Modular linear optical circuits

Linear optical circuits that can provide reconfig- urable interference between several optical modes are emerging as a powerful tool for both classical and quantum optics. In this work, we propose and demonstrate a modular architecture for building these circuits. Each module contains independent ph...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mennea, P, Clements, W, Smith, D, Gates, J, Metcalf, B, Bannerman, R, Burgwal, R, Renema, J, Kolthammer, W, Walmsley, I, Smith, P
Format: Journal article
Published: Optical Society of America 2018
Description
Summary:Linear optical circuits that can provide reconfig- urable interference between several optical modes are emerging as a powerful tool for both classical and quantum optics. In this work, we propose and demonstrate a modular architecture for building these circuits. Each module contains independent phase-controlled Mach-Zehnder interferometers, and several modules can be interfaced to build large reconfigurable interferometers. We demonstrate our approach by fabricating three modules in the form of UV-written silica-on-silicon chips. We characterize these chips, connect them to each other, and implement a wide range of linear optical transformations. Our work facilitates the development of large scale linear optical circuits for quantum optics.