We have investigated the possibility of using polarized single-photons as information carriers in an optical fiber with the aim of achieving error-free information transmission despite photon loss. To this end, a series of experiments are performed over a 20 km metro quantum link, where we compared the performance of three different error correcting and error detecting codes, based on three mutually orthogonal states |H〉, |V〉 and |0, alluding to two linearly polarized single photon states and the vacuum state, respectively. The experiment is carried out using a quantum dot single-photon source with g(2)(0) = 0.0053 ± 0.001, whose emitted photons are modulated and time-binned into code blocks. A 32 × 32 pixel black and white image is transmitted, demonstrating that error-correction can reduce errors significantly in this channel. Our method draws strength from the fact that the photon loss channel is asymmetric, allowing for loss errors to be efficiently pinpointed.

Detecting nonclassical light is a central requirement for photonics-based quantum technologies. Unrivaled high efficiencies and low dark counts have positioned superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) as the leading detector technology for integrated photonic applications. However, a central challenge lies in their integration within photonic integrated circuits, regardless of material platform or surface topography. Here, we introduce a method based on transfer printing that overcomes these constraints and allows for the integration of SNSPDs onto arbitrary photonic substrates. With a kinetically controlled elastomer stamp, we transfer suspended SNSPDs onto commercially manufactured silicon and lithium niobate on insulator integrated photonic circuits. Focused ion beam metal deposition then wires the detectors to the circuits, thereby allowing us to monitor photon counts with >7% detection efficiencies. Our method eliminates detector integration bottlenecks and provides new venues for versatile, accessible, and scalable quantum information processors.

Artificial atoms in solids are leading candidates for quantum networks, scalable quantum computing, and sensing, as they combine long-lived spins with mobile photonic qubits. Recently, silicon has emerged as a promising host material where artificial atoms with long spin coherence times and emission into the telecommunications band can be controllably fabricated. This field leverages the maturity of silicon photonics to embed artificial atoms into the world's most advanced microelectronics and photonics platform. However, a current bottleneck is the naturally weak emission rate of these atoms, which can be addressed by coupling to an optical cavity. Here, we demonstrate cavity-enhanced single artificial atoms in silicon (G-centers) at telecommunication wavelengths. Our results show enhancement of their zero phonon line intensities along with highly pure single-photon emission, while their lifetime remains statistically unchanged. We suggest the possibility of two different existing types of G-centers, shedding new light on the properties of silicon emitters. The authors demonstrate a cavity enhancement of single artificial atoms at telecommunication wavelengths in silicon by coupling them to highly optimized photonic crystal cavities, showing intensity enhancement and highly pure single-photon emission.

In this paper, we review the research and development of the fractal superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs), including our demonstrations of high-performance devices and systems with over 80% system detection efficiency, negligibly low residual polarization sensitivity, and low timing jitter. Using the fractal SNSPDs, we demonstrate full-Stokes polarimetric imaging LiDAR.

Color centers are promising candidates for quantum technologies due to their long coherence times and high-quality spin-photon interfaces. Silicon has recently emerged as a host for color centers operating in the telecommunication bands, in a technological platform featuring the world’s most advanced manufacturing, electronics, and photonics. In this talk, I will present our recent work on the fabrication and isolation of individual G-centers in silicon photonic waveguides,1 their spectral reconfiguration,1 and the enhancement of their light-matter interaction via coupling to photonic crystal cavities.

Large-scale quantum photonics requires the integration of several elements on the same chip, including quantum emitters and memories, active photonics, and single-photon detectors. In this talk, I will report on i) our recent work integrating superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPD) with mechanically reconfigurable integrated photonics, and ii) our recently developed method for integration of SNSPDs onto arbitrary photonic substrates.

Heat transport in bulk materials is well described using the Debye theory of three-dimensional vibrational modes (phonons) and the acoustic match model. However, in cryogenic nanodevices, phonon wavelengths exceed device dimensions, leading to confinement effects that standard models fail to address. With the growing application of low-temperature devices in communication, sensing, and quantum technologies, there is an urgent need for models that accurately describe heat transport under confinement. We introduce a computational approach to obtain phonon heat capacity and heat transport rates between solids in various confined geometries that can be easily integrated into, e.g., the standard two-temperature model. Confinement significantly reduces heat capacity and may slow down heat transport. We validate our model with experiments on strongly disordered NbTiN superconducting nanostructure, widely used in highly efficient single-photon detectors, and we argue that confinement is due to their polycrystalline granular structure. These findings point to potential advances in cryogenic device performance through tailored material and microstructure engineering.

A new method for efficient, high-quality randomness extraction is presented. The method relies on quantum processes such as the emission of single photons and their subsequent detection, where each detection event has an associated detection time. By establishing a list of time differences between a fixed number of events, a unique order can be established. We note that, by utilising the number of ways to order the resulting list of time differences between the quantum events, the efficiency can be increased many-fold compared to current methods. The method delivers fundamentally uniform randomness and therefore, in principle, does not need debiasing.

NbTiN has a high critical temperature (Tc) of up to 17 K, making it a great candidate for superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) and other applications requiring a bias current close to the depairing current. However, superconducting inhomogeneities are often observed in superconducting thin films, and superconducting inhomogeneities can influence the vortex nucleation barrier and furthermore affect the critical current Ic of a superconducting wire. Superconducting inhomogeneities can also result in stochastic variations in the critical current between identical devices, and therefore, it is crucial to have a detailed understanding of inhomogeneities in SNSPDs in order to improve device efficiency. In this study, we utilized scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) to investigate the inhomogeneity of superconducting properties in meandered NbTiN nanowires, which are commonly used in SNSPDs. Our findings show that variations in the superconducting gap are strongly correlated with the film thickness. By using time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau simulations and statistical modeling, we explored the implications of the reduction in the critical current and its sample-to-sample variations. Our study suggests that the thickness of NbTiN plays a critical role in achieving homogeneity in superconducting properties.

Quantum technologies are poised to move the foundational principles of quantum physics to the forefront of applications. This roadmap identifies some of the key challenges and provides insights on material innovations underlying a range of exciting quantum technology frontiers. Over the past decades, hardware platforms enabling different quantum technologies have reached varying levels of maturity. This has allowed for first proof-of-principle demonstrations of quantum supremacy, for example quantum computers surpassing their classical counterparts, quantum communication with reliable security guaranteed by laws of quantum mechanics, and quantum sensors uniting the advantages of high sensitivity, high spatial resolution, and small footprints. In all cases, however, advancing these technologies to the next level of applications in relevant environments requires further development and innovations in the underlying materials. From a wealth of hardware platforms, we select representative and promising material systems in currently investigated quantum technologies. These include both the inherent quantum bit systems and materials playing supportive or enabling roles, and cover trapped ions, neutral atom arrays, rare earth ion systems, donors in silicon, color centers and defects in wide-band gap materials, two-dimensional materials and superconducting materials for single-photon detectors. Advancing these materials frontiers will require innovations from a diverse community of scientific expertise, and hence this roadmap will be of interest to a broad spectrum of disciplines.