High-density communication through optical fiber is made possible by Wavelength Division Multiplexing, which is the simultaneous transmission of many discrete signals at different optical frequencies. Vast quantities of data may be transmitted withou
t interference using this scheme but flexible routing of these signals requires an electronic middle step, carrying a cost in latency. We present a technique for frequency conversion across the entire WDM spectrum with a single device, which removes this latency cost. Using an optical waveguide in lithium niobate and two infrared pump beams, we show how to maximize conversion efficiency between arbitrary frequencies by analyzing the role of dispersion in cascaded nonlinear processes. The technique is presented generally and may be applied to any suitable nonlinear material or platform, and to classical or quantum optical signals.
Integrated quantum photonics provides a scalable platform for the generation, manipulation, and detection of optical quantum states by confining light inside miniaturized waveguide circuits. Here we show the generation, manipulation, and interferomet
ric stage of homodyne detection of non-classical light on a single device, a key step towards a fully integrated approach to quantum information with continuous variables. We use a dynamically reconfigurable lithium niobate waveguide network to generate and characterize squeezed vacuum and two-mode entangled states, key resources for several quantum communication and computing protocols. We measure a squeezing level of -1.38+-0.04 dB and demonstrate entanglement by verifying an inseparability criterion I=0.77+-0.02<1. Our platform can implement all the processes required for optical quantum technology and its high nonlinearity and fast reconfigurability makes it ideal for the realization of quantum computation with time encoded continuous variable cluster states.
Fast secure random number generation is essential for high-speed encrypted communication, and is the backbone of information security. Generation of truly random numbers depends on the intrinsic randomness of the process used and is usually limited b
y electronic bandwidth and signal processing data rates. Here we use a multiplexing scheme to create a fast quantum random number generator structurally tailored to encryption for distributed computing, and high bit-rate data transfer. We use vacuum fluctuations measured by seven homodyne detectors as quantum randomness sources, multiplexed using a single integrated optical device. We obtain a random number generation rate of 3.08 Gbit/s, from only 27.5 MHz of sampled detector bandwidth. Furthermore, we take advantage of the multiplexed nature of our system to demonstrate an unseeded strong extractor with a generation rate of 26 Mbit/s.
Integrated photonics is a leading platform for quantum technologies including nonclassical state generation cite{Vergyris:2016-35975:SRP, Solntsev:2014-31007:PRX, Silverstone:2014-104:NPHOT, Solntsev:2016:RPH}, demonstration of quantum computational
complexity cite{Lamitral_NJP2016} and secure quantum communications cite{Zhang:2014-130501:PRL}. As photonic circuits grow in complexity, full quantum tomography becomes impractical, and therefore an efficient method for their characterization cite{Lobino:2008-563:SCI, Rahimi-Keshari:2011-13006:NJP} is essential. Here we propose and demonstrate a fast, reliable method for reconstructing the two-photon state produced by an arbitrary quadratically nonlinear optical circuit. By establishing a rigorous correspondence between the generated quantum state and classical sum-frequency generation measurements from laser light, we overcome the limitations of previous approaches for lossy multimode devices cite{Liscidini:2013-193602:PRL, Helt:2015-1460:OL}. We applied this protocol to a multi-channel nonlinear waveguide network, and measured a 99.28$pm$0.31% fidelity between classical and quantum characterization. This technique enables fast and precise evaluation of nonlinear quantum photonic networks, a crucial step towards complex, large-scale, device production.
An anisotropic model for the fabrication of annealed and reverse proton exchange waveguides in lithium niobate is presented. We characterized the anisotropic diffusion properties of proton exchange, annealing and reverse proton exchange in Z-cut and
X-cut substrates using planar waveguides. Using this model we fabricated high quality channel waveguides with propagation losses as low as 0.086 dB/cm and a coupling efficiency with optical fiber of 90% at 1550 nm. The splitting ratio of a set of directional couplers is predicted with an accuracy of +- 0.06.
