MIT Quantum Photonics Laboratory

Now on #NaturePhotonics: a fully integrated optical neural network on a single chip: https://lnkd.in/dM-WCsa6 As deep neural networks continue to transform industries, the limitations of traditional CMOS electronics, particularly in energy consumption and throughput, are becoming more apparent. Saumil Bandyopadhyay et. al tackle this challenge head-on by leveraging photonic integrated circuits to achieve unprecedented performance in optical processing. In this work, they use a scalable photonic integrated circuit integrating coherent optical processors for both *matrix algebra* and *nonlinear activation* functions. They demonstrate a deep neural network processing (6 neurons, 3 layers) with a latency of just 410 ps, utilizeing processing at the speed of light. Morover, they implement backpropagation-free training with 92.5% accuracy on a six-class vowel classification task—comparable to digital systems but orders of magnitude faster. This work opens new pathways for ultrafast optical computing in real-time applications, from high-speed communications to advanced sensing and AI. Thank you National Science Foundation (NSF), Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT, and colabroators from Nokia and Periplous. #Photonics #ArtificialIntelligence #DeepLearning #NaturePhotonics #NeuralNetworks #Innovation

A new device from the #QuantumMoonshot team: the "photonic ski-jump"— a chip-to-world optical interface that overcomes longstanding trade-offs in beam scanning, enabling seamless, high-performance integration between photonic chips and free space. Matt Saha, Y. Henry Wen, Andrew Greenspon and Matthew Zimmermann together with the team from MITRE, Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT, Sandia National Laboratories and University of Arizona, This nanoscale device integrates an optical waveguide atop a piezoelectrically actuated cantilever that passively curls ~90° out-of-plane, offering: <0.1 mm² footprint with submicron diffraction-limited optical modes, kHz-rate mechanical resonances with quality factors >10,000, and 2D beam scanning achieving 68.6 mega-spots/s per mm² (equivalent to a 1-megapixel display at 100 Hz from just 1.5 mm²)—50× better performance than state-of-the-art MEMS mirrors! This innovation addresses critical limitations in current technologies: Overcomes inertial limitations of bulk optical components in MEMS systems. Achieves unparalleled speed, resolution, and beam quality in a scalable, monolithic design. Operates at CMOS-level voltages, paving the way for integration into real-world photonic systems. Looking forward, this technology offers pathways to achieve >1 giga-spot scanning at kHz rates over a ~1 cm² area, creating a scalable optical bridge between integrated photonics and free space for applications in ranging, communication, imaging, and computation to quantum applications, including initialization and readout of single photons from silicon vacancy centers in diamond waveguides. Read the paper: https://lnkd.in/eAAUqKcJ #Photonics #BeamScanning #Optics #MEMS #QuantumMoonshot

Another great achievment from the #QuantumMoonshot team! While photonic crystal (PhC) cavities in dielectric materials have demonstrated exceptional performance in proof-of-concept devices, scaling these designs for functional systems requires innovative solutions. https://lnkd.in/gnAhj4DX In a new paper by Andrew Greenspon and team from MITRE, Sandia National Laboratories and Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT, a hybrid PhC cavity concept that combines heterogeneous optical materials to meet system-level demands such as high Q-factors, wavelength-scale confinement, scalable photonic integration, and active tuning capabilities is presented. Simulations show unloaded Q-factors of 10^6, mode volumes as small as 1.2(λ/neff)^3, and >60% on-chip fluorescence collection efficiency. Furthermore, a low-power piezoelectric method is introduced for tuning, achieving optical resonance shifts of ~760 GHz and independent fluorescence tuning of 5 GHz for diamond color centers. These advances pave the way for scalable quantum repeaters and integrated photonic systems, bringing nanophotonics closer to real-world quantum applications. #QuantumMoonshot #Nanophotonics #QuantumTech #SpinPhotonInterfaces #PhotonicCrystal #IntegratedPhotonics #QuantumRepeaters #Innovation

Congratulations Isaac H. for an excellent defense "Scalable Spin-Photon Interfaces from First Principles". Check out some of his published works: https://lnkd.in/g7Q2Zmuy https://lnkd.in/gFN89fyp Great Job Dr. Harris! Thank you Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT, #QuantumMoonshot, National Science Foundation (NSF), Center for Quantum Networks and CIQM!

Glad to see that our article on thin-film lithium niobate photonic crystal IQ modulators is now out in ACS Photonics! Big thanks to all the collaborators from MIT, ARL, CSEM, BBN Technologies, and DTU that were involved in this work.

Congratulations Tom Vanackere and Artur Hermans, in colaboration with Ghent University, together with the #QuantumMoonshot team from MITRE, for their new arXiv paper: "Piezoelectrically actuated high-speed spatial light modulator for visible to near-infrared wavelengths": https://lnkd.in/gq37D_Bp In the pursuit of advanced optical technologies, spatial light modulators (SLMs) stand out as leading devices for shaping light in applications ranging from holography and display technologies to optical communication and computing. To push the boundaries of speed, precision, and efficiency in SLMs, the authors present an innovative approach involving piezoelectric modulation directly beneath SiN waveguide layers, creating a 16 pixel SLM for visible light. This concept was used to create an SLM for visible light with a modulation speed over 100 MHz and a channel density over 100 per mm squared. By underetching the piezo-electrical layer the modulation amplitude can be enhanced by almost two orders of magnitude to a modulation efficiency of about 8 pm/V off resonance and another 50 times more when modulating on resonance reaching almost 4 × 100 pm V−1. This work marks a significant step forward in creating compact, high-density, and ultrafast SLMs, opening up pathways for scalable, efficient devices in advanced photonic systems. Thank you Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT, #QuantumMoonshot program, MITRE, Advanced Research Projects Agency, National Science Foundation (NSF) nad U.S. Army DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory, and of course the wonderful team: Tom Vanackere, Artur Hermans, Ian Christen, Christopher Panuski, Mark Dong, Matthew Zimmermann, Hamza Raniwala, Andrew Leenheer, Gerald Gilbert and Dirk Englund! #Photonics #SpatialLightModulator #Optics #Piezoelectric #Innovation #OpticalCommunication #SiN

In collaboration with MIT Lincoln Laboratory, in a new paper now published in #PhysicslReviewApplied, David Starling et. al. present a cryogenically compatible, fully packaged quantum emitter module with diamond color-center quantum emitters designed for quantum memory applications. full paper: https://lnkd.in/gMVCJ9XC Achieving scalable, long-lived quantum memory systems with optical interfaces is critical to realizing a practical quantum network. Diamond color centers have emerged as promising candidates due to their optical coherence and ability to integrate with scalable systems. However, developing a stable and efficient emitter module for network integration has posed major engineering challenges. In this paper, we demonstrate a robust, network-compatible quantum emitter module designed to operate at cryogenic temperatures and connect seamlessly with photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and optical fibers. Our approach combines silicon-nitride (SiN) PICs with diamond microchiplets containing silicon-vacancy (Si-V⁻) color centers, employing precise alignment and bonding techniques. This scalable architecture enables the integration of multiple optical quantum memories into emerging quantum network testbeds, facilitating applications in distributed quantum sensing and processing. The development of this module addresses two crucial challenges for scalable quantum networking: cryogenic stability and compatibility with heterogeneous integration. We believe this work brings us closer to practical, large-scale quantum networks and paves the way for advanced quantum repeater functionalities. Thank you National Science Foundation (NSF), Air Force Research Laboratory and Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT for making this possible! #QuantumNetworking #QuantumMemory #QuantumEmitters #Photonics #DiamondColorCenters #ScalableQuantum

Isaac Harris Thesis defense: Title: Scalable Spin-Photon Interfaces from First Principles Time: November 14th, 13:00 In-Person Location: 66-168 Zoom: https://lnkd.in/e_aE7iFk Abstract: Color centers in solids are a promising platform for quantum communication, sensing, and computing protocols. A key resource for these quantum protocols are cluster states generated via brokered entanglement between color centers. However, generating these cluster states remains challenging with existing color center devices, since (1) current devices need to operate at deep cryogenic temperatures where low cooling power limits the complexity of the devices, and (2) the energy structure of color centers limits the number of times brokered entanglement can be attempted. This talk will take a first-principles approach, deriving theoretical models for color center coherence, and showing that there are regimes where color centers can operate at higher temperatures, alleviating the cooling power requirements. I will further show that the large hyperfine coupling in ¹¹⁷SnV color centers provides a suitable energy structure for brokered entanglement, while still being able to operate at higher temperatures. I will present experimental results showing operation of  ¹¹⁷SnV color center integrated in a photonic integrated circuit with a 2.5 ms coherence time and 98% operation fidelity. This demonstration lays the groundwork for large-scale cluster state generation using ¹¹⁷SnV based devices.

For over six decades, the development of single-photon detectors has been based on photoexcitation across energy gaps in semiconductors or superconductors. While effective for high-energy photons, this approach limits detection capabilities at lower energies. In a new work now on arXiv, Bevin Huang, Ethan Arnault et. al. in colaboration with Raytheon Technologies (BBN), Washington University in St. Louis and Pohang University of Science and Technology introduce a fundamentally different strategy: an electron calorimeter that directly measures the internal energy of a single photon—a concept so challenging it was long considered experimentally infeasible. By leveraging the remarkable thermal properties of pseudo-relativistic electrons in graphene, our proof-of-concept experiment demonstrates a strong calorimetric response to single near-infrared photons that is readily expandable to mid- and far-infrared regimes. Using a hybrid Josephson junction, the gate-tunable electron density, and a novel optical scanner in our cryogenic setup, we achieve single-photon detection with an intrinsic quantum efficiency of 87% at operating temperatures up to 1.2 K. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/g2hDkuA3 Thank you Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, U.S. Army DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory, National Research Foundation of Korea and Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT! #QuantumTech #SinglePhotonDetection #Graphene #Photonics #Cryogenics #QuantumEfficiency #Innovation #QuantumResearch #AdvancedMaterials #PhotonDetectors #arXiv

In collaboration with MIT Lincoln Laboratory, in a new paper now published in #PhysicslReviewApplied, David Starling et. al. present a cryogenically compatible, fully packaged quantum emitter module with diamond color-center quantum emitters designed for quantum memory applications. full paper: https://lnkd.in/gMVCJ9XC Achieving scalable, long-lived quantum memory systems with optical interfaces is critical to realizing a practical quantum network. Diamond color centers have emerged as promising candidates due to their optical coherence and ability to integrate with scalable systems. However, developing a stable and efficient emitter module for network integration has posed major engineering challenges. In this paper, we demonstrate a robust, network-compatible quantum emitter module designed to operate at cryogenic temperatures and connect seamlessly with photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and optical fibers. Our approach combines silicon-nitride (SiN) PICs with diamond microchiplets containing silicon-vacancy (Si-V⁻) color centers, employing precise alignment and bonding techniques. This scalable architecture enables the integration of multiple optical quantum memories into emerging quantum network testbeds, facilitating applications in distributed quantum sensing and processing. The development of this module addresses two crucial challenges for scalable quantum networking: cryogenic stability and compatibility with heterogeneous integration. We believe this work brings us closer to practical, large-scale quantum networks and paves the way for advanced quantum repeater functionalities. Thank you National Science Foundation (NSF), Air Force Research Laboratory and Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT for making this possible! #QuantumNetworking #QuantumMemory #QuantumEmitters #Photonics #DiamondColorCenters #ScalableQuantum