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Updated: Jul 12, 2026

A Photonic System for Generating Unconditional Polarization-Entangled Photons Based on Multiple Quantum Interference
Published on: September 5, 2019
Integrated photonic polarization synthesizer and analyzer
Carson G Valdez1, Anna J Miller2, Anne R Kroo2
1Stanford University, Ginzton Laboratory, 348 Via Pueblo Mall, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA. carsongv@stanford.edu.
Abstract:
Polarization-resolved control and measurement of optical fields are essential for a wide range of photonic systems, including coherent communication, polarimetric sensing, and quantum information processing. We present a photonic integrated circuit architecture that enables the generation and analysis of arbitrary polarization states. The device provides reconfigurable access to the full polarization degree of freedom of coherent light within a single integrated platform. We experimentally demonstrate arbitrary polarization state generation spanning the Poincaré sphere, as well as Stokes vector measurement on a chip. Unlike conventional Stokes measurements that rely on direct detection, the polarization state in this architecture is inferred from the phase settings required to interferometrically combine polarization-demultiplexed optical fields. As a result, the optical signal itself does not need to be detected or absorbed and remains available for subsequent optical-domain processing. The devices are fabricated in a commercial foundry using CMOS-compatible processes, enabling scalable and reproducible integration. By combining polarization generation and analysis in a compact and stable photonic circuit, this work eliminates the need for external polarization optics and provides a foundation for robust, polarization-enabled photonic integrated systems.

