Description
Achieving universal, fault-tolerant photonic quantum computing requires architectures that seamlessly integrate scalable linear circuits with strong nonlinear resources. Historically, incorporating single-photon-level nonlinearities across large-scale linear networks has been a major bottleneck, limiting most optical processors to non-universal linear operations. To overcome this, we introduce an extensible, modular all-optical architecture that combines a fully programmable, large-scale linear optical network with plug-and-play nonlinear modules.
Inspired by classical central processing units, our time-bin multiplexed architecture employs a central control unit to dynamically route optical modes between a linear operation unit and specialised nonlinear co-processors, including an inline squeezer and a tuneable Kerr module. This preserves the scalability and programmability of linear operations while simultaneously supplying the non-Gaussian resources required for a universal physical gate set.
Crucially, we demonstrate applications spanning both linear and nonlinear paradigms — tasks typically requiring specialised hardware for each — all performed within a single apparatus. We establish high-fidelity programmability by executing 100-mode Gaussian boson sampling and generating 8,000-mode continuous-variable cluster states. Moving beyond purely linear operations, we report the quasi-deterministic generation of optical Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) states, an essential resource for bosonic error correction. Integrating a boosted heralded photon-number-state generator, we produce Schrödinger cat states near-deterministically without post-selection. Through two rounds of interferometric breeding and real-time feed-forward, we synthesise GKP states at a rate of 2 kHz.
Furthermore, we perform many-body quantum simulations of the Bose-Hubbard model. By coupling our programmable linear network with a measurement-induced Kerr interaction and photon-number-resolving detectors, we directly encode tunable boson-lattice parameters. This enables the observation of complex dynamics beyond the hard-core boson limit, exploring finite-interaction physics inherently challenging for static superconducting architectures.
By realising a universal physical gate set in a single, scalable platform, this extensible architecture establishes a hardware-efficient route towards active quantum error correction and practical, large-scale photonic quantum simulation.
| I am the presenting author | Yes |
|---|