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SPIE Quantum Technologies for Defence and Security

Secure quantum communications in femtosecond-laser-written integrated photonic devices

Roberto Osellame

Published Nov 15, 2024• 0 citations
Publisher
DOI
10.1117/12.3038050

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Continuous variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) and continuous variable quantum random number generation (CV-QRNG) are critical technologies for secure communication and high-speed randomness generation, exploiting shot-noise-limited coherent detection for their operation. Integrated photonic solutions are key to advancing these protocols, as they enable compact, scalable, and efficient system implementations. We introduce femtosecond laser micromachining (FLM) on borosilicate glass as a platform for producing photonic integrated circuits (PICs) realizing coherent detection suitable for quantum information processing. Employing off-chip detectors, we exploit the specific features of FLM to produce a PIC designed for CV-QKD and CV-QRNG applications. The PIC features fully adjustable optical components that achieve precise calibration and reliable operation under protocol-defined conditions. The device exhibits low insertion losses (≤1.28 dB), polarization-insensitive operation, and a common-mode rejection ratio exceeding 73 dB. These characteristics allowed the experimental realization of a source-device-independent CV-QRNG with a secure generation rate of 42.74 Gbit/s and a quadrature phase-shift-keying-based CV-QKD system achieving a secret key rate of 3.2 Mbit/s. Our results highlight the potential of FLM technology as an integrated photonic platform, paving the way for scalable and high-performing quantum communication systems.
The importance of integrated quantum photonics in the telecom band is based on the possibility of interfacing with the optical network infrastructure that was developed for classical communications. In this framework, femtosecond laser-written integrated photonic circuits, which have already been assessed for use in quantum information experiments in the 800-nm wavelength range, have great potential. In fact, these circuits, being written in glass, can be perfectly mode-matched at telecom wavelength to the in/out coupling fibers, which is a key requirement for a low-loss processing node in future quantum optical networks. In addition, for several applications, quantum photonic devices must be dynamically reconfigurable. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the high performance of femtosecond laser-written photonic circuits for use in quantum experiments in the telecom band, and we demonstrate the use of thermal shifters, which were also fabricated using the same femtosecond laser, to accurately tune such circuits. State-of-the-art manipulation of single- and two-photon states is demonstrated, with fringe visibilities greater than 95%. The results of this work open the way to the realization of reconfigurable quantum photonic circuits based on this technological platform. An integrated quantum photonic circuit that can be thermally reconfigured has been fabricated by femtosecond laser micromachining. Thermally reconfigurable quantum photonic circuits would permit quantum protocols to be implemented that require dynamically changing circuit functionality. A team in Italy has used femtosecond laser micromachining to inscribe waveguide Mach–Zehnder interferometers that operate at telecommunication wavelengths on a glass chip and also to pattern gold resistive heaters on the chip surface, which can be used to accurately tune the circuit. The researchers demonstrated high-quality manipulation of single- and two-photon states with fringe visibilities exceeding 95%. They also fully characterized the thermal response of the interferometric circuit and found good agreement with that expected based on the fabrication design. This device could potentially be used as a building block for reconfigurable quantum circuits.