45 research outputs found
Resilience of hybrid optical angular momentum qubits to turbulence
Recent schemes to encode quantum information into the total angular momentum
of light, defining rotation-invariant hybrid qubits composed of the
polarization and orbital angular momentum degrees of freedom, present
interesting applications for quantum information technology. However, there
remains the question as to how detrimental effects such as random spatial
perturbations affect these encodings. Here, we demonstrate that alignment-free
quantum communication through a turbulent channel based on hybrid qubits can
be achieved with unit transmission fidelity. In our experiment, alignment-free
qubits are produced with q-plates and sent through a homemade turbulence
chamber. The decoding procedure, also realized with q-plates, relies on both
degrees of freedom and renders an intrinsic error-filtering mechanism that
maps errors into losses
8x8 Reconfigurable quantum photonic processor based on silicon nitride waveguides
The development of large-scale optical quantum information processing
circuits ground on the stability and reconfigurability enabled by integrated
photonics. We demonstrate a reconfigurable 8x8 integrated linear optical
network based on silicon nitride waveguides for quantum information processing.
Our processor implements a novel optical architecture enabling any arbitrary
linear transformation and constitutes the largest programmable circuit reported
so far on this platform. We validate a variety of photonic quantum information
processing primitives, in the form of Hong-Ou-Mandel interference, bosonic
coalescence/anticoalescence and high-dimensional single-photon quantum gates.
We achieve fidelities that clearly demonstrate the promising future for
large-scale photonic quantum information processing using low-loss silicon
nitride.Comment: Added supplementary materials, extended introduction, new figures,
results unchange
Observation of open scattering channels
The existence of fully transmissive eigenchannels ("open channels") in a
random scattering medium is a counterintuitive and unresolved prediction of
random matrix theory. The smoking gun of such open channels, namely a bimodal
distribution of the transmission efficiencies of the scattering channels, has
so far eluded experimental observation. We observe an experimental distribution
of transmission efficiencies that obeys the predicted bimodal
Dorokhov-Mello-Pereyra-Kumar distribution. Thereby we show the existence of
open channels in a linear optical scattering system. The characterization of
the scattering system is carried out by a quantum-optical readout method. We
find that missing a single channel in the measurement already prevents
detection of the open channels, illustrating why their observation has proven
so elusive until now. Our work confirms a long-standing prediction of random
matrix theory underlying wave transport through disordered systems.Comment: 9 pages including methods and supplementary materials. 3 figure
Photo-induced second-order nonlinearity in stoichiometric silicon nitride waveguides
We report the observation of second-harmonic generation in stoichiometric
silicon nitride waveguides grown via low-pressure chemical vapour deposition.
Quasi-rectangular waveguides with a large cross section were used, with a
height of 1 {\mu}m and various different widths, from 0.6 to 1.2 {\mu}m, and
with various lengths from 22 to 74 mm. Using a mode-locked laser delivering
6-ps pulses at 1064 nm wavelength with a repetition rate of 20 MHz, 15% of the
incoming power was coupled through the waveguide, making maximum average powers
of up to 15 mW available in the waveguide. Second-harmonic output was observed
with a delay of minutes to several hours after the initial turn-on of pump
radiation, showing a fast growth rate between 10 to 10 s,
with the shortest delay and highest growth rate at the highest input power.
After this first, initial build-up, the second-harmonic became generated
instantly with each new turn-on of the pump laser power. Phase matching was
found to be present independent of the used waveguide width, although the
latter changes the fundamental and second-harmonic phase velocities. We address
the presence of a second-order nonlinearity and phase matching, involving an
initial, power-dependent build-up, to the coherent photogalvanic effect. The
effect, via the third-order nonlinearity and multiphoton absorption leads to a
spatially patterned charge separation, which generates a spatially periodic,
semi-permanent, DC-field-induced second-order susceptibility with a period that
is appropriate for quasi-phase matching. The maximum measured second-harmonic
conversion efficiency amounts to 0.4% in a waveguide with 0.9 x 1 {\mu}m
cross section and 36 mm length, corresponding to 53 {\mu}W at 532 nm with 13 mW
of IR input coupled into the waveguide. The according amounts to
3.7 pm/V, as retrieved from the measured conversion efficiency.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figure
Quantum photo-thermodynamics on a programmable photonic quantum processor
One of the core questions of quantum physics is how to reconcile the unitary evolution of quantum states, which is information-preserving and time-reversible, with the second law of thermodynamics, which is neither. The resolution to this paradox is to recognize that global unitary evolution of a multi-partite quantum state causes the state of local subsystems to evolve towards maximum-entropy states. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate this effect in linear quantum optics by simultaneously showing the convergence of local quantum states to a generalized Gibbs ensemble constituting a maximum-entropy state under precisely controlled conditions, while using a new, efficient certification method to demonstrate that the state retains global purity. Our quantum states are manipulated by a programmable integrated photonic quantum processor, which simulates arbitrary non-interacting Hamiltonians, demonstrating the universality of this phenomenon. Our results show the potential of photonic devices for quantum simulations involving non-Gaussian states
Integrated programmable waveguide circuits for classical and quantum photonic processing
Programmable waveguide circuits are crucial building blocks for integrated spectrometric applications and quantum photonic information processing. Amongst the dielectric material platforms in integrated photonics, silicon nitride stands out with highly attractive properties such as a large bandgap energy and a moderately high index contrast. This allows low propagation losses in a wide spectral range while simultaneously allowing a dense packing of components. The aforementioned properties, together with the inherent phase stability and phase programmability achievable in silicon nitride, enable the creation of complex photonic circuits. In this thesis we describe and demonstrate densely integrated programmable photonic circuits based on silicon nitride waveguides for wavelength metrology and quantum information processing. We concentrate on reconfigurable photonic integrated circuits based on silicon nitride waveguides with low-loss propagation, to explore interference in the spectral and temporal domain for advanced applications. We investigated two types of integrated interferometric devices featuring low loss in combination with programmability for classical and quantum photonic processing. The first is simple tunable microring resonator circuits in combination with neural network data processing for the analysis of classical light in the spectral domain as wavelength meter. The second is a complex tunable network of waveguide interferometers for controlling quantum correlations (coincidences) between single photons. Exploiting the long-term interferometric stability, low propagation loss and tight optical confinement of integrated silicon nitride waveguides, we have shown complex reconfigurable optical circuits both for classical and quantum photonic processing. For future development of integrated programmable photonic processors, various challenges need to be addressed such as compact and low-power phase shifters, a further increase of the component density and lower the propagation losses
Smart wavelength meter for integrated photonics
Thermally tunable SiN waveguide microring resonators in connection with neural network readout algorithms appear promising for use as integrated optical wavelength meters. So far, we have observed long-term reliability and a temperature immunity of the readout across several degrees of ambient temperature change [1]. However, further exploration is required for a better understanding of such immunity, and the free spectral range should be increased. With the goal to interpret future experimental data across a larger temperature range and a wider free spectral range we have modelled the influence of thermal offset heating and the transmission properties of coupled microring resonators