Demultiplexer and method for using same

Abstract

Generally, an optical demultiplexer is described that includes an electro-optic modulator configured to change a polarization of an optical pulse having a first polarization and passing through the electro-optic modulator from the first polarization to a second polarization when the electro-optic modulator is in a first state, and a first mirror and a second mirror, the electro-optic modulator disposed in an optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror with respect to an optical pulse traveling in the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror to pass through the electro-optic modulator, the first mirror and the second mirror shifting the optical pulse from the first mirror to the second mirror each time the optical pulse traveling in the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror moves back and forth between the first mirror and the second mirror. a first mirror and a second mirror positioned within the optical demultiplexer so as to be displaced perpendicular to a propagation direction of the light pulses between the second mirror; and a first polarizing beam splitter positioned in the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the electro-optic modulator, the first polarizing beam splitter configured to transmit light pulses having the first polarization and reflect light pulses having the second polarization to remove the light pulses having the second polarization from the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror, the first polarizing beam splitter configured to reflect the light pulses that are mutually displaced perpendicular to the propagation direction into different output trajectories.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates generally to a demultiplexer, and more particularly to routing any number of time modes of the same spatial mode into different synchronized spatial modes using a single active element. [Background technology]

[0002] In general, photonics, both in classical and quantum domains, manipulates various properties of light, such as polarization and the temporal and spatial information of light. Considering the increasing complexity of photonics platforms, the number of modes that need to be manipulated simultaneously increases as a result. In some prior art approaches, when aiming to generate multiple simultaneous modes, one can start with a single spatial mode that contains a stream of optical pulses that are demultiplexed from time to space. This results in (non-simultaneous) pulses that are routed to different spatial modes in a synchronized (simultaneous) manner.

[0003] Demultiplexing protocols may be used in photonic (optical) quantum computing, in which demultiplexed signals are generated from a multi-photon source, and the demultiplexed signals may be used to process quantum information enabling quantum computation.

[0004] Figure 1 shows a prior art demultiplexer approach. In this example, in a demultiplexer 100, light from a single-photon source (which is a stream of individual particles of light all traveling through the same spatial mode, such as an optical fiber) first passes through an active element, in this example a Pockels cell 102, such that the polarization of the photons alternates between two orthogonal polarization states. The photons then pass through a polarizing beam splitter 104, which sorts the photons according to their polarization. This results in two spatial modes of a single photon. This process can be repeated in a network of Pockels cells (e.g., Pockels cells 106, 110) and polarizing beam splitters (e.g., polarizing beam splitters 108, 112), which allows different photons with different polarizations to be reflected by mirrors (e.g., mirror 114) towards different output paths.

[0005] In this example, laser pulses, which occur, for example, every 12.5 ns, pass through a series of electro-optical modulators (Pockels cells in this example) and polarizing beam splitters and are actively routed to different spatial outputs.

[0006] An optical delay is applied to one or more of the outputs to correct for their time misalignment. A time delay can be implemented, for example, via a fiber applied to the outputs to correct and match the arrival times of the different photons.

[0007] In the approach shown in Figure 1, a single photon source is demultiplexed into synchronized two-photon sources in the first stage of a Pockels cell 102 and polarizing beam splitter 104. As in the example of Figure 1, the above process is repeated for each newly created spatial mode, with each additional active element being added to create one more output spatial mode, resulting in a demultiplexed multi-photon source.

[0008] The number of active elements required, in this example, is equal to the number of target output modes minus one.

[0009] Multiplexed separated photon modes are sometimes used in optical quantum computing experiments, based on a source of, for example, 10 to 20 photon modes. The generation of these photon modes can be experimentally cumbersome, since many active elements are needed that can occupy a significant amount of space in the laboratory, and all active elements typically require expensive high-voltage pulses with difficult synchronization.

[0010] Therefore, an improvement in the demultiplexer is required. Summary of the Invention

[0011] According to the present disclosure, an optical demultiplexer is provided, the optical demultiplexer including an electro-optical modulator configured to change the polarization of an optical pulse having a first polarization passing through the electro-optical modulator from the first polarization to a second polarization when the electro-optical modulator is in a first state. The polarization of the optical pulse may refer herein to the polarization state of the optical pulse, and when the polarization state of the optical pulse relates to an optical pulse having the first polarization, the electro-optical modulator is configured to change the polarization state of the optical pulse such that the optical pulse has the second polarization when it exits the electro-optical modulator. The optical demultiplexer further includes a first mirror and a second mirror, the electro-optic modulator being disposed in the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror such that an optical pulse traveling in the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror passes through the electro-optic modulator, and the first mirror and the second mirror are disposed in the optical demultiplexer such that an optical pulse traveling in the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror is displaced perpendicular to a propagation direction of the optical pulse between the first mirror and the second mirror each time the optical pulse travels back and forth between the first mirror and the second mirror. The optical demultiplexer further includes a first polarizing beam splitter disposed in the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the electro-optic modulator, the first polarizing beam splitter being: Transmitting a light pulse having a first polarization; configured to reflect the light pulse having the second polarization to remove the light pulse having the second polarization from an optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror; The first polarizing beam splitter is configured to reflect the optical pulses that are displaced perpendicular to the direction of propagation into different output trajectories. Whether the optical pulses have a first polarization and the first polarizing beam splitter transmits such optical pulses or whether the optical pulses have a second polarization and the first polarizing beam splitter reflects such optical pulses can be controlled by controlling the state of the electro-optic modulator. In some examples, the electro-optic modulator is on when in a first state, and the polarization state of the optical pulses having the first polarization changes to the second polarization when the optical pulses pass through the electro-optic modulator.

[0012] The optical demultiplexer described here can make it possible to reduce the technical burden required to create a practical demultiplexed multiphoton source: the elimination of the need for multiple high-voltage electrical pulse generators reduces the cost and space required to prepare a multiphoton source.

[0013] The electro-optic modulator can switch the polarization of the light pulse, and once switched, the beam splitter can reflect the light pulse away from the optical trajectory between the first and second mirrors.

[0014] When the light pulses are displaced mutually perpendicular to the direction of propagation between the mirrors, they can be reflected by the beam splitter into different output trajectories.

[0015] Note that the light pulses may be mutually displaced in that they are generated with a time interval between them and therefore may be "displaced" from one another. Such light pulses will result in the same output trajectory (potentially at different times) if they are not mutually displaced perpendicular to the direction of propagation between the mirrors.

[0016] In some examples, the electro-optic modulator may be a modulator that utilizes the electro-optic effect of a specific electro-optic crystal, such as lithium niobate crystal (LiNbO3), arsenide crop crystal (GaAs), lithium tantalate crystal (LiTaO3), etc. The electro-optic effect is that when a voltage is applied to the electro-optic crystal, the refractive index of the electro-optic crystal changes, changing the optical portability of the crystal, thereby achieving modulation of the phase, amplitude, intensity, and polarization state of the optical signal.

[0017] In some examples, a polarizing beam splitter, such as but not limited to a Wollaston prism, can use a birefringent material to split light into two beams of orthogonal polarization states. Birefringent materials can be a relatively simple and inexpensive way to split light into reflected (e.g., S-polarized) and transmitted (e.g., P-polarized) light.

[0018] In some preferred implementations, the demultiplexer further includes a second polarizing beam splitter disposed in the optical trajectory between the second mirror and the electro-optic modulator, the second polarizing beam splitter being: Transmitting a light pulse having a first polarization; reflecting the optical pulse having the second polarization (based on the electro-optic modulator switching the polarization of the optical pulse from the first polarization to the second polarization) to remove the optical pulse having the second polarization from the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror; and the second polarizing beam splitter is configured to reflect the optical pulses that are perpendicularly displaced from one another relative to the direction of propagation into different output trajectories. Providing a second polarizing beam splitter as outlined above is particularly advantageous as it can increase (in some examples double) the number of output beams.

[0019] In some preferred implementations, the demultiplexer further includes a first focusing lens disposed in the optical trajectory between the electro-optic modulator and the first polarizing beam splitter, the first focusing lens configured to focus the optical pulses traveling in the optical trajectory from the electro-optic modulator to the first focusing lens, for the optical pulses displaced perpendicular to the propagation direction to travel parallel to each other between the first focusing lens and the first polarizing beam splitter. This allows the optical pulses removed from the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror to travel in parallel after being reflected into different respective output trajectories, which can simplify further use of the optical pulses (e.g., when precise timing of the reflection of each optical pulse into each respective output trajectory is required).

[0020] In some preferred implementations, the demultiplexer further includes a second focusing lens disposed in the optical trajectory between the electro-optic modulator and the second mirror, the second focusing lens configured to focus the optical pulses traveling in the optical trajectory from the electro-optic modulator to the second focusing lens for the optical pulses displaced perpendicular to the propagation direction to travel parallel to each other between the second focusing lens and the second mirror. This allows the optical pulses removed from the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror to travel in parallel after being reflected to different respective output trajectories, which can simplify further use of the optical pulses (e.g., when precise timing of the reflection of each optical pulse to each respective output trajectory is required).

[0021] In some preferred implementations, the demultiplexer further includes a second focusing lens disposed in the optical trajectory between the electro-optic modulator and the second polarizing beam splitter, the second focusing lens configured to focus the optical pulses traveling in the optical trajectory from the electro-optic modulator to the second focusing lens for the optical pulses displaced perpendicular to the propagation direction to travel parallel to each other between the second focusing lens and the second polarizing beam splitter. This allows the optical pulses removed from the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror to travel in parallel after being reflected to different respective output trajectories, which can simplify further use of the optical pulses (e.g., when precise timing of the reflection of each optical pulse to each respective output trajectory is required).

[0022] In some preferred implementations, the first and second focusing lenses are arranged in the optical demultiplexer in a unit magnification telescope configuration, which can provide a more confined optical demultiplexer, thereby further reducing the space required to prepare the multiphoton source.

[0023] In some preferred implementations, the input path to the optical demultiplexer for the light pulses traveling on an optical trajectory between the first and second mirrors is positioned parallel to and displaced from the central axis of the telescope arrangement, which is a simple way of providing a light beam to the optical demultiplexer such that the light beam is displaced perpendicular to its direction of propagation as it travels back and forth between the two mirrors.

[0024] In some preferred implementations, the electro-optic modulator is located in the center or central region of the telescope arrangement, which allows the electro-optic modulator to switch the polarization of the light beam for all light beams passing between the two mirrors, while at the same time restricting the electro-optic modulator to a (small) space in the center or central region of the telescope arrangement.

[0025] In some preferred implementations, the first mirror includes a first mirror component and a second mirror component for reflecting the light pulse traveling on an optical trajectory from the first focusing lens to the first mirror, the first mirror component and the second mirror component being arranged perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to each other, and the first mirror component and the second mirror component being arranged at an angle of 45 degrees or substantially 45 degrees to the optical trajectories of the light pulse traveling parallel to each other between the first focusing lens and the first mirror, allowing a simple and cost-effective way of displacing the light beam in a direction perpendicular to the propagation direction between the two mirrors and ultimately reflecting the light beam to different respective output trajectories.

[0026] In some preferred implementations, the second mirror includes a third mirror component and a fourth mirror component for reflecting the light pulse traveling on an optical trajectory from the second focusing lens to the second mirror, the third mirror component and the fourth mirror component being arranged perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to each other, and the third mirror component and the fourth mirror component being arranged at an angle of 45 degrees or substantially 45 degrees to the optical trajectories of the light pulse traveling parallel to each other between the second focusing lens and the second mirror, which further enables a simple and cost-effective way of displacing the light beam in a direction perpendicular to the propagation direction between the two mirrors and ultimately reflecting the light beam to different respective output trajectories.

[0027] In some preferred implementations, one or both of the first and second mirrors include an aperture for the light pulse to be provided to the optical trajectory between the first and second mirrors. This may be provided in any one or more of the implementations outlined throughout this disclosure and may allow for a simple and cost-effective method of providing a light beam to the optical demultiplexer in a desired manner.

[0028] In some preferred implementations, the demultiplexer further includes a third mirror disposed at a terminal end of the optical trajectory at normal incidence to the optical trajectory at a terminal portion of the optical trajectory to reflect the optical pulses to travel in the opposite direction between the first and second mirrors. This can be particularly advantageous since it can double the number of optical pulses output to each of the different output trajectories.

[0029] In some preferred implementations, the optical demultiplexer is configured to remove the optical pulses having the different temporal modes and the same spatial mode from the optical trajectory via the first polarizing beam splitter to the different spatial mode when switching the electro-optical modulator from the second state to the first state, and in the second state, the polarization of the optical pulses having the first polarization is not changed by the optical pulses passing through the electro-optical modulator, thereby allowing the optical pulses originally having the different temporal modes and the same spatial mode to be further used independently of each other. This can be provided in any one or more of the implementations outlined throughout this disclosure.

[0030] In some preferred implementations, based on all light pulses traveling on the optical trajectory between the first and second mirrors having a first polarization, and for the polarization of all light pulses changing from the first polarization to a second polarization as they travel through the electro-optic modulator in a first state, the first polarizing beam splitter is configured to remove all light pulses from the optical trajectory between the first and second mirrors simultaneously or in less than 10 nanoseconds when the electro-optic modulator is switched from the second state to the first state. This can result in modulation switching times shorter than the standard 12.5 ns for an 80 MHz repetition rate system. This can be provided in any one or more of the implementations outlined throughout this disclosure.

[0031] In some preferred implementations, when the electro-optic modulator is switched from the second state to the first state, the first polarizing beam splitter is configured to simultaneously or within 10 nanoseconds remove all of the optical pulses from the optical trajectory between the first and second mirrors and reflect all of the optical pulses into different respective output trajectories, each of which includes a single one of the optical pulses. This can result in modulation switching times shorter than the standard 12.5 ns for an 80 MHz repetition rate system. This can be provided in any one or more of the implementations outlined throughout this disclosure.

[0032] In some preferred implementations, the electro-optic modulator includes a Pockels cell, and the first state relates to a state in which the Pockels cell is on. Pockels cells can be particularly advantageous because they allow for ultrafast and precise light modulation. A Pockels cell may be defined as an electro-optic modulation device that utilizes the Pockels effect. The Pockels effect refers to an opto-electrical phenomenon in which the refractive index of certain crystals is proportional to the strength of an electric field. By controlling an external electric field to change the refractive index in a certain direction, the Pockels cell can operate as a tunable half-wave chip, achieving a change in polarization state.

[0033] In some preferred implementations, the electro-optic modulator is switchable between a first state and a second state in less than 10 nanoseconds, where in the first state the polarization of an optical pulse having a first polarization changes as the optical pulse passes through the electro-optic modulator, and in the second state the polarization of an optical pulse having the first polarization does not change as the optical pulse passes through the electro-optic modulator. This can result in modulation switching times shorter than the standard 12.5 ns for an 80 MHz repetition rate system. This can be provided in any one or more of the implementations outlined throughout this disclosure.

[0034] In some preferred implementations, the demultiplexer further includes a further set of mirrors disposed within the optical track to separate the optical tracks within a region having a dimension of 1.5 meters or less by 0.5 meters or less for an optical track length of at least 6 meters. The space required for the optical demultiplexer is now further reduced, which may lead to particularly cost savings.

[0035] Further provided is a quantum computing system including an optical demultiplexer of any one of the implementations described herein, in particular the implementations mentioned above.

[0036] There is further provided a system, particularly a quantum computing system, comprising: an optical demultiplexer according to any one of the implementations described herein and particularly above; a single-photon source generating a stream of single photons, the single-photon source coupled to an optical demultiplexer such that the single-photon source provides the stream of single photons to the optical demultiplexer; and an optical demultiplexer configured to output the multiple indistinguishable single photons to corresponding ones of the different output tracks, such that the indistinguishable single photons can be generated without the use of multiple high voltage electrical pulse generators, thereby reducing the cost and space required to prepare a multi-photon source.

[0037] There is further provided a method of outputting a plurality of single photons into corresponding ones of the different output trajectories, the method comprising: Providing a system according to any one of the implementations described herein, and in particular above; providing a plurality of light pulses having a first polarization on an optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror by a single-photon source disposed parallel to and displaced from a central axis of the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror; switching the electro-optic modulator from a second state to a first state, where in the second state the polarization of an optical pulse having a first polarization is not changed by the optical pulse passing through the electro-optic modulator, and where the first state changes the polarization of the optical pulse from the first polarization to a second polarization; outputting a plurality of single photons into corresponding ones of the different output trajectories based on the first polarizing beam splitter reflecting the optical pulse having the second polarization to remove the optical pulse from the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror; As outlined above, optical pulses can be generated without the use of multiple high voltage electrical pulse generators, thereby reducing the cost and space required to prepare a multi-photon source.

[0038] In some preferred implementations, one or more optical pulses travel multiple times back and forth between the first and second mirrors, and the electro-optical modulator switches from the second state to the first state while one of the optical pulses travels a final round of back and forth between the first and second mirrors. This allows a predetermined number of optical pulses to be output to each of the different output trajectories. Additionally or alternatively, the beam transverse spatial width of the optical pulses provided via the single photon source is 2 millimeters or about 2 millimeters (relative to 1 / e intensity), which allows a Rayleigh range of several meters to be maintained (this may be important in some examples, since a typical separation between optical pulses is about 12.5 ns, i.e., about 4 m in a fixed time frame).

[0039] Further provided is a method for performing a quantum computation based on (i) optical pulses reflected / output into different output trajectories using an optical demultiplexer or quantum computing system of any one of the implementations described herein, and in particular described above, or (ii) a plurality of single photons output into corresponding ones of the different output trajectories using a system of any one of the implementations described herein, and in particular described above.

[0040] There is further provided a computer program product comprising program code portions for performing the methods described above when the computer program product is executed on one or more computing devices. In some preferred embodiments, the computer program product is stored on a computer readable recording medium.

[0041] Based on the implementation described here, the problem of scalability in time-space demultiplexers is solved. A quasi-repetitive geometry can be used in the path of the input single-photon source to demultiplex the input source into any number of output modes using only one active element. By configuration, the resulting demultiplexed modes are synchronized such that no further optical delay is required.

[0042] Throughout this disclosure, an active (optical) element may refer to an electronic component that changes the motional properties (e.g., polarization, amplitude, etc.) of photons with electrical energy. In some examples, the active element is an electro-optic modulator, such as, for example, an electro-optic modulated Pockels cell.

[0043] Using the implementations described herein, the technical burden required to generate a practical demultiplexed multiphoton source is reduced. The difficult handling of many high-voltage electrical pulse generators is overcome. As a result, implementations such as those described herein make it possible to reduce costs and at the same time reduce the volume and space required in a laboratory. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0044] These and other aspects of the invention will now be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like reference numbers represent like parts and in which: [Figure 1] 1 shows a schematic diagram of a demultiplexer according to the prior art; [Figure 2A] 1 shows a schematic diagram of a demultiplexer according to some implementations of the present disclosure. [Figure 2B]1 shows a schematic diagram of a demultiplexer according to some implementations of the present disclosure. [Figure 2C] 1 shows a schematic diagram of a demultiplexer according to some implementations of the present disclosure. [Figure 2D] 1 shows a schematic diagram of a demultiplexer according to some implementations of the present disclosure. [Figure 2E] 2D shows the spatial power distribution of the demultiplexer mode of FIG. 2D. [Diagram 3] 1 shows a schematic diagram of a demultiplexer according to some implementations of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a system according to some implementations of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] 1 shows a flowchart of a method according to some implementations of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] 1 shows a flowchart of a method according to some implementations of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0045] The present disclosure generally relates to a resource-efficient active space-time demultiplexer.

[0046] According to some implementations, a demultiplexer module is presented that uses a single active element to route any number of temporal modes of the same spatial mode towards different synchronized spatial modes. A stream of optical pulses traveling the same spatial trajectory can be converted into multiple trajectories, each containing one pulse at a time.

[0047] According to some implementations of the present disclosure, a demultiplexer is generally constructed using three main types of optical elements: one or more polarizing beam-splitters (PBSs), highly reflective mirrors, and one ultrafast electro-optical modulator (e.g., a Pockels cell) with a switching rate of, for example, over 10 MHz.

[0048] When using a demultiplexer according to the implementations described herein, the demultiplexer can be operated in a "loading" phase and a "release" phase. In the "loading" phase, the demultiplexer module is used in the input path of the photon source to traverse an increasingly quasi-repetitive geometry as long as the electro-optic modulator is kept in the OFF state. In the "release" phase, the electro-optic modulator is switched to the ON state, which results in the polarization of all light pulses passing through the electro-optic modulator being inverted, allowing each pulse to simultaneously assume a different output trajectory.

[0049] The number of active elements required in a time-space demultiplexer according to some example implementations of the present disclosure to demultiplex N pulses is reduced from N as in existing alternatives to only one active element, generally regardless of N, where N can represent the number of pulses to be multiplexed, which can depend only on the size of the optical elements used, according to some example implementations of the present disclosure. As a result, the number of high-voltage amplifiers, which are generally relatively expensive, is reduced, fewer birefringent crystals need to be utilized, and complex electronics for multi-pulse synchronization can be avoided in example implementations according to the present disclosure.

[0050] 2A-D show schematic diagrams of a demultiplexer 200 according to some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0051] 2A, the demultiplexer 200 generally includes an electro-optic modulator (EOM) 202, a first mirror 204, and a second mirror 206. In this example, the first mirror 204 includes a first mirror component 204a and a second mirror component 204b. Further, in this example, the second mirror 206 includes a third mirror component 206a and a fourth mirror component 206b.

[0052] A first polarizing beam splitter 210 and a second polarizing beam splitter 212 are provided for ultimately combining the optical output of the optical path 208 between the first mirror 204 and the second mirror 206. However, it will be appreciated that a single polarizing beam splitter may be sufficient for combining the optical output from the optical path 208 between the first mirror 204 and the second mirror 206.

[0053] In this example, a first focusing lens 214 is positioned in the optical path between the electro-optical modulator 202 and the first pole beam splitter 210, and a second focusing lens 216 is positioned in the optical path between the electro-optical modulator 202 and the second polarizing beam splitter 212.

[0054] In this example, the input path 218 of the light source (photons, |h>, expressed using Dirac notation) to the demultiplexer 200 is placed parallel and displaced from the central axis of the telescope arrangement formed by the first and second condenser lenses 214 and 216, which are identical lenses in this example, and the telescope arrangement exhibits unit magnification. This slight parallel displacement of the input path 218 with respect to the central axis of the telescope arrangement at unit magnification results in the displacement being mirrored in the opposite direction at the telescope output. This results in a nearly repeatable geometry of the input beam trajectory.

[0055] The center (or central region) of the telescope, in this example, includes an active electro-optic modulator 202 (in some examples a Pockels cell), and the telescope itself is disposed within polarizing beam splitters 210 and 212 .

[0056] In this example, a mirror 220 is placed at the end of the optical trajectory to redirect all of the beams back in the backward direction in order to double the number of output modes, as described below.

[0057] According to the arrangement shown in FIG. 2A , in a first stage of the demultiplexer approach according to the present disclosure, in some examples, for example, horizontally polarized light pulses can pass through a polarizing beam splitter 212, a telescope made of two focusing lenses 214 and 216, and an electro-optic modulator 202.

[0058] As shown in FIG. 2B, mirrors 204 and 206 with their respective components are used to align the beam trajectory so that after passing through the polarizing beam splitter, the focusing lens, and the electro-optic modulator, the light returns to the setting with a parallel displaced trajectory, but now traveling in the opposite direction (paths 2, 4, 6, and 8 shown in FIG. 2B) as long as the electro-optic modulator is turned off. This process continues to repeat multiple times while the electro-optic modulator is turned off, as long as the transparent aperture of the optical element allows. In this way, the light trajectory continues to build up in a nearly repeating geometry, and the polarization of the light is maintained horizontal in this example.

[0059] As already shown in relation to Figure 2A, in this example a mirror 220 is placed at normal incidence at the end of the optical trajectory so that all beams are redirected back again in the backward direction. Thus, as shown in Figure 2C, the number of output modes is doubled (16 modes in this example) for the same transparent aperture size.

[0060] The procedure illustrated in Figures 2A through 2C accomplishes the demultiplexed optical pulse "loading" stage of some protocols according to the present disclosure.

[0061] In the "release" phase of the protocol, the electro-optic modulator 202 is turned on, which in this example rotates the polarization of the optical pulses to the vertical direction. As a result, in this example, the polarizing beam splitters 210 and 212 reflect the optical pulses, releasing them from their original optical trajectories, thereby completing the demultiplexing protocol (see FIG. 2D). All initial time delays between the input optical pulses are erased by the setup geometry itself, such that all optical pulses remain synchronized. In this way, the optical pulses are released into different (synchronized) output trajectories, resulting in demultiplexed signals.

[0062] If the input light consists of a stream of single photons, the demultiplexer can prepare a source of multiple indistinguishable single photons, e.g., ready to be connected to and interfered with a multimode interferometer in protocols within optical quantum computing. Thus, an important application of the demultiplexer is the construction of a multiphoton source for optical quantum information processing, although other applications are possible and will be understood by those skilled in the art.

[0063] Relevant parameters to consider for the technical aspects of the demultiplexer are optical losses, passive and active polarization contrast, beam trajectory spatial width, clear aperture, and rise time of the electro-optical modulator (Pockels cell).

[0064] In some examples of demultiplexers, mirrors exhibit 99.99% or greater reflectivity (i.e., less than 0.01% loss per element). Additionally or alternatively, polarizing beam splitters exhibit less than 1% loss per element. Additionally or alternatively, focusing lenses exhibit less than 1% loss per element. Additionally or alternatively, electro-optic modulators exhibit less than 1% loss per element.

[0065] In some instances, the polarization contrast ratio of s-polarized to p-polarized light transmission (reflection) of a polarizing beam splitter is greater than 1000:1 at both the transmission and reflection ports. Furthermore, in some instances, electro-optic modulators can reach active polarization contrasts of greater than 100:1.

[0066] In some instances, the lateral spatial width of the beam may vary, and in some instances may be chosen to be about 2 mm in diameter (related to the 1 / e intensity), thereby maintaining a Rayleigh range of several meters. This may be important, since a typical spacing between light pulses is about 12.5 ns, or about 4 m in a fixed time frame. The Rayleigh range may then refer to the distance from the waist of the beam along its path to a cross section of twice its area, at which point the cross section radius is about 1.414 (√2) of the waist radius.

[0067] In some examples, the size of the mirror is at or about 1 inch and / or the size of the polarizing beam splitter is at or about 1 inch. In some examples, the focal length of the two focusing lenses is 300 mm and the aperture size is 2 inches. In examples where an increased clear aperture is required, for example, several polarizing beam splitters can be stacked next to each other to effectively achieve a larger aperture.

[0068] The electro-optic modulator (e.g., a Pockels cell) can, in some examples, be switched from an off state to an on state (and / or vice versa) in less than 10 ns. This can result in modulation switching times shorter than the standard 12.5 ns for an 80 MHz repetition rate system. In some examples, the drive switching voltage across the Pockels cell is about 1 kV.

[0069] To test the conceptual geometry of the demultiplexer, a smaller version, as shown in Figure 2D, was built using only standard 1-inch sized optical elements, resulting in 16 output spatial modes. The spatial modes of all 16 outputs are similar to the input modes, as shown in Figure 2E, which may ensure that all outputs can be collected with high fiber coupling efficiency (i.e., allowing high collection efficiency with single-mode fiber).

[0070] Among the aforementioned parameters, the rise time of the active elements is the one that directly affects the system size. This is because the traveling light pulse needs to switch polarization within the last round trip of its trajectory, which means that the (time-equivalent) space of each round trip needs to be smaller than the separation between the pulses. Commercially available state-of-the-art Pockels cells are capable of switching the polarization of light with a switching time of about 10 ns. Therefore, a standard laser / light system with a repetition rate of 80 MHz (pulse separation of 12.5 ns) can be used.

[0071] However, as will be appreciated, 12.5 ns in time corresponds to 3.75 m in free space for an optical pulse, resulting in an implementation length of approximately 8 m according to the alignment of Figure 2D. To get around this, as shown in demultiplexer 300 of Figure 3, additional mirrors 320a-h can be implemented which do not change the conceptual operation of the demultiplexer but help reduce the size of the footprint. In some examples, the demultiplexer has a size of approximately 1.5 m by 0.5 m for a 12-output demultiplexer in this example.

[0072] FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a system 400 according to some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0073] In this example, the demultiplexers 200, 300 are included in a system 400 (which may be a quantum computing system) along with a single-photon source 402 for generating a stream of single photons, which is coupled to the optical demultiplexers 200, 300 to provide the stream of single photons to the optical demultiplexers 200, 300 by the single-photon source 402. In this system 400, the demultiplexers 200, 300 are configured to output a plurality of indistinguishable single photons into corresponding respective ones of the different output tracks.

[0074] FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method 500 according to some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0075] The method 500 includes, at step 502, providing a system, particularly a quantum computing system, the system including an optical demultiplexer, the optical demultiplexer comprising: an electro-optic modulator configured to change a polarization of an optical pulse having a first polarization passing through the electro-optic modulator from the first polarization to a second polarization when the electro-optic modulator is in a first state; a first mirror and a second mirror, the electro-optic modulator being disposed in an optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror with respect to an optical pulse traveling in the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror to pass through the electro-optic modulator, the first mirror and the second mirror being disposed within the optical demultiplexer such that the optical pulse traveling in the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror is displaced each time it travels back and forth between the first mirror and the second mirror; a first polarizing beam splitter disposed in an optical trajectory between the first mirror and the electro-optic modulator, the first polarizing beam splitter configured to transmit optical pulses having a first polarization and reflect optical pulses having a second polarization to separate the optical pulses having the second polarization from the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror based on the electro-optic modulator switching the polarization of the optical pulses from the first polarization to the second polarization, the first polarizing beam splitter configured to separate the optical pulses displaced perpendicular to each other with respect to the propagation direction into respective different output trajectories; Includes.

[0076] In step 504, the method 500 includes providing a plurality of optical pulses having a first polarization on an optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror by a single photon source arranged parallel to the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror and displaced from a central axis of the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror.

[0077] In step 506, the method 500 includes switching the electro-optical modulator from a second state to a first state, where in the second state, the polarization of an optical pulse having a first polarization does not change when the optical pulse passes through the electro-optical modulator, and where the first state changes the polarization of the optical pulse from the first polarization to a second polarization.

[0078] In step 508, the method 500 includes outputting a plurality of single photons into corresponding ones of the different output trajectories based on the first polarizing beam splitter reflecting the light pulse having the second polarization to remove the light pulse from the light trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror. The light pulse can be output into each corresponding one of the output trajectories.

[0079] The transverse spatial beam width of the light pulses provided by the single photon source is, in some examples, at or about 2 millimeters.

[0080] FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method 600 according to some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0081] In step 602, a demultiplexer or system according to any of the implementations described herein is provided. In step 604, a quantum computation is performed based on (i) the optical pulses output into different output trajectories using an optical demultiplexer according to any of the implementations described herein, or (ii) the single photons output into corresponding ones of the different output trajectories using a system according to any of the implementations described herein.

[0082] The disclosed module for time-space demultiplexing uses a single active element to route any number of time modes within the same spatial mode to different synchronous output spatial modes. A stream of optical pulses, all of the same spatial mode, traversing the demultiplexer is transformed into various output trajectories, each of which has one of such pulses present at a time.

[0083] The demultiplexer, in some examples, includes three types of optical elements: one or more polarizing beam splitters for spatially sorting the orthogonal polarizations, a highly reflective mirror (e.g., with reflectivity greater than 99.99%), and one (ultrafast) electro-optic modulator, particularly in the form of a Pockels cell, with run speeds exceeding 10 MHz. Conceptually, the protocol is divided into a "loading" phase and a "release" phase, as outlined above. In the former, the input (laser) pulse passes through an increasingly increasing, nearly repeating geometry while the electro-optic modulator (Pockels cell) is kept off. In the latter, the electro-optic modulator (Pockels cell) is turned on, flipping all the pulse polarizations to the orthogonal state, where they are now released from the repeating geometry and can instead exit the device each on a different synchronous trajectory.

[0084] The device according to the present disclosure reduces the number of active elements required to demultiplex N pulses, typically N-1 active elements in existing alternatives, down to a single active element. The number of modes that can be demultiplexed is conceptually arbitrary, and in practice is limited only by the finite aperture of the optical elements in use. The approach presented here reduces the typically expensive high voltage amplifiers and drivers, birefringent crystals, and complex multi-pulse electronics all to one in each case, thus reducing the price, footprint size, and ease of implementation. With the appropriate clear aperture, a demultiplexer according to the implementation described here can be configured to demultiplex dozens of outputs, always occupying the same footprint size.

[0085] Thus, an important application of the demultiplexer as outlined above is the construction of a multi-photon source for optical quantum information processing, although other applications are possible and will be understood by those skilled in the art. In this regard, quantum computation may be achieved by encoding a computation process into a particular complex entangled state by manipulation and measurement of the entangled state in a particular order, including adjustment of the quantum state. Measurement-based quantum computation is a resource state that is quantum computed based on highly entangled cluster states. The computation itself may be achieved by successively measuring adjacent qubits from the cluster state. The order of measurements, together with the measurement device, may define a computer system for generic quantum computation by effectively implementing any single-qubit and two-qubit (or multi-qubit) operations.

[0086] Many other effective alternatives will no doubt occur to those skilled in the art, and it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the described embodiments, but encompasses modifications that are obvious to those skilled in the art and that are within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

Claims

1. 1. An optical demultiplexer, comprising: an electro-optic modulator configured to change the polarization of an optical pulse having a first polarization passing through the electro-optic modulator from the first polarization to a second polarization when the electro-optic modulator is in a first state; a first mirror and a second mirror, the electro-optic modulator being disposed in an optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror with respect to an optical pulse traveling in the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror to pass through the electro-optic modulator, the first mirror and the second mirror being disposed within the optical demultiplexer such that the optical pulse traveling in the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror is displaced perpendicular to a propagation direction of the optical pulse between the first mirror and the second mirror each time the optical pulse travels back and forth between the first mirror and the second mirror; a first polarizing beam splitter disposed in the optical path between the first mirror and the electro-optic modulator, the first polarizing beam splitter configured to transmit optical pulses having the first polarization and to reflect optical pulses having the second polarization to remove the optical pulses having the second polarization from the optical path between the first mirror and the second mirror, the first polarizing beam splitter configured to reflect optical pulses that are mutually perpendicularly displaced with respect to the propagation direction into respective different output trajectories; Including, the electro-optic modulator is configured to, when switching from the second state to the first state, remove from the optical trajectory an optical pulse having the same spatial mode as a different temporal mode via the first polarizing beam splitter and place it in a different spatial mode; an optical demultiplexer, wherein while the electro-optic modulator is in the second state, the optical pulse travels in the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror according to a repeating geometry, and wherein the polarization of the optical pulse having the first polarization is not changed by the optical pulse passing through the electro-optic modulator.

2. and a second polarizing beam splitter disposed in the optical path between the second mirror and the electro-optic modulator, the second polarizing beam splitter comprising: transmitting a pulse of light having the first polarization; reflecting the light pulse having the second polarization to remove the light pulse having the second polarization from the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror; 2. The optical demultiplexer of claim 1, wherein the second polarizing beam splitter is configured to reflect optical pulses that are perpendicularly displaced from one another relative to the propagation direction into different output trajectories.

3. a first focusing lens disposed in the optical path between the electro-optic modulator and the first polarizing beam splitter, the first focusing lens configured to focus the optical pulses traveling in the optical path from the electro-optic modulator to the first focusing lens for optical pulses displaced perpendicular to the propagation direction to travel parallel to each other between the first focusing lens and the first polarizing beam splitter; a second focusing lens disposed in the optical path between the electro-optical modulator and the second mirror, the second focusing lens configured to focus the optical pulses traveling in the optical path from the electro-optical modulator to the second focusing lens for optical pulses displaced perpendicular to the propagation direction to travel parallel to each other between the second focusing lens and the second mirror; 3. The optical demultiplexer according to claim 1, further comprising:

4. 4. An optical demultiplexer as claimed in claim 3 dependent on claim 2, wherein the second focusing lens is disposed in the optical path between the electro-optical modulator and the second polarizing beam splitter, and the second focusing lens is configured to focus the optical pulses travelling in the optical path from the electro-optical modulator to the second focusing lens for optical pulses displaced perpendicular to the propagation direction to travel parallel to each other between the second focusing lens and the second polarizing beam splitter.

5. 5. The optical demultiplexer of claim 4, wherein the first and second focusing lenses are arranged in the optical demultiplexer in a unit magnification telescope configuration.

6. 6. The optical demultiplexer of claim 5, wherein an input path to the optical demultiplexer for optical pulses traveling on the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror is disposed parallel to and displaced from a central axis of the telescope arrangement.

7. 7. An optical demultiplexer according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the electro-optical modulator is located at the centre or at a central region of the telescope arrangement.

8. 8. An optical demultiplexer as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein the first mirror comprises a first mirror component and a second mirror component for reflecting light pulses travelling on the optical trajectory from the first focusing lens to the first mirror, the first mirror component and the second mirror component being arranged perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to each other, and the first mirror component and the second mirror component being arranged at an angle of 45 degrees or substantially 45 degrees to the optical trajectory along which the light pulses travel parallel to each other between the first focusing lens and the first mirror.

9. 9. An optical demultiplexer as described in claim 8 dependent on claim 3, wherein the second mirror includes a third mirror component and a fourth mirror component for reflecting the optical pulses traveling on the optical trajectory from the second focusing lens to the second mirror, the third mirror component and the fourth mirror component being arranged perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to each other, and the third mirror component and the fourth mirror component being arranged at an angle of 45 degrees or substantially 45 degrees to the optical trajectory along which the optical pulses travel parallel to each other between the second focusing lens and the second mirror.

10. 10. An optical demultiplexer as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein one or both of the first mirror and the second mirror include an aperture for an optical pulse to be provided to the optical trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror.

11. 11. An optical demultiplexer as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising a third mirror positioned at an end of the optical trajectory at normal incidence to the optical trajectory at a terminal portion of the optical trajectory to reflect the optical pulse to travel in the opposite direction between the first mirror and the second mirror.

12. 12. An optical demultiplexer as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein based on all light pulses travelling on the optical path between the first mirror and the second mirror having the first polarization, and for the polarization of all light pulses that change from the first polarization to the second polarization as they travel through the electro-optical modulator in the first state, when the electro-optical modulator is switched from the second state to the first state, the first polarizing beam splitter is configured to remove all light pulses from the optical path between the first mirror and the second mirror simultaneously or in less than 10 nanoseconds.

13. 13. The optical demultiplexer of claim 12, wherein when the electro-optical modulator is switched from the second state to the first state, the first polarizing beam splitter is configured to remove all light pulses from the light trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror simultaneously or within 10 nanoseconds, and each of the output trajectories includes a single one of the light pulses.

14. An optical demultiplexer according to any preceding claim, wherein the electro-optical modulator comprises a Pockels cell, and the first state relates to a state in which the Pockels cell is on.

15. 15. An optical demultiplexer as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the electro-optical modulator is switchable between the first state and the second state in less than 10 nanoseconds, and in the first state, the polarization of the optical pulse having the first polarization changes when the optical pulse passes through the electro-optical modulator, and in the second state, the polarization of the optical pulse having the first polarization does not change when the optical pulse passes through the electro-optical modulator.

16. 16. An optical demultiplexer as described in any one of claims 1 to 15, further comprising a further set of mirrors positioned within the optical track to separate the optical tracks in regions having dimensions of 1.5 meters or less by 0.5 meters or less for an optical track length of at least 6 meters.

17. A quantum computing system comprising an optical demultiplexer according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

18. A system, in particular a quantum computing system, comprising: An optical demultiplexer according to any one of claims 1 to 16, a single-photon source generating a stream of single photons, the single-photon source coupled to the optical demultiplexer, the single-photon source providing the stream of single photons to the optical demultiplexer; wherein the optical demultiplexer is configured to output a plurality of indistinguishable single photons to corresponding respective ones of the different output trajectories.

19. 1. A method for outputting a plurality of single photons into corresponding ones of different output trajectories, the method comprising: Providing a system according to claim 18; providing a plurality of pulses of light having a first polarization onto an optical path between a first mirror and a second mirror by a single photon source disposed parallel to and displaced from a central axis of the optical path between the first mirror and the second mirror; switching an electro-optic modulator from a second state to a first state, the electro-optic modulator configured to remove light pulses having a different temporal mode and the same spatial mode from the light trajectory via the first polarizing beam splitter into a different spatial mode, while the electro-optic modulator is in the second state, the light pulses move in the light trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror according to a repeating geometry, the polarization of light pulses having a first polarization is not changed by the light pulses passing through the electro-optic modulator, and the first state changes the polarization of the light pulses from the first polarization to a second polarization; outputting the plurality of single photons into corresponding ones of different output trajectories based on the first polarizing beam splitter reflecting the light pulse having the second polarization to remove the light pulse from the light trajectory between the first mirror and the second mirror; The method includes:

20. 20. The method of claim 19, wherein one or more light pulses travel multiple round trips between the first mirror and the second mirror, and the electro-optic modulator switches from the second state to the first state during a final round of travel of one of the light pulses between the first mirror and the second mirror.

21. 21. The method of claim 19 or 20, wherein the light pulses provided by the single photon source have a transverse spatial beam width of at or about 2 millimeters.

22. An optical method for performing quantum computing, comprising: (i) optical pulses reflected into different output trajectories using an optical demultiplexer according to any one of claims 1 to 16 or a quantum computing system according to claim 17; or (ii) a plurality of single photons output into corresponding ones of the different output trajectories using a system according to claim 18.

23. 23. A computer program causing one or more computing devices to carry out the method of claim 22.

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