[News] World’s First Electron–Photon–Quantum Integrated Chip System Unveiled

A team from Boston University, the University of California, Berkeley, and Northwestern University has jointly developed the world’s first electron–photon–quantum integrated chip system, as reported in the latest issue of Nature Electronics. This is the first time that a quantum light source and a stable control electronic circuit have been integrated on a single chip using standard 45-nanometer semiconductor manufacturing processes. The achievement lays a solid foundation for the mass production of “quantum light factory” chips and the construction of large-scale quantum systems.

The team stated that this marks a critical step in the evolution of scalable quantum technologies, demonstrating that repeatable and controllable quantum systems can be built in commercial semiconductor foundries.

Just as traditional electronic chips rely on electrical current and optical communication systems depend on lasers, future photonic quantum technologies will require stable sources of quantum light for computing, communication, and sensing. To this end, the researchers constructed a series of “quantum light factories” on a silicon chip—each just about 1 mm²—that can reliably generate pairs of correlated photons, a key resource for quantum information applications.

To ensure the resonators generate photon pairs stably, they must remain highly synchronized with the injected laser. These devices are extremely sensitive to temperature fluctuations and manufacturing imperfections—any slight deviation can cause system failure.

The team’s solution was to integrate an active control system directly onto the chip to stabilize and adjust the micro-ring resonators that generate photons in real time. Each chip contains 12 such photon sources, each requiring precise synchronization even amid temperature shifts and mutual interference. The researchers embedded photodetectors inside the resonators to continuously monitor their resonance with the laser. This is paired with on-chip heaters and control logic circuits that automatically fine-tune the resonance conditions, ensuring consistent photon-pair generation.

A major challenge in this project was maintaining quantum optical performance while adhering to the stringent design constraints of commercial complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) platforms. This required a co-design approach from the outset—treating electronics and quantum photonics as a unified system. The chip, built on a standard 45-nm CMOS platform, features built-in feedback stabilization mechanisms that effectively mitigate disturbances caused by temperature shifts and fabrication errors.

As quantum photonic systems grow in scale and complexity, such “quantum light factory” chips are expected to become key components for secure communication networks, advanced sensing technologies, and future quantum computing infrastructure.