit level. We have developed an integrated waveguide approach to photonic quantum circuits for high performance, miniaturization and scalability. We will described our latest progress in generating, manipulating and interacting single photons in waveguide circuits on silicon chips.
Photons are very promising resources for the whole field of quantum information processing. Bulk optics are currently not suitable for the realization of complex quantum optical schemes due to several drawbacks. The ongoing miniaturization of photonic structures due to the availability of sophisticated nanofabrication has provided huge opportunities for physical research of novel phenomena in nanophotonic systems and quantum technological applications. These include quantum information processing such as quantum computing, quantum communication, quantum metrology, and quantum sensing. Quantum communication is already quite advanced with several quantum key distribution (QKD) systems commercially available offering absolute security. Photonic quantum technologies are enabling breakthroughs in experimental tests of quantum physics and are close to practical applications of quantum technologies in imaging, secure communications, ultrasensitive metrology and quantum computing. There are several advantages to encoding a quantum bit onto a photon: the preparation and manipulation of single photons is easy, and the photonic qubit is a natural candidate for quantum imaging and communications. Furthermore, the qubit can be encoded in various degrees of freedom such as on the position, phase, time-bin, energy, angular momentum, polarization of the photon—or a combination of these. This flexibility leads to enormous opportunities for scientific exploration and in practical applications. This special issue on “Photonic Quantum Technologies” presents selected papers on photonic quantum systems from leading groups in the world. The articles represent a flavor of the cutting-edge research that is going on in this area. The studied material systems range from molecules to semiconductor quantum emitters. A major challenge is the design of telecom photon emitters with high efficiency, good yield, spectral purity, stability and the possibility of mass manufacture. We believe that this Special Issue will provide an overview of recent exciting developments in the field of photonic quantum technologies, serving to keep researchers up-to-date with the latest progress and spurring on new concepts in this field.
Photons provide low-noise quantum systems which are ideal for the fundamental studies of the quantum world and for developing new quantum technologies which promise to transform the way we process, transmit and acquire information. The development of the eld of quantum information processing, broadly dened, represents one of the most important scientic and technical challenges of the 21st Century. Photons have been used in demonstrations of basic quantum logic, secure communication tasks, precision measurements and the fundamental studies of quantum mechanics. In order to apply these systems and technologies in an ever increasing scale, it is necessary to develop new methods for eciently manipulating the quantum state of light. This is one of the main goals of this study which experimentally demonstrates new techniques for realising multi-qubit logic gates as well as a new method for amplifying quantum states of light noiselessly.
Quantum technologies harness the properties of controlled quantum mechanical systems for applications in computation, communication and metrology, and enable us to further our understanding of fundamental physics. Quantum hardware is designed to manipulate complex and fragile many-particle quantum states, which requires exquisite control machinery, advanced software and near-complete isolation from the surrounding environment. With sufficient capabilities, quantum computers with large registers of quantum bits will perform classically intractable calculations such as quantum chemistry simulations. Quantum key distribution will provide completely secure communications across the world and quantum metrology will enable measurement precision beyond today's capabilities. While quantum technologies are far from surpassing classical hardware today, the vision and potential impact has sparked a world-wide research effort, both theoretical and experimental, to develop a quantum computer. The most sophisticated current quantum technologies have control over small numbers of quantum bits and are limited by environmental decoherence processes. While progress in developing quantum hardware is ongoing, designing and demonstrating new algorithms and protocols for quantum information is a thriving research field. Photonics provides an ideal platform for small-scale proof-of-concept quantum experiments, which are the focus of this thesis. In the coming decades, we will see the realisation of quantum hardware capable of applications that outperform any classical computer. In this thesis, I present several protocols and algorithms for quantum information science and technology, which are implemented in quantum photonic experiments. The applications of these works include robust quantum tomography, quantum state relocation, quantum enhanced data recovery and probing fundamental causality in quantum mechanics. The works presented here are based on two photon experiments from a prototypical spontaneous parametric down-conversion source, which provides an excellent test-bed for quantum information experiments. Photons can be used to encode quantum information in a range of different degrees of freedom. This versatility, along with compatibility with existing technology gives photonics a great advantage in the development of quantum hardware.