Laser-written reconfigurable photonic integrated circuit directly coupled to a single-photon avalanche diode array

Giulio Gualandi; Simone Atzeni; Marco Gardina; Antonino Caime; Giacomo Corrielli; Ivan Labanca; Angelo Gulinatti; Ivan Rech; Roberto Osellame; Giulia Acconcia; Francesco Ceccarelli

doi:10.1038/s41377-025-01854-6

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Laser-written reconfigurable photonic integrated circuit directly coupled to a single-photon avalanche diode array

Original Articles

- Laser-written reconfigurable photonic integrated circuit directly coupled to a single-photon avalanche diode array
- Light: Science & Applications Vol. 14, Issue 7, Pages: 2058-2068(2025)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy
  2.Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Milano, Italy
  3.Integrated Quantum Optics Group, Institute for Photonic Quantum Systems (PhoQS), Paderborn University, Paderborn, Germany
  4.Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy
- Author bio：
  
  Francesco Ceccarelli (francesco.ceccarelli@cnr.it)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1038/s41377-025-01854-6
  CLC：
- Received：18 September 2024，
  
  Revised：11 March 2025，
  
  Accepted：31 March 2025，
  
  Published Online：16 May 2025，
  
  Published：31 July 2025
- Accepted：
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Gualandi, G. et al. Laser-written reconfigurable photonic integrated circuit directly coupled to a single-photon avalanche diode array. Light: Science & Applications, 14, 2058-2068 (2025).
DOI：

Gualandi, G. et al. Laser-written reconfigurable photonic integrated circuit directly coupled to a single-photon avalanche diode array. Light: Science & Applications, 14, 2058-2068 (2025). DOI： 10.1038/s41377-025-01854-6.

摘要

Abstract

To date

most integrated quantum photonics experiments rely on single-photon detectors operating at cryogenic temperatures coupled to photonic integrated circuits (PICs) through single-mode optical fibers. This approach presents significant challenges due to the detection complexity

as cryogenic conditions hinder the development of scalable systems. In addition

going towards fully-integrated devices or

at least

removing the optical fibers would be also advantageous to develop compact and cost-efficient solutions featuring a high number of optical modes. This work reports on the direct coupling of a PIC

fabricated by femtosecond laser writing (FLW)

and a silicon single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) array

fabricated in a custom planar technology and compatible with the operation at room temperature. The effectiveness of this solution is shown by achieving perfect coupling and a system detection efficiency as high as 41.0% at a wavelength of 561 nm

which is the highest value reported to date among both heterogeneous/hybrid integrated and directly coupled systems. We also show the robustness of the coupling to misalignments

demonstrating that costly alignment procedures are not needed. Finally

we exploit the SPAD array to characterize a reconfigurable Mach-Zehnder interferometer

i.e.

the basic building block of multimode reconfigurable PICs. This solution provides a new avenue to the design and implementation of quantum photonics experiments

especially effective when compact and cost-efficient systems are needed.

关键词

Keywords

references

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