The researchers integrated artificial atoms (quantum dots) in silicon-based photonic chips
KTH researchers have taken a significant step toward enabling optical quantum information processing on a chip.
A new method in quantum nano photonics was published today in Nature Communications.
The group, from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, has managed to create the building blocks of such a system by integrating artificial atoms (quantum dots) in silicon-based photonic chips. They have generated and filtered single photons on-chip without the use of any external components. The results are presented in an article in the scientific journal Nature Communications.
Quantum computers and networks are expected to outperform today’s classical computers and networks, which encode information in binary bits. Rather than bits consisting of ones and zeros, quantum bits can simultaneously take a superposition of both values, which means that they can process significantly higher amounts of information with fewer calculation steps. Potential applications include energy efficient computation, sensing and secure communication.
However, there are challenges to overcome in order to be able to develop effective integrated quantum circuits. The Quantum Nano Photonics group at KTH solves these challenges in the work presented in Nature Communications, says KTH researcher Ali Elshaari, a co-author of the study.
In the past, it has been extremely difficult to isolate quantum dots and to place them in a useful circuit, as they are randomly grown without having high control over their properties and their position in the circuit. Additionally, it is difficult to generate single photons on the same chip without using external filtering to remove all unwanted signals from the quantum emitters and background light, Elshaari says.
The research team, led by Professor Val Zwiller and Klaus D. Jöns, used a novel nanomanipulation technique to transfer selected and pre-characterized single photon emitters in nanowires, on a silicon chip. The team then built an integrated optical circuit to filter single photons and multiplex them. The latter means using multiple quantum dots to generate light in various “colors” that can be used to encode different information on the same chip, he says.
“In order to achieve a functioning integrated quantum circuit, one must build its components deterministically,” Elshaari says. “That means every component of the circuit is carefully designed and optimized to perform a specific task. There is no room for randomness or chance when it comes to the characteristics of the source or its location in the optical circuit, unlike previous approaches.”
One of the new achievements of the research team’s work is that they have created a hybrid approach that combines two semiconductor technologies, III-V technology in the form of nanowire-based quantum emitters, and silicon technology in the form of the integrated optical circuit, he says.
“Hybrid integration with nanowires has not been done before. The results are a very important step toward enabling quantum information processing on a chip.”
Learn more: Researchers are one step closer to making integrated quantum optical circuits a reality
The Latest on: Integrated quantum optical circuits
- 4H-silicon-carbide-on-insulator for integrated quantum and nonlinear photonicson December 4, 2019 at 7:09 am
Optical quantum information processing will require highly efficient photonic circuits to connect quantum nodes on-chip and across long distances. This entails the efficient integration of optically ...
- Physicists couple key components of quantum technologieson October 9, 2019 at 7:47 am
Coupling these components to produce integrated quantum optical circuits on chips presents a challenge. Researchers have developed an interface that couples light sources for single photons with ...
- Integrated Quantum Optical Circuits Market is set to Boom by 2025on August 28, 2019 at 6:05 am
Aug 28, 2019 (Hitech News Daily via COMTEX) -- Integrated Quantum Optical Circuits is a device that integrates multiple optical devices to form a single photonic circuit. This device uses light ...
- Integrated Quantum Optical Circuits Market by Material Type and Application: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2018 - 2025on February 11, 2019 at 3:16 pm
NEW YORK, Feb. 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Integrated Quantum Optical Circuits Market by Material Type (Indium Phosphide, Silica Glass, Silicon Photonics, Lithium Niobate, and Gallium Arsenide) and ...
- Integrated Quantum Optical Circuits Market by Material Type and Application: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2018 - 2025on February 11, 2019 at 3:15 pm
Integrated Quantum Optical Circuits market overview: Integrated Quantum Optical Circuits is a device that integrates multiple optical devices to form a single photonic circuit. It consists of complex ...
- Integrated Quantum Optical Circuit Market to Reach $1,460.2 Mn, Globally, by 2025 at 16.3% CAGR, Says AMRon January 16, 2019 at 2:25 am
Furthermore, quantum computing segment is projected to register the fastest CAGR of 17.4% from 2018 to 2025, owing to high investment on data warehouse and need for fast computing devices. The report ...
- Large-scale integrated quantum opticson April 19, 2018 at 5:00 pm
The ability to pattern optical circuits on-chip, along with coupling in single and entangled photon sources, provides the basis for an integrated quantum optics platform. Wang et al. demonstrate how ...
- Quantum Emitter Integration May Enable Quantum Circuitson December 14, 2017 at 10:36 am
“In order to build photon-based integrated quantum optical devices, it is necessary to produce as many quantum light sources as possible in a single chip,” said UNIST professor Je-Hyung Kim. “Through ...
- On-Chip Quantum Optics with Photonic Circuitson December 12, 2017 at 3:49 am
Quantum optics is a rapidly evolving field where single photons can be employed in applications such as secure communication, universal quantum computing and simulation of complex quantum systems. In ...
- Optical Circulator Could Route Quantum Data in Integrated Optical Circuitson December 29, 2016 at 5:21 am
An advance in optical signal processing uses a fiber-integrated quantum optical circulator, operated by a single atom, to control the direction of light. The nonreciprocal behavior of the circulator ...
via Google News and Bing News