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arXiv:2411.12870 · Physical Review Research

Enhancement of microwave to optical spin-based quantum transduction via a magnon mode

Tharnier O. Puel, Adam T. Turflinger, Sebastian P. Horvath, Jeff D. Thompson, Michael E. Flatté

Published May 30, 2025• 3 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We propose a method for converting single microwave photons to single optical sideband photons based on spinful impurities in magnetic materials. This hybrid system is advantageous over previous proposals because (i) the implementation allows much higher transduction rates ( 10 3 times faster at the same optical pump Rabi frequency) than state-of-the-art devices, (ii) high-efficiency transduction is found to happen in a significantly larger space of device parameters (in particular, over 1 GHz microwave detuning), and (iii) it does not require mode volume matching between optical and microwave resonators. We identify the needed magnetic interactions as well as potential materials systems to enable this speed up using erbium dopants for telecom compatibility. This is an important step towards realizing high-fidelity entangling operations between remote qubits and will provide additional control of the transduction through perturbation of the magnet.

DOI
10.1103/kqw2-gs9c

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quant-pharXiv:2609.02226•Sep 3, 2026•0 citations
We propose a method for converting single microwave photons to single optical sideband photons based on spinful impurities in magnetic materials. This hybrid system is advantageous over previous proposals because (i) the implementation allows much higher transduction rates ( 10 3 times faster at the same optical pump Rabi frequency) than state-of-the-art devices, (ii) high-efficiency transduction is found to happen in a significantly larger space of device parameters (in particular, over 1 GHz microwave detuning), and (iii) it does not require mode volume matching between optical and microwave resonators. We identify the needed magnetic interactions as well as potential materials systems to enable this speed up using erbium dopants for telecom compatibility. This is an important step towards realizing high-fidelity entangling operations between remote qubits and will provide additional control of the transduction through perturbation of the magnet.
This presentation focus on quantum transduction using rare-earth ions in solid state systems. We propose using magnetic materials with rare-earth dopants, harnessing the strong coupling between rare-earth spin transitions and magnons. We analyze this situation using a formalism similar to Ref. [PRL 113, 203601 (2014)]. We find that hosting rare-earth elements within a magnet dramatically speeds up the transduction rate by more than two orders of magnitude, which gives several key benefits: potentially higher efficiency as it is less affected by device internal losses, higher fidelity operations with the superconducting qubits, and reduced device constraints. Finally, we discuss several routes for implementing this type of quantum transducer.
Our study provides a step forward to the practical implementation of a quantum transducer, used for converting quantum information between two different physical realizations, one is good for information transmission while the other is good for manipulation and control. We propose using commercial materials with rare-earth elements, conveniently chosen to have useful optical properties for telecommunications. We find that hosting rare-earth elements within a magnet dramatically speeds up the transduction process.
Microwave-to-optical quantum transduction is a critically important task in the field of quantum information and communication technologies. Hybrid Quantum Systems (HQS), consisting of different interacting subsystems, are believed to be a physical base for the realization of quantum frequency conversion. HQSs based on magnetically ordered materials look like a very prospective solution due to the strong coupling between MW photons and magnetic oscillations. Another approach is based on rare-earth (RE) ions doped in crystals, which potentially provides an efficient way for magneto-optical quantum coherence transfer. In this work, we review approaches for quantum transduction based on both classes of materials (magnon- and RE-based). We analyze their specific features and compare the strong and weak sides of each material class. The possibility interfacing or combining these two approaches in a single device is also considered as well as the technical challenges of the practical realization of such a hybrid system.
The quantum transduction, or equivalently quantum frequency conversion, between microwave and optical photons is essential for realizing scalable quantum computers with superconducting qubits. Due to the large frequency difference between microwave and optical ranges, the transduction needs to be done via intermediate bosonic modes or nonlinear processes. Regarding the transduction mediated by magnons, previous studies have so far utilized ferromagnetic magnons in ferromagnets. Here, we formulate a theory for the microwave-to-optical quantum transduction mediated by antiferromagnetic magnons in antiferromagnets. We derive analytical expressions for the transduction efficiency in the cases with and without an optical cavity, where a microwave cavity is used in both cases. In contrast to the case of the quantum transduction using ferromagnets, we find that the quantum transduction can occur even in the absence of an external static magnetic field. We also find that, in the case with an optical cavity the transduction efficiency takes a peak structure with respect to the sample thickness, indicating that there exists an optimal thickness, whereas in the case without an optical cavity the transduction efficiency is a monotonically increasing function of the sample thickness. Our study opens up a way for possible applications of antiferromagnetic materials in future quantum interconnects.
Coherent interfaces between microwave-frequency quantum systems and low-loss optical links are essential for quantum networks. However, existing microwave-optical transducers often trade conversion efficiency against added noise, bandwidth, and device integrability. Here, we demonstrate coherent microwave-to-optical transduction based on magnon-exciton coupling in the layered antiferromagnet CrSBr. Driving the antiferromagnetic resonance with microwave signals imprints coherent modulation on a reflected optical probe, generating optical sidebands that are resonantly enhanced near excitonic transitions. While prior magnon-based approaches to microwave-to-optical transduction have typically relied on intrinsically weak off-resonant magneto-optical effects (e.g., Faraday rotation), our scheme exploits strong light-matter interactions at exciton resonances. Even in a bulk crystal without cavity enhancement, we observe coherent conversion over an intrinsically broadband window of ~ 300 MHz. We further show that multiple exciton-polariton resonances inherit the magnon-coupled response, suggesting a route to broaden the usable optical detuning range and to mitigate optical dissipation. Our results establish magnon-coupled excitons in layered magnets as a scalable platform for broadband microwave-optical interfaces, with pathways to higher cooperativity via reduced magnetic volume and cavity integration.
Microwave-to-optical quantum transducers are essential for entangling remote superconducting qubits. Among the available transduction platforms, ensembles of Er3+^{3+}3+ and Yb3+^{3+}3+ ions doped into solids have emerged as leading candidates. While external magnetic fields are needed to split the Zeeman levels of erbium ions and enable a microwave--qubit interface, superconducting qubits suffer decoherence in such fields. In contrast, ytterbium ions exhibit zero-first-order Zeeman transitions and large hyperfine splittings at zero magnetic field (when doped into inorganic crystals). Owing to its long optical and spin coherence times, Yb:YSO has been widely used as a quantum memory, yet its potential for quantum transduction remains largely unexplored. Investigating this material could enable the integration of quantum memory and transduction in a single platform. Here, we demonstrate microwave-to-optical transduction in the continuous-wave regime using a 5\,ppm doped Yb:YSO crystal. The internal transduction efficiency is 2×10−82\times10^{-8}2×10−8 with a bandwidth of 200\,kHz, achieved using a 3D loop-gap microwave resonator (LGR) and a single-pass optical configuration. We explore all the ground states that form a V-type three-level system with the first and second optical excited states and assert the use of the ground state, which provides the highest efficiency and isolated optical transition. We further establish strong spin-microwave coupling from avoided crossing measurements. With a strong microwave drive to saturate the spin transition, we estimate the spin population pumped into the excited state, close to the simulated value. Finally, we calculate target parameter values for maximum efficiency with our system and suggest using 50\,ppm doped Yb:YSO crystal. With the calculated target parameters, the internal transduction efficiency is predicted to reach up to 10−410^{-4}10−4 in the current LGR.