For the first time, scientists from Northwestern University, Boston University, and the University of California, Berkeley have developed a silicon chip that integrates quantum light-generating components with classical electronic control circuits. This innovation marks a significant step forward in photonic-electronic integration.
The newly developed chip is capable of producing photon pairs needed for quantum communication and processing. It was manufactured in a commercial semiconductor foundry, indicating its potential for large-scale production.
Northwestern's Anirudh Ramesh highlighted the importance of integrating electronics into a single chip to stabilize quantum processes in real-time. "This is a key step toward scalable quantum photonic systems," he said.
Prem Kumar from Northwestern emphasized the achievement as a milestone in monolithic electronic, photonic, and quantum integration. "Our chip could open doors for not only computing but sensing and communication applications," Kumar stated.
The study was co-led by Danielius Kramnik at UC Berkeley and Imbert Wang at BU. The research demonstrates that complex quantum photonic systems can be built within a CMOS chip without external equipment.
Miloš Popović from BU noted that this development represents an important step towards building repeatable and controllable quantum systems using commercial semiconductor foundries.
The research received support from several foundations including the National Science Foundation and was published in Nature Electronics on July 14.