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The significance of mass spectrometry lies in its unparalleled ability to accurately identify and quantify molecules in complex samples, providing invaluable insights into molecular structures and interactions. Here, we leverage diamond nanostructures as highly sensitive mass sensors by utilizing a self-excitation mechanism under an electron beam in a conventional scanning electron microscope (SEM). The diamond molecular balance (DMB) exhibits an exceptional mass resolution of 0.36 MDa, based on its outstanding mechanical quality factor and frequency stability, along with an extensive dynamic range from MDa to TDa. This positions the DMB at the forefront of molecular balances operating at room temperature. Notably, the DMB demonstrates its ability to measure the mass of a single bacteriophage T4 by precisely locating the analyte on the device. These findings highlight the groundbreaking potential of the DMB as a revolutionary tool for mass spectrometry at room temperature., Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures

Variational quantum eigensolver (VQE), which combines quantum systems with classical computational power, has been arisen as a promising candidate for near-term quantum computing applications. However, the experimental resources such as the number of measurements to implement VQE rapidly increases as the Hamiltonian problem size grows. Applying entanglement measurements to reduce the number of measurement setups has been proposed to address this issue, however, entanglement measurements themselves can introduce additional resource demands. Here, we apply entanglement measurements to the photonic VQE utilizing polarization and path degrees of freedom of a single-photon. In our photonic VQE, entanglement measurements can be deterministically implemented using linear optics, so it takes full advantage of introducing entanglement measurements without additional experimental demands. Moreover, we show that such a setup can mitigate errors in measurement apparatus for a certain Hamiltonian., Comment: Comments are welcome

We demonstrate integrated photonic circuits for quantum devices using sputtered polycrystalline aluminum nitride (AlN) on insulator. The on-chip AlN waveguide directional couplers, which are one of the most important components in quantum photonics, are fabricated and show the output power splitting ratios from 50:50 to 99:1. The polarization beam splitters with an extinction ratio of more than 10 dB are also realized from the AlN directional couplers. Using the fabricated AlN waveguide beam splitters, we observe the Hong-Ou-Mandel interference with a visibility of 91.7 +(-) 5.66 %., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures

Engineering a strongly interacting uniform qubit cluster would be a major step towards realizing a scalable quantum system for quantum sensing, and a node-based qubit register. For a solid-state system that uses a defect as a qubit, various methods to precisely position defects have been developed, yet the large-scale fabrication of qubits within the strong coupling regime at room temperature continues to be a challenge. In this work, we generate nitrogen vacancy (NV) color centers in diamond with sub-10 nm scale precision by using a combination of nanoscale aperture arrays (NAAs) with a high aspect ratio of 10 and a secondary E-beam hole pattern used as an ion-blocking mask. We perform optical and spin measurements on a small cluster of NV spins and statistically investigate the effect of the NAAs during an ion-implantation process. We discuss how this technique is effective for constructing a scalable system., Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures

Bell state analyzer (BSA) is one of the most crucial apparatus in photonic quantum information processing. While linear optics provide a practical way to implement BSA, it provides unavoidable errors when inputs are not ideal single-photon states. Here, we propose a simple method to deduce the BSA for single-photon inputs using weak coherent pulses. By applying the method to Reference-Frame-Independent Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution, we experimentally verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the method., Comment: 5 pages with 4 figures. Comments are welcome!

Integrated photonics plays a central role in modern science and technology, enabling experiments from nonlinear science to quantum information, ultraprecise measurements and sensing, and advanced applications like data communication and signal processing. Optical materials with favorable properties are essential for nanofabrication of integrated-photonics devices. Here we describe a material for integrated nonlinear photonics, tantalum pentoxide (Ta$_2$O$_5$, hereafter tantala), which offers low intrinsic material stress, low optical loss, and efficient access to Kerr-nonlinear processes. We utilize >800-nm thick tantala films deposited via ion-beam sputtering on oxidized silicon wafers. The tantala films contain a low residual tensile stress of 38 MPa, and they offer a Kerr index $n_2$=6.2(23)$\times10^{-19}$ m$^2$/W, which is approximately a factor of three higher than silicon nitride. We fabricate integrated nonlinear resonators and waveguides without the cracking challenges that are prevalent in stoichiometric silicon nitride. The tantala resonators feature an optical quality factor up to $3.8\times10^6$, which enables us to generate ultrabroad-bandwidth Kerr-soliton frequency combs with low threshold power. Moreover, tantala waveguides enable supercontinuum generation across the near-infrared from low-energy, ultrafast seed pulses. Our work introduces a versatile material platform for integrated, low-loss nanophotonics that can be broadly applied and enable heterogeneous integration.

Multiparty quantum communication provides delightful applications including quantum cryptographic communication and quantum secret sharing. Measurement-Device-Independent (MDI) quantum communication based on the Greenberg-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state measurement provides a practical way to implement multiparty quantum communication. With the standard spatially localized GHZ state measurement, however, information can be imbalanced among the communication parties that can cause significant problems in multiparty cryptographic communication. Here, we propose an equitable multiparty quantum communication where information balance among the communication parties is achieved without a trusted third party. Our scheme is based on the GHZ state measurement which is not spatially localized but implemented in a way that all the distant communication parties symmetrically participate. We also verify the feasibility of our scheme by presenting the proof-of-principle experimental demonstration of informationally balanced three-party quantum communication using weak coherent pulses., Comment: Ask the authors for the supplemental materials

Complex systems are a proving ground for fundamental interactions between components and their collective emergent phenomena. Through intricate design, integrated photonics offers intriguing nonlinear interactions that create new patterns of light. In particular, the canonical Kerr-nonlinear resonator becomes unstable with a sufficiently intense traveling-wave excitation, yielding instead a Turing pattern composed of a few interfering waves. These resonators also support the localized soliton pulse as a separate nonlinear stationary state. Kerr solitons are remarkably versatile for applications, but they cannot emerge from constant excitation. Here, we explore an edge-less photonic-crystal resonator (PhCR) that enables spontaneous formation of a soliton pulse in place of the Turing pattern. We design a PhCR in the regime of single-azimuthal-mode engineering to re-balance Kerr-nonlinear frequency shifts in favor of the soliton state, commensurate with how group-velocity dispersion balances nonlinearity. Our experiments establish PhCR solitons as mode-locked pulses by way of ultraprecise optical-frequency measurements, and we characterize their fundamental properties. Our work shows that sub-wavelength nanophotonic design expands the palette for nonlinear engineering of light., Comment: main text 6 pages, 4 figures; supplemental 4 pages, 2 figures

Reference-Frame-Independent Quantum Key Distribution (RFI-QKD) provides a practical way to generate secret keys between two remote parties without sharing common reference frames. On the other hand, Measurement-Device-Independent QKD (MDI-QKD) offers high level of security as it immunes against all the quantum hacking attempts to the measurement devices. The combination of these two QKD protocols, i.e., RFI-MDI-QKD, is one of the most fascinating QKD protocols since it holds both advantages of practicality and security. For further practicality of RFI-MDI-QKD, it is beneficial to reduce the implementation complexity. Here, we have shown that RFI-MDI-QKD can be implemented using fewer quantum states than those of its original proposal. We found that, in principle, the number of quantum states for one of the parties can be reduced from six to three without compromising security. Comparing to the conventional RFI-MDI-QKD where both parties should transmit six quantum states, it significantly simplifies the implementation of the QKD protocol. We also verify the feasibility of the scheme with the proof-of-principle experiment., Comment: A few revision has been made during the publication process

We demonstrate Kerr-frequency-comb generation with nanofabricated Fabry-Perot resonators with photonic-crystal-reflector (PCR) end mirrors. The PCR group-velocity-dispersion (GVD) is engineered to counteract the strong normal GVD of a rectangular waveguide fabricated on a thin, 450 nm silicon nitride device layer. The reflectors provide the resonators with both the high optical quality factor and anomalous GVD required for Kerr-comb generation. We report design, fabrication, and characterization of devices in the 1550 nm wavelengths bands, including the GVD spectrum and quality factor. Kerr-comb generation is achieved by exciting the devices with a continuous-wave (CW) laser. The versatility of PCRs enables a general design principle and a material-independent device infrastructure for Kerr-nonlinear-resonator processes, opening new possibilities for manipulation of light. Visible and multi-spectral-band resonators appear to be natural extensions of the PCR approach., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, 1 graphical ToC, updated funding info

We report and characterize low-temperature, plasma-deposited deuterated silicon nitride thin films for nonlinear integrated photonics. With a peak processing temperature less than 300$^\circ$C, it is back-end compatible with pre-processed CMOS substrates. We achieve microresonators with a quality factor of up to $1.6\times 10^6 $ at 1552 nm, and $>1.2\times 10^6$ throughout $\lambda$ = 1510 -- 1600 nm, without annealing or stress management. We then demonstrate the immediate utility of this platform in nonlinear photonics by generating a 1 THz free spectral range, 900-nm-bandwidth modulation-instability microresonator Kerr comb and octave-spanning, supercontinuum-broadened spectra.

Optical frequency combs enable state-of-the-art applications including frequency metrology, optical clocks, astronomical measurements, and sensing. Recent demonstrations of microresonator-based Kerr frequency combs or microcombs pave the way to scalable and stable comb sources on a photonic chip. Generating microcombs in the visible wavelength range, however, has been limited by large material dispersion and optical loss. Here we demonstrate a scheme for efficiently generating visible microcomb in a high Q aluminum nitride microring resonator. Enhanced Pockels effect strongly couples infrared and visible modes into hybrid mode pairs, which participate in the Kerr microcomb generation process and lead to strong Cherenkov radiation in the visible band of an octave apart. A surprisingly high conversion efficiency of 22% is achieved from the pump laser to the visible comb. We further demonstrate a robust frequency tuning of the visible comb by more than one free spectral range and apply it to the absorption spectroscopy of a water-based dye molecule solution. Our work marks the first step towards high-efficiency visible microcomb generation and its utilization, and it also provides insights on the significance of Pockels effect and its strong coupling with Kerr nonlinearity in a single microcavity device., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures

Using aluminum-nitride photonic-chip waveguides, we generate optical-frequency-comb supercontinuum spanning from 500 nm to 4000 nm with a 0.8 nJ seed pulse, and show that the spectrum can be tailored by changing the waveguide geometry. Since aluminum nitride exhibits both quadratic and cubic nonlinearities, the spectra feature simultaneous contributions from numerous nonlinear mechanisms: supercontinuum generation, difference-frequency generation, second-harmonic generation, and third-harmonic generation. As one application of integrating multiple nonlinear processes, we measure and stabilize the carrier-envelope-offset frequency of a laser comb by direct photodetection of the output light. Additionally, we generate ~0.3 mW in the 3000 nm to 4000 nm region, which is potentially useful for molecular spectroscopy. The combination of broadband light generation from the visible through the mid-infrared, combined with simplified self-referencing, provides a path towards robust comb systems for spectroscopy and metrology in the field., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures

Quantum photonic chips, which integrate quantum light sources alongside active and passive optical elements, as well as single photon detectors, show great potential for photonic quantum information processing and quantum technology. Mature semiconductor nanofabrication processes allow for scaling such photonic integrated circuits to on-chip networks of increasing complexity. Second order nonlinear materials are the method of choice for generating photonic quantum states in the overwhelming part of linear optic experiments using bulk components but integration with waveguide circuitry on a nanophotonic chip proved to be challenging. Here we demonstrate such an on-chip parametric down-conversion source of photon pairs based on second order nonlinearity in an Aluminum nitride microring resonator. We show the potential of our source for quantum information processing by measuring high-visibility antibunching of heralded single photons with nearly ideal state purity. Our down conversion source operates with high brightness and low noise, yielding pairs of correlated photons at MHz-rates with high coincidence-to-accidental ratio. The generated photon pairs are spectrally far separated from the pump field, providing good potential for realizing sufficient on-chip filtering and monolithic integration of quantum light sources, waveguide circuits and single photon detectors., Comment: 5 figures

Developments in photonic chips have spurred photon based classical and quantum information processing, attributing to the high stability and scalability of integrated photonic devices [1, 2]. Optical nonlinearity [3] is indispensable in these complex photonic circuits, because it allows for classical and quantum light sources, all-optical switch, modulation, and non-reciprocity in ambient environments. It is commonly known that nonlinear interactions are often greatly enhanced in the microcavities [4]. However, the manifestations of coherent photon-photon interaction in a cavity, analogous to the electromagnetically induced transparency [5], have never been reported on an integrated platform. Here, we present an experimental demonstration of the coherent photon-photon interaction induced by second order optical nonlinearity (\chi^{(2)} ) on an aluminum nitride photonic chip. The non-reciprocal nonlinear optic induced transparency is demonstrated as a result of the coherent interference between photons with different colors: ones in the visible wavelength band and ones in the telecom wavelength band. Furthermore, a wide-band frequency conversion with an almost unit internal (0.14 external) efficiency and a bandwidth up to 0.76\,\mathrm{GHz} is demonstrated.

We propose and demonstrate a dispersion control technique by combination of different waveguide cross sections in an aluminum nitride micro-ring resonator. Narrow and wide waveguides with normal and anomalous dispersion, respectively, are linked with tapering waveguides and enclosed in a ring resonator to produce a total dispersion near zero. The mode-coupling in multimoded waveguides is also effectively suppressed. This technique provides new degrees of freedom and enhanced flexibility in engineering the dispersion of microcomb resonators., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

On-chip frequency comb generations enable compact broadband sources for spectroscopic sensing and precision spectroscopy. Recent microcomb studies focus on infrared spectral regime and have difficulty in accessing visible regime. Here, we demonstrate comb-like visible frequency line generation through second, third harmonic, and sum frequency conversion of a Kerr comb within a high Q aluminum nitride microring resonator pumped by a single telecom laser. The strong power enhancement, in conjunction with the unique combination of Pockels and Kerr optical nonlinearity of aluminum nitride, leads to cascaded frequency conversions in the visible spectrum. High-resolution spectroscopic study of the visible frequency lines indicates matched free spectrum range over all the bands. This frequency doubling and tripling effect in a single microcomb structure offers great potential for comb spectroscopy and self-referencing comb., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

Aluminum nitride has been shown to possess both strong Kerr nonlinearity and electro-optic Pockels effect. By combining these two effects, here we demonstrate on-chip reversible on/off switching of the optical frequency comb generated by an aluminum nitride microring resonator. We optimize the design of gating electrodes and the underneath resonator structure to effectively apply electric field without increasing the optical loss. The switching of the comb is monitored by measuring one of the frequency comb peaks while varying the electric field. The controlled comb electro-optic response is investigated for direct comparison with the transient thermal effect., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures

Aluminum nitride is an appealing nonlinear optical material for on-chip wavelength conversion. Here we report optical frequency comb generation from high quality factor aluminum nitride micro-ring resonators integrated on silicon substrates. By engineering the waveguide structure to achieve near-zero dispersion at telecommunication wavelengths and optimizing the phase matching for four-wave mixing, frequency combs are generated with a single wavelength continuous-wave pump laser. The Kerr coefficient (n2) of aluminum nitride is further extracted from our experimental results., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures