20-Mode Universal Quantum Photonic Processor

Quantum 7, 1071 (2023).

https://doi.org/10.22331/q-2023-08-01-1071

Integrated photonics is an essential technology for optical quantum computing. Universal, phase-stable, reconfigurable multimode interferometers (quantum photonic processors) enable manipulation of photonic quantum states and are one of the main components of photonic quantum computers in various architectures. In this paper, we report the realization of the largest quantum photonic processor to date. The processor enables arbitrary unitary transformations on its 20 input modes with an amplitude fidelity of $F_{text{Haar}} = 97.4%$ and $F_{text{Perm}} = 99.5%$ for Haar-random and permutation matrices, respectively, an optical loss of 2.9 dB averaged over all modes, and high-visibility quantum interference with $V_{text{HOM}}=98%$. The processor is realized in $mathrm{Si_3N_4}$ waveguides and is actively cooled by a Peltier element.