A Bi-CMOS electronic photonic integrated circuit quantum light detector

Area of Science:

• Quantum Technology
• Integrated Photonics
• Semiconductor Devices

Background:

• Quantum noise-limited homodyne detectors are crucial for quantum technologies.
• Current detectors often involve separate photonic and electronic components, limiting performance.
• Complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) integration offers manufacturing advantages for quantum devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report a novel quantum noise-limited monolithic electronic-photonic integrated homodyne detector.
• To demonstrate the performance benefits of integrating photonic and electronic components on a single chip.
• To showcase the potential of CMOS integration for scalable quantum technology.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a monolithic electronic-photonic integrated homodyne detector using a 250-nm lithography bipolar CMOS process.
• Characterization of the detector's bandwidth and shot noise clearance.
• Measurement of performance with a 9-dBm power local oscillator.

Main Results:

• Achieved a 15.3-gigahertz 3-decibel bandwidth.
• Measured a maximum shot noise clearance of 12 decibels.
• Demonstrated shot noise clearance extending to 26.5 gigahertz.

Conclusions:

• Monolithic electronic-photonic integration enables quantum detectors to surpass the performance of discrete component systems.
• The developed detector's small footprint (80 µm x 220 µm) and high performance are attributed to integrated design.
• This work highlights the significant enhancement of quantum photonic device performance through electronic-photonic integration.