Material platforms for integrated quantum photonics

On-chip integration of quantum optical systems could be a major factor enabling photonic quantum technologies. Unlike the case of electronics, where the essential device is the transistor and the dominant material is silicon, the toolbox of elementary devices required for both classical and quantum photonic integrated circuits is vast. While III-V materials have been shown to host most quantum photonic components, the issues of their intercompatibility, scalability and performance are far from being solved. Therefore, many material platforms are being examined to host the future quantum photonic computers and network nodes. We discuss the pros and cons of several platforms for realizing various elementary devices, compare the current degrees of integration achieved in each platform and review several composite platform approaches. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America