High-dimensional color-entangled photon states from a photonic chip, manipulated and transmitted via telecommunications systems.  (Image by Michael Kues)

High-dimensional color-entangled photon states from a photonic chip, manipulated and transmitted via telecommunications systems. (Image by Michael Kues)

Researchers demonstrate how light particles—photons—can become a powerful quantum resource when generated on a photonic chip in the form of colour-entangled quDits. Unlike a qubit, which is a mechanical system with only two states (the classic example being 0 and 1), quDits can have multiple quantum states: for example, a high-dimensional photon can be red and yellow and green and blue simultaneously. This high-dimensional quantum state significantly increases the amount of information available to be stored on a single photon. So far, researchers have confirmed the realization of a quantum system with at least 100 dimensions using this approach. The use of multidimensional quDits can contribute to more accessible development of applied quantum technologies.

Authors: 

Michael Kues, Christian Reimer, Piotr Roztocki, Luis Romero Cortés, Stefania Sciara, Benjamin Wetzel, Yanbing Zhang, Alfonso Cino, Sai T. Chu, Brent E. Little, David J. Moss, Lucia Caspani, José Azaña & Roberto Morandotti

Corresponding author:

Michael Kues, INRS-EMT, Varennes, QC, Email: michael.kues@emt.inrs.ca

Original paper published in Nature on June 28, 2017.