Coupling quasi-phase matching: entanglement buildup in χ(2)\chi^{(2)} nonlinear waveguide arrays

Wavevector quasi-phase matching was devised in the 1960s as a way to boost nonlinear interactions with efficient quantum noise squeezing as one outstanding outcome. In the era of quantum technologies, we propose a new coupling quasi-phase matching for efficient generation of multimode downconverted quantum light in nonlinear waveguide arrays. We highlight this technique achieving multimode quantum entanglement and Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering buildup. We discuss the feasibility of this method with current technology and demonstrate its competitiveness as a resource for continuous variables quantum information.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, v2 closer to published versio

Zero supermode-based multipartite entanglement in χ(2)\chi^{(2)} nonlinear waveguides arrays

We show that arrays of $\chi^{(2)}$ nonlinear waveguides in the second harmonic generation regime are a promising source of continuous-variable entanglement. We indeed demonstrate analytically that optical arrays with odd number of waveguides injected with the zero-eigenvalue fundamental supermode entangle this fundamental supermode with a collective harmonic field. Moreover the fundamental individual modes are multipartite entangled and their entanglement grows with propagation length. The device is scalable, robust to losses, does not rely on specific values of nonlinearity and coupling and is easily realized with current technology. It thus stands as an unprecedented candidate for generation of multipartite continuous-variable entanglement for optical quantum information processing.Comment: Main text: 7 pages, 6 figures. Supplemental material: 5 pages, 2 figure. v2 closer to published versio

Communication Enhancement Through Quantum Coherent Control of NN Channels in an Indefinite Causal-order Scenario

In quantum Shannon theory, transmission of information is enhanced by quantum features. Up to very recently, the trajectories of transmission remained fully classical. Recently, a new paradigm was proposed by playing quantum tricks on two completely depolarizing quantum channels i.e. using coherent control in space or time of the two quantum channels. We extend here this control to the transmission of information through a network of an arbitrary number $N$ of channels with arbitrary individual capacity i.e. information preservation characteristics in the case of indefinite causal order. We propose a formalism to assess information transmission in the most general case of $N$ channels in an indefinite causal order scenario yielding the output of such transmission. Then we explicitly derive the quantum switch output and the associated Holevo limit of the information transmission for $N=2$, $N=3$ as a function of all involved parameters. We find in the case $N=3$ that the transmission of information for three channels is twice of transmission of the two channel case when a full superposition of all possible causal orders is used

Continuous-variable entanglement of two bright coherent states that never interacted

We study continuous-variable entanglement of bright quantum states in a pair of evanescently coupled nonlinear $\chi^{(2)}$ waveguides operating in the regime of degenerate down-conversion. We consider the case where only the energy of the nonlinearly generated fields is exchanged between the waveguides while the pump fields stay independently guided in each original waveguide. We show that this device, when operated in the depletion regime, entangles the two non-interacting bright pump modes due to a nonlinear cascade effect. It is also shown that two-colour quadripartite entanglement can be produced when certain system parameters are appropriately set. This device works in the traveling-wave configuration, such that the generated quantum light shows a broad spectrum. The proposed device can be easily realized with current technology and therefore stands as a good candidate for a source of bipartite or multipartite entangled states for the emerging field of optical continuous-variable quantum information processing.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figure

Scalable machine learning-assisted clear-box characterization for optimally controlled photonic circuits

Photonic integrated circuits offer a compact and stable platform for generating, manipulating, and detecting light. They are instrumental for classical and quantum applications. Imperfections stemming from fabrication constraints, tolerances and operation wavelength impose limitations on the accuracy and thus utility of current photonic integrated devices. Mitigating these imperfections typically necessitates a model of the underlying physical structure and the estimation of parameters that are challenging to access. Direct solutions are currently lacking for mesh configurations extending beyond trivial cases. We introduce a scalable and innovative method to characterize photonic chips through an iterative machine learning-assisted procedure. Our method is based on a clear-box approach that harnesses a fully modeled virtual replica of the photonic chip to characterize. The process is sample-efficient and can be carried out with a continuous-wave laser and powermeters. The model estimates individual passive phases, crosstalk, beamsplitter reflectivity values and relative input/output losses. Building upon the accurate characterization results, we mitigate imperfections to enable enhanced control over the device. We validate our characterization and imperfection mitigation methods on a 12-mode Clements-interferometer equipped with 126 phase shifters, achieving beyond state-of-the-art chip control with an average 99.77 % amplitude fidelity on 100 implemented Haar-random unitary matrices

Symmetry-based analytical solutions to the \chi^{(2)} nonlinear directional coupler

In general the ubiquitous \chi^{(2)} nonlinear directional coupler, where nonlinearity and evanescent coupling are intertwined, is nonintegrable. We rigorously demonstrate that matching excitation to the even or odd fundamental supermodes yields dynamical analytical solutions for any phase matching in a symmetric coupler. We analyze second harmonic generation and optical parametric amplification regimes and study the influence of fundamental fields parity and power on the operation of the device. These fundamental solutions are useful to develop applications in classical and quantum fields such as all-optical modulation of light and quantum-states engineering.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

Minimum resources for versatile continuous variable entanglement in integrated nonlinear waveguides

In a recent paper [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 96}, 053822 (2017)], we proposed a strategy to generate bipartite and quadripartite continuous-variable entanglement of bright quantum states based on degenerate down-conversion in a pair of evanescently coupled nonlinear $\chi^{(2)}$ waveguides. Here, we show that the resources needed for obtaining these features can be optimized by exploiting the regime of second harmonic generation: the combination of depletion and coupling among pump beams indeed supplies all necessary wavelengths and appropriate phase mismatch along propagation. Our device thus entangles the two fundamental classical input fields without the participation of any harmonic ancilla. Depending on the propagation distance, the generated harmonics are entangled in bright or vacuum modes. We also evidence two-color bipartite and quadripartite entanglement over the interacting modes. The proposed device represents a boost in continuous-variable integrated quantum optics since it enables a broad range of quantum effects in a very simple scheme, which optimizes the resources and can be easily realized with current technology.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure

Broadband integrated beam splitter using spatial adiabatic passage

Light routing and manipulation are important aspects of integrated optics. They essentially rely on beam splitters which are at the heart of interferometric setups and active routing. The most common implementations of beam splitters suffer either from strong dispersive response (directional couplers) or tight fabrication tolerances (multimode interference couplers). In this paper we fabricate a robust and simple broadband integrated beam splitter based on lithium niobate with a splitting ratio achromatic over more than 130 nm. Our architecture is based on spatial adiabatic passage, a technique originally used to transfer entirely an optical beam from a waveguide to another one that has been shown to be remarkably robust against fabrication imperfections and wavelength dispersion. Our device shows a splitting ratio of 0.52$\pm$0.03 and 0.48$\pm$0.03 from 1500\,nm up to 1630\,nm. Furthermore, we show that suitable design enables the splitting in output beams with relative phase 0 or $\pi$. Thanks to their independence to material dispersion, these devices represent simple, elementary components to create achromatic and versatile photonic circuits