Abstract Integrated quantum photonic circuits are a promising approach to realizing future quantum information processing. To achieve large-scale quantum photonic circuits, as many quantum logic gates as possible are expected to be integrated on chips. This requires quantum logic gates to be as small as possible. Here, we report the implementation of super-compact universal quantum logic gates on silicon photonic chips by inverse design. The sizes for the fabricated optical controlled-NOT gate and single-qubit gates (Hadamard gate) on the chip are about one vacuum wavelength, which are the smallest optical quantum gates ever verified in the world. The quantum circuit by these cascaded fundamental gates is shrunk several orders compared to those previous quantum photonic circuits that perform arbitrary quantum processing. Our study paves the way for the realization of large-scale quantum photonic chips with integrated sources for practical quantum information processes.
Abstract Integrated quantum photonic circuits are a promising approach to realizing future quantum information processing. To achieve large-scale quantum photonic circuits, as many quantum logic gates as possible are expected to be integrated on chips. This requires quantum logic gates to be as small as possible. Here, we report the implementation of super-compact universal quantum logic gates on silicon photonic chips by inverse design. The sizes for the fabricated optical controlled-NOT gate and single-qubit gates (Hadamard gate) on the chip are about one vacuum wavelength, which are the smallest optical quantum gates ever verified in the world. The quantum circuit by these cascaded fundamental gates is shrunk several orders compared to those previous quantum photonic circuits that perform arbitrary quantum processing. Our study paves the way for the realization of large-scale quantum photonic chips with integrated sources for practical quantum information processes.
Integrated quantum photonic circuit is a promising platform for the realization of quantum information processing in the future. To achieve the large-scale quantum photonic circuits, the applied quantum logic gates should be as small as possible for the high-density integration on chips. Here, we report the implementation of super-compact universal quantum logic gates on silicon chips by the method of inverse design. In particular, the fabricated controlled-NOT gate and Hadamard gate are both nearly a vacuum wavelength, being the smallest optical quantum gates reported up to now. We further design the quantum circuit by cascading these fundamental gates to perform arbitrary quantum processing, where the corresponding size is about several orders smaller than that of previous quantum photonic circuits. Our study paves the way for the realization of large-scale quantum photonic chips with integrated sources and can have important applications in the field of quantum information processes.
To build universal quantum computers, an essential step is to realize the so-called controlled-NOT (CNOT) gate. Quantum photonic integrated circuits are well recognized as an attractive technology offering great promise for achieving large-scale quantum information processing, due to the potential for high fidelity, high efficiency, and compact footprints. Here, we demonstrate a supercompact integrated quantum CNOT gate on silicon by using the concept of symmetry breaking of a six-channel waveguide superlattice. The present path-encoded quantum CNOT gate is implemented with a footprint of $4.8\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}4.45\text{ }\text{ }\ensuremath{\mu}{\mathrm{m}}^{2}$ ($\ensuremath{\sim}3\ensuremath{\lambda}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}3\ensuremath{\lambda}$) as well as a high-process fidelity of $\ensuremath{\sim}0.925$ and a low excess loss of <0.2dB. The footprint is shrunk significantly by $\ensuremath{\sim}10\text{ }000$ times compared to those previous results based on dielectric waveguides. This offers the possibility of realizing practical large-scale quantum information processes and paving the way to the applications across fundamental science and quantum technologies.
Linear Optics Quantum Computing can be achieved by implementing a complete Silicon Photonic Integrated Circuit. This involves optimizing the layout and fabrication of photonic circuits tailored for quantum computing applications using linear optics principles. A prototype of this kind of circuit is the universal two-qubit Controlled-NOT gate. This scheme makes use of linear, coincidence basis gate that performs all the operations of a controlled-NOT gate and requires only single photons at the input. The key components in the photonic quantum circuit using the CNOT gate scheme are designed and simulated. Subsequently, the layouts for the chips incorporating the optimal parameters identified in simulations of all the components are designed.
Silicon photonics is a dynamic research field of integrated optics. It allows to miniaturize numerous optical functionalities such as lasers, electro-optical modulators, routers, detectors, for telecom wavelengths, LIDAR, sensor, metrology or even spectroscopy, all while been able to propose large scale production high precision technologies. On another side, quantum optics suffers from difficulties to scale optical systems, requires extreme stability, perfect alignment, and many bulky optical elements, while solving these issues follows a natural path in integrated photonics. Development of integrated quantum photonics can thus open the door to cheap, powerful, and scalable systems for quantum cryptography, telecoms, and computation. In a significant way, quantum requirements are not the ones of classical circuits with respect to photonic components and circuits. The generation of quantum states indeed requires more than 100dB of pump laser rejection, while being able to manage ultra-low useful optical signals and get rid of on-chip optical noise. In this context, this thesis is dedicated to the study, dimension, realization, and characterization of silicon photonic components and circuits for quantum optics on a chip. The target goal is to generate entangled states in energy-time and manipulate them on chip. The qualification of the quantum properties is also explored to better understand the limitations of the silicon platform in the followed objectives. Another choice of this work is to stay in telecoms wavelength and aligned with the standard channels (ITU grid), to only use off-the-shelf components, all while been CMOS compatible and compliant with standard fabrication process, this to allow the possibility to produce on large scale.
One of the most significant challenges in quantum computing is the variability in implementing quantum algorithms across different chips. In this work, we present a Hadamard photonic gate based on the quantum Fourier transform, which superimposes several numbers encoded in the classical domain. We recognize that various mathematical operations - such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and other complex calculations - are typically processed separately for each nth number in classical computers. This approach consumes considerable memory space and results in slower processing speeds as the number of bits increases. With the advancements provided in this work, we can eliminate the need for multiple memory spaces, allowing all numbers to be processed simultaneously in a single computation step. This is a key reason why quantum computers are significantly faster than their classical counterparts. Notably, as the number of bits increases, the number of processes remains consistent, enabling the same operations to be performed without requiring additional memory capacity. We have designed this algorithm using an optical integrated circuit that includes a silicon dioxide waveguide in an air bed, operating at a wavelength of 1.55 µm. Importantly, this circuit can not only be implemented independently on hybrid chips but also integrated into quantum monolithic chips based on Silicon Dioxide-Air optical waveguides as a key component of the overall structure.
Abstract Quantum technologies, such as quantum communication, quantum sensing, quantum imaging and quantum computation, need a platform which is flexible, miniaturisable and works at room temperature. Integrated photonics is a promising and fast-developing platform. This requires to develop the right tools to design and fabricate arbitrary photonic quantum devices. Here we present an algorithm which, starting from a n -mode transformation U , designs a photonic device that approximates U . Using this method we design integrated photonic devices which implement quantum gates with high fidelity. Apart from quantum computation, future applications include the design of photonic subroutines and embedded quantum devices. These custom-designed photonic chips will be able to implement a given algorithm as a single-block circuit and will be small, robust and fast compared to a fully-programmable processor.