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PhotonicsViews

Harnessing the power of single photons

Panagiotis Vergyris

Published Aug 1, 2022• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract The concept of photon counting is already a century old. However, we have only managed to harness its power over the last few decades. Generating and detecting these single quanta of light energy is essential for many applications and disruptive technologies that will solve many of today's global challenges, from super‐efficient photonic quantum processors and ultrasecure communication to highly accurate sensors for biomedical imaging. Single‐photon generation and detection technologies are redesigning the map of photonics applications.

DOI
10.1002/phvs.202270407

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Abstract The concept of photon counting is already a century old. However, we have only managed to harness its power over the last few decades. Generating and detecting these single quanta of light energy is essential for many applications and disruptive technologies that will solve many of today's global challenges, from super‐efficient photonic quantum processors and ultrasecure communication to highly accurate sensors for biomedical imaging. Single‐photon generation and detection technologies are redesigning the map of photonics applications.
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.
Single photon counting, based on single photon sources and detectors, is a key ingredient for certain applications aiming at new quantum information technologies. Quantum cryptography, quantum radiometry, distributed quantum computing, as well as adjacent technologies such as biomedical and astronomical imaging, and low power classical communication also rely on single-photon technology. This paper reviews the present status of single photon sources and related counting measurement techniques, based on correlated (or heralded) photons in parametric down-conversion, and their possible impact on the above mentioned technologies, as well as an assessment for photon standards in the future.
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.
In the past decades, generating single photons on demand with well defined quantum states and detecting them after photon-photon or photon-matter interaction are central to the area of quantum optics and quantum information science. The ability to detect light efficiently at the single photon level offers unprecedented opportunities for a wide range of applications, including long-distance quantum key distribution, light detection and ranging, photonic quantum computing, weak light detection for astronomy and bio-imaging.
Nonclassical states of light are an essential resource for many emerging quantum technologies and applications ranging from information processing, encrypted communications, and networking to sensing, metrology, and imaging. Nonlinear optical processes in solid-state materials are widely used for generating quantum light, including single photons, entangled-photon pairs, and quadrature-squeezed states. Recent advances in nonlinear photonics have enabled the functionality of benchtop nonlinear instruments to be scaled down to a single chip without sacrificing efficiency or degrading the key performance metrics. The dramatic improvement in the size, weight, power, cost, and stability enabled by photonic integrated circuits has been essential for enabling the chip-scale generation, manipulation, and detection of quantum light at a steadily increasing degree of complexity and scale. Within the last decade, the authors have seen the progression from few-component photonic circuits operating on two photons to arrays of 18 identical heralded single-photon sources and reconfigurable devices operating with more than 650 components for multidimensional entanglement and arbitrary two-photon quantum gates. In this review, the authors summarize the history and recent key technological developments of chip-scale nonlinear quantum light generation based on integrated nonlinear photonics, recent advances in heterogeneous integrated methods, and approaches for system-level integration and demonstrated applications.