Metasurface-Based Quantum Searcher on a Silicon-On-Insulator Chip

Optical analog computing has natural advantages of parallel computation, high speed and low energy consumption over traditional digital computing. To date, research in the field of on-chip optical analog computing has mainly focused on classical mathematical operations. Despite the advantages of quantum computing, on-chip quantum analog devices based on metasurfaces have not been demonstrated so far. In this work, based on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform, we illustrated an on-chip quantum searcher with a characteristic size of 60 × 20 μm². We applied classical waves to simulate the quantum search algorithm based on the superposition principle and interference effect, while combining it with an on-chip metasurface to realize modulation capability. The marked items are found when the incident waves are focused on the marked positions, which is precisely the same as the efficiency of the quantum search algorithm. The proposed on-chip quantum searcher facilitates the miniaturization and integration of wave-based signal processing systems.