First electron-photon quantum chip on a crystal

Researchers from several universities in the US have announced the creation of the first quantum electron-photon chip on a crystal.

Features of the quantum chip on a crystal

The 45-nanometer crystal has 12 synchronized and independent quantum light sources and stabilizing electronics. This device opens up new potential for creating scalable processes and guarantees the receipt of reliable streams of correlated photon pairs.

A constant stream of photons is a fundamental factor for quantum computing technology. Scientists were able to place 12 miniature “light quantum factories” on the chip, each measuring no more than 1 millimeter.

The process works in such a way that the factories are powered by a laser and generate photon pairs using micro-ring resonators. These resonators are very sensitive to temperature changes, so the researchers also added a resonator stabilization system.

Even with temperature changes, each resonator must be synchronized with the laser radiation. Because the scientists added built-in reverse feedback for each source, the process is fairly predictable, which is perhaps the main requirement for further scaling of quantum systems.