QGen · Photonic Quantum State Generation and Measurement On-Chip

The ability to process and measure quantum information provides advantages over classical systems in three broad and impactful fields: sensing, communication, and computation. While many platforms have been explored for processing QI, scalable systems with practical benefits have remained elusive. Superconducting and trapped atom systems have proven difficult to scale as they require cryogenic temperatures and high vacuum environments. In contrast, optical quantum information processing (QIP) can operate at room temperature and pressure. Furthermore, the bandwidth offered by light can allow optical-QIP systems to reach clock speeds >1 THz, greatly-exceeding speed limitations of superconducting and trapped atom systems. Here, I propose implementing key components of an all-optical quantum computer, sources and detectors of quantum light, in a wafer-scale CMOS compatible platform for integrated photonics. I leverage recent advances in heterogeneous materials integration made by the host lab with my expertise in quantum optics and ultrafast photonics to design and ultimately implement sources and detectors of squeezed light, optical qubits supporting error correction, and 1-D time-multiplexed cluster states. Squeezed light allows for sub-shot noise optical measurements, most notably in the LIGO experiment. Cluster states can form the basis of a measurement-based quantum computer. My proposal aims to demonstrate a viable path towards scalable room-temperature quantum information processing.