Ultracompact and multifunctional integrated photonic platform.

Realizing a multifunctional integrated photonic platform is one of the goals for future optical information processing, which usually requires large size to realize due to multiple integration challenges. Here, we realize a multifunctional integrated photonic platform with ultracompact footprint based on inverse design. The photonic platform is compact with 86 inverse designed-fixed couplers and 91 phase shifters.

Graphene/silicon heterojunction for reconfigurable phase-relevant activation function in coherent optical neural networks.

Optical neural networks (ONNs) herald a new era in information and communication technologies and have implemented various intelligent applications. In an ONN, the activation function (AF) is a crucial component determining the network performances and on-chip AF devices are still in development. Here, we first demonstrate on-chip reconfigurable AF devices with phase activation fulfilled by dual-functional graphene/silicon (Gra/Si) heterojunctions.

Snapshot Mueller spectropolarimeter imager.

We introduce an imaging system that can simultaneously record complete Mueller polarization responses for a set of wavelength channels in a single image capture. The division-of-focal-plane concept combines a multiplexed illumination scheme based on Fourier optics together with an integrated telescopic light-field imaging system. Polarization-resolved imaging is achieved using broadband nanostructured plasmonic polarizers as functional pinhole apertures.

Multichip multidimensional quantum networks with entanglement retrievability.

Quantum networks provide the framework for quantum communication, clock synchronization, distributed quantum computing, and sensing. Implementing large-scale and practical quantum networks relies on the development of scalable architecture and integrated hardware that can coherently interconnect many remote quantum nodes by sharing multidimensional entanglement through complex-medium quantum channels. We demonstrate a multichip multidimensional quantum entanglement network based on mass-manufacturable integrated-nanophotonic quantum node chips fabricated on a silicon wafer by means of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor processes.

Physical interpretation of nonlocal quantum correlation through local description of subsystems.

Characterization and categorization of quantum correlations are both fundamentally and practically important in quantum information science. Although quantum correlations such as non-separability, steerability, and non-locality can be characterized by different theoretical models in different scenarios with either known (trusted) or unknown (untrusted) knowledge of the associated systems, such characterization sometimes lacks unambiguous to experimentalist. In this work, we propose the physical interpretation of nonlocal quantum correlation between two systems.

Matrix eigenvalue solver based on reconfigurable photonic neural network.

The solution of matrix eigenvalues has always been a research hotspot in the field of modern numerical analysis, which has important value in practical application of engineering technology and scientific research. Despite the fact that currently existing algorithms for solving the eigenvalues of matrices are well-developed to try to satisfy both in terms of computational accuracy and efficiency, few of them have been able to be realized on photonic platform. The photonic neural network not only has strong judgment in solving inference tasks due to the superior learning ability, but also makes full use of the advantages of photonic computing with ultrahigh speed and ultralow energy consumption.

A generalized multipath delayed-choice experiment on a large-scale quantum nanophotonic chip.

Bohr's complementarity is one central tenet of quantum physics. The paradoxical wave-particle duality of quantum matters and photons has been tested in Young's double-slit (double-path) interferometers. The object exclusively exhibits wave and particle nature, depending measurement apparatus that can be delayed chosen to rule out too-naive interpretations of quantum complementarity.