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arXiv · 2503.08783

A scalable quadratic nonlinear silicon photonics platform with printable entangled photon-pair sources

Tom Vandekerckhove·Jasper De Witte·Lisa De Jaeger·Ewoud Vissers·Sofie Janssen·Peter Verheyen·Neha Singh·Dieter Bode·Martin Davi·Filippo Ferraro·Philippe Absil·Sadhishkumar Balakrishnan·Joris Van Campenhout·Dries Van Thourhout·Günther Roelkens·Stéphane Clemmen·Bart Kuyken
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Abstract

The integration of second-order optical nonlinearities into scalable photonic platforms remains a key challenge due to their large sensitivity to fabrication variations. Here, we present a scalable quadratic nonlinear platform that harnesses the maturity and scalability of existing CMOS processes by heterogeneously integrating periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) onto a silicon photonics platform. A generic PPLN design enables frequency conversion on two distinct waveguide geometries with efficiencies comparable to LNOI rib waveguides. We achieve reproducible phase-matching across the full radius of a commercial 200 mm silicon photonics wafer, leveraging superior CMOS fabrication tolerances. Furthermore, we introduce a tuning mechanism for both blue- and red-shifting of the operating wavelength, fully compensating fabrication-induced offsets. This enables deterministic phase-matching over an entire wafer and yields a strategy for wafer-scale phase-matched quadratic nonlinearities. Finally, we realize printable photon-pair sources via spontaneous parametric down-conversion, highlighting the platform's potential for large-scale quantum optical circuits. These results pave the way for wafer-scale integration of second-order optical nonlinearities in large photonic systems.

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Tom Vandekerckhove, Jasper De Witte, Lisa De Jaeger, Ewoud Vissers, Sofie Janssen, Peter Verheyen, Neha Singh, Dieter Bode, Martin Davi, Filippo Ferraro, Philippe Absil, Sadhishkumar Balakrishnan, Joris Van Campenhout, Dries Van Thourhout, Günther Roelkens, Stéphane Clemmen, Bart Kuyken. 2025-03-11. A scalable quadratic nonlinear silicon photonics platform with printable entangled photon-pair sources. https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.08783

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