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arXiv:1512.05754 · Physical Review Letters

Suppressing Spectral Diffusion of Emitted Photons with Optical Pulses

Herbert F. Fotso, Adrian E. Feiguin, D. D. Awschalom, V. V. Dobrovitski

Published Jan 22, 2016• 33 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

In many quantum architectures the solid-state qubits, such as quantum dots or color centers, are interfaced via emitted photons. However, the frequency of photons emitted by solid-state systems exhibits slow uncontrollable fluctuations over time (spectral diffusion), creating a serious problem for implementation of the photon-mediated protocols. Here we show that a sequence of optical pulses applied to the solid-state emitter can stabilize the emission line at the desired frequency. We demonstrate efficiency, robustness, and feasibility of the method analytically and numerically. Taking nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond as an example, we show that only several pulses, with the width of 1 ns, separated by few ns (which is not difficult to achieve) can suppress spectral diffusion. Our method provides a simple and robust way to greatly improve the efficiency of photon-mediated entanglement and/or coupling to photonic cavities for solid-state qubits.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.116.033603

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In many quantum architectures the solid-state qubits, such as quantum dots or color centers, are interfaced via emitted photons. However, the frequency of photons emitted by solid-state systems exhibits slow uncontrollable fluctuations over time (spectral diffusion), creating a serious problem for implementation of the photon-mediated protocols. Here we show that a sequence of optical pulses applied to the solid-state emitter can stabilize the emission line at the desired frequency. We demonstrate efficiency, robustness, and feasibility of the method analytically and numerically. Taking nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond as an example, we show that only several pulses, with the width of 1 ns, separated by few ns (which is not difficult to achieve) can suppress spectral diffusion. Our method provides a simple and robust way to greatly improve the efficiency of photon-mediated entanglement and/or coupling to photonic cavities for solid-state qubits.
Solid-state quantum emitters, such as quantum dots, color centers, rare-earth dopants, and organic molecules, offer qubit systems that integrate well with chip-scale photonic and electronic devices. To fully harness their potential for quantum applications requires the generation of entanglement between two remote qubits with high fidelity and efficiency. In this article, we compare the performance of three common photon-mediated entanglement schemes under realistic noise for solid-state quantum emitters, including optical dephasing and spectral diffusion. We identify the optimal scheme across different noise regimes and calculate the measurement parameters needed to achieve the highest entanglement fidelity at a given rate. Additionally, we explore the effects of temporal and spectral filtering in enhancing entanglement fidelity. Our findings provide practical guidelines for selecting optimal entanglement schemes and outline the measurement strategies for achieving better entanglement fidelity.
The ability to entangle distant quantum nodes is essential for the construction of quantum networks and for quantum information processing. For solid-state quantum emitters used as qubits, it can be achieved by photon interference. When the emitter is subject to spectral diffusion, this process can become highly inefficient, impeding the achievement of scalable quantum technologies. We study two-photon interference in the context of a Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM)-type experiment for two separate quantum emitters, with different detunings with respect to a specific target frequency. We evaluate the second order coherences that characterize photon indistinguishability between the two emitters. We find that the two-photon interference operation that is inefficient in the absence of a control protocol, when the two detunings are different and spectral overlap is lessened, can be highly improved by a periodic sequence of $\ensuremath{\pi}$ pulses at a set target frequency. Photon indistinguishability in solid state and other quantum emitters subject to spectral diffusion can thus be enhanced by the proposed pulse sequence and similar external control protocols despite the fluctuations in the environment.
Photon-mediated coupling between distant matter qubits may enable secure communication over long distances, the implementation of distributed quantum computing schemes, and the exploration of new regimes of many-body quantum dynamics. Solid-state quantum emitters coupled to nanophotonic devices represent a promising approach towards these goals, as they combine strong lightmatter interaction and high photon collection efficiencies. However, nanostructured environments introduce mismatch and diffusion in optical transition frequencies of emitters, making reliable photonmediated entanglement generation infeasible. Here we address this long-standing challenge by employing silicon-vacancy color centers embedded in electromechanically deflectable nanophotonic waveguides. This electromechanical strain control enables control and stabilization of optical resonance between two silicon-vacancy centers on the hour timescale. Using this platform, we observe the signature of an entangled, superradiant state arising from quantum interference between two spatially separated emitters in a waveguide. This demonstration and the developed platform constitute a crucial step towards a scalable quantum network with solid-state quantum emitters.
The optical spectrum of a quantum system is jointly determined by the properties of the emitter and the driving field. All-optical spectral control can hence be a promising method to engineer the properties of single photon emitters for quantum technological applications. It was proposed that driving a two-level system with a periodic sequence of optical pi-pulses during the excited state lifetime shifts the emission and absorption maximum to an arbitrarily detuned pulse carrier frequency, enabling the mitigation of spectral diffusion in noisy emitters. In this article, we report on the first experimental observation of this effect. We implement the protocol on a solid-state emitter and reduce its inhomogeneously broadened optical linewidth close to the lifetime limit. By detuning the excitation laser, we are able to concentrate approximately half of the absorption to a freely selectable target frequency. Our approach is solely based on properties of coherently evolving quantum systems, rendering it applicable to a wide range of individual and ensembles of quantum emitters.
When two quantum bits are coupled through a cavity, a two-qubit gate can be realized between them either in the near-resonant regime over a timescale established by the coupling strength of the qubits with the cavity, or in the dispersive regime, over a longer timescale established by the combination of the coupling strength and the frequency detuning between the qubits and the cavity. When the qubits are spectrally noisy or differently detuned from the cavity, the fidelity for the operation can be drastically reduced in either case, precluding scalable realizations. We introduce the protocol for optimal cavity-enabled gates (POCEG) that is shown, through reliable numerical and analytical solutions, to overcome spectral differences between quantum bits and to achieve high fidelity between disparate/noisy quantum emitters. Namely, for a cavity with low damping rate, we apply a sequence of pulses to the qubits at the frequency of the cavity while periodically modulating the coupling of the qubits to the cavity. Alternatively, in the case of a large damping rate, we operate in the dispersive regime and overcome spectral disparities by applying the pulses at a frequency far-detuned from the cavity. In both instances, we find for the quantum state transfer between the two qubits that, with a modest inter-pulse delay, the fidelity that would otherwise be strongly suppressed by the spectral mismatch of the qubits can be increased beyond 99.9%. These protocols have the capacity to bring two-qubit gates between solid state systems across the threshold required for fault-tolerant quantum computing.
We demonstrate cavity-enhanced Raman emission from a single atomic defect in a solid. Our platform is a single silicon-vacancy center in diamond coupled with a monolithic diamond photonic crystal cavity. The cavity enables an unprecedented frequency tuning range of the Raman emission (100 GHz) that significantly exceeds the spectral inhomogeneity of silicon-vacancy centers in diamond nanostructures. We also show that the cavity selectively suppresses the phonon-induced spontaneous emission that degrades the efficiency of Raman photon generation. Our results pave the way towards photon-mediated many-body interactions between solid-state quantum emitters in a nanophotonic platform.