Zong-Quan Zhou

Realization of reliable solid-state quantum memory for photonic polarization qubit.

Faithfully storing an unknown quantum light state is essential to advanced quantum communication and distributed quantum computation applications. The required quantum memory must have high fidelity to improve the performance of a quantum network. Here we report the reversible transfer of photonic polarization states into collective atomic excitation in a compact solid-state device. The quantum memory is based on an atomic frequency comb (AFC) in rare-earth ion-doped crystals. We obtain up to 0.999 process fidelity for the storage and retrieval process of single-photon-level coherent pulse. This reliable quantum memory is a crucial step toward quantum networks based on solid-state devices.

Quantum Storage of Three-Dimensional Orbital-Angular-Momentum Entanglement in a Crystal.

Here we present the quantum storage of three-dimensional orbital-angular-momentum photonic entanglement in a rare-earth-ion-doped crystal. The properties of the entanglement and the storage process are confirmed by the violation of the Bell-type inequality generalized to three dimensions after storage (S=2.152±0.033). The fidelity of the memory process is 0.993±0.002, as determined through complete quantum process tomography in three dimensions. An assessment of the visibility of the stored weak coherent pulses in higher-dimensional spaces demonstrates that the memory is highly reliable for 51 spatial modes. These results pave the way towards the construction of high-dimensional and multiplexed quantum repeaters based on solid-state devices. The multimode capacity of rare-earth-based optical processors goes beyond the temporal and the spectral degree of freedom, which might provide a useful tool for photonic information processing.

Storage of multiple single-photon pulses emitted from a quantum dot in a solid-state quantum memory

Quantum repeaters are critical components for distributing entanglement over long distances in presence of unavoidable optical losses during transmission. Stimulated by the Duan–Lukin–Cirac–Zoller protocol, many improved quantum repeater protocols based on quantum memories have been proposed, which commonly focus on the entanglement-distribution rate. Among these protocols, the elimination of multiple photons (or multiple photon-pairs) and the use of multimode quantum memory are demonstrated to have the ability to greatly improve the entanglement-distribution rate. Here, we demonstrate the storage of deterministic single photons emitted from a quantum dot in a polarization-maintaining solid-state quantum memory; in addition, multi-temporal-mode memory with 1, 20 and 100 narrow single-photon pulses is also demonstrated. Multi-photons are eliminated, and only one photon at most is contained in each pulse. Moreover, the solid-state properties of both sub-systems make this configuration more stable and easier to be scalable. Our work will be helpful in the construction of efficient quantum repeaters based on all-solid-state devices.

Experimental observation of optical precursors in optically pumped crystals

We experimentally observed optical precursors in optically pumped crystals using polarization-based interference. By switching the user-programmable medium among the fast light, slow light and no-dispersion regimes, we observed an unchanged polarization states for the wavefronts. The robust polarization-encoded information carried by wavefronts suggests that precursors are the preferred carriers for both quantum and classical information in communication networks.

Proposed solid-state Faraday anomalous-dispersion optical filter

We propose a Faraday anomalous dispersion optical filter (FADOF) based on a rare-earth ion doped crystal. We present theoretical analyses for the solid-state FADOF transmission. Our theoretical model predicts a maximum transmission efficiency of 71% and a double-peaked transmission spectrum with a bandwidth of 6 GHz under current experimental conditions. Our proposal may have important applications in optical communications.

Multiplexed storage and real-time manipulation based on a multiple degree-of-freedom quantum memory

The faithful storage and coherent manipulation of quantum states with matter-systems would enable the realization of large-scale quantum networks based on quantum repeaters. To achieve useful communication rates, highly multimode quantum memories are required to construct a multiplexed quantum repeater. Here, we present a demonstration of on-demand storage of orbital-angular-momentum states with weak coherent pulses at the single-photon-level in a rare-earth-ion-doped crystal. Through the combination of this spatial degree-of-freedom (DOF) with temporal and spectral degrees of freedom, we create a multiple-DOF memory with high multimode capacity. This device can serve as a quantum mode converter with high fidelity, which is a fundamental requirement for the construction of a multiplexed quantum repeater. This device further enables essentially arbitrary spectral and temporal manipulations of spatial-qutrit-encoded photonic pulses in real time. Therefore, the developed quantum memory can serve as a building block for scalable photonic quantum information processing architectures.Multiplexing of quantum memories would enable higher communication rate for repeater based quantum networks. Here, the authors demonstrate multiplexed storage of single-photon-level pulses using multiple degree-of-freedom, with the additional function of arbitrary manipulation of photonic pulses in real time.

Efficient spectral hole-burning and atomic frequency comb storage in Nd3+:YLiF4

We present spectral hole-burning measurements of the 4I9/2 → 4F3/2 transition in Nd3+:YLiF4. The isotope shifts of Nd3+ can be directly resolved in the optical absorption spectrum. We report atomic frequency comb storage with an echo efficiency of up to 35% and a memory bandwidth of 60 MHz in this material. The interesting properties show the potential of this material for use in both quantum and classical information processing.

Dynamics of probing a quantum-dot spin qubit with superconducting resonator photons

The hybrid system of electron spins and resonator photons is an attractive architecture for quantum computing owing to the long coherence times of spins and the promise of long-distance coupling between arbitrary pairs of qubits via photons. For the device to serve as a building block for a quantum processer, it is also necessary to readout the spin qubit state. Here we analyze in detail the measurement process of an electron spin singlet-triplet qubit in quantum dots using a coupled superconducting resonator. We show that the states of the spin singlet-triplet qubit lead to readily observable features in the spectrum of a microwave field through the resonator. These features provide useful information on the hybrid system. Moreover, we discuss the working points which can be implemented with high performance in the current state-of-the-art devices. These results can be used to construct the high fidelity measurement toolbox in the spin-circuit QED system.

Experimental observation of quantum state-independent contextuality under no-signaling conditions

Contextuality, the impossibility of assigning context-independent measurement outcomes, is a critical resource for quantum computation and communication. No-signaling between successive measurements is an essential requirement that should be accomplished in any test of quantum contextuality and that is difficult to achieve in practice. Here, we introduce an optimal quantum state-independent contextuality inequality in which the deviation from the classical bound is maximal. We then experimentally test it using single photons generated from a defect in a bulk silicon carbide, while satisfying the requirement of no-signaling within the experimental error. Our results shed new light on the study of quantum contextuality under no-signaling conditions.

A Raman heterodyne study of the hyperfine interaction of the optically-excited state 5 D 0 of Eu 3+ :Y 2 SiO 5

Abstract The ground-state spin coherence time of 151Eu3+ in Y2SiO5 crystal in a critical magnetic field was extended to six hours in a recent work [Zhong et al. Nature 517, 177 (2015)], which paved the way for constructing quantum memory with long storage time. In order to select a three-level system for quantum memory applications, information about the excited-state energy level structures is required for optical pumping. In this work, we experimentally characterize the hyperfine interaction of the optically-excited state 5D0 using Raman heterodyne detection of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The NMR spectra collected in 201 magnetic fields are well fitted. The results can be used to predict the energy level structures in any given magnetic field, thus enabling the design of optical pumping and three-level quantum memory in that field.