Nanowerk March 3, 2021
In quantum integrated photonics integrated detectors offer optical readout and when interfaced with reconfigurable circuits, allow feedback and adaptive control, crucial for deterministic quantum teleportation, training of neural networks, and stabilization of complex circuits. However, the heat generated by thermally reconfigurable photonics is incompatible with heat-sensitive superconducting single-photon detectors, and thus their on-chip co-integration remains elusive. An international team of researchers (Sweden, Austria) has designed low-power microelectromechanical reconfiguration of integrated photonic circuits interfaced with superconducting single-photon detectors on the same chip. They demonstrated three key functionalities for photonic quantum technologies: 28 dB high-extinction routing of classical and quantum light, 90 dB high-dynamic range single-photon detection, and stabilization of optical excitation over 12 dB power variation. The platform enables heat-load free reconfigurable linear optics and adaptive control, critical for quantum state preparation and quantum logic in large-scale quantum photonics applications…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Device description and characterization. Credit: Nature Communications volume 12, Article number: 1408 (2021)