IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,549,262
Granted Patent B1
US 12,549,262 · App. 17/069,823 · Granted Feb 10, 2026

Integrated silicon photonics platforms for scalable quantum systems

Inventors: Marek Osinski (Albuquerque, NM); Ganesh Balakrishnan (Albuquerque, NM); Arash Mafi (Albuquerque, NM); Roman Sobolewski (Rochester, NY)
Assignee: UNM Rainforest Innovations
H04B10/70H10F77/1433H10F77/1437H10H20/812H10N69/00
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,549,262
App. No.
17/069,823
Granted
Feb 10, 2026
Kind
B1
Abstract

The present invention provides an electronic device having a quantum photonic integrated circuit (QuPIC) including a photonsource, a photon detector and an optical waveguide configured for guiding the photons from the source to the detector.

Claims (29)

1 . An electronic device having a quantum photonic integrated circuit (QuPIC) comprising: a single- or entangled-pair photon source;

a single- or entangled-pair photon detector;

an optical waveguide configured for guiding the photons from the source to the detector, said optical waveguide comprising a waveguide core and waveguide cladding; and

said single- or entangled-pair photon source, said photon detector and optical waveguide integrated on a common substrate.

2 . The device of claim 1 , wherein said substrate is silicon, forming a silicon quantum photonic integrated circuit (SiQuPIC).

3 . The device of claim 1 , wherein said single- or entangled-pair photon source is a semiconductor quantum-dot light-emitting diode (QDLED).

4 . The device of claim 3 , wherein said QDLED is grown as a nanopillar on said substrate using selective-area epitaxy.

5 . The device of claim 3 , wherein said QDLED is grown as a nanowire on said substrate using selective-area epitaxy.

6 . The device of claim 3 , wherein said semiconductor QDLED comprises at least one superconducting electrode, thus forming a superconducting quantum-dot LED (SQLED).

7 . The device of claim 6 , wherein said superconducting electrode is less than 60 nm from said quantum dot, enabling injection of electron Cooper pairs into said SQLED, resulting in entangled photon pair emission.

8 . The device of claim 6 , wherein said superconducting electrode is less than 60 from said quantum dot, enabling injection of hole Cooper pairs into said SQLED, resulting in entangled photon pair emission.

9 . The device of claim 6 , wherein said superconducting electrodes are less than 60 nm from said quantum dot, enabling injection of both electron- and hole Cooper pairs into said SQLED, resulting in entangled photon pair emission.

10 . The device of claim 1 , wherein said single- or entangled-pair photon source includes an active region and said optical waveguide includes said waveguide core having a center, said active region is aligned with said center of said optical waveguide core.

11 . The device of claim 10 , wherein said waveguide core is made of silicon nitride.

12 . The device of claim 10 , wherein said optical waveguide core is made of silicon.

13 . The device of claim 10 , wherein said waveguide includes claddings, said claddings are made of silicon dioxide.

14 . The device of claim 1 , wherein said photon detector is a superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD).

15 . The device of claim 1 , wherein said SNSPD is fabricated directly on said waveguide core.

16 . The device of claim 14 , wherein said waveguide includes a cladding and said SNSPD is fabricated on said waveguide cladding, in close proximity to said waveguide core.

17 . The device of claim 1 , comprising multiple single-photon or entangled-photon-pair sources, waveguides, and photon detectors, combined with at least one additional element of a QuPIC, said element belonging to the group of Mach-Zehnder interferometers, couplers, splitters, phase-shifters, modulators, resonators, filters, all integrated on said common substrate.

18 . A silicon quantum photonic integrated circuit (SiQuPIC) comprising: a single- or entangled-pair photon source, optical waveguide, and photodetector all integrated on a silicon substrate.

19 . The SiQuPIC of claim 18 wherein said single- or entangled-pair photon source is a semiconductor QD LED.

20 . The SiQuPIC of claim 19 wherein the semiconductor QD LED comprises a superconducting material, thus forming a superconducting quantum-dot light-emitting diodes (SQLED).

21 . The SiQuPIC of claim 20 wherein said superconducting material is adjacent to a quantum well embedding QDs, enabling entangled photon pair emission.

22 . The SiQuPIC of claim 19 wherein selective-area epitaxy is used to grow said semiconductor QD LED directly in SiO 2 grooves.

23 . The SiQuPIC of claim 19 wherein said optical waveguide includes said waveguide core having a center, and said semiconductor QD LED is aligned with said waveguide core center.

24 . The SiQuPIC of claim 23 wherein said waveguide core is made of Si 3 N 4 .

25 . The SiQuPIC of claim 23 wherein said waveguide core is made of SiO 2 .

26 . The SiQuPIC of claim 18 wherein said photodetector is a waveguide-integrated superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD).

Continuity (1)
Provisional Application 62914506 · Oct 13, 2019
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