Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:0710.3231 · Physical Review B

Optical excitation of nuclear spin coherence in a Tm3+:YAG crystal

Anne Louchet-Chauvet, Y. Le Du, Fabien Bretenaker, T. Chanelière, Fabienne Goldfarb, I. Lorgeré, J.-L. Le Gouët, O. Guillot-Noël, Philippe Goldner

Published May 14, 2008• 33 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

A thulium-doped crystal is experimentally shown to be an excellent candidate for broadband quantum storage in a solid-state medium. The nuclear spin coherence is optically excited, detected, and characterized in such a crystal. The lifetime of the spin coherence---the potential storage entity---is measured by means of a new Raman echo protocol to be about $300\text{ }\ensuremath{\mu}\text{s}$ over a wide range of ground state splittings. This flexibility, which is attractive for broadband operation and well fitted to existing quantum sources, results from the simple hyperfine structure, which contrasts to Pr- and Eu-doped crystals.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.77.195110

Related papers

Optical coherent manipulation of a spin wave in tm:YAG

Anne Louchet-Chauvet, Y. Le Du, Fabien Bretenaker +4 more

Nuclear spin states are optically characterized in thulium-doped YAG. Thulium is considered as a substitute to praseodymium and europium in the prospect of quantum light storage in solids.

Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference•May 1, 2007•1 citation

Coherent Storage of Microwave Excitations in Rare-Earth Nuclear Spins

Gary Wolfowicz, Hannes Maier-Flaig, Robert Marino +4 more

Interfacing between various elements of a computer--from memory to processors to long range communication--will be as critical for quantum computers as it is for classical computers today. Paramagnetic rare-earth doped crystals, such as Nd(3+):Y2SiO5(YSO), are excellent candidates for such a quantum interface: they are known to exhibit long optical coherence lifetimes (for communication via optical photons), possess a nuclear spin (memory), and have in addition an electron spin that can offer hybrid coupling with superconducting qubits (processing). Here we study two of these three elements, demonstrating coherent storage and retrieval between electron and (145)Nd nuclear spin states in Nd(3+):YSO. We find nuclear spin coherence times can reach 9 ms at ∼5 K, about 2 orders of magnitude longer than the electron spin coherence, while quantum state and process tomography of the storage or retrieval operation between the electron and nuclear spin reveal an average state fidelity of 0.86. The times and fidelities are expected to further improve at lower temperatures and with more homogeneous radio-frequency excitation.

arXiv:1412.7298•Physical Review Letters•Apr 30, 2015•87 citations

Optical investigations of coherence and relaxation dynamics of a thulium-doped yttrium gallium garnet crystal at sub-kelvin temperatures for optical quantum memory

Antariksha Das, Mohsen Falamarzi Askarani, Jacob H. Davidson +7 more

Abstract Rare-earth ion-doped crystals are of great interest for quantum memories, a central component in future quantum repeaters. To assess the promise of 1 % Tm3+-doped yttrium gallium garnet (Tm:YGG), we report measurements of optical coherence and energy-level lifetimes of its 3H 6 ↔ 3 H4 transition at a temperature of around 500 mK and various magnetic fields. Using spectral hole burning (SHB), we find hyperfine ground-level (Zeeman level) lifetimes of several minutes at magnetic fields of less than 1000 G. We also measure coherence time exceeding one millisecond using two-pulse photon echoes. Three-pulse photon echo and SHB measurements reveal that due to spectral diffusion, the effective coherence time reduces to a few µs over a timescale of around two hundred seconds. Finally, temporal and frequency-multiplexed storage of optical pulses using the atomic frequency comb protocol is demonstrated. Our results suggest Tm:YGG to be promising for multiplexed photonic quantum memory for quantum repeaters.

arXiv:2406.08167•Materials for Quantum Technology•Jul 18, 2024•3 citations

Thulium ions in a yttrium aluminum garnet host for quantum computing applications : material analysis and single qubit operations

Ijaz Zafarullah

Rare-earth-doped crystals have been used for optical signal processing and storage applications. In this dissertation, their potential for quantum computing applications is explored. In one quantum computing scheme, information is stored in nuclear spin states and this information is then processed by using optical pulses through the coupling of these nuclear spin states to a common electronic level. To implement this scheme, nuclear spin states and coupling of these nuclear spin states to a common electronic level is required. Preliminary work in rare-earth materials like Pr3+ and Eu3+ has shown promising results regarding their suitability for quantum computing applications. One particular problem with these materials is that their transition wavelengths are only accessible with dye lasers. These lasers are inherently unstable, and currently few available systems exhibit the stability required for quantum computing applications. An alternative choice was to investigate other rare-earth ions like thulium. Thulium has a transition wavelength that can be accessed with diode lasers, which are commercially available, easy to stabilize, and compact. This dissertation is based on our investigations of Tm3+:YAG for quantum computing applications. Investigations involved a detailed characterization of the material. Nuclear spin states, in Tm3+:YAG, were obtained by applying an external magnetic field to the sample. First, interaction of an external magnetic field with the thulium ions at various sites in the crystal was analyzed. This analysis was used to measure the magnetic anisotropy in the material. These results show that it is possible, with the suitable choice of the magnetic orientation and the site in the crystal, to build a working 3-level quantum system. In the demonstration of single qubit operations in Tm3+:YAG, we first theoretically studied the effect of Gaussian spatial beam on the single qubit operations. Later on, we experimentally prepared a single isolated ensemble of ions in the inhomogeneously broadened absorption profile of the medium. This single isolated ensemble of ions was used as a test-bed to implement the single qubit operations. We also isolated two ensembles of ions in the inhomogeneous absorption profile of the medium. The interaction between these two isolated ensembles of ions was also studied.

•Jan 1, 2008•3 citations

A long-lived spectrally multiplexed solid-state optical quantum memory for high-rate quantum repeaters

Antariksha Das, Mohsen Falamarzi Askarani, Jacob H. Davidson +8 more

Long optical storage times are an essential requirement to establish high-rate entanglement distribution over large distances using memory-based quantum repeaters. Rare earth ion-doped crystals are arguably well-suited candidates for building such quantum memories. Toward this end, we investigate the 795.32 nm 3H6 ↔ 3H4 transition of 1% thulium-doped yttrium gallium garnet crystal (Tm3+:Y3Ga5O12 : Tm3+:YGG). Most essentially, we find that the optical coherence time can reach 1.1 ms, and, using laser pulses, we demonstrate optical storage based on the atomic frequency comb (AFC) protocol up to 100 µs. In addition, we demonstrate multiplexed storage, including feed-forward selection, shifting, and filtering of spectral modes, as well as quantum state storage using members of non-classical photon pairs. Our results show that Tm:YGG can be a potential candidate for creating multiplexed quantum memories with long optical storage times.

SPIE Quantum Technologies•May 31, 2022•3 citations

Photon-echo measurements on the trivalent thulium ion

R. M. Macfarlane

Photon-echo measurements are reported for the trivalent thulium ion, which differs from all other rare-earth ions in having a single isotope of nuclear spin 1/2. Echo decays on the 3H6(1) ↔ 3H4(1) transition of LaF3:Tm3+ and YAG:Tm3+ were magnetic-field dependent at 1.5 K, showing that the dephasing originates from spin fluctuations of nuclei in the host crystals. Coherence times in the range of 7 to 100 μs were measured, corresponding to homogeneous linewidths of tens of kilohertz. The echo decays were nonexponential, providing evidence for spectral diffusion that is due to a distribution of 19F and 27A1 nuclear spin-flip times in the respective hosts.

Optics Letters•Nov 15, 1993•80 citations
A thulium-doped crystal is experimentally shown to be an excellent candidate for broadband quantum storage in a solid-state medium. The nuclear spin coherence is optically excited, detected, and characterized in such a crystal. The lifetime of the spin coherence---the potential storage entity---is measured by means of a new Raman echo protocol to be about 300 \ensuremathμs300\text{ }\ensuremath{\mu}\text{s}300 \ensuremathμs over a wide range of ground state splittings. This flexibility, which is attractive for broadband operation and well fitted to existing quantum sources, results from the simple hyperfine structure, which contrasts to Pr- and Eu-doped crystals.
Interfacing between various elements of a computer--from memory to processors to long range communication--will be as critical for quantum computers as it is for classical computers today. Paramagnetic rare-earth doped crystals, such as Nd(3+):Y2SiO5(YSO), are excellent candidates for such a quantum interface: they are known to exhibit long optical coherence lifetimes (for communication via optical photons), possess a nuclear spin (memory), and have in addition an electron spin that can offer hybrid coupling with superconducting qubits (processing). Here we study two of these three elements, demonstrating coherent storage and retrieval between electron and (145)Nd nuclear spin states in Nd(3+):YSO. We find nuclear spin coherence times can reach 9 ms at ∼5 K, about 2 orders of magnitude longer than the electron spin coherence, while quantum state and process tomography of the storage or retrieval operation between the electron and nuclear spin reveal an average state fidelity of 0.86. The times and fidelities are expected to further improve at lower temperatures and with more homogeneous radio-frequency excitation.
Abstract Rare-earth ion-doped crystals are of great interest for quantum memories, a central component in future quantum repeaters. To assess the promise of 1 % Tm3+-doped yttrium gallium garnet (Tm:YGG), we report measurements of optical coherence and energy-level lifetimes of its 3H 6 ↔ 3 H4 transition at a temperature of around 500 mK and various magnetic fields. Using spectral hole burning (SHB), we find hyperfine ground-level (Zeeman level) lifetimes of several minutes at magnetic fields of less than 1000 G. We also measure coherence time exceeding one millisecond using two-pulse photon echoes. Three-pulse photon echo and SHB measurements reveal that due to spectral diffusion, the effective coherence time reduces to a few µs over a timescale of around two hundred seconds. Finally, temporal and frequency-multiplexed storage of optical pulses using the atomic frequency comb protocol is demonstrated. Our results suggest Tm:YGG to be promising for multiplexed photonic quantum memory for quantum repeaters.
Rare-earth-doped crystals have been used for optical signal processing and storage applications. In this dissertation, their potential for quantum computing applications is explored. In one quantum computing scheme, information is stored in nuclear spin states and this information is then processed by using optical pulses through the coupling of these nuclear spin states to a common electronic level. To implement this scheme, nuclear spin states and coupling of these nuclear spin states to a common electronic level is required. Preliminary work in rare-earth materials like Pr3+ and Eu3+ has shown promising results regarding their suitability for quantum computing applications. One particular problem with these materials is that their transition wavelengths are only accessible with dye lasers. These lasers are inherently unstable, and currently few available systems exhibit the stability required for quantum computing applications. An alternative choice was to investigate other rare-earth ions like thulium. Thulium has a transition wavelength that can be accessed with diode lasers, which are commercially available, easy to stabilize, and compact. This dissertation is based on our investigations of Tm3+:YAG for quantum computing applications. Investigations involved a detailed characterization of the material. Nuclear spin states, in Tm3+:YAG, were obtained by applying an external magnetic field to the sample. First, interaction of an external magnetic field with the thulium ions at various sites in the crystal was analyzed. This analysis was used to measure the magnetic anisotropy in the material. These results show that it is possible, with the suitable choice of the magnetic orientation and the site in the crystal, to build a working 3-level quantum system. In the demonstration of single qubit operations in Tm3+:YAG, we first theoretically studied the effect of Gaussian spatial beam on the single qubit operations. Later on, we experimentally prepared a single isolated ensemble of ions in the inhomogeneously broadened absorption profile of the medium. This single isolated ensemble of ions was used as a test-bed to implement the single qubit operations. We also isolated two ensembles of ions in the inhomogeneous absorption profile of the medium. The interaction between these two isolated ensembles of ions was also studied.
Long optical storage times are an essential requirement to establish high-rate entanglement distribution over large distances using memory-based quantum repeaters. Rare earth ion-doped crystals are arguably well-suited candidates for building such quantum memories. Toward this end, we investigate the 795.32 nm 3H6 ↔ 3H4 transition of 1% thulium-doped yttrium gallium garnet crystal (Tm3+:Y3Ga5O12 : Tm3+:YGG). Most essentially, we find that the optical coherence time can reach 1.1 ms, and, using laser pulses, we demonstrate optical storage based on the atomic frequency comb (AFC) protocol up to 100 µs. In addition, we demonstrate multiplexed storage, including feed-forward selection, shifting, and filtering of spectral modes, as well as quantum state storage using members of non-classical photon pairs. Our results show that Tm:YGG can be a potential candidate for creating multiplexed quantum memories with long optical storage times.
Photon-echo measurements are reported for the trivalent thulium ion, which differs from all other rare-earth ions in having a single isotope of nuclear spin 1/2. Echo decays on the 3H6(1) ↔ 3H4(1) transition of LaF3:Tm3+ and YAG:Tm3+ were magnetic-field dependent at 1.5 K, showing that the dephasing originates from spin fluctuations of nuclei in the host crystals. Coherence times in the range of 7 to 100 μs were measured, corresponding to homogeneous linewidths of tens of kilohertz. The echo decays were nonexponential, providing evidence for spectral diffusion that is due to a distribution of 19F and 27A1 nuclear spin-flip times in the respective hosts.