Saxena Abhi, Manna Arnab, Trivedi Rahul, Majumdar Arka
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
Nat Commun. 2023 Aug 29;14(1):5260. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-41034-x.
Analog quantum simulators rely on programmable and scalable quantum devices to emulate Hamiltonians describing various physical phenomenon. Photonic coupled cavity arrays are a promising alternative platform for realizing such simulators, due to their potential for scalability, small size, and high-temperature operability. However, programmability and nonlinearity in photonic cavities remain outstanding challenges. Here, using a silicon photonic coupled cavity array made up of [Formula: see text] high quality factor ([Formula: see text] up to[Formula: see text]) resonators and equipped with specially designed thermo-optic island heaters for independent control of cavities, we demonstrate a programmable photonic cavity array in the telecom regime, implementing tight-binding Hamiltonians with access to the full eigenenergy spectrum. We report a [Formula: see text] reduction in the thermal crosstalk between neighboring sites of the cavity array compared to traditional heaters, and then present a control scheme to program the cavity array to a given tight-binding Hamiltonian. The ability to independently program high-Q photonic cavities, along with the compatibility of silicon photonics to high volume manufacturing opens new opportunities for scalable quantum simulation using telecom regime infrared photons.
模拟量子模拟器依靠可编程且可扩展的量子设备来模拟描述各种物理现象的哈密顿量。光子耦合腔阵列因其具有可扩展性、体积小和高温可操作性的潜力，是实现此类模拟器的一个很有前景的替代平台。然而，光子腔中的可编程性和非线性仍然是突出的挑战。在此，我们使用由[公式：见正文]个高品质因数（[公式：见正文]高达[公式：见正文]）的谐振器组成的硅光子耦合腔阵列，并配备专门设计的热光岛状加热器以独立控制各个腔，展示了一种处于电信频段的可编程光子腔阵列，实现了具有完整本征能量谱的紧束缚哈密顿量。我们报告，与传统加热器相比，该腔阵列相邻位点之间的热串扰降低了[公式：见正文]，然后提出了一种控制方案，将腔阵列编程为给定的紧束缚哈密顿量。独立编程高Q光子腔的能力，以及硅光子学与大规模制造的兼容性，为使用电信频段红外光子进行可扩展量子模拟开辟了新机遇。
