could work as a solid foundation for building a quantum simulator, one with useful applications in the real world.
"This is a very good platform for realizing a useful quantum simulator that could be scaled to large sizes," added Abhi Saxena, lead author of the paper and recent UW ECE alumnus. Saxena graduated in 2023 with his doctoral degree and now works for the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colorado.
As a case in point, the research team created their silicon photonic chip at the Washington Nanofabrication Facility on the UW campus. Their fabrication method will help lower production costs for building a quantum simulator, and perhaps more importantly, make it possible to scale the chip up enough for it to be usable in a wide range of quantum simulation devices.
Important technical innovations by the team related to the array include creating a mathematical algorithm that allowed them to map, or characterize the chip in detail, using only information available on the boundaries of the chip, and designing a new kind of architecture for heating and independently controlling each cavity in the array, which let the team program the device. According to Majumdar and Saxena, these two innovations on a silicon photonic chip have never been accomplished before.