Characterization of optical quantum circuits using resonant phase shifts

We demonstrate that important information about linear optical circuits can be obtained through the phase shift induced by integrated optical resonators. As a proof of principle, the phase of an unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer is determined. Then, the method is applied to a complex optical circuit designed for linear optical quantum computation. In this controlled-NOT gate with qubit initialization and tomography stages, the relative phases, as well as the coupling ratios of its directional couplers, are determined.