Final Report Summary - IQP (Integrated quantum photonics)
The ultimate goal of this project was to bring together developments in three major lines of research of increasing risk level: waveguide quantum photonics for single photon sources, circuits and detectors; light-matter systems for photonic quantum information science; and the integration of these elements for scalable quantum information systems and coupled quantum systems. The grand challenge was to develop integrated quantum photonics devices that include single photon sources, reconfigurable circuits, `atom'-cavity systems for entangling interactions between photons (and for single photon sources), and single photon detectors.
Over the course of this project Professor O’Brien and his team at the Centre for Quantum Photonics (CQP) has successfully established itself as the world leader in quantum photonics, originating the Integrated Quantum Photonics approach and developing it during this project. This approach based on low noise and ease of manipulation means that regardless of the exact path that future Quantum Technology takes, photonics is destined for a central role. The key elements for Photonic Quantum Technologies, including Quantum Computing, are single photon sources and detectors, and quantum circuits for manipulating and transmitting photons [Nature Photonics, 2009] and integrating all of these components on a silicon chip. During this project Professor O’Brien has shown that: single photons can be generated in novel waveguides [APL 2011, APL 2011]; high-fidelity, miniaturised, circuits can be implemented in waveguides [APL 2010, NP 2009, NC 2011, Science 2010, NP 2012]; and superconducting single photon detectors can be used for high performance operation [APL 2011, APL 2011, PRL 2012,APL 2010]. He has also demonstrated small-scale integration, including a demonstrator combining several photon sources, phase shifters and circuits [NP2014], a prototype processor for eigensolvers for quantum chemistry [NC 2014], and Boson sampling devices, that promise to outperform classical computers in the near term [PRL 2014].
Over the course of this project Professor O’Brien and his team at the Centre for Quantum Photonics (CQP) has successfully established itself as the world leader in quantum photonics, originating the Integrated Quantum Photonics approach and developing it during this project. This approach based on low noise and ease of manipulation means that regardless of the exact path that future Quantum Technology takes, photonics is destined for a central role. The key elements for Photonic Quantum Technologies, including Quantum Computing, are single photon sources and detectors, and quantum circuits for manipulating and transmitting photons [Nature Photonics, 2009] and integrating all of these components on a silicon chip. During this project Professor O’Brien has shown that: single photons can be generated in novel waveguides [APL 2011, APL 2011]; high-fidelity, miniaturised, circuits can be implemented in waveguides [APL 2010, NP 2009, NC 2011, Science 2010, NP 2012]; and superconducting single photon detectors can be used for high performance operation [APL 2011, APL 2011, PRL 2012,APL 2010]. He has also demonstrated small-scale integration, including a demonstrator combining several photon sources, phase shifters and circuits [NP2014], a prototype processor for eigensolvers for quantum chemistry [NC 2014], and Boson sampling devices, that promise to outperform classical computers in the near term [PRL 2014].