Programmable Photonic Quantum Circuits with Ultrafast Time-Bin Encoding

Area of Science:

• Quantum Information Science
• Photonics
• Quantum Computing

Background:

• Scalable quantum information processing is a major challenge.
• Existing photonic approaches face limitations in stability and scalability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and demonstrate a scalable quantum information processing platform.
• To leverage ultrafast time-bin encoding for enhanced stability and programmability.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing ultrafast time-bin encoding of photons.
• Employing collinear temporal interferometric networks for phase stability.
• Using optically induced nonlinearities and birefringent materials for information processing.
• Maintaining photons in a single spatial mode.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated programmability by programming 362 unitary transformations in an eight-dimensional temporal circuit.
• Showcased scalability by building a passive optical network with up to 36 optical modes.
• Achieved fidelities exceeding 97% in both experiments.
• Maintained passive interferometric phase stability for several days.

Conclusions:

• The proposed platform offers a viable pathway to scalable photonic quantum information processing.
• Ultrafast time-bin encoding provides inherent stability and programmability.
• The experimental demonstrations validate the potential of this approach for future quantum technologies.