Robust, scalable Hong-Ou-Mandel manifolds in quantum optical ring resonators

Abstract: Quantum Information Processing, from cryptography to computation, based upon linear quantum optical circuit elements relies heavily on the ability offered by the Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) Effect to route photons from separate input modes into one of two common output modes. Specifically, the HOM Effect accomplishes the path entanglement of two photons at a time such that no coincidences are observed in the output modes of a system exhibiting the effect. In this paper, we prove in principle that a significant increase in the robustness of the HOM Effect can be accomplished in a scalable, readily manufactured nanophotonic system comprised of two waveguides coupled, on chip, to a ring resonator. We show that by operating such a device properly, one can conditionally bunch coincident input photons in a way that is far more robust and controllable than possible with an ordinary balanced beam splitter.