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Optica

Scalable photonic integrated circuits for high-fidelity light control

Adrian J. Menssen, Artur Hermans, Ian Christen, Thomas Propson, Chao Li, Andrew Jay Leenheer, Matthew Zimmermann, Mark Dong, Hugo Larocque, Hamza Raniwala, Gerald N. Gilbert, Matt Eichenfield, Dirk Englund

Published Sep 5, 2023• 25 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Advances in laser technology have driven discoveries in atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics and emerging applications, from quantum computers with cold atoms or ions, to quantum networks with solid-state color centers. This progress is motivating the development of a new generation of optical control systems that can manipulate the light field with high fidelity at wavelengths relevant for AMO applications. These systems are characterized by criteria: (C1) operation at a design wavelength of choice in the visible (VIS) or near-infrared (IR) spectrum, (C2) a scalable platform that can support large channel counts, (C3) high-intensity modulation extinction and (C4) repeatability compatible with low gate errors, and (C5) fast switching times. Here, we provide a pathway to address these challenges by introducing an atom control architecture based on VIS-IR photonic integrated circuit (PIC) technology. Based on a complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor fabrication process, this atom-control PIC (APIC) technology can meet system requirements (C1)–(C5). As a proof of concept, we demonstrate a 16-channel silicon-nitride-based APIC with (5.8±0.4)ns response times and >30dB extinction ratio at a wavelength of 780 nm.

DOI
10.1364/optica.489504

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Advances in laser technology have driven discoveries in atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics and emerging applications, from quantum computers with cold atoms or ions, to quantum networks with solid-state color centers. This progress is motivating the development of a new generation of optical control systems that can manipulate the light field with high fidelity at wavelengths relevant for AMO applications. These systems are characterized by criteria: (C1) operation at a design wavelength of choice in the visible (VIS) or near-infrared (IR) spectrum, (C2) a scalable platform that can support large channel counts, (C3) high-intensity modulation extinction and (C4) repeatability compatible with low gate errors, and (C5) fast switching times. Here, we provide a pathway to address these challenges by introducing an atom control architecture based on VIS-IR photonic integrated circuit (PIC) technology. Based on a complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor fabrication process, this atom-control PIC (APIC) technology can meet system requirements (C1)–(C5). As a proof of concept, we demonstrate a 16-channel silicon-nitride-based APIC with (5.8±0.4)ns response times and >30dB extinction ratio at a wavelength of 780 nm.
Advances in laser technology have driven discoveries in atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics and emerging applications, from quantum computers with cold atoms or ions, to quantum networks with solid-state color centers. This progress is motivating the development of a new generation of "programmable optical control" systems, characterized by criteria (C1) visible (VIS) and near-infrared (IR) wavelength operation, (C2) large channel counts extensible beyond 1000s of individually addressable atoms, (C3) high intensity modulation extinction and (C4) repeatability compatible with low gate errors, and (C5) fast switching times. Here, we address these challenges by introducing an atom control architecture based on VIS-IR photonic integrated circuit (PIC) technology. Based on a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) fabrication process, this Atom-control PIC (APIC) technology meets the system requirements (C1)-(C5). As a proof of concept, we demonstrate a 16-channel silicon nitride based APIC with (5.8$\pm$0.4) ns response times and -30 dB extinction ratio at a wavelength of 780 nm. This work demonstrates the suitability of PIC technology for quantum control, opening a path towards scalable quantum information processing based on optically-programmable atomic systems.
High-fidelity control of the thousands to millions of programmable qubits needed for utility-scale quantum computers presents a formidable challenge for control systems. In leading atomic systems, control is optical: UV-NIR beams must be fanned out over numerous spatial channels and modulated to implement gates. While photonic integrated circuits (PICs) offer a potentially scalable solution, they also need to simultaneously feature high-speed and high-extinction modulation, strong inter-channel isolation, and broad wavelength compatibility. Here, we introduce and experimentally validate a foundry-fabricated PIC platform that overcomes these limitations. Designed for Rubidium-87 neutral atom quantum computers, our 8-channel PICs, fabricated on a 200-mm wafer process, demonstrate an advanced combination of performance metrics. At the 795 nm single-qubit gate wavelength, we achieve a mean extinction ratio (ER) of 71.4 ±\pm± 1.1 dB, nearest-neighbor on-chip crosstalk of -68.0 ±\pm± 1.0 dB, and -50.8 ±\pm± 0.2 dB after parallel beam delivery in free-space. This high-performance operation extends to the 420 nm and 1013 nm wavelengths for two-qubit Rydberg gates, showing ERs of 42.4 dB (detector-limited) and 61.5 dB, respectively. The devices exhibit 10-90% rise times of 26 ±\pm± 7 ns, achieve dynamic switching to -60 dB levels within microsecond timescales, and show pulse stability errors at the 10−310^{-3}10−3 level. This work establishes a scalable platform for developing advanced large-scale optical control required in fault-tolerant quantum computers and other precision technologies.
Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) offer compact and scalable solutions for trapped-ion quantum technologies. This work demonstrates photonic platforms that promise the potential integration of photonic components for light delivery and control across ultraviolet (UV) to near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths. Passive waveguides and beam-shaping structures provide precise and stable optical addressing of ions, while active elements such as modulators and switches enable dynamic, on-chip control for quantum operations. Materials like aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and aluminum nitride (AlN) are evaluated to illustrate how functionality can be tailored to spectral needs. These integrated photonic systems reduce reliance on bulky free-space optics, improve alignment stability, and support future development of compact quantum sensors, atomic clocks, and scalable quantum processors.
A central goal in creating long-distance quantum networks and distributed quantum computing is the development of interconnected and individually controlled qubit nodes. Atom-like emitters in diamond have emerged as a leading system for optically networked quantum memories, motivating the development of visible-spectrum, multi-channel photonic integrated circuit (PIC) systems for scalable atom control. However, it has remained an open challenge to realize optical programmability with a qubit layer that can achieve high optical detection probability over many optical channels. Here, we address this problem by introducing a modular architecture of piezoelectrically actuated atom-control PICs (APICs) and artificial atoms embedded in diamond nanostructures designed for high-efficiency free-space collection. The high-speed four-channel APIC is based on a splitting tree mesh with triple-phase shifter Mach–Zehnder interferometers. This design simultaneously achieves optically broadband operation at visible wavelengths, high-fidelity switching (>40dB) at low voltages, submicrosecond modulation timescales (>30MHz), and minimal channel-to-channel crosstalk for repeatable optical pulse carving. Via a reconfigurable free-space interconnect, we use the APIC to address single silicon vacancy color centers in individual diamond waveguides with inverse tapered couplers, achieving efficient single photon detection probabilities (∼15%) and second-order autocorrelation measurements g(2)(0)<0.14 for all channels. The modularity of this distributed APIC–quantum memory system simplifies the quantum control problem, potentially enabling further scaling to thousands of channels.
Quantum computers based on neutral-atoms have achieved large-scale and high-fidelity operation on hundreds of qubits. High-fidelity photonic integrated circuits (PICs), particularly in the visible spectrum, will be crucial for the fundamental operation and scaling roadmap of error-corrected quantum computers. We present our multi-channel PIC solution operating in the visible-NIR with high-speed switching, ultrahigh extinction ratios and low channel crosstalk. We describe its operation in a neutral-atom quantum computer and discuss our scaling roadmap.
Abstract Large-scale generation of quantum entanglement between individually controllable qubits is at the core of quantum computing, communications, and sensing. Modular architectures of remotely-connected quantum technologies have been proposed for a variety of physical qubits, with demonstrations reported in atomic and all-photonic systems. However, an open challenge in these architectures lies in constructing high-speed and high-fidelity reconfigurable photonic networks for optically-heralded entanglement among target qubits. Here we introduce a programmable photonic integrated circuit (PIC), realized in a piezo-actuated silicon nitride (SiN)-in-oxide CMOS-compatible process, that implements an N × N Mach–Zehnder mesh (MZM) capable of high-speed execution of linear optical transformations. The visible-spectrum photonic integrated mesh is programmed to generate optical connectivity on up to N = 8 inputs for a range of optically-heralded entanglement protocols. In particular, we experimentally demonstrated optical connections between 16 independent pairwise mode couplings through the MZM, with optical transformation fidelities averaging 0.991 ± 0.0063. The PIC’s reconfigurable optical connectivity suffices for the production of 8-qubit resource states as building blocks of larger topological cluster states for quantum computing. Our programmable PIC platform enables the fast and scalable optical switching technology necessary for network-based quantum information processors.