Aperiodic Integrated Photonics for Quantum Systems
AperiodiQ is a Gauge Freedom research initiative developing a foundry-constrained design, benchmarking, and validation platform for deterministic aperiodic photonic interconnects.
Quantum systems require low-loss, phase-stable, low-crosstalk connections between sources, processors, memories, and detectors. Conventional routed waveguides, periodic photonic structures, resonator networks, and programmable meshes provide strong solutions and strong baselines.
AperiodiQ asks a focused question:
Can deterministic aperiodic design rules produce useful photonic operating regimes that survive fair comparison with optimized conventional, periodic, pump-based, and random controls?
Our Approach
AperiodiQ combines:
- aperiodic and quasicrystalline design grammars;
- integrated-photonic modeling;
- fabrication and process constraints;
- matched baseline comparisons;
- process-corner and yield analysis;
- reproducible benchmark receipts;
- predeclared Go/No-Go criteria.
The initial physical target is classical two-port transmission under fixed assumptions for material platform, wavelength, geometry, loss, crosstalk, footprint, process variation, and yield.
Quantum-source, Hong–Ou–Mandel, entanglement, and gate-level benchmarks are longer-term validation targets after a classical device pathway is established.
Preliminary Benchmark Record
Our early reduced-model results are intentionally reported as a technical downselection record:
Static Fibonacci interconnects
Periodic and optimized-periodic designs outperformed the initial static Fibonacci models on the primary transmission metrics.
Fibonacci phason pumping
The pump model produced a partial result, outperforming several controls on one transport proxy, while an Aubry–André–Harper baseline remained strongest overall.
Two-dimensional aperiodic defect channels
The first reduced Ammann–Beenker-like graph model did not outperform square-periodic and ordinary routed controls on the primary transmission proxies.
These results demonstrate the purpose of AperiodiQ: to reject weak architectures before expensive fabrication and identify only those regimes that justify physical prototyping.
Phase 0 Mission
The Phase 0 program will:
- select and freeze an initial photonic platform and wavelength;
- translate candidate designs into foundry- and PDK-aware constraints;
- establish optimized conventional, periodic, pump, and random baselines;
- evaluate loss, crosstalk, bandwidth, footprint, crossings, process variation, calibration burden, and yield;
- produce either a test-coupon design package or a reproducible public no-go benchmark.
Long-Term Vision
AperiodiQ is intended to become design infrastructure for quantum photonics:
- benchmark software;
- aperiodic design-rule libraries;
- process-corner analysis;
- reference layouts;
- test-coupon workflows;
- foundry and system co-design;
- quantum-interface validation after classical qualification.
The objective is not a single exotic device. It is a rigorous method for determining when deterministic aperiodic photonics is technologically useful—and when it is not.
Contact
Gauge Freedom
AperiodiQ Research Initiative