First-ever quantum chip combining electronics and photonics made in commercial CMOS foundry
A team from Boston University, UC Berkeley, and Northwestern University has created the first chip that integrates quantum light sources with electronic control circuits in a standard 45 nm CMOS process. Published in Nature Electronics, the work marks a major step toward mass-produced quantum photonic systems.
The 1 × 1 mm chip integrates microring resonators, photodiodes, heaters, and control logic to generate and stabilise correlated photon pairs. The on-chip feedback system keeps each resonator aligned with the input laser, removing the need for bulky external stabilisation equipment.
The device includes 12 independently operated quantum light sources that remained stable during parallel operation, demonstrating scalability. Fabrication in a commercial CMOS foundry, developed with GlobalFoundries and Ayar Labs, highlights the potential for high-volume production.
This breakthrough brings practical quantum communication, sensing, and computing hardware closer to reality and shows how quantum photonics can advance alongside existing semiconductor manufacturing.
