Efficient optical pumping using hyperfine levels in 145^{145}Nd3+^{3+}:Y2_2SiO5_5 and its application to optical storage

Efficient optical pumping is an important tool for state initialization in quantum technologies, such as optical quantum memories. In crystals doped with Kramers rare-earth ions, such as erbium and neodymium, efficient optical pumping is challenging due to the relatively short population lifetimes of the electronic Zeeman levels, of the order of 100 ms at around 4 K. In this article we show that optical pumping of the hyperfine levels in isotopically enriched $^{145}$Nd$^{3+}$:Y$_2$SiO$_5$ crystals is more efficient, owing to the longer population relaxation times of hyperfine levels. By optically cycling the population many times through the excited state a nuclear-spin flip can be forced in the ground-state hyperfine manifold, in which case the population is trapped for several seconds before relaxing back to the pumped hyperfine level. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach in applications we perform an atomic frequency comb memory experiment with 33% storage efficiency in $^{145}$Nd$^{3+}$:Y$_2$SiO$_5$, which is on a par with results obtained in non-Kramers ions, e.g. europium and praseodymium, where optical pumping is generally efficient due to the quenched electronic spin. Efficient optical pumping in neodymium-doped crystals is also of interest for spectral filtering in biomedical imaging, as neodymium has an absorption wavelength compatible with tissue imaging. In addition to these applications, our study is of interest for understanding spin dynamics in Kramers ions with nuclear spin.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Quantifying photonic high-dimensional entanglement

High-dimensional entanglement offers promising perspectives in quantum information science. In practice, however, the main challenge is to devise efficient methods to characterize high-dimensional entanglement, based on the available experimental data which is usually rather limited. Here we report the characterization and certification of high-dimensional entanglement in photon pairs, encoded in temporal modes. Building upon recently developed theoretical methods, we certify an entanglement of formation of 2.09(7) ebits in a time-bin implementation, and 4.1(1) ebits in an energy-time implementation. These results are based on very limited sets of local measurements, which illustrates the practical relevance of these methods.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

A source of polarization-entangled photon pairs interfacing quantum memories with telecom photons

We present a source of polarization-entangled photon pairs suitable for the implementation of long-distance quantum communication protocols using quantum memories. Photon pairs with wavelengths 883 nm and 1338 nm are produced by coherently pumping two periodically poled nonlinear waveguides embedded in the arms of a polarization interferometer. Subsequent spectral filtering reduces the bandwidth of the photons to 240 MHz. The bandwidth is well-matched to a quantum memory based on an Nd:YSO crystal, to which, in addition, the center frequency of the 883 nm photons is actively stabilized. A theoretical model that includes the effect of the filtering is presented and accurately fits the measured correlation functions of the generated photons. The model can also be used as a way to properly assess the properties of the source. The quality of the entanglement is revealed by a visibility of V = 96.1(9)% in a Bell-type experiment and through the violation of a Bell inequality.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, 3 table

Characterization of the hyperfine interaction of the excited 5^5D0_0 state of Eu3+^{3+}:Y2_2SiO5_5

We characterize the Europium (Eu$^{3+}$) hyperfine interaction of the excited state ($^5$D$_0$) and determine its effective spin Hamiltonian parameters for the Zeeman and quadrupole tensors. An optical free induction decay method is used to measure all hyperfine splittings under weak external magnetic field (up to 10 mT) for various field orientations. On the basis of the determined Hamiltonian we discuss the possibility to predict optical transition probabilities between hyperfine levels for the $^7$F$_{0} \longleftrightarrow ^5$D$_{0}$ transition. The obtained results provide necessary information to realize an optical quantum memory scheme which utilizes long spin coherence properties of $^{151}$Eu$^{3+}$:Y$_2$SiO$_5$ material under external magnetic field

Experimental certification of millions of genuinely entangled atoms in a solid

Quantum theory predicts that entanglement can also persist in macroscopic physical systems, albeit difficulties to demonstrate it experimentally remain. Recently, significant progress has been achieved and genuine entanglement between up to 2900 atoms was reported. Here we demonstrate 16 million genuinely entangled atoms in a solid-state quantum memory prepared by the heralded absorption of a single photon. We develop an entanglement witness for quantifying the number of genuinely entangled particles based on the collective effect of directed emission combined with the nonclassical nature of the emitted light. The method is applicable to a wide range of physical systems and is effective even in situations with significant losses. Our results clarify the role of multipartite entanglement in ensemble-based quantum memories as a necessary prerequisite to achieve a high single-photon process fidelity crucial for future quantum networks. On a more fundamental level, our results reveal the robustness of certain classes of multipartite entangled states, contrary to, e.g., Schr\"odinger-cat states, and that the depth of entanglement can be experimentally certified at unprecedented scales.Comment: 11 pages incl. Methods and Suppl. Info., 4 figures, 1 table. v2: close to published version. See also parallel submission by Zarkeshian et al (1703.04709

Spectral hole lifetimes and spin population relaxation dynamics in neodymium-doped yttrium orthosilicate

We present a detailed study of the lifetime of optical spectral holes due to population storage in Zeeman sublevels of Nd$^{3+}$:Y$_2$SiO$_5$. The lifetime is measured as a function of magnetic field strength and orientation, temperature and Nd$^{3+}$ doping concentration. At the lowest temperature of 3 K we find a general trend where the lifetime is short at low field strengths, then increases to a maximum lifetime at a few hundreds of mT, and then finally decays rapidly for high field strengths. This behaviour can be modelled with a relaxation rate dominated by Nd$^{3+}$-Nd$^{3+}$ cross relaxation at low fields and spin lattice relaxation at high magnetic fields. The maximum lifetime depends strongly on both the field strength and orientation, due to the competition between these processes and their different angular dependencies. The cross relaxation limits the maximum lifetime for concentrations as low as 30 ppm of Nd$^{3+}$ ions. By decreasing the concentration to less than 1 ppm we could completely eliminate the cross relaxation, reaching a lifetime of 3.8 s at 3~K. At higher temperatures the spectral hole lifetime is limited by the magnetic-field independent Raman and Orbach processes. In addition we show that the cross relaxation rate can be strongly reduced by creating spectrally large holes of the order of the optical inhomogeneous broadening. Our results are important for the development and design of new rare-earth-ion doped crystals for quantum information processing and narrow-band spectral filtering for biological tissue imaging

Quantum teleportation from a telecom-wavelength photon to a solid-state quantum memory

In quantum teleportation, the state of a single quantum system is disembodied into classical information and purely quantum correlations, to be later reconstructed onto a second system that has never directly interacted with the first one. This counterintuitive phenomenon is a cornerstone of quantum information science due to its essential role in several important tasks such as the long-distance transmission of quantum information using quantum repeaters. In this context, a challenge of paramount importance is the distribution of entanglement between remote nodes, and to use this entanglement as a resource for long-distance light-to-matter quantum teleportation. Here we demonstrate quantum teleportation of the polarization state of a telecom-wavelength photon onto the state of a solid-state quantum memory. Entanglement is established between a rare-earth-ion doped crystal storing a single photon that is polarization-entangled with a flying telecom-wavelength photon. The latter is jointly measured with another flying qubit carrying the polarization state to be teleported, which heralds the teleportation. The fidelity of the polarization state of the photon retrieved from the memory is shown to be greater than the maximum fidelity achievable without entanglement, even when the combined distances travelled by the two flying qubits is 25 km of standard optical fibre. This light-to-matter teleportation channel paves the way towards long-distance implementations of quantum networks with solid-state quantum memories.Comment: 5 pages (main text) + appendix (10 pages

High-fidelity multi-photon-entangled cluster state with solid-state quantum emitters in photonic nanostructures

We propose a complete architecture for deterministic generation of entangled multiphoton states. Our approach utilizes periodic driving of a quantum-dot emitter and an efficient light-matter interface enabled by a photonic crystal waveguide. We assess the quality of the photonic states produced from a real system by including all intrinsic experimental imperfections. Importantly, the protocol is robust against the nuclear spin bath dynamics due to a naturally built-in refocussing method reminiscent to spin echo. We demonstrate the feasibility of producing Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger and one-dimensional cluster states with fidelities and generation rates exceeding those achieved with conventional 'fusion' methods in current state-of-the-art experiments. The proposed hardware constitutes a scalable and resource-efficient approach towards implementation of measurement-based quantum communication and computing

Temporal multimode storage of entangled photon pairs

Multiplexed quantum memories capable of storing and processing entangled photons are essential for the development of quantum networks. In this context, we demonstrate the simultaneous storage and retrieval of two entangled photons inside a solid-state quantum memory and measure a temporal multimode capacity of ten modes. This is achieved by producing two polarization entangled pairs from parametric down conversion and mapping one photon of each pair onto a rare-earth-ion doped (REID) crystal using the atomic frequency comb (AFC) protocol. We develop a concept of indirect entanglement witnesses, which can be used as Schmidt number witness, and we use it to experimentally certify the presence of more than one entangled pair retrieved from the quantum memory. Our work puts forward REID-AFC as a platform compatible with temporal multiplexing of several entangled photon pairs along with a new entanglement certification method useful for the characterisation of multiplexed quantum memories

A coherent spin-photon interface with waveguide induced cycling transitions

Solid-state quantum dots are promising candidates for efficient light-matter interfaces connecting internal spin degrees of freedom to the states of emitted photons. However, selection rules prevent the combination of efficient spin control and optical cyclicity in this platform. By utilizing a photonic crystal waveguide we here experimentally demonstrate optical cyclicity up to $\approx15$ through photonic state engineering while achieving high fidelity spin initialization and coherent optical spin control. These capabilities pave the way towards scalable multi-photon entanglement generation and on-chip spin-photon gates.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure