Articles techniques et présentations

Abstract: Optical systems are a promising platform for quantum computation, but one of the engineering constraints that hinders development in the field is optical loss within linear optical quantum computers (LOQC). LOQC systems use gaussian beams to serve as the qubit source and optical components such as beamsplitters and wave plates to apply quantum logic gates. Therefore, optical loss contributes to the decoherence of quantum states in an LOQC, which physicists aim to minimize. Optical loss can arise from several sources, including but not limited to: waveguide scattering after propagation, material properties of optical components, and overall organization of these components. We are interested in seeing if we can recreate a three qubit LOQC in COMSOL and perform a multivariable parameter sweep over a loss function that we aim to minimize in order to find potential configurations of the optical components and materials which minimize loss within an LOQC. The model will utilize the Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes solver to simulate a gaussian beam propagating through a LOQC that consists of polarizing and non-polarizing beamsplitters, half and quarter wave plates, mirrors, and lenses which will be recreated using datasheets provided by ThorLabs. The application library’s ‘Polarizing Beam Splitter’ (Application ID: 31041) is also utilized as it conveniently includes a framework for calculating phase changes in the system, crucial in optical quantum computation. The target result of this model is a multivariable function of optical loss in order to identify areas of design optimization in order to minimize decoherence in LOQC systems. A potential application of this work is as an application builder for physicists to easily quantify optical loss within their own systems through a configurable app builder allowing the user to input fixed parameters and optimizing the remaining degrees of freedom, leading to more informed decisions regarding optical component organization and design for more efficient LOQC systems.