Waveguides and Adaptive Optics

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In order to move beyond proof-of-principle experiments to large scale optical quantum information processors, it will be necessary to implement the quantum logic in micro-optic or waveguide optic systems. One drawback of these, however, is that there tend to be substantial insertion losses, i.e., one can typically never couple more than 90% of light from an optical fiber into a waveguide: even though they may both be single optical mode devices, they are necessarily the same mode. We are investigating the use of adaptive optics -- deformable mirrors and MEMS photonic devices -- to understand the practical limits for optimized mode-matching.