Clock generation for a photonic quantum computer to convert electrical pulses into a plurality of clock signals

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11119385-B2
Application number	US-201916534766-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 7, 2019
Priority date	Mar 22, 2019
Publication date	Sep 14, 2021
Grant date	Sep 14, 2021

Abstract

A system for generating clock signals for a photonic quantum computing system includes a pump photon source configured to generate a plurality of pump photon pulses at a first repetition rate, a waveguide optically coupled to the pump photon source, and a photon-pair source optically coupled to the first waveguide. The system also includes a photodetector optically coupled to the photon-pair source and configured to generate a plurality of electrical pulses in response to detection of at least a portion of the plurality of pump photon pulses at the first repetition rate and a clock generator coupled to the photodetector and configured to convert the plurality of electrical pulses into a plurality of clock signals at the first repetition rate.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of generating clock signals for a photonic quantum computing system disposed inside a cryostat, the method comprising:
generating, using a pump photon source disposed outside the cryostat, a plurality of pump photon pulses at a first repetition rate;
converting, using a photon-pair source disposed inside the cryostat and optically coupled to the pump photon source via a waveguide, a first portion of each of a subset of the plurality of pump photon pulses into a photon pair, wherein the photon-pair source outputs a second portion of each pump photon pulse of the plurality of pump photon pulses;
generating, using a photodetector disposed inside the cryostat, a plurality of electrical pulses by converting the second portion of each pump photon pulse of the plurality of pump photon pulses into a respective electrical pulse of the plurality of electrical pulses; and
generating, using a clock generator disposed inside the cryostat and coupled to the photodetector, a plurality of clock signals at the first repetition rate using the plurality of electrical pulses.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the photon-pair source, the photodetector, the clock generator, and the photonic quantum computing system are disposed on a single chip placed inside the cryostat.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the photon pair comprises a signal photon and a heralding photon, and one of the signal photon or the heralding photon is used by the quantum computing system as a qubit.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the first portion of each of the subset of the plurality of pump photon pulses is converted into the photon pair non-deterministically.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the photon-pair source comprises:
a first waveguide optically coupled to the pump photon source via the waveguide for receiving the plurality of pump photon pulses;
a resonator optically coupled to the first waveguide and comprising a nonlinear optical material; and
a second waveguide optically coupled to the resonator; and
the method further comprising:
coupling a portion of each pump photon pulse of the plurality of pump photon pulses from the first waveguide into the resonator, wherein the first portion of each of the subset of the plurality of pump photon pulses that is converted into the photon pair is among the portion and is converted by the nonlinear optical material of the resonator; and
coupling the photon pairs converted from the subset of the plurality of pump photon pulses by the resonator into the second waveguide.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the resonator comprises one or more ring resonators.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the second portion of each pump photon pulse of the plurality of pump photon pulses is among the portion, and the method further comprising:
coupling the second portion of each pump photon pulse of the plurality of pump photon pulses from the resonator into the second waveguide.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising:
separating, using a pump rejecter disposed inside the cryostat and optically coupled to the second waveguide, the second portion of each pump photon pulse of the plurality of pump photon pulses from the photon pairs; and
coupling the second portion of each pump photon pulse of the plurality of pump photon pulses into the photodetector to be converted into the plurality of electrical pulses.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the pump rejecter comprises a spectral filter.

10. The method of claim 5 wherein the second portion of each pump photon pulse of the plurality of pump photon pulses is among a remaining portion of each pump photon pulse of the plurality of pump photon pulses that is not coupled into the resonator, and the method further comprising:
coupling the second portion of each pump photon pulse of the plurality of pump photon pulses from the first waveguide into the photodetector to be converted into the plurality of electrical pulses.

11. A system for generating clock signals for a photonic quantum computing system, the system comprising:
a pump photon source configured to generate a plurality of pump photon pulses at a first repetition rate;
a waveguide optically coupled to the pump photon source;
a photonic integrated circuit (PIC);
a photon-pair source optically coupled to the waveguide, the photon-pair source implemented in the PIC and configured to:
receive the plurality of pump photon pulses via the waveguide;
convert a first portion of each of a subset of the plurality of pump photon pulses into a photon pair;
output the photon pairs converted from the subset of the plurality of pump photon pulses; and
output a second portion of each pump photon pulse of the plurality of pump photon pulses;

a photodetector implemented in the PIC and configured to:
receive the second portion of each pump photon pulse of the plurality of pump photon pulses; and
generate a plurality of electrical pulses by converting the second portion of each pump photon pulse of the plurality of pump photon pulses into a respective electrical pulse of the plurality of electrical pulses;

an electronic integrated circuit (EIC); and
a clock generator electrically coupled to the photodetector, the clock generator implemented in the EIC and configured to convert the plurality of electrical pulses generated by the photodetector into a plurality of clock signals at the first repetition rate.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the PIC and the EIC are fusion bonded.

13. The system of claim 11 further comprising a substrate structure, wherein the waveguide, the PIC, and the EIC are implemented on the substrate structure.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein the PIC and the EIC are disposed inside a cryostat.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the pump photon source is disposed outside the cryostat.

16. The system of claim 11 wherein the photon pair comprises a signal photon and a heralding photon, and one of the signal photon or the heralding photon is used by the photonic quantum computing system as a qubit.

Assignees

• Psiquantum Corp

Inventors

• Wang Albert

Classifications

• G02F1/395

  in optical waveguides · CPC title

• G02F1/3536

  Four-wave interaction · CPC title

• G06N10/00

  Quantum computing, i.e. information processing based on quantum-mechanical phenomena · CPC title

• G01J2001/4413

  Type · CPC title

• G01J2001/4238

  Pulsed light · CPC title