Integrated lithium niobate photonics for quantum technologies

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract
We are entering an age where we can engineer and build machines that are enhanced by the principles of quantum mechanics. These new machines will dramatically change the way we compute, sense the world around us, and communicate. Quantum technologies of all kinds face two major challenges: individual device performance and scalability. Device performance improvements have been dramatic in recent years with superconducting qubit coherence times growing by orders of magnitude in the past decade, for example. However, individual device performance alone will not usher in a new era of quantum technologies. Systems of scale require high performing devices that can be combined in new and expansive ways. Large-scale quantum systems promise to revolutionize drug discovery, materials science research, secure communications, and the simulation of quantum physics itself. These applications require systems with orders of magnitude more entanglement than is currently possible. Scale has two parts: the number of devices integrated locally into a system and the number of systems interacting over distance. Moving to chip-scale integration can benefit both scalings since many devices can be integrated on the surface of a single chip, and nanoscale integrated systems promise performance benefits for efficient transduction to connect distant systems. The first part of this dissertation describes my work towards building efficient transducers to coherently connect quantum machines based on superconducting microwave qubits over large distances. This effort used thin-film lithium niobate nanophotonic devices integrated with superconducting circuits on the same chip with the goal of providing a transparent link between quantum computers over standard optical fiber infrastructure. The second part of this dissertation describes a comprehensive demonstration of resonant second-order nonlinear integrated photonic systems based on thin-film lithium niobate. We built an on-chip optical parametric oscillator that improved upon the state of the art by three orders of magnitude in threshold power and sets the standard for device performance in X-cut lithium niobate. The demonstrated chip-scale nonlinear circuits can now be expanded to scalable quantum computing architectures based on entangled optical modes and enhanced quantum sensing with squeezed light.

Description

Type of resource text
Form electronic resource; remote; computer; online resource
Extent 1 online resource.
Place California
Place [Stanford, California]
Publisher [Stanford University]
Copyright date 2021; ©2021
Publication date 2021; 2021
Issuance monographic
Language English

Creators/Contributors

Author McKenna, Timothy Patrick
Degree supervisor Safavi-Naeini, Amir H
Thesis advisor Safavi-Naeini, Amir H
Thesis advisor Fejer, Martin M. (Martin Michael)
Thesis advisor Miller, D. A. B
Thesis advisor Vuckovic, Jelena
Degree committee member Fejer, Martin M. (Martin Michael)
Degree committee member Miller, D. A. B
Degree committee member Vuckovic, Jelena
Associated with Stanford University, Department of Electrical Engineering

Subjects

Genre Theses
Genre Text

Bibliographic information

Statement of responsibility Timothy P. McKenna.
Note Submitted to the Department of Electrical Engineering.
Thesis Thesis Ph.D. Stanford University 2021.
Location https://purl.stanford.edu/kp746rx2589

Access conditions

Copyright
© 2021 by Timothy Patrick McKenna
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).

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