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IEEE Silicon Photonics Conference (SiPhotonics)

Physics-Accurate Modeling of Quantum Effects in Photonic Integrated Circuits

Richard Chung, Mahdi Nikdast, Hassan Rahbardar Mojaver

Published Apr 13, 2026• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We present a physics-accurate modeling framework for analyzing quantum effects in photonic integrated circuits. The framework is validated through comparisons with Hong-Ou-Mandel interference experimental data, and used to analyze the fidelity and bi-photon transmittance of Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI)-based meshes implementing Haarrandom matrices.

DOI
10.1109/siphotonics68911.2026.11520761

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We present a physics-accurate modeling framework for analyzing quantum effects in photonic integrated circuits. The framework is validated through comparisons with Hong-Ou-Mandel interference experimental data, and used to analyze the fidelity and bi-photon transmittance of Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI)-based meshes implementing Haarrandom matrices.
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We use the analogy between the quadrature operators in quantum optics and the phase-space coordinates in a mechanical harmonic oscillator to generalise the theory of linear optics beyond quantum theory. For this, we introduce a framework for analysing photonic circuits within generalised probabilistic theories based on quadrature operators. Using this framework, we ask whether phenomena like the Hong-Ou-Mandel effect, Mach-Zehnder interferometry are specific to quantum theory or also occur across a broader class of theories. We find the latter: the vanishing photon coincidences at the output of a beam splitter also occur for classical light and for a modified version of quantised light. Similarly, for Mach-Zehnder interferometry we find that there is no qualitative difference between quantum theory and these alternative theories. Our framework can serve as a foundation to study generalised theories of complex photonic set-ups and photonic quantum computers.
In previous work [Physical Review Letters, 136(6):060807, 2026], we developed a symmetry-based framework for generalized Hong-Ou-Mandel interference and its applications to quantum metrology. Here, we apply this framework to experimentally accessible configurations involving a few photons and explore how it sheds new light on a variety of existing results while suggesting new experimental perspectives. We first reinterpret a two-photon Mach-Zehnder interferometer as a generalized Hong-Ou-Mandel experiment and show how its photon-counting statistics and metrological performance follow from the spatial symmetry of an effective probe state. We then study two coherently pumped parametric photon-pair sources, derive their complete output distribution, and connect source indistinguishability with spatial symmetry. Finally, we extend the discussion to a three-mode interferometer and show that the same symmetry principles provide a natural description of three-photon interference in tritter configurations.
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