Systems, devices, articles, and methods for inducing optical signals using luminescence defects in semiconductor materials

Abstract

The information processing systems, devices, articles, and methods are configured to receive a first photon at a first switch including a first region of semiconductor material and a first local defect disposed in the first region of semiconductor material. The first local defect has a first defect computation state. Based on the first defect computation state of at least the first local defect, a second photon is directed to travel by a first output path communicatively coupled to the first local defect or a second output path communicatively coupled to the first local defect.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This disclosure generally relates to communication networks and information processing devices, and more particularly to systems, apparatus, articles, and methods for inducing signals based on the state of local defects in a semiconductor material body, such as luminescence defects in refined silicon.

[0002] (Cross-reference to related applications) This application, filed on 20 September 2019, claims interest under Section 119 of the United States Patent Act in U.S. Patent Application No. 62 / 903306, entitled "SYSTEMS, DEVICES, ARTICLES, AND METHODS TO DIRECT OPTICAL SIGNALS USING LUMINESCENT DEFECTS IN SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIAL," which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. [Background technology]

[0003] Information is contained within the state of a physical system. The physical system can be a quantum system or a classical system. The system includes tangible devices, such as electrical components, defined on or within one or more substrates. The physical system may include one or more photons that interact with other physical components or are otherwise communicatively coupled. One or more photons may be emitted from a tangible photon source, travel through communication channels, interact with information processing devices, and be measured by detectors. [Overview of the project]

[0004] This disclosure has various aspects, including the following: • A method for selectively switching photons between output paths; • Devices for selectively switching photons between output paths (e.g., switches and networks of switches); • A method and apparatus for providing a superposition of photon states.

[0005] One aspect of the present disclosure provides an information processing apparatus including a region of semiconductor material and a local defect located in a first region of the semiconductor material. The local defect maintains a computational state selected from a first state, a second state, or a first superposition of the first and second states. The apparatus also includes a first input waveguide communicatively coupled to the local defect and a first output waveguide communicatively coupled to the local defect. The first output waveguide maintains a first output path, and photons emitted from the local defect are guided to the first output waveguide and the first output path, depending at least on the computational state of the local defect.

[0006] Another aspect of the present disclosure describes an information processing method that includes receiving a first photon in a first switch, which includes a first region of a semiconductor material and a first local defect located in the first region of the semiconductor material. The first local defect has a first defect calculation state. The method further includes inducing a second photon to travel by a first output path communicatively coupled to the first local defect, or a second output path communicatively coupled to the first local defect, based at least on the first defect calculation state of the first local defect.

[0007] Another aspect of the present disclosure describes an information processing method that includes preparing a local defect located on a semiconductor material body in a defect calculation state. The defect calculation state is selected from a first defect ground state, a second defect ground state, or a superposition of the first and second defect ground states. The method further includes inducing output photons to travel via a first output path or a second output path communicatively coupled to the local defect, based on at least the defect calculation state of the local defect.

[0008] Further aspects and exemplary embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings and / or described below.

[0009] It is emphasized that the present invention relates to all combinations of the above features, even if these are described in different claims.

[0010] The accompanying drawings illustrate non-limiting exemplary embodiments of the present invention. **Brief Description of the Drawings**

[0011] [Figure 1] It is a schematic diagram showing a part of a system including a processor-based device communicably coupled to a special information processor.

[0012] [Figure 2] It is a schematic diagram showing exemplary defects and a body of a semiconductor material.

[0013] [Figure 3] It is a schematic diagram showing an example of a communication device system including the defects and the body of the semiconductor material shown in FIG. 2.

[0014] [Figure 4] It is a schematic diagram showing an example of an information processing device system including the components shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

[0015] [Figure 5] It is a schematic diagram showing a switch including defects and a plurality of paths.

[0016] [Figure 6] It is a schematic diagram showing a plurality of switches as shown in FIG. 5 coupled by a plurality of paths.

[0017] [Figure 7] It is a flowchart showing an implementation of an exemplary method of operation of a communication device including two or more photons.

[0018] [Figure 8] It is a flowchart showing an implementation of an exemplary method of operation of a communication device, and this implementation includes one photon.

[0019] [Figure 9] It is a flowchart showing an implementation of an exemplary method of operation of a communication device, and the implementation includes local defects.

[0020] [Figure 10A-10D] A schematic diagram showing photons interacting with a defect, where the photons are selectively output by the first and second waveguides.

[0021] [Figure 11A-11D] A schematic diagram showing photons interacting with a defect, where the photons are selectively output by the first and second output paths within one waveguide.

[0022] [Figure 11E-11G] A schematic diagram showing photons interacting with a defect, where the photons interacting with the defect are delayed with respect to other photons.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0023] In the following description, specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the present invention. However, the present invention may be practiced without these details. In other instances, well-known elements have not been shown or described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

[0024] In the present disclosure, systems, devices, articles, and methods that are actually applied in information processing (e.g., computing, communication, quantum computing, quantum communication) are considered. Information processing includes processing information when information is stored in the physical state of a physical (e.g., tangible) system. Quantum information processing includes processing information using one or more quantum physical effects such as superposition, coherence, decoherence, entanglement, nonlocality, and teleportation.

[0025] Communication involves transferring classical or quantum information from one physical system to another by one or more signals that describe the physical state of the physical system. Quantum communication involves processing information by using one or more quantum physical effects or processes such as superposition, coherence, entanglement, nonlocality, teleportation, and measurement.

[0026] Communication can be used for computation. For example, the systems, apparatus, articles, and methods described herein can use the state of moving information (e.g., photons) to influence the state of stationary information (e.g., defects in a semiconductor body), and vice versa. Either or both of the stationary or moving information may be classical information.

[0027] Figure 1 shows a processor-based system 100 that includes one or more specialized devices for processing information. System 100 includes a digital computer 102 with a control subsystem 104. The control subsystem 104 includes at least one processor 105. The digital computer 102 includes at least one bus 106 coupled to the control subsystem 104. System 100 further includes at least one non-temporary computer and processor-readable storage device 108 and a network interface subsystem 110, both of which are communicatively coupled to the (multiple) buses 106. The digital computer 102 includes an operator input subsystem 112 and an operator output subsystem 114, both communicatively coupled to the (multiple) buses 106. The digital computer 102 also includes an analog device interface (ADI) subsystem 116 coupled to the (multiple) buses 106. The (multiple) buses 106 may communicatively couple multiple subsystems within the computer 102. In some implementations, some subsystems of system 100 may be omitted or combined. Some subsystems of system 100 may be remotely accessed via the network interface subsystem 110.

[0028] At least one processor 105 may be any logic processing unit, such as one or more digital processors, microprocessors, central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable gate arrays (PGAs), programmed logic units (PLUs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or network processors (NPs). At least one processor 105 may include analog capacitances such as those found in DSPs, GPUs, analog-to-digital converters, or digital-to-analog converters.

[0029] The network interface subsystem 110 includes a communication circuit that supports bidirectional communication of processor-readable data and processor-executable instructions. The network interface subsystem 110 may exchange processor-readable data and processor-executable instructions over network or non-network communication channels (not shown), such as the Internet, serial connection, parallel connection, ETHERNET®, wireless connection, optical fiber connection, or a combination of the above, using communication protocols (e.g., FTP, HTTPS, SSH, TCP / IP, SOAP plus XML).

[0030] The operator input subsystem 112 includes one or more user interface devices, such as a keyboard, pointer, numeric keypad, touchscreen, or other interface devices for a user or human operator.

[0031] In some implementations, the operator input subsystem 112 includes one or more sensors for the digital computer 102 or analog device 150. These sensors provide information characterizing or representing the environment or internal state of the digital computer 102 and / or analog device 150. Furthermore, the output subsystem 114 includes one or more user interface devices, such as a display, lighting, speaker, and printer.

[0032] The (multiple) storage devices 108 include at least one non-temporary or tangible storage device. The (multiple) storage devices 108 may include, for example, one or more volatile storage devices such as random access memory (RAM) and one or more non-volatile storage devices such as read-only memory (ROM). The (multiple) storage devices 108 may include solid-state memory, flash memory, magnetic hard disk, optical disk, solid-state disk (SSD), hard disk drive (HDD), network drive, other forms of computer and processor-readable storage media, or combinations thereof. Those skilled in the art will understand that the (multiple) storage devices 108 may be implemented in various ways, such as non-volatile storage devices, volatile storage devices, and / or combinations thereof. Furthermore, a computer system may integrate volatile and non-volatile storage devices, such as caches, solid-state hard drives, in-memory databases, etc.

[0033] The (multiple) storage devices 108 contain or store processor-executable instructions and / or processor-readable data 120 related to the operation of the system 100. By executing the processor-executable instructions 120 and selectively reading the processor-readable data 120, the system 100, the digital computer 102, other systems or devices, or combinations thereof, causes at least one processor 105 and / or control subsystem 104 to execute or perform various methods and actions. For example, these may be performed via the network interface subsystem 110 or the ADI subsystem 116. The processor-executable instructions and / or processor-readable data 120 may include, for example, a basic input / output system (BIOS) (not shown), an operating system 122, peripheral drivers (not shown), server instructions 124, application instructions 126, calibration instructions 128, special information processor instructions 130, communication channel instructions 132, environment instructions 134, and data 136. Some of the (multiple) storage devices 108, or the processor-executable instructions and / or processor-readable data 120, may be included in the article of the product containing the non-temporary processor-readable storage device.

[0034] Exemplary operating systems 122 include, for example, the LINUX® and WINDOWS® operating systems. Server instructions 124 include processor-executable instructions and / or processor-readable data for interacting with processor-based devices outside the system 100 via a network interface subsystem 110. In some implementations, processor-executable server instructions 124, when executed by the processor, include processor-executable instructions and / or processor-readable data for scheduling jobs relating to the digital computer 102 or analog device 150. Application instructions 126, when executed, include processor-executable instructions that cause the system 100 to perform one or more actions related to an application, such as calculations on the digital computer 102 and / or analog device 150.

[0035] Calibration instruction 128, when executed by a processor (e.g., multiple processors 105), includes a processor-executable instruction that causes the processor to calibrate the analog device 150, obtain a calibration value, and store the calibration value of the analog device 150. Calibration can compensate for variations in the components of the analog device 150. Components included in or on the analog device 150 may have variations between components in their operating parameters. Variations in operating parameters may change over time or deviate from expected or ideal component parameters. When executed by a processor, calibration instruction 128 enables testing and correction of these variations between components, variations over time, and / or deviations from expected or ideal component parameters.

[0036] The special information processor instructions 130 include processor-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor (e.g., a plurality of processors 105), cause the processor to control, initialize, write, operate, read, and / or otherwise transmit data to and from the analog device 150. The special information processor instructions 130 may partially implement the methods described herein (see, for example, Figures 7-9) and / or utilize the control subsystems (a plurality of) included in the analog device 150.

[0037] The communication channel instruction 132 includes processor-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor (e.g., a plurality of processors 105), cause the processor to initialize, control, and read information in the communication channel or associated devices such as a source or readout device. The communication channel instruction 132 may partially implement the methods described herein (see, for example, Figures 7-9).

[0038] Environmental instructions 134, when executed by a processor (e.g., a plurality of processors 105), include processor-executable instructions and / or processor-readable data that cause the processor to control and monitor default and potentially specialized environmental configurations for some or all of the analog device 150. An example of environmental instructions 134 includes instructions that, when executed, monitor and control temperature and magnetic fields affecting the special information processor 154 of the analog device 150. Environmental instructions 134 can create thermal profiles (e.g., temperature values ​​for some or all of the analog device 150 with temporal or spatial dependencies). Environmental instructions 134 may, in part, implement the methods described herein.

[0039] Data 136 may include processor-readable information or data used, acquired, created, or updated by the operation of system 100. For example, the data may include one or more logs from the digital computer 102 and the analog device 150. Data 136 may include processor-readable data containing parameters relating to the operation of system 100. Data 136 may include processor-readable data associated with (e.g., created, referenced, or modified by) the processor executing processor-executable instructions such as server instructions 124, application instructions 126, calibration instructions 128, special information processor instructions 130, and environment instructions 134. Data 136 may include processor-readable data corresponding to energy states (e.g., local degrees of freedom) associated with a light emission defect, or transitions between such states (e.g., energy differences). Data 136 may include processor-readable information recording the state of a photon or defect.

[0040] The Analog Device Interface (ADI) subsystem 116 includes communication circuits for bidirectional communication between the digital computer 102 and the analog device 150. In some implementations, inputs or outputs from the analog device 150 are digital, and intermediate states within the analog computer are analog. In some implementations, the ADI subsystem 116 interacts with the environment subsystem 152 of the analog device 150. In some implementations, the ADI subsystem 116 interacts with the special information processor 154 via one or more subsystems of the analog device 150 (e.g., subsystems 156 and 158). In various implementations, the ADI subsystem 116 may include a waveform digitizer (e.g., an ALAZARTECH ATS9440, 4-channel, 14-bit, 125 MS / s card, or an ALAZARTECH ATS9360, 1-channel, 12-bit, 1.8 GS / s PCI card, manufactured by Alazar Technologies in Pointe-Clair, Quebec, Canada), an infrared photon detector (e.g., a SINGLE QUANTUM EOS multi-channel SNSPD photon detector from Single Quantum in Delft, South Holland, Netherlands, or an ID 230 NIR photon detector from ID Quantique SA in I Carouge, Geneva, Switzerland). Further detectors are described herein, at least in Figure 2.

[0041] The analog device 150 includes an environment subsystem 152, which provides a predetermined environment to the special information processor 154 in response to the execution of an environment instruction 134. The predetermined environment may include, for example, one or more of the following: moisture, air pressure, vibration, magnetic field, temperature, and electromagnetic field. In some implementations, the environment subsystem 152 provides a low magnetic field around the special information processor 154. In some implementations, the environment subsystem 152 provides a time-invariant magnetic field around the information processor 154. In some implementations, the environment subsystem 152 provides a time-varying or pulsed magnetic field. In some implementations, the environment subsystem 152 maintains the information processor 154 at a cryogenic temperature by one or more refrigeration devices and / or cryogenic sources. For example, the information processor 154 may be maintained at around 4K. Other temperatures useful for the information processor 154 include temperatures in the range of about 1mK to about 77K. In some implementations, the environment subsystem 152 maintains the processor 154 in the range of about 1.5K to about 4K. In some implementations, the environmental subsystem 152 maintains the environment around the information processor 154 at a temperature of approximately 290K. In some implementations, the environmental subsystem 152 includes vibration isolation components such as dampers for refrigeration equipment. In some implementations, the environmental subsystem 152 provides the special information processor 154 with a low humidity and constant air pressure (e.g., a stable vacuum) environment.

[0042] The special information processor 154 may be a quantum device. A quantum device is a product or structure in which quantum mechanical effects are prominent and / or dominant. Quantum devices (such as superconducting circuits and spintronic circuits) include circuits in which current transport is governed by quantum mechanisms. Superconducting circuits utilize quantum physical phenomena such as tunneling and magnetic flux quantization. Spintronic circuits use the physical properties of spin (e.g., electron spin) as a resource for receiving, processing, storing, transmitting, or outputting information. Quantum devices can be used in measuring instruments, computers, etc. Examples of computers include components of classical computers and quantum computers. Examples of quantum communication devices include switches, sources, etc.

[0043] The analog device 150 includes a control subsystem 155. The control subsystem may include an input system 156, an output system 158, or both. The special information processor input subsystem 156 writes to or manipulates information stored in the information processor 154 in response to processor-executable instructions. The input subsystem 156 may be formed on the same board as the information processor 154, physically coupled to the information processor 154, communicatively coupled to the information processor 154, or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the input subsystem 156 includes a digital-to-analog converter. The input subsystem 156 may include one or more of the following: an optical input subsystem, an electric field subsystem, a magnetic manipulation subsystem, a mechanical subsystem, a cryogenic subsystem, related or encompassing components, etc. Examples of subsystems are described herein with reference to at least Figure 2.

[0044] The input subsystem 156 can encode processor-readable information, including classical and quantum information, and transfer that information to the information processor 154. The input subsystem 156 may include a light source that irradiates a portion of the special information processor 154 with narrow- or broad-spectrum light (e.g., pulsed light). In some implementations, the input subsystem 156 includes an electromagnet for providing a magnetic field to part or all of the information processor 154. In some implementations, the input subsystem 156 includes one or more radiators (e.g., wires, antennas, coils) to selectively supply one or more time, duration, and frequency control pulses to the information processor 154. An example of a pulse generator is the PSPL 10070A(TM) generator available from Tektronix, Beaverton, Oregon, USA. In some implementations, the radiators are located on the information processor 154. In some implementations, the radiators are located in close proximity to the information processor 154 and coupled to components or devices on it. Microwaves, radio frequency (RF), and / or electromagnetically controlled pulses may be used. In some implementations, the input subsystem 156 is used together with the control subsystem 104 to perform electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and / or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) on electron spins and / or nuclear spins in the special information processor 154 and / or the input subsystem 156. In some implementations, a bulk EPR or NMR cavity surrounds the special information processor 154.

[0045] In some implementations, the input subsystem 156 includes wires electrically (e.g., galvanically) connected to one or more electrodes or pairs of electrodes included in the information processor 154. In some implementations, the input subsystem 156 electrically biases and controls the information processor 154 from the input subsystem 156 by applying DC and / or AC currents. For example, the input subsystem 156 may inject or remove carriers (electrons and holes, etc.) from one or more parts of the information processor 154. Alternatively, in some examples, the input subsystem 156 provides a static or oscillating electric or magnetic field. DC currents and voltages may be provided by a low-noise power supply, such as a battery-powered voltage source. Currents and voltages may be applied via a resistive voltage divider / coupler. AC currents and voltages may be applied to parts of the information processor 154 using any waveform generator or signal generator, for example, the TELEDYNE LECROY ARBSTUDIO 1104(TM) waveform generator available from Teledyne Technologies, Inc., Thousand Oaks, California, USA. AC currents and voltages for electron spin resonance (ESR) can be applied to a portion of the information processor 154 using a signal generator such as a KEYSIGHTE 8267D™ microwave vector signal generator. NMR control may also be used, which may include generating signals using a vector signal generator such as a KEYSIGHT MXG N 5182A RF™ vector signal generator. Both signal generators are available from Keysight Technologies, Inc. in Santa Clara, California, USA. Lines leading to the information processor 154, including, for example, those shown in Figure 1, may include filters, such as low-pass filters, band-pass filters, and high-pass filters.

[0046] The analog device 150 shown in Figure 1 includes at least a special information processor output subsystem 158 for reading from the information processor 154. The output subsystem 158 may be formed on the same substrate as the information processor 154, physically coupled to the information processor 154, communicatively coupled to the information processor 154, or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the output subsystem 158 includes one or more (multiple) analog-to-digital converters, (multiple) amplifiers, (multiple) filters, etc. In some implementations, the output subsystem 158 includes one or more optical readout devices. The optical readout devices (e.g., photodetectors) detect photons generated by or within the information processor 154, or measure the state of optical structures on or within the information processor 154. Optical structures such as resonators hold one or more photon modes. Examples of optical structures are described herein. In some implementations, (multiple) optical readout devices distinguish the presence or absence of one or more photons in an optical resonator. In some examples, (multiple) optical readout devices detect frequency shifts of one or more photon modes of the optical structure. A single optical readout device may read out the state of one or more optical resonators.

[0047] The state of the optical structure may depend on the occupation of specific state luminescence defects, such as luminescence defects coupled to the optical structure. Examples of luminescence defects are described herein. In some implementations, the output subsystem 158 includes one or more photodetectors, such as a SINGLE QUANTUM EOS multi-channel SNSPD photon detector from Single Quantum GmbH in Delft, Netherlands, or an ID230 NIR photon detector from ID Quantique SA in I Carouge, Geneva, Switzerland.

[0048] In some implementations, the output subsystem 158 includes one or more photodetectors, such as the APD 110 C or PDA 20 CS 2 InGaAs avalanche photodetector available from Thorlabs Canada ULC in Saint Laurent, Quebec, Canada; the superconducting on-chip photon detector described by Akhlaghi et al. in 2015 Nature Communications 6:8233; various detectors described by Eisaman et al. in 2011 Rev. Sci. Instrum. 82, 071101; or the ADN 3010-11 detector from Analog Devices, Inc. in Norwood, Massachusetts, USA.

[0049] In some implementations, the digital computer 102 uses an output subsystem 158 to perform logical operations on the information in the information processor 154. For example, the output subsystem 158 may be used to perform measurements on or stored in the information processor 154, for example, referring to at least Figures 7 and 9.

[0050] In some implementations, the output subsystem 158 performs single-shot reads of the state of the components in the information processor 154. In some implementations, the output subsystem 158 performs reads of the state of the components in the information processor 154 at gigahertz speeds.

[0051] In some implementations, the output subsystem 158 receives (e.g., receives, requests, and receives) quantum non-destructive measurement readout results regarding the states of components within the information processor 154. In some implementations, the output subsystem 158 performs readouts for the states of one or more auxiliary photons that interacted with at least one component within the information processor 154.

[0052] In some implementations, the analog device 150 is communicatively coupled to a communication channel 170, for example, a classical communication channel or a quantum information channel. Channel 170 can be used to transmit information (e.g., quantum information, classical information) to and from the information processor 154. Channel 170 may communicatively couple the information processor 154 with one or more information processing devices, such as a second instance of the information processor 154. Channel 170 may communicatively couple the information processor 154 with another device, such as a photon generator.

[0053] In some implementations, parts of the digital computer 102 and analog device 150 are omitted to create a smaller information processing unit that includes the information processor 154 and channel 170. In some implementations, parts of the digital computer 102 or analog device 150 are communication devices. For example, parts of the digital computer 102 or analog device 150 can be used to implement a switch as shown in Figure 5.

[0054] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing a portion of the apparatus 200. The illustrated portion of the apparatus 200 includes a semiconductor material substrate, a semiconductor material body, or semiconductor material 202, and exemplary defects 204 located within the semiconductor material 202 (e.g., generated, formed, embedded, installed, placed, and positioned). The apparatus 200 can operate as an information processing device, such as a quantum information processing device, an optical processor, an optical device, and a communication device.

[0055] In some implementations, semiconductor material 202 contains silicon. Semiconductor material 202 may contain natural silicon. Semiconductor material 202 may contain other substances such as silicon carbide or silicon germanium. In some implementations, semiconductor material 202 contains isotopically purified paramagnetic silicon, or so-called silicon vacuum.

[0056] One way to increase performance metrics for physical systems (e.g., longer coherence time for systems like instrument 200) is to use semiconductor materials that have been treated to remove most of the highly magnetic isotopes (e.g., silicon 29) that broaden the spectroscopic measurements. Enriched or purified silicon is treated to remove some or nearly all non-zero nucleus spin isotopes, such as silicon 29. Purified silicon includes materials enriched to various levels of silicon 28, such as 99%, 99.9%, and 99.99%. Purified silicon includes materials enriched with silicon 28. Purified silicon includes silicon with spectral linewidths at least 10 to 100 times sharper than natural silicon. These defects have shown examples where the linewidths in purified silicon are only about 50 (W-center) and 200 (G-center) narrower.

[0057] Semiconductor bodies primarily composed of purified silicon can be manufactured or purchased. Manufacturing techniques include using purified silicon compounds (e.g., by isotope, magnetic properties) produced by concentration methods such as gas centrifugation (e.g., silicon tetrafluoride), magnetic mass separation, or ion exchange as input materials. The purified gaseous silicon compound may be part of the purification or manufacturing process. Examples of such compounds include purified silicon tetrafluoride (SiF4) or purified silane (SiH4).

[0058] In particular, bodies, crystals, substrates, and wafers containing purified silicon can be fabricated using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Available isotopically purified silicon involves removing silicon 29 to levels of tens, hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of ppm (parts per million). Suitable semiconductor material 202 can be purchased from Isoflex USA, an isotope supplier in San Francisco, California, USA.

[0059] In some implementations, semiconductor material 202 is an epitaxial layer of isotopically purified silicon grown on a natural silicon wafer. Semiconductor material 202 may be on the order of micrometers in thickness, while the natural silicon wafer may be up to the order of millimeters in thickness. In some implementations, semiconductor material 202 is a thin layer of silicon grown or deposited on a body containing an insulating material such as silicon oxide, sapphire, or silicon nitride. Here, silicon may refer to natural silicon, purified silicon, or silicon alloys such as silicon germanium blends whose components can be isotopically purified.

[0060] The defect 204 is located within the bulk of the semiconductor material 202. The body of the semiconductor material 202 is defined by multiple interfaces (faces, sides, edges, etc.). In some implementations, the defect 204 is located deep or far inside the bulk or mass of the semiconductor material 202. In at least one implementation, the defect 204 is located at a shallow or close interface, for example, at a distance of 10 nanometers or less from one of the multiple interfaces. In some implementations, the defect 204 is located at a distance of more than 10 nanometers from one of the multiple interfaces. In some implementations, the defect 204 is evanescently coupled to an optical structure (e.g., a resonator, waveguide, lens, not shown in Figure 2). In some implementations, the defect 204 is located at a distance of more than 10 nanometers from each of the multiple interfaces. In some implementations, the defect 204 is located at a distance of more than 30 nanometers from each of the multiple interfaces. In some implementations, the defect 204 is located at a distance of 30 to 500 nanometers from one of the multiple interfaces. In some implementations, the defect 204 is located at a distance of 10 nanometers to 2 micrometers from the interface for the semiconductor material 202. The defect 204 may be located at a distance of 30 nanometers to 1 micrometer from each interface.

[0061] Further defects 204 are located within the body 202, and further defects 204 are located away from any charges that may be present at the interface of the semiconductor material 202 with the body.

[0062] Defects 204 and similar modalities may be formed from one or more atoms or atomic vacancies (e.g., omitted silicon atoms) which locally occupy one or more reproducible specific positions with respect to each other and to the lattice of the semiconductor material 202. The crystal pattern of silicon atoms allows the type of defect, defined by its chemical composition and arrangement, to have a number of different equivalent orientations with respect to the lattice, although these different orientations still result from the same defect type. The type of defect and the implantation method vary depending on the implementation. Components of defect 204 can be controlledly implanted into the semiconductor material 202 using silicon industry standard ion implantation techniques. One implantation process is described in U.S. Patent No. 3,434,894.

[0063] In some implementations, the apparatus 200 includes defects 204 located within the semiconductor material 202. The defects 204 may be point defects, local defects, or local defects in the semiconductor material 202, e.g., a silicon lattice. A local defect may refer to a defect whose atomic composition or shape differs from that of a true semiconductor over a distance of less than 5, 3, or 2 unit cell lengths, where the lattice constant of the undamaged lattice defines the cell length. For example, at least one interstitial silicon atom and / or at least one vacancy (absence of a silicon atom) may define a defect. A defect may cause strain (e.g., deformation) in adjacent cells beyond the size of the defect. A defect may hold a wave function (e.g., electron formula or hole) that extends beyond the size of the defect as defined by its atomic composition or coordination.

[0064] In some implementations, defect 204 is a substitution defect in the semiconductor material 202 that contains atoms different from those found in adjacent lattice sites. Defect 204 may also be a vacancy, i.e., an empty lattice point occupied in the crystal.

[0065] In some implementations, defect 204 is an interstitial defect where an atom occupies a non-lattice site. Defect 204 can be a Frenkel defect where an atom migrates to an interstitial site, creating a vacancy; that is, a combination of an interstitial defect and a vacancy defect, where the atom contains at least one atom, ion, or molecule, but the defect remains local.

[0066] Defects 204 or more thereof may be damage centers, such as radiation damage centers. Defects 204 in the semiconductor material 202 can be formed by one of several methods. One type of method involves irradiating the semiconductor material 202 with radiation. In some implementations, irradiating the semiconductor material 202 with an electron beam produces defects 204. After irradiation with radiation, the semiconductor material 202 may be annealed at a predetermined temperature. For example, if a silicon body is treated with an electron beam and then annealed at around 100°C, G centers are formed. The temperature varies depending on the defect; for example, a method for forming T centers may involve annealing at 450°C.

[0067] Defect 204 can be formed by injecting carbon into the semiconductor material 202. In some implementations, defect 204 is formed by injecting electrons, neutrons, protons, or silicon or other atoms into the semiconductor material 202 which has been pre-contaminated with carbon.

[0068] The semiconductor material 202 may be a silicon-containing wafer. The wafer may be a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer, such as a 220 nm thick wafer covered with a silicon dioxide insulator. The silicon may be exogenous silicon doped with a substitution donor or acceptor. The wafer may be subjected to a beam of carbon ions having a beam energy between 5 keV and 100 keV (e.g., 20 keV, 30 keV, 40 keV). The wafer may be further treated with carbon ions of the same or different (e.g., lower) energy.

[0069] Selectively, the semiconductor material 202 may be annealed to repair damage during ion implantation. For example, the semiconductor material 202 may be heated to a high temperature (e.g., around 1,000°C or higher) on a timescale of several seconds to several minutes by a furnace, heater, lamp, or laser. The semiconductor material 202 is cooled slowly to prevent the effects of thermal shock (such as damage). Rapid Thermal Annealing (RTA) and Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP) in semiconductor manufacturing are applicable. The semiconductor material 202 may be implanted with protons using a beam two orders of magnitude larger than carbon ions, for example, a 2 MeV beam.

[0070] In some implementations, defect 204 is a "luminescence defect" which may be classified as a "luminescent impurity," "luminescent acceptor," or "luminescent donor" in appropriate contexts. A luminescence defect is characterized by a decay process from a first state of a first pair of energy states to a second state of the first pair of energy states that includes a pair of energy states with a sufficient characteristic probability (e.g., 0.1%) to produce at least one optical photon. The characteristic probability of emitting at least one optical photon is the probability of optical photon emission from defect 204 when it is located within the bulk of a distortion-free semiconductor body 202. The probability of optical photon emission from defect 204 when it is not in a bulk distortion-free semiconductor environment may differ substantially from its characteristic optical photon emission probability through effects such as the Purcell effect, which can affect the local density of states. Optical photons are photons with wavelengths in the ultraviolet (UV), visible (VIS), or infrared (IR) bands, i.e., between approximately 10 nm and 100 μm.

[0071] Defect 204 may have a pair of energy states in which the decay process from the first state of the first energy state pair to the second state of the energy state pair has a sufficient photon generation probability to generate one optical photon without generating a phonon (e.g., a quantized quasiparticle of vibrational energy). The transition energy of an optical photon is called the ZPL (Zero Phonon Line) transition energy.

[0072] Defect 204 may be of a type defined by its chemical composition and arrangement, and / or by physical properties such as characteristic optical photon energy, such as ZPL transition energy. The characteristic optical photon energy and typical photon generation probability of a defect may be modified by the constituent atomic isotopes and / or environment of the luminescence defect, including but not limited to temperature, strain, pressure, electromagnetic field, etc. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the characteristic transition energy and / or photon generation probability of certain types of luminescence defects, modified by the environment and / or isotopic composition of the luminescence defect, do not constitute a distinct type of luminescence defect. Optical transitions may be affected by splitting, as described herein.

[0073] Examples of localized luminescence defects include so-called C, F, G, I3, P, W, and X centers, which include equivalent or isoelectron exchange or substitution. Examples of luminescence centers include so-called T, Ga1, and Al1 centers. Examples of luminescence centers include so-called I, M, and NC centers. Each listed center can be classified by a short or long identifier, for example, "T" or "T center".

[0074] To clarify further, before returning to the explanation of the use of these centers, let us describe the characteristics of these centers. The C center, which is thought to contain carbon and oxygen, is located at 1570 nm (0.789 eV, 6364 cm) in the so-called L band (1565-1625 nm). -1 It is known to have ZPL emission around ). The L band is one of five designated communication bands that cover 1260 nm to 1625 nm, where optical fibers have low loss. The F center is at 1304 nm (0.9508 eV, 7668 cm²). -1 It emits light around the O band. The G center is at 1280 nm (0.969 eV, 7823 cm⁻¹). -1 It emits light around the O band. The I3 center emits light in the near-infrared region at 1041 nm (1.041 eV, 8396 cm⁻¹). -1 It exhibits ZPL emission near ). The P center is at 1616 nm (0.767 eV, 6186 cm⁻¹). -1 It emits light around the L band. The W center is at 1218 nm (1.018 eV, 8210 cm⁻¹).-1 has characteristic emissions in the vicinity of near-infrared rays. The X center has a characteristic ZPL transition in the vicinity of 1088 nm (1.14 eV, 9195 cm -1 ).

[0075] The T center contains two carbon atoms and one hydrogen atom and is thought to have a characteristic ZPL optical transition energy in the vicinity of 935.1 meV (7542.0 cm -1 , 1326 nm, O band). The Ga1 defect has luminescence in the vicinity of 1416 nm (875 meV, 7057.4 cm -1 , E band). The Al1 (aluminum 1) defect has luminescence in the vicinity of 1483 nm (836 meV, 6742.8 cm -1 , S band). These defects are thought to have a chemical composition and arrangement similar to that of the T center but are characterized by their described properties.

[0076] The I center has a ZPL transition in the vicinity of 1285 nm (0.965 eV, 7783 cm -1 , O band). The M center contains local defects in the silicon lattice (761 meV, near-infrared). Five N-C centers (also called lines N1, N2, N3, N4, and N5) have characteristic ZPL transition energies in the vicinity of 746 meV, and each is thought to have a different chemical and / or structural arrangement. Further examples of defects with optical transitions are included in Gordon Davies, 1989 Physics Reports 176:83-188.

[0077] The types and categories of defects described herein have one or more equivalents known to those skilled in the art. These equivalents include equivalence or isoelectronic exchange or substitution for one or more atoms contained in the defect. Isoelectronic substitutions include elements having the same number of valence electrons and belonging to the same period; for example, germanium may substitute for carbon in the defect, or lithium may substitute for hydrogen. Isoelectronic substitutions include charged atoms from adjacent periods. Isoelectronic substitutions affect the mechanical and electronic structure of the defect, and substitutions can be used to alter the vibrational or optical interaction with the defect. Optical transitions can be influenced by splitting as described herein.

[0078] In some implementations, the device 200 includes acceptor defects or acceptor sites within the semiconductor material 202 to accept electrons. One suitable defect for an acceptor site is boron. Acceptors may include acceptors from Group III (13), such as boron, aluminum, gallium, and indium.

[0079] In some implementations, the device 200 includes donor defect sites within the silicon material to donate electrons. One suitable defect for a donor site is phosphorus. The donors may include donors from Group V (15), such as phosphorus, arsenic, bismuth, and antimony.

[0080] The apparatus 200 may include an optical structure (not shown). The optical structure may include other arrangements of resonators, optical resonators, waveguides, optical couplers, optical cavities, cavities, refractive materials, and reflective materials. In some implementations, the defect 204 is evanescently coupled to one or more optical structures.

[0081] The apparatus 200 may include an optical input subsystem that includes one or more optical components, such as a light source 206. The optical components are operable to selectively illuminate the defect 204 with light, for example, in response to the execution of a processor executable instruction. The light source 206 may emit light in pulses. The optical components may illuminate the defect 204 with light at at least a first frequency, the first frequency corresponding (for example, approximately) to the energy difference between a pair of computational states of the defect 204. The light source 206 is communicatively coupled to one of the processors 105 in the system 100 and operates in response to the processors 105 executing a processor executable instruction. The optical input components (e.g., the light source 206) may be located in, on, near, or away from the semiconductor material 202. The relative positions and orientations of the components shown in Figure 2 are chosen primarily for illustrative purposes, and it is not necessary, for example, for the light from the light source 206 to be collinear with the magnetic field and perpendicular to the electric field.

[0082] The apparatus 200 may include one or more electric field subsystems, including electrical components such as electrodes 208. The electric field subsystems may, for example, act to apply an electric field of at least a first intensity to the semiconductor material 202 or the defect 204 in response to the execution of a processor executable instruction. The electric field may include a gradient; that is, the electric field subsystems are operable to selectively change the electric field incident on the semiconductor 202. The electric field subsystems result in a change in the energy eigenstate of the defect 204. The electric field subsystems may supply power to components on or near the semiconductor material 202. The electric field subsystems may apply pulsed electrical manipulation to the defect 204.

[0083] The apparatus 200 may include one or more magnetic manipulation subsystems, each containing one or more magnetic input components such as a coil 210. The (multiple) magnetic manipulation subsystems can cause a change in the energy eigenstate of a defect 204. The (multiple) magnetic input components are operable to selectively apply a magnetic field to the semiconductor material 202 and / or the defect 204 located within the semiconductor material 202. The magnetic field may be oriented in a lattice direction within the semiconductor material 202 or to a plurality of defects such as the defect 204. The magnetic field may be static or variable with respect to time or position of the semiconductor material 202. In some implementations, the (multiple) magnetic input components include a wide-bore superconducting magnet. The (multiple) processors 105 in the system 100 may cause the coil 210 to apply a magnetic field to the semiconductor material 202 in response to the execution of a processor executable instruction.

[0084] The magnetic manipulation subsystems included in the apparatus 200 may include at least one radio frequency input component, such as an antenna 212 or a pair of antennas, which is operable to selectively apply radio frequency pulses to the semiconductor material 202 and / or defects 204. The processor 105 may instruct the magnetic manipulation subsystems (e.g., coils 210 and antenna 212) to flip the electron spin or nuclear spin associated with the defect 204.

[0085] The (multiple) processors 105 within system 100 may instruct the magnetic input components and radio frequency input components to perform magnetic resonance control of defect 204 or multiple defects, e.g., NMR and / or ESR. For example, coil 210 may apply a field of intensity B0 to defect 204 and antenna 212, and radio frequency pulses at a frequency proportional to the product of the field of intensity B0 and the gyromagnetic ratio γ with respect to the spin of defect 204, and tuned for (multiple) additional interactions of spins in apparatus 200.

[0086] The apparatus 200 may include a mechanical subsystem comprising one or more mechanical input components. An example of a mechanical input component is an actuator 214. The actuator 214 may be combined with a rest or support (not shown) located on the opposite side of the semiconductor material 202. The mechanical input component may be operable to selectively change (e.g., apply, remove) strain on the semiconductor material 202 in at least one direction, for example, in response to the execution of a processor executable instruction. Thus, the mechanical subsystem can bring about a change in the energy eigenstate of a defect 204 through strain on the semiconductor material 202. The (multiple) mechanical input devices can locally apply strain inside or throughout the semiconductor material 202. The (multiple) mechanical input components may be located inside the semiconductor material 202 or may be physically coupled to the outside of the semiconductor material 202. The mechanical subsystem may include one or more MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) components that change the strain on the semiconductor material 202 in response to the execution of a processor executable instruction. The MEMS may be powered by (multiple) electric field subsystems. The mechanical subsystem may include one or more piezoelectric components.

[0087] The apparatus 200 may include one or more cryogenic subsystems, such as a cryogenic subsystem 216. The cryogenic subsystem 216 is selectively operable to alter the thermal profile of the semiconductor material 202 (e.g., temperature, temperature gradient, temperature with spatial or temporal variations) to cause a change in the energy eigenstate of the defect 204. The cryogenic subsystem 216 may include either or both a heater 217 or a cooler 218. The cryogenic subsystem 216 may be operable, for example, to selectively heat, cool, or generate a temperature gradient of the semiconductor material 202 in response to the execution of a processor executable instruction.

[0088] In various embodiments, an example of the apparatus 200 operates as an information processing device including one or more input subsystems or devices that are communicatively coupled to a semiconductor material 202 or a defect 204. The one or more input subsystems or devices may be physically coupled to the semiconductor material 202. For example, the quantum input subsystem may be located on top of the semiconductor material 202, near the semiconductor material 202, or within the semiconductor material 202.

[0089] Multiple optical input components, multiple electrical input components, multiple magnetic input components, etc., may be arranged on top of (including underneath) a portion of the semiconductor material 202, or they may be structures defined within the semiconductor material 202. One or more output subsystems or readout devices are communicatively and / or physically coupled to the semiconductor material 202 or defects 204. For example, a photon detector may be arranged as a light source 206. Further examples of readout devices and detectors are described herein, at least with reference to Figure 4.

[0090] Figure 3 schematically shows a part of the communication device 300. The illustrated part of the communication device 300 includes a body of semiconductor material 202 and defects 204 placed within the semiconductor material 202. The device 300 includes a plurality of waveguides, such as a first waveguide 302 and a second waveguide 304. The device 300 can operate as an information processing device, such as a quantum information processing device, an optical processor, an optical device, and a communication device. For example, the device may be a channel drop filter.

[0091] The first waveguide 302 includes a first end 306 and a second end 308. The second waveguide 304 includes a first end 310 and a second end 312. The first waveguide 302 passes the defect 204 at a distance of 314. The second waveguide 304 is separated from the defect 204 at a distance of 316. Waveguides 302 and 304 are coupled by the defect 204, for example, by evanescent coupling.

[0092] The communication device 300 can operate as an optical communication device used for communication or information processing, known as a channel drop filter. Given a signal traveling along a bus or a first waveguide, the channel drop filter, under certain conditions of the filter or signal, extracts or selects the signal and reroutes or drops it into a second waveguide or a drop waveguide. Photons traveling along waveguide 302 may depend on the state of defects 204 that are dropped into waveguide 304. For example, a photon traveling from the first end 306 of the first waveguide 302 may be dropped into the second waveguide 304 and selected to travel toward the second end 312. The photon may be absorbed and (re)emitted. Such emitted photons can be considered the same as absorbed photons.

[0093] Figure 4 schematically shows a part of the communication device 400. The illustrated part of the communication device 400 includes a body of semiconductor material 202, a defect, a first waveguide 302, and a second waveguide 304. The device 400 can operate as an information processing device, such as a quantum information processing device, an optical processor, an optical device, and a communication device.

[0094] The apparatus 400 further includes a photon source 402 which is communicatively coupled to a first waveguide 302. The photon source 402 can generate photons of a predetermined state which travel through the defect 204 and through the first waveguide 302. The photons may be measured by a photon detector 404 which is (e.g., communicatively, physically) coupled to the first waveguide 302. The photon detector may be coupled to a second waveguide 304.

[0095] The apparatus 400 may further include a measuring device 406 which is communicatively coupled to the defect 204. The measuring device 406 can measure the state of the defect 204. See the description of the measurement in at least Figures 7 and 9 of this specification. The defect 204 is coupled to waveguide 302, waveguide 304, and measuring device 406 at distances of 314, 316, and 408, respectively.

[0096] Figures 3 and 4 show examples of possible paths for photons, i.e., spatial modes in one or another waveguide. Other paths are also possible, including different polarizations, time-bin coding, frequency modes, Fock states, etc. Two paths may occupy the same waveguide.

[0097] Figure 5 schematically shows a part of the communication device or switch 500. The switch 500 includes a region of semiconductor material 502, for example, a portion of semiconductor material 202, and a defect 204 located in the region of semiconductor material 502.

[0098] The switch 500 includes an input path 504 that is communicatively coupled to the defect 204. The switch 500 includes a first output path 506 that is communicatively coupled to the defect 204 and a second output path 508 that is communicatively coupled to the defect 204. Photons emitted from the defect 204 are guided to either the first output path 506 or the second output path 508, depending at least on the computational state of the defect 204. Photons may be guided to either the first output path 506 or the second output path 508, depending at least on the computational state of the defect 204 and the state of the photons.

[0099] Figure 6 schematically shows a part of a communication device or network 600. Network 600 includes multiple switches 500, e.g., switch 500-1, switch 500-2, connected by multiple paths, e.g., path 506-1, path 506-2. As shown, network 600 is a tree with a uniform branch ratio of 2, balanced and not irregular. In some implementations, a network like network 600 is unbalanced, irregular, and has a non-uniform branch ratio. In some implementations, network 600 is a different graph, such as a directed acyclic graph.

[0100] Network 600 includes multiple switches. Switch 500-1 is communicatively coupled to switch 500-2 by output path 506-1. Switch 500-1 is communicatively coupled to switch 500-3 by output path 508-1. Switch 500-2 is communicatively coupled to switches 500-4 and 500-5. Switch 500-3 is communicatively coupled to switches 500-6 and 500-7.

[0101] In some implementations, network 600 may operate as a demultiplexer. A demultiplexer is an electronic device that, in response to the reception of an input signal, directs an output signal to one of several output paths.

[0102] Figures 7, 8, and 9 illustrate exemplary methods for operating communication devices such as device 300 or switch 500, or information processing devices such as special information processor 154 or device 200. Figure 7 illustrates a method relating to two photons, namely an input photon and an output photon. Figure 8 illustrates a method relating to one photon, for example, where the input photon is the output photon, the output photon has the state of the input photon, and the state of the output photon depends at least on the state of the input photon. Figure 9 illustrates a method using one or two photons in terms of defects contained in the information processing device.

[0103] Figure 7 shows an exemplary method 700 of the operation of the communication device (including, for example, operations 702, 704, etc.). With respect to method 700, as with other methods taught herein, various operations may be performed in an order different from that illustrated and described. Furthermore, this method may omit some operations and / or employ additional operations. One or more operations of method 700 may be performed by or through one or more circuits, for example, one or more hardware processors. In some implementations, method 700 is performed by a controller, for example, a control subsystem 104 of system 100.

[0104] Method 700 is typically initiated by a call from the controller.

[0105] In operation 702, the controller initializes a first photon or an input photon in an input photon computation state. The photon computation state may be a first photon ground state such as horizontal polarization, a second photon ground state such as vertical polarization, or a superposition of the two ground states. An input photon may be emitted from a photon source and travel through a selective optical device to generate a first photon computation state.

[0106] In operation 704, the controller moves the input photon to the defect via the input path. The input path is communicatively coupled to the defect. For example, the input photon may be moved by the input path 504 to region 502 containing defect 204. At defect 202, the input photon may be absorbed, reflected, transmitted, or subjected to other physical effects, at least based on the state of defect 204.

[0107] In operation 706, the controller guides or directs a second photon or output photon to travel along a first or second output path, based on the defect state. For example, the controller guides an output photon to travel from switch 500 through output path 506. Another example involves the output photon traveling through waveguide 304.

[0108] In operation 708, the controller triggers further system operations such as operation 710 or 712. In operation 710, the controller moves the output photon to a second defect or further defect. The second defect may be communicatively coupled to the first or second output path. Processing at the further defect may include calling an instance of method 700 again. In operation 712, the controller measures the state of the output photon.

[0109] Method 700 terminates until it is called again. Method 700 may be followed by one or more other methods, which may include one or more further instances of Method 700.

[0110] Figure 8 shows an exemplary method 800 of the operation of the communication device (including, for example, operations 802, 804, etc.). An example of method 800 involves a single photon.

[0111] Method 800 is typically initiated by a call from the controller.

[0112] In operation 802, the controller initializes the photon in the photon computation state. The photon may encode information in many ways, such as spatial modes, for example, the absence of a photon at a certain position or direction corresponds to a first logical value, and the presence of a photon to a second logical value. Further encoding includes the use of orthogonal optical modes, such as horizontal versus vertical linear polarization or different circular polarizations. Another encoding is the physical presence or absence of the photon during a certain interval or time bin. These bins may be repeated.

[0113] In operation 804, the controller moves a photon to a defect through an input path. The input path is communicatively coupled to the defect. For example, the photon may be moved to defect 204 via waveguide 302. At the defect, the photon may be absorbed, reflected, transmitted, or subjected to other physical effects, at least based on the state of defect 204.

[0114] In operation 806, the controller guides or directs the photon to travel along a first or second output path based on the defect state. For example, the photon travels along waveguide 304 or waveguide 306. The photon may contain quantum information or classical information. For example, the photon may be in a superposition of states.

[0115] In operation 808, the controller triggers further photon operations such as operation 710 or 712.

[0116] Method 800 terminates until it is called again. One or more other methods may follow Method 800.

[0117] Figure 9 shows an exemplary method 900 (including multiple operations) of the operation of the communication device. One or more operations of method 900 may be performed by or via a controller which includes, for example, one or more hardware processors, one or more circuits such as the control subsystem 104 of the system 100.

[0118] In operation 902, the controller initializes the defect in a defect calculation state. The defect calculation state is a first defect base state, a second defect base state, or a superposition of the first and second defect base states. Defect initialization in a defect calculation state may involve the occurrence of one or more operations 904, 906, or 908.

[0119] In operation 904, the controller initializes or triggers initialization of the defect into a first or second defect ground state. The first or second defect ground state corresponds to a local degree of freedom in the defect, such as nuclear spin down or nuclear spin up. Other local degrees of freedom include electron spin, hole spin, exciton states, and energy levels. The ground state of the defect may be formed from a combination of ground states of multiple local degrees of freedom, such as nuclear spin and electron spin.

[0120] In step 906, the controller manipulates or triggers the computational state of the defect. For example, the control subsystem 155 performs one or more classical or quantum operations on the information stored in the local degrees of freedom 204 of the defect. In operation 908, the controller measures or triggers a measurement of the computational state of the defect.

[0121] In operation 910, the controller causes a photon to be received at a defect. The defect is located in the body of the semiconductor material. The photon travels via an input path which is communicatively coupled to the defect.

[0122] In operation 916, the controller moves the photons emitted from the defect through a first or second output path, based at least on the state of the defect. The photons emitted from the defect may be the (input) photons received in the defect in operation 910, or they may be output photons based on the input photons. For example, the output photons share a state with the input photons.

[0123] Method 900 terminates until it is called again.

[0124] Method 900 may include further operations. For example, the controller measures or triggers a measurement of the computational state of the defect. For example, the controller performs operation 908. Furthermore, in operation 916, the controller may move the photons emitted from the defect through a first or second output path based on the state of the defect and the state of the input photons.

[0125] Prior to the operation of the illustrated methods 700, 800, or 900, the controller prepares or causes the preparation of an environment for a communication device, which includes a semiconductor material body and at least one defect. For example, the controller executes a processor executable instruction, which, once executed, causes the environment subsystem 152 and / or input subsystem 156 to prepare the device 200. The controller may prepare a semiconductor material body containing one or more defects according to an electrical profile, a magnetic profile, a thermal profile, or a strain profile, i.e., it may vary the profile for one or more of the magnetic field, electric field, strain, and heat.

[0126] Further implementations are summarized in the following example.

[0127] (Example 1) An information processing system including a substrate and a first switch physically coupled to the substrate. The first switch includes a first region of a semiconductor material and a first local defect located in the first region of the semiconductor material. The first local defect includes a first computational state selected from a first state, a second state, or a first superposition of the first and second states. The system also includes a first output path communicatively coupled to the first local defect and a second output path communicatively coupled to the first local defect. A first photon emitted from the first local defect is guided to either the first output path or the second output path, depending at least on a first computational state of the first local defect.

[0128] (Example 2) A system in which the system of Example 1 also includes a second switch that is physically coupled to the substrate and communicatively coupled to a first output path. The second switch includes a second region of semiconductor material and a second local defect located in the second region of semiconductor material. The second local defect includes a second computational state selected from a first state, a second state, or a second superposition of the first and second states. The system also includes a third output path communicatively coupled to the second local defect and a fourth output path communicatively coupled to the second local defect. A second photon emitted from the second local defect is guided to either the third or fourth output path, depending at least on the second computational state of the second local defect.

[0129] (Example 3) A system in which the system of Example 2 also includes a third switch that is physically coupled to the substrate and communicatively coupled to a second output path. The third switch includes a third region of semiconductor material and a third local defect located in the third region of semiconductor material. The third local defect includes a third computational state selected from a first state, a second state, or a third superposition of the first and second states. The system also includes a fifth output path communicatively coupled to the third local defect and a sixth output path communicatively coupled to the third local defect. A third photon emitted from the third local defect is guided to either the fifth or sixth output path, depending at least on the third computational state of the third local defect.

[0130] (Example 4) A system in which, in the system of Example 3, at least one of the first photon, the second photon, or the third photon is emitted or re-emitted by the first switch, the second switch, or the third switch.

[0131] (Example 5) A system in which the system of Example 1 also includes an input path that is communicatively coupled to the first local defect. The first photon travels to the first local defect via the input path. The first photon has a state.

[0132] (Example 6) A system in which, in the system of Example 1, the output is guided to either a first output path or a second output path, depending on at least the first computational state of the first local defect and the state of the first photon.

[0133] (Example 7) A system in which, in the system of Example 2 or 3, the first photon travels to the second local defect via a first output path, and the second photon is guided to either a third output path or a fourth output path, depending on at least the second computational state of the second local defect and the state of the first photon.

[0134] (Example 8) In the system of Example 3, the first photon is transported to a third local defect via a second output path, and the third photon is guided to either a fifth output path or a sixth output path, depending on at least the third computational state of the third local defect and the state of the first photon.

[0135] (Example 9) A system in which the system of Example 3 also includes a fourth switch that is communicatively coupled to a fourth output path and a fifth output path. The fourth switch includes a fourth region of semiconductor material and a fourth local defect located in the fourth region of semiconductor material. The fourth local defect includes a fourth computational state selected from a first state, a second state, or a fourth superposition of the first and second states. The system also includes a seventh output path that is communicatively coupled to the fourth local defect and an eighth output path that is communicatively coupled to the fourth local defect. A fourth photon emitted by the fourth local defect is guided to either the seventh output path or the eighth output path, depending at least on the fourth computational state of the fourth local defect.

[0136] (Example 10) A system in which, in the system of Example 9, the third photon travels to the fourth local defect via a fifth output path, and the fourth photon is guided to either the seventh or eighth output path, depending on at least the fourth computational state of the fourth local defect and the state of the third photon.

[0137] (Example 11) A system in which the semiconductor material body also includes, in the system of Example 9, a first region of the semiconductor material, a second region of the semiconductor material, a third region of the semiconductor material, and at least two fourth regions of the semiconductor material.

[0138] (Example 12) A system in which the semiconductor material is a silicon alloy, silicon, natural silicon, refined silicon, or mainly refined silicon, in the system of Example 1, 2, 3, 9, or 11.

[0139] (Example 13) A system in which the first and second states are selected from the group consisting of nuclear spin states, electron spin states, hole spin states, and energy levels, in the system of Example 1, 2, 3, or 9.

[0140] In an exemplary application, one or more switches are configured to guide photons to one of a plurality of outputs or detectors. One or more switches may be provided by a special information processor 154 as described above. Each of the one or more switches may contain at least one defect in a semiconductor body. The semiconductor body may include, for example, a silicon crystal hosting the defect. The silicon crystal may advantageously contain silicon from which paramagnetic atoms have been removed. For example, silicon may be enriched to various levels of silicon 28 such as 99%, 99.9%, and 99.99%.

[0141] For at least one defect to evanescently couple to the optical structure, at least one defect is located sufficiently close to the optical structure. The optical structure includes at least one optical waveguide that provides at least first and second output paths for optical photons.

[0142] Optical photons with different output paths are distinguishable. For example, as follows: The first and second output paths may be provided by the first and second optical waveguides. • and / or, the first and second output paths may be provided by different photon characteristics such as phase, polarization, or timing.

[0143] If the first and second output paths are provided by different optical waveguides, optical photons in the first and second output paths can be distinguished based on which of the first and second waveguides they are contained within.

[0144] If the first and second output paths are provided by different photon properties, the optical photons in the first and second output paths may be distinguished based on their properties. For example, the first output path may include photons in a first polarization state, and the second output path may include photons in a second polarization state. The second polarization state may be orthogonal to the first polarization state. As another example, the second output path may include photons that are phase-shifted relative to the photons in the first output path. As yet another example, the second output path may include photons that are delayed relative to the photons in the first output path. For example, the first output path may include a group of one or more photons that propagate through the optical structure at intervals allocated to each other, and the second output path may include photons that are delayed to propagate through the optical structure during the time allocated to the first output path.

[0145] Optical photons may be delivered from a defect (for example, optical photons may arise as a result of a state transition in the defect) or from an external source via an optical structure. Whether the optical photons are output on a first output path or a second output path depends on the state of the defect.

[0146] A defect may have, for example, a first ground state in which an optical photon is output onto a first output path, and a second ground state in which an optical photon is output onto a second output path. The first ground state may be, for example, a state in which the unpaired electron in the defect is spin-down (high energy), and the second ground state may be a state in which the unpaired electron in the defect is spin-up (low energy).

[0147] As described above, the defect may be initialized to a desired state using an input subsystem. For example, the input subsystem may operate as described above to place the defect in a first ground state, a second ground state, or a quantum superposition of the first and second ground states. In an exemplary embodiment, the input subsystem 156 is used together with the control subsystem 104 to initialize the defect to a desired state by performing electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and / or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) on the electron spin and / or nuclear spin within the defect. As another example, initializing the defect to a desired initial state is: This may include operating one or more of the following in the input subsystem 156: the optical input subsystem (for example, irradiating with light having a photon energy corresponding to the transition between a first ground state and a second ground state), the electric field subsystem, the magnetic manipulation subsystem, the mechanical subsystem, and the cryogenic subsystem.

[0148] In some embodiments, the first and second ground states are selected such that the defect interacts more strongly with a selected photon when it is in the first ground state than when it is in the second ground state, or vice versa. For example, when the defect is in the second ground state, it may have a resonance that matches the energy of a given photon in the first optical structure having a specific energy (i.e., a specific frequency or wavelength), while when the defect is in the first ground state, it may not have a resonance that matches the energy of a given photon. In such embodiments, the given photon may interact with the defect such that it outputs the given photon to a second output path, while other photons in the optical structure output to the first output path.

[0149] In some embodiments, the second ground state is a state in which the unpaired electron of defect 204 is spin-up (low energy), and the second ground state may be reached via a transition that involves flipping the spin of the unpaired electron to spin-down (high energy state). The energy required for this transition may be tuned to match the energy of the photon intended to interact with defect 204 when defect 204 is in the second ground state.

[0150] Adjusting the energy of the transition of defect 204 from the second ground state may be done by controlling the environment subsystem 152 and / or the input subsystem 156 to change the parameters that affect the energy of the transition from the second ground state. For example, the adjustment may include one or more of the following: • Operate the magnetic subsystem of the input system 156 to set the magnetic field strength at the location of defect 204; - Manipulating the mechanical subsystem of the input system 156 to apply strain to the semiconductor where defect 204 is located; - Operate the electrical subsystem of the input system 156 to set an electric field at the location of defect 204; and / or - To operate one or more radiators of the input subsystem 156 to selectively deliver microwave, radio frequency (RF), and / or electromagnetic radiation to the location of defect 204.

[0151] Placing a defect in a selected superposition of first and second ground states may be done to enable a switch or network of switches, as described herein, to perform quantum computing operations. For example, the interaction of a switch in a superposition of states with a first photon may produce an output consisting of a state in which the first photon is on a first output path and a state in which the first photon is on a second output path, in superposition.

[0152] Figures 10A to 10D are schematic diagrams illustrating how photons are output differently depending on the characteristics of the photons and the state of the defects. In Figure 10A, the apparatus 1000 contains a defect 204 in a body made of silicon or other semiconductor material. The optical structure includes optical waveguides 302 and 304. The defect 204 is within the evanescent coupling range of waveguides 302 and 304.

[0153] In Figure 10A, the defect is in the first ground state (indicated by the blacked-out area). Photon P1 is delivered by waveguide 302 and output in waveguide 302.

[0154] In Figure 10B, defect 204 is in the second ground state (indicated by white). Photon P1 is delivered by waveguide 302, resonates with defect 204, and as a result, photon P2 is coupled to the second waveguide 304 and output in the second waveguide 304.

[0155] Figure 10C is the same as Figure 10B, except that a photon P2, which has different characteristics (e.g., photon energy) from photon P1, is delivered by the optical waveguide 302. Photon P2 is output by the waveguide 302 without resonating with the defect 204.

[0156] Figure 10D is identical to Figure 10B, except that defect 204 is in a quantum superposition of the first and second ground states. When photon P1 is delivered by optical waveguide 302, photon P1 is output as a superposition of photon P1' in the first optical waveguide 302 and photon P1'' in the second optical waveguide 304.

[0157] In Figures 10A to 10D, photons interacting with defect 204 can be selectively output to the second optical waveguide 304 in various ways, for example, as follows. - Asymmetric coupling between the defect and the second optical waveguide 304 (the defect 204 may be closer to the second optical waveguide 304 than the first optical waveguide 302, or otherwise may be more strongly coupled); and / or, • The first and second optical waveguides 302 and 304 have different polarization characteristics (for example, by interacting with defect 204, the polarization of photon P1 can be changed from the polarization passing through waveguide 302 to the polarization passing through waveguide 304).

[0158] Numerous switches of the type shown in Figures 10A to 10D can be connected in a tree structure, for example, as illustrated and described with reference to Figure 6.

[0159] The coupling between the first and second optical waveguides 302, 304 and the defect 204 can be increased, for example, by the following: - To provide an optical cavity or resonator adjacent to defect 204; and / or • The defect 204 is defined as multiple (ensemble) defects 204 initialized in the same ground state. The optical cavity or resonator may be configured, as is known in the art, to resonate at the frequency of photons P1 that are desirable to interact with defect 204. The electric and / or magnetic fields of photons P1 resonating within such a resonator or cavity may be concentrated to increase coupling with defect 204.

[0160] Figures 11A to 11D illustrate the operation of an exemplary switch 1100 in which two output paths are provided in a single optical waveguide. The switch 1100 includes an optical waveguide 302 and a defect 204 in a semiconductor body that is close enough to the optical waveguide 302 so that photons in the waveguide 302 couple to the defect 204. In the illustrated embodiment, the waveguide 302 includes an optional optical structure 303 (e.g., an optical chamber or optical resonator) configured to enhance the coupling of selected photons to the defect 204. The defect 204 may be prepared to be in a first ground state, a second ground state, or a superposition of the first and second ground states, as described above.

[0161] In Figure 11A, defect 204 is in a first ground state (shown by black fill). Photon P1 is delivered by waveguide 302. Photon P1 has characteristic phase and / or polarization and does not significantly interact with defect 204. Photon P1 is output in waveguide 302 without changing its characteristics. The first output path includes photon P1 passing through defect 204 without changing its characteristics.

[0162] In Figure 11B, defect 204 is in a second ground state (indicated by white). Photon P1 is delivered by waveguide 302 and, after resonance with defect 204, results in photon P1 having one or more altered properties. For example, interaction with defect 204 can alter the phase and / or polarization of photon P1. The altered photon P1A is output in waveguide 302. The second output path includes the altered photon P1A.

[0163] Figure 11C is the same as Figure 11B, except that a photon P2, which has different characteristics (e.g., photon energy) from photon P1, is delivered by the optical waveguide 302. Photon P2 is output unchanged in the waveguide 302 without undergoing resonance with the defect 204.

[0164] Figure 11D is identical to Figure 11B, except that defect 204 is in a quantum superposition of the first and second ground states. When photon P1 is delivered through optical waveguide 302, photon P1 is output in the first optical waveguide 302 as a superposition of photon P1 (no characteristic change) and photon P1A (with characteristic change). In the example of Figure 11D, photon P1 is effectively output in both the superimposed first and second output paths.

[0165] Figures 11E–11G illustrate exemplary embodiments in which the first and second output paths are separated by time. Figure 11E shows a group of photons passing through defect 204 and along optical waveguide 302. The photons include photons P2 which tend not to interact with defect 204 (for example, because they have incorrect energy and / or other properties that cause them to interact with defect 204), and photons P1 which tend to interact with defect 204 when defect 204 is in the second ground state as described above.

[0166] In this example, photon P1 passing through defect 204 interacts with defect 204 in a time-dependent manner. For example, photon P1 may be absorbed by defect 204 and subsequently re-emitted (Figure 11F). As a result, photon P1 is delayed relative to the photons that were initially grouped together (Figure 11G).

[0167] Defect 204 may be any type of defect described herein. In some embodiments, defect 204 is a local defect. In some embodiments, defect 204 is a T-center or an ensemble of T-centers.

[0168] Unless otherwise specified herein or the context clearly indicates otherwise, the term “about” when modifying a quantity means plus or minus 10 percent. Unless otherwise specified or the context clearly indicates otherwise, “between” two numbers shall be read as both between the two numbers and including the two numbers.

[0169] The above description includes several specific details in order to understand various disclosed implementations. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that implementations can be carried out without one or more of these specific details, parts of the method, components, materials, etc. In some examples, well-known structures related to semiconductor and / or optical devices and / or quantum computing and / or quantum information processing, such as targets, substrates, lenses, waveguides, shields, filters, lasers, and processor executable instructions (e.g., BIOS, drivers), are not illustrated or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of the disclosed implementation.

[0170] The following numbered paragraphs describe non-limiting exemplary embodiments of the inventions described herein. [Embodiment 1] The steps include creating a first defect in the body of the semiconductor material located near the first and second optical waveguides, A step of selectively initializing the first defect to a first ground state in which the first defect is coupled to one or more photon modes in the first optical waveguide, and to a first computational state selected from a superposition of the first ground state and a second ground state, wherein in the second ground state, the first defect is not coupled to the one or more photon modes in the first optical waveguide. The steps include delivering a first photon in the first optical waveguide, The steps of coupling the first photon to the second optical waveguide via the first defect, A method for switching photons, including [a specific method]. [Embodiment 2] The first computational state is a method according to the exemplary embodiment 1 (or any other exemplary embodiment in this disclosure), which includes an electron spin state. [Embodiment 3] A method according to one of the exemplary embodiments 1 or 2 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure), wherein the first photon has a first optical frequency, and when the defect is in a selected first computational state, the defect has an optical transition having an energy corresponding to the first optical frequency of the first photon. [Embodiment 4] The method according to the exemplary embodiment 3, wherein the energy of the transition is the ZPL (Zero Phonon Line) transition energy. [Embodiment 5] A step of delivering a first plurality of additional photons in the first optical waveguide, wherein the first plurality of additional photons have an optical frequency different from the first optical frequency, The method according to the exemplary embodiment 3 or 4 (or any other exemplary embodiment in this disclosure), comprising the step of outputting the first plurality of additional photons through the first optical waveguide. [Embodiment 6] A step of delivering a second plurality of additional photons in the first optical waveguide, wherein the second plurality of additional photons have the first optical frequency, The method according to the exemplary embodiment 5 (or any other exemplary embodiment in this disclosure), comprising the step of coupling the second plurality of additional photons to the second optical waveguide via the defect. [Embodiment 7] A method according to any of the exemplary embodiments 1 to 6 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure), wherein the first optical waveguide includes an optical structure, and the one or more photon modes are photon modes of the optical structure. [Embodiment 8] The optical structure includes an optical cavity or an optical resonator, as described in the exemplary embodiment 7 (or any other exemplary embodiment in this disclosure). [Embodiment 9] The aforementioned defect is a method according to any of the exemplary embodiments 1 to 8 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure) that include interstitial atoms. [Embodiment 10] The defect is a method according to any of the exemplary embodiments 1 to 8 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure), wherein the defect includes a vacancy in the lattice of the semiconductor material. [Embodiment 11] The aforementioned defect is a method according to any of the exemplary embodiments 1 to 8 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure) that include a damage center. [Embodiment 12] The aforementioned defect is a method according to any of the exemplary embodiments 1 to 8 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure), including a light emission defect. [Embodiment 13] The luminescence defect is a method according to the exemplary embodiment 12 (or any other exemplary embodiment in this disclosure), which includes a T-center. [Embodiment 14] A step of setting the first defect to a second calculation state different from the first calculation state, after a time interval following the selective initialization of the first defect to the first calculation state, A step of delivering a second photon in the first optical waveguide, wherein the second photon has the first optical frequency, The steps of outputting the second photon in the first optical waveguide and A method according to any of the exemplary embodiments 1 to 13 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure), including the above. [Embodiment 15] The method according to the exemplary embodiment 14 (or any other exemplary embodiment in this disclosure), wherein the second photon is identical to the first photon. [Embodiment 16] A method according to any of the exemplary embodiments 1 to 16 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure), comprising the steps of delivering a stream of photons through the first optical waveguide and selectively inducing photons in the stream of photons to be output through the first optical waveguide or the second optical waveguide by periodically changing the computational state of the first defect. [Embodiment 17] The defect is one of a plurality of first defects of the same type, and the method comprises the step of selectively initializing each of the plurality of first defects into a first computational state, according to any one of the exemplary embodiments 1 to 16 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure). [Embodiment 18] The first defect is located more than 10 nanometers from any interface of the semiconductor body, according to any of the exemplary embodiments 1 to 17 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure). [Embodiment 19] The steps include providing a second defect in the body of the semiconductor material located near the second optical waveguide and the third optical waveguide, respectively, A step of selectively initializing the second defect into a first ground state in which the second defect is coupled to one or more photon modes in the second optical waveguide, and a third computational state selected from a superposition of the first ground state and the second ground state, wherein in the second ground state, the second defect is not coupled to one or more photon modes in the second optical waveguide. The steps include delivering the first photon in the second optical waveguide, The steps of coupling the second photon to the third optical waveguide via the second defect and A method according to any of the exemplary embodiments 1 to 18 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure), further including the above. [Embodiment 20] The process includes the step of delivering a stream of photons in the first optical waveguide, A method according to any of the exemplary embodiments 1 to 19 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure) wherein the first subset of the photons includes the first photons, constitutes a signal, and by the first defect, selects the signal and reroutes the signal to the second optical waveguide. [Embodiment 21] The first area of ​​semiconductor materials, A local defect located in a first region of the semiconductor material, which holds a calculated state selected from a first state, a second state, and a first superposition of the first state and the second state, A first input waveguide is communicatively coupled to the local defect, A first output waveguide is communicatively coupled to the local defect. Equipped with, The first output waveguide maintains the first output path, The apparatus is configured such that, based on at least the calculated state of the local defect, photons emitted from the local defect are guided to the first output waveguide and the first output path. [Embodiment 22] The first output waveguide holds the second output path, An information processing apparatus of an exemplary embodiment 21 (or any other exemplary embodiment in this disclosure), wherein the photons emitted from the local defect are guided to the first output waveguide and, depending at least on the computational state of the local defect, to either the first output path or the second output path. [Embodiment 23] The system further comprises a second output waveguide that is communicatively coupled to the local defect, The second output waveguide maintains the second output path, An information processing apparatus of an exemplary embodiment 21 (or any other exemplary embodiment in this disclosure), wherein the photons emitted from the local defect are guided to either the first output path or the second output path, depending at least on the computational state of the local defect. [Embodiment 24] An information processing apparatus of an exemplary embodiment 21 (or any other exemplary embodiment in this disclosure) wherein the photons emitted from the local defect reach the first input waveguide. [Embodiment 25] The photon has a first photon ground state, a second photon ground state, and a photon computation state selected from a superposition of the first photon ground state and the second photon ground state. An information processing apparatus of an exemplary embodiment 24 (or any other exemplary embodiment in this disclosure), wherein the photons emitted from the local defect are guided to the first output waveguide and the first output path, depending at least on the computational state of the local defect and the photon computational state. [Embodiment 26] An information processing apparatus of any of the exemplary embodiments 21 to 23 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure), wherein the photons emitted from the local defect have a state that is partially dependent on the state of the input photons that reach the local defect by the first input waveguide. [Embodiment 27] The input photon has a first photon ground state, a second photon ground state, and an input photon computation state selected from a superposition of the first photon ground state and the second photon ground state. An information processing apparatus of an exemplary embodiment 26 (or any other exemplary embodiment in this disclosure), wherein the photons emitted from the local defect are guided to the first output waveguide and the first output path, depending at least on the computational state of the local defect and the input photon computational state. [Embodiment 28] The semiconductor material is a silicon alloy, silicon, natural silicon, or refined silicon, in any of the information processing devices of the exemplary embodiments 21 to 27 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure). [Embodiment 29] The semiconductor material is an information processing apparatus of the exemplary embodiment 28, in which refined silicon is the main component. [Embodiment 30] An information processing apparatus of any of the exemplary embodiments 21 to 29 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure) wherein the first state and the second state held in the local defect are selected from the group consisting of nuclear spin states, electron spin states, hole spin states and energy levels. [Embodiment 31] An information processing apparatus of an exemplary embodiment 21 (or any other exemplary embodiment in this disclosure), wherein the first output path is a spatial mode, polarization mode, time bin, frequency mode, or fock state. [Embodiment 32] A defect in the body of a semiconductor material, having a plurality of available quantum states including a first ground state and a second ground state, An optical structure including an optical waveguide adjacent to the defect, wherein the optical waveguide is an optical structure that provides a path for delivering photons to the vicinity of the defect, Means for initializing the defect to an initial quantum state Equipped with, A photon switch in which, when the defect is in the first ground state, the photon is output through a first output path, and when the defect is in the second ground state, the photon interacts with the defect and is output through a second output path. [Embodiment 33] The first and second output paths are photon switches according to the exemplary embodiment 32 (or any other exemplary embodiment in this disclosure), which are carried by the first optical waveguide. [Embodiment 34] The first and second output paths include photons in first and second polarization states, respectively, and the interaction with the defect alters the polarization state of the delivered photons, as described in the exemplary embodiment 33 (or any other exemplary embodiment in this disclosure), which is a photon switch. [Embodiment 35] The first and second output paths each include photons having first and second phases, respectively, and the interaction with the defect alters the phase of the delivered photons, as described in the exemplary embodiment 33 (or any other exemplary embodiment in this disclosure), which is a photon switch. [Embodiment 36] The first and second output paths are separated by a time delay, and the interaction with the defect delays the delivered photons, according to the exemplary embodiment 33 (or any other exemplary embodiment in this disclosure) of the photon switch. [Embodiment 37] The optical structure includes an optical cavity or resonator located within the evanescent coupling range of the defect that concentrates the electric and / or magnetic fields of the photons, and is a photon switch according to any of the exemplary embodiments 32 to 36 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure). [Embodiment 38] The semiconductor body is a photon switch according to any of the exemplary embodiments 32 to 37, which includes a silicon crystal lattice. [Embodiment 39] The silicon is a photon switch according to the exemplary embodiment 38 (or any other exemplary embodiment in this disclosure), wherein at least 99% is silicon 28. [Embodiment 40] The aforementioned defect is a local defect in a photon switch according to any of the exemplary embodiments 32-39 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure). [Embodiment 41] The aforementioned defect is a photon switch according to any of the exemplary embodiments 38-40 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure), which includes a vacancy in the silicon crystal lattice. [Embodiment 42] The defect is a photon switch according to any of the exemplary embodiments 38-40 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure), which includes interstitial atoms in the silicon crystal lattice. [Embodiment 43] The defect is a photon switch according to any of the exemplary embodiments 38-40 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure), which includes a radiation damage center in the silicon crystal lattice. [Embodiment 44] The aforementioned defect is a photon switch according to any of the exemplary embodiments 38-40 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure), including a T-center. [Embodiment 45] The aforementioned defects include a photon switch according to any of the exemplary embodiments 32-44 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure) that include multiple identical defects. [Embodiment 46] Includes a second optical waveguide located within the evanescent coupling range of the aforementioned defect, The second output path is a photon switch located on the second optical waveguide, according to any of the exemplary embodiments 32-45 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure). [Embodiment 47] The initial quantum state is selected from the first ground state, the second ground state, and a superposition of the first ground state and the second ground state, and is a photon switch according to any of the exemplary embodiments 32 to 46 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure). [Embodiment 48] The defect is a photon switch according to any of the exemplary embodiments 32-47 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure) located at least 10 nm from any interface of the semiconductor body. [Embodiment 49] The defect includes an unpaired electron spin, and the means for initializing the defect is a photon switch by any of the exemplary embodiments 32 to 48 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure), which includes one or more of the following: electron paramagnetic resonance, electron spin resonance, or nuclear magnetic resonance. [Embodiment 50] A switching network comprising a plurality of photon switches according to any of the exemplary embodiments 32 to 49 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure), wherein the plurality of switches are arranged in a tree structure such that the first and second output paths of some of the plurality of switches are optically coupled to the inputs of other switches among the plurality of switches. [Embodiment 51] A step of receiving a first photon in a first switch, wherein the first switch includes a first region of a semiconductor material, and a first local defect is located in the first region of the semiconductor material. The first local defect has a first defect calculation state, The steps include: inducing a second photon to travel via a first output path communicatively coupled to the first local defect, or a second output path communicatively coupled to the first local defect, based at least on the first defect calculation state of the first local defect; Information processing methods, including those mentioned above. [Embodiment 52] An information processing method of an exemplary embodiment 51 (or any other exemplary embodiment in this disclosure) wherein the step of receiving the first photon includes moving the first photon by a first input path which is communically coupled to the first local defect. [Embodiment 53] The first photon has a first photon computation state, An information processing method of an exemplary embodiment 52 (or any other exemplary embodiment in this disclosure) that guides the second photon to travel along the first output path or the second output path, based on at least the first defect calculation state and the first photon calculation state. [Embodiment 54] An information processing method of an exemplary embodiment 52 (or any other exemplary embodiment in this disclosure), further comprising preparing a first photon in a first photon computation state selected from a first photon ground state, a second photon ground state, or a superposition of the first and second photon ground states. [Embodiment 55] The process further includes the step of preparing a first local defect in the first defect calculation state, An information processing method of an exemplary embodiment 51 (or any other exemplary embodiment in this disclosure), further comprising the first defect calculation state being selected from a first defect base state, a second defect base state, and a superposition of the first defect base state and the second defect base state. [Embodiment 56] A method of any of the exemplary embodiments 51-55 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure) further comprising the step of measuring the state relating to the second photon. [Embodiment 57] A method of any of the exemplary embodiments 51-56 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure), further comprising the step of measuring the condition relating to the first local defect. [Embodiment 58] A step of receiving a second photon in a second switch including a second region of a semiconductor material, wherein a second local defect is located in the second region of the semiconductor material. The second local defect has a second defect calculation state, The steps include: inducing a third photon to travel via a third output path communicatively coupled to the second local defect, or a fourth output path communicatively coupled to the second local defect, based at least on the second defect calculation state of the second local defect; The method of any of the exemplary embodiments 51-57 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure), further including the above. [Embodiment 59] A method in which the first photon becomes the second photon, as described in any of the exemplary embodiments 51 to 58 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure). [Embodiment 60] A step of preparing local defects to be placed on the body of a semiconductor material in a defect calculation state, wherein the defect calculation state is selected from a first defect ground state, a second defect ground state, and a superposition of the first defect ground state and the second defect ground state. The steps include: inducing an output photon to travel via a first output path communicatively coupled to the local defect, or a second output path communicatively coupled to the local defect, based at least on the defect calculation state of the local defect; Information processing methods, including those mentioned above. [Embodiment 61] An information processing method of an exemplary embodiment 60 (or any other exemplary embodiment in this disclosure), further comprising the step of moving an input photon by a first input path which is communicatively coupled to the local defect. [Embodiment 62] The input photon has an input photon computation state, An information processing method of an exemplary embodiment 61 (or any other exemplary embodiment in this disclosure) that guides the output photon to travel along the first output path or the second output path, based at least on the defect calculation state and the input photon calculation state. [Embodiment 63] An information processing method of an exemplary embodiment 61 or 62 (or any other exemplary embodiment in this disclosure) comprising the step of preparing an input photon having an input photon computation state selected from a first photon ground state, a second photon ground state, or a superposition of the first and second photon ground states. [Embodiment 64] A step of preparing an output photon having a first photon ground state, a second photon ground state, or a photon computation state selected from a superposition of the first and second photon ground states, The steps include moving the output photon by a first input path which is communicatively coupled to a first defect, A step of inducing the output photon to move along the first output path or the second output path, based at least on the defect calculation state and the output photon calculation state; Information processing methods of exemplary embodiments 60 (or any other exemplary embodiments herein) further include the following: [Embodiment 65] An information processing method of any of the exemplary embodiments 60 to 64 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure), further comprising the step of measuring the state relating to the output photon. [Embodiment 66] An information processing method of any of the exemplary embodiments 60 to 65 (or any other exemplary embodiments in this disclosure), further comprising the step of measuring the condition relating to the local defect. [Embodiment 67] Apparatus having any novel and inventive feature, combination of feature, or partial combination of feature described herein. [Embodiment 68] A method having a novel and inventive step, action, combination of steps and / or actions, or partial combination of steps and / or actions as described herein.

[0171] In this specification and the appended claims, “one,” “a,” “an,” “one,” or “another” as applied to “embodiment,” “example,” or “implementation” is used to mean that a particular reference feature, structure, or characteristic described in relation to an embodiment, example, or implementation is included in at least one embodiment, example, or implementation. Thus, phrases such as “in one embodiment,” “in one embodiment,” or “in another embodiment” do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be combined in any suitable way in one or more embodiments, examples, or implementations.

[0172] As used herein and in the appended claims, singular articles such as “a”, “an”, and “the” refer to multiple objects unless specifically required by context. Also note that the term “or” is generally used to mean “and / or” unless otherwise indicated by context.

[0173] Unless specifically required by context, throughout this specification and the appended claims, the word “including” and its variations, e.g., and “equipped with,” should be interpreted in an open and comprehensive sense, i.e., “including, but not limited to.”

[0174] All U.S. patents, U.S. patent application publications, U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patent applications, and non-patent publications mentioned herein or in any application data sheet are incorporated by reference in their entirety for the purposes of this specification.

[0175] While certain features of the embodiments and implementations described herein have been described, many modifications, substitutions, changes, and equivalents will arise for those skilled in the art. Therefore, it should be understood that the appended claims are intended to encompass all such modifications and changes that fall within the scope of the embodiments and implementations described herein.

[0176] In this specification, the terms "above," "below," and any other similar terms, when used to describe this specification, refer to the entire specification and not to any specific part thereof.

[0177] The terms indicating direction, such as “vertical,” “lateral,” “horizontal,” “upward,” “downward,” “forward,” “backward,” “inward,” “outward,” “left,” “right,” “front side,” “rear side,” “top,” “bottom,” “lower,” “up,” and “down,” as used herein and in the appended claims (if any), depend on the specific orientation of the described and illustrated apparatus. The subject matter described herein may envision various alternative orientations. Therefore, these directional terms are not strictly defined and should not be interpreted strictly.

[0178] Where components (e.g., software modules, processors, assemblies, devices, circuits, etc.) are referred to above, unless otherwise indicated, references to such components (including references to “means”) should be interpreted as including equivalents (i.e., functionally equivalents) of any component that performs the function of the described component, and including components that are not structurally equivalent to the structure of the present disclosure that performs the function in the exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

[0179] Specific examples of systems, methods, and apparatus are provided herein for illustrative purposes only. These are merely examples. The technologies provided herein may be applied to systems other than those exemplified above. Many changes, modifications, additions, omissions, and rearrangements are also possible within the scope of the invention. The invention includes variations of the described embodiments which will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and these variations include those obtained by substituting features, elements, and / or actions with equivalent features, elements, and / or actions; combining features, elements, and / or actions from different embodiments; combining features, elements, and / or actions from embodiments described herein with features, elements, and / or actions from other technologies; and / or omitting combined features, elements, and / or actions from the described embodiments.

[0180] In this specification, various features are described as being present in “several embodiments” or “several implementations.” Such features are not essential and are not present in all embodiments. Embodiments of the present invention may include zero, any one, or any combination of two or more such features. This is because certain features are limited to the extent that they are incompatible with others, and in that sense, it would be impossible for a person skilled in the art to construct a practical embodiment combining such incompatible features. Therefore, a statement that “several embodiments” have feature A, or that “several embodiments” have feature B, should be interpreted as an indication that the inventor also intends embodiments that combine feature A and feature B (unless otherwise stated in the specification, or unless feature A and feature B are fundamentally incompatible).

[0181] Accordingly, the attached claims below and the claims presented below are intended to be interpreted as including all variations, rearrangements, additions, omissions, and partial combinations that can be reasonably inferred. The claims should not be limited by the preferred embodiments described in the examples, and the broadest interpretation consistent with the overall description should be given.

Claims

1. providing a first defect in a body of semiconductor material located near the first and second optical waveguides; selectively initializing the first defect to a first computational state selected from a first basis state in which the first defect couples to one or more photonic modes in the first optical waveguide and a superposition of the first basis state and a second basis state, wherein in the second basis state the first defect does not couple to the one or more photonic modes in the first optical waveguide; delivering first photons in the first optical waveguide; coupling the first photons into the second optical waveguide through the first defect; 1. A method for switching photons, comprising:

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first computational state comprises an electron spin state.

3. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first photon has a first optical frequency, and when the defect is in a selected first computational state, the defect has an optical transition having an energy corresponding to the first optical frequency of the first photon.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the energy of the transition is a Zero Phonon Line (ZPL) transition energy.

5. delivering a first plurality of additional photons in the first optical waveguide, the first plurality of additional photons having an optical frequency different from the first optical frequency; The method of claim 3 or 4, wherein the method includes outputting the first plurality of additional photons by the first optical waveguide.

6. delivering a second plurality of additional photons in the first optical waveguide, the second plurality of additional photons having the first optical frequency; The method of claim 5 , wherein the method includes coupling the second plurality of additional photons into the second optical waveguide through the defect.

7. The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first optical waveguide comprises an optical structure, and the one or more photonic modes are photonic modes of the optical structure.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the optical structure comprises an optical cavity or resonator.

9. The method of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the defects include interstitials.

10. The method of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the defects comprise vacancies in the lattice of the semiconductor material.

11. The method of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the defect comprises a damage center.

12. The method of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the defects include light-emitting defects.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the radiative defect comprises a T-center.

14. setting the first fault to a second computational state different from the first computational state after a time interval following selectively initializing the first fault to the first computational state; delivering second photons in the first optical waveguide, the second photons having the first optical frequency; outputting the second photons in the first optical waveguide; The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, comprising:

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the second photon is identical to the first photon.

16. 16. The method of any one of claims 1 to 15, comprising delivering a stream of photons through the first optical waveguide and selectively directing photons in the stream of photons to be output via the first optical waveguide or the second optical waveguide by periodically changing the computational state of the first defect.

17. 17. The method of claim 1, wherein the defect is one of a plurality of first defects of the same type, the method comprising selectively initializing each of the plurality of first defects to the first computational state.

18. The method of any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the first defect is located more than 10 nanometers from any interface of the semiconductor body.

19. providing a second defect in the body of semiconductor material located near each of the second and third optical waveguides; selectively initializing the second defect to a third computational state selected from a first basis state in which the second defect couples to one or more photonic modes in the second optical waveguide and a superposition of the first basis state and a second basis state, wherein in the second basis state the second defect does not couple to one or more photonic modes in the second optical waveguide; delivering the first photons in the second optical waveguide; coupling the second photons into the third optical waveguide through the second defect; The method of any one of claims 1 to 18, further comprising:

20. delivering a stream of photons in the first optical waveguide; 20. The method of any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the first subset of photons comprises the first photon and constitutes a signal, and wherein the first defect selects the signal and reroutes the signal to the second optical waveguide.

21. a first region of semiconductor material; a localized defect disposed in the first region of the semiconductor material, the localized defect maintaining a computational state selected from a first state, a second state, and a first superposition of the first state and the second state; a first input waveguide communicatively coupled to the local defect; a first output waveguide communicatively coupled to the local defect; In an information processing device comprising: the first output waveguide carries a first output path; The apparatus is configured such that photons emitted from the local defect are directed to the first output waveguide and the first output path based on at least the computational state of the local defect.

22. the first output waveguide carries a second output path; 22. The information processing device of claim 21, wherein the photons emitted from the local defect are guided to the first output waveguide and, depending on at least the computational state of the local defect, to either the first output path or the second output path.

23. a second output waveguide communicatively coupled to the local defect; the second output waveguide carries a second output path; 22. The information processing device of claim 21, wherein the photons emitted from the local defect are directed to either the first output path or the second output path depending at least on the computational state of the local defect.

24. The information processing device of claim 21 , wherein the photons emitted from the local defect reach the first input waveguide.

25. the photon has a photon computational state selected from a first photon basis state, a second photon basis state, and a superposition of the first photon basis state and the second photon basis state; 25. The information processing device of claim 24, wherein the photons emitted from the local defect are guided to the first output waveguide and the first output path depending at least on the computational state of the local defect and the photon computational state.

26. 24. The information processing device of claim 21, wherein the photons emitted from the local defect have a state that depends in part on the state of an input photon that reaches the local defect by the first input waveguide.

27. the input photon has an input photon computational state selected from a first photon basis state, a second photon basis state, and a superposition of the first photon basis state and the second photon basis state; 27. The information processing device of claim 26, wherein the photons emitted from the local defect are guided to the first output waveguide and the first output path depending at least on the computational state of the local defect and the input photon computational state.

28. The information processing device according to any one of claims 21 to 27, wherein the semiconductor material is a silicon alloy, silicon, natural silicon, or purified silicon.

29. The information processing device according to claim 28 , wherein the semiconductor material is primarily composed of purified silicon.

30. The information processing device according to any one of claims 21 to 29, wherein the first state and the second state held in the local defect are selected from the group consisting of a nuclear spin state, an electron spin state, a hole spin state, and an energy level.

31. 22. The information processing device of claim 21, wherein the first output path is a spatial mode, a polarization mode, a time bin, a frequency mode, or a Fock state.

32. a defect in a body of semiconductor material, the defect having a plurality of available quantum states including a first ground state and a second ground state; an optical structure including an optical waveguide proximate to the defect, the optical waveguide providing a path for delivering photons to the vicinity of the defect; means for initializing the defect to an initial quantum state; Equipped with When the defect is in the first basis state, the photon is output on a first output path, and when the defect is in the second basis state, the photon interacts with the defect and is output on a second output path.

33. 33. The photonic switch of claim 32, wherein the first and second output paths are carried by a first optical waveguide.

34. 34. The photonic switch of claim 33, wherein the first and second output paths contain photons in first and second polarization states, respectively, and wherein interaction with the defect changes the polarization state of the transmitted photons.

35. 34. The photonic switch of claim 33, wherein the first and second output paths contain photons having first and second phases, respectively, and wherein interaction with the defect changes the phase of the transmitted photons.

36. 34. The photonic switch of claim 33, wherein the first and second output paths are separated by a time delay, and wherein an interaction with the defect delays the transmitted photons.

37. A photonic switch according to any one of claims 32 to 36, wherein the optical structure comprises an optical cavity or resonator located within an evanescent coupling range of the defect that concentrates the electric and / or magnetic fields of the photons.

38. The photonic switch of any one of claims 32 to 37, wherein the semiconductor body comprises a silicon crystal lattice.

39. 39. The photonic switch of claim 38, wherein the silicon is at least 99% silicon-28.

40. The photonic switch of any one of claims 32 to 39, wherein the defect is a localized defect.

41. The photonic switch of any one of claims 38 to 40, wherein the defects comprise vacancies in the silicon crystal lattice.

42. The photonic switch of any one of claims 38 to 40, wherein the defects comprise interstitials in the silicon crystal lattice.

43. The photonic switch of any one of claims 38 to 40, wherein the defects comprise radiation damage centres in the silicon crystal lattice.

44. The photonic switch of any one of claims 38 to 40, wherein the defect comprises a T-centre.

45. The photonic switch of any one of claims 32 to 44, wherein the defects include a plurality of identical defects.

46. a second optical waveguide located within an evanescent coupling range of the defect; The photonic switch of any one of claims 32 to 45, wherein the second output path is on the second optical waveguide.

47. 47. The photonic switch of any one of claims 32 to 46, wherein the initial quantum state is selected from the first basis state, the second basis state, and a superposition of the first basis state and the second basis state.

48. The photonic switch of any one of claims 32 to 47, wherein the defect is located at least 10 nm from any interface of the semiconductor body.

49. 49. The photonic switch of any one of claims 32 to 48, wherein the defect comprises an unpaired electron spin, and wherein the means for initializing the defect comprises one or more of electron paramagnetic resonance, electron spin resonance, or nuclear magnetic resonance.

50. A switching network comprising a plurality of photonic switches according to any one of claims 32 to 49, 1. A switching network, wherein the plurality of switches are arranged in a tree structure such that the first and second output paths of some switches of the plurality of switches are optically coupled to inputs of other switches of the plurality of switches.

51. receiving a first photon at a first switch, the first switch including a first region of semiconductor material, a first localized defect disposed in the first region of semiconductor material; the first local defect having a first defect calculation state; directing second photons to travel through a first output path communicatively coupled to the first local defect or a second output path communicatively coupled to the first local defect based on the first defect-calculated state of at least the first local defect; An information processing method, including:

52. 52. The method of claim 51, wherein receiving the first photon comprises traveling the first photon through a first input path that is communicatively coupled to the first local defect.

53. the first photon has a first photon computational state; 53. The method of claim 52, further comprising directing the second photon to travel via the first output path or the second output path based on at least the first defect computation state and the first photon computation state.

54. 53. The information processing method of claim 52, further comprising providing a first photon in a first photon computational state selected from a first photon basis state, a second photon basis state, or a superposition of the first photon basis state and the second photon basis state.

55. providing the first local defect in the first defect calculation state; 52. The information processing method of claim 51, further comprising: the first defect calculation state selected from a first defect ground state, a second defect ground state, and a superposition of the first defect ground state and the second defect ground state.

56. 56. The method of any one of claims 51 to 55, further comprising measuring a state relating to the second photon.

57. The method of any one of claims 51 to 56, further comprising measuring a condition related to the first local defect.

58. receiving the second photon at a second switch including a second region of semiconductor material, wherein a second local defect is disposed in the second region of semiconductor material, the second local defect having a second defect computation state; directing third photons to travel by a third output path communicatively coupled to the second local defect or a fourth output path communicatively coupled to the second local defect based on the second defect-calculated state of at least the second local defect; 58. The method of any one of claims 51 to 57, further comprising:

59. 59. The method of any one of claims 51 to 58, wherein the first photon becomes the second photon.

60. providing a localized defect disposed in a body of semiconductor material in a defect calculation state, the defect calculation state selected from a first defect ground state, a second defect ground state, and a superposition of the first defect ground state and the second defect ground state; directing output photons to travel via a first output path communicatively coupled to the local defect or a second output path communicatively coupled to the local defect based on the defect-calculated state of at least the local defect; An information processing method, including:

61. 61. The method of claim 60, further comprising: traveling input photons through a first input path communicatively coupled to the local defect.

62. the input photon has an input photon computational state; 62. The method of claim 61, further comprising directing the output photon to travel via the first output path or the second output path based on at least the defect computation state and the input photon computation state.

63. 63. A method of processing information according to claim 61 or 62, comprising providing an input photon having an input photon computational state selected from a first photon basis state, a second photon basis state, or a superposition of the first photon basis state and the second photon basis state.

64. providing output photons having a photon computational state selected from a first photon basis state, a second photon basis state, or a superposition of the first photon basis state and the second photon basis state; traveling the output photons through a first input path communicatively coupled to a first defect; directing the output photon to travel via the first output path or the second output path based on at least the defect computation state and the computation state of the output photon; 61. The information processing method of claim 60, further comprising:

65. 65. The information processing method of any one of claims 60 to 64, further comprising the step of measuring a state relating to the output photons.

66. 66. The information processing method according to claim 60, further comprising the step of measuring a condition relating to the local defect.

67. A device having any new and inventive feature, combination of features, or sub-combination of features described herein.

68. Any method having any novel and inventive step, act, combination of steps and / or acts, or sub-combination of steps and / or acts described herein.

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