Abstract

We provide and discuss examples of quantum circuits for simulating the behavior of optical and photonic devices, especially those present in quantum communication setups. Examples include decoherence effects in optical fibers, two-photon (Hong-Ou-Mandel) interference in a beamsplitter - including the case where multiple degrees of freedom are involved - and representation of weak coherent states. Moreover, we discuss the modelling of practical non-ideal characteristics of threshold single-photon detectors, namely, the quantum efficiency and the dark count rate.