Integrated thermo-optic phase shifters for laser-written photonic circuits operating at cryogenic temperatures

TL;DR

This paper presents the development of a cryogenically-compatible programmable femtosecond laser-written photonic integrated circuit with thermo-optic phase shifters, enabling stable and efficient operation at liquid helium temperatures for quantum technologies.

Contribution

It introduces the first cryogenic programmable femtosecond laser-written PIC, demonstrating reliable operation with minimal power and temperature gradients at cryogenic temperatures.

Findings

Successful operation of PIC at cryogenic temperatures

Minimal power consumption for phase shifting

Confined temperature gradients in cryogenic conditions

Abstract

Integrated photonics offers compact and stable manipulation of optical signals in miniaturized chips, with the possibility of changing dynamically their functionality by means of integrated phase shifters. Cryogenic operation of these devices is becoming essential for advancing photonic quantum technologies, accommodating components like quantum light sources, single photon detectors and quantum memories operating at liquid helium temperatures. In this work, we report on a programmable glass photonic integrated circuit (PIC) fabricated through femtosecond laser waveguide writing (FLW) and controlled by thermo-optic phase shifters both in a room-temperature and in a cryogenic setting. By taking advantage of a femtosecond laser microstructuring process, we achieved reliable PIC operation with minimal power consumption and confined temperature gradients in both conditions. This advancement marks the first cryogenically-compatible programmable FLW PIC, paving the way for fully integrated quantum architectures realized on a laser-written photonic chip.