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arXiv:2603.29290

A Universal Topological Platform for Nonreciprocal Spin-Photon Interface in Solid-State Quantum Networks

Fang-Yu Hong

quant-phSubmitted Mar 31, 2026• Announced Apr 1, 2026• Revised May 7, 2026 (v2)
v1 · Mar 31, 2026v2 · May 7, 2026
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Abstract

A fundamental obstacle to scalable solid-state quantum networks is the lack of a universal interface providing strong light-matter coupling, deterministic nonreciprocal photon routing, and efficient extraction. Here we propose a plasmonic platform overcoming these challenges using a Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid (TLL) in a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) microtoroid. The TLL's collective bosonic excitations are kinematically protected against backscattering by a large valley-momentum mismatch, guaranteeing robust chiral spin-momentum locking unattainable in dielectric cavities. This 1D protection enables deterministic routing of circularly polarized photons from a quantum emitter (e.g., a nitrogen-vacancy center) into distinct propagation channels. By aligning the emitter's symmetry axis, parasitic π transitions are geometrically forbidden. Furthermore, residual atomic-scale backscattering is suppressed to ~100 Hz via electrostatic gating and annealing. To overcome the severe mode mismatch between the CNT plasmon and optical fiber, we introduce a graded plasmonic-photonic mode converter, providing a path to near-unity extraction efficiency. Using a tripod-STIRAP scheme, we demonstrate high-fidelity, magnetically tunable spin-photon entanglement. Our analysis confirms operation deep in the strong-coupling regime, with cooperativities C > 100 and chiral contrast exceeding 20 dB. This wavelength-agnostic architecture is compatible with any solid-state emitter, establishing a scalable blueprint for robust, nonreciprocal quantum nodes in a global quantum internet.

Comments
23 pages, 6 figures

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A fundamental obstacle to scalable solid-state quantum networks is the lack of a universal interface providing strong light-matter coupling, deterministic nonreciprocal photon routing, and efficient extraction. Here we propose a plasmonic platform overcoming these challenges using a Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid (TLL) in a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) microtoroid. The TLL's collective bosonic excitations are kinematically protected against backscattering by a large valley-momentum mismatch, guaranteeing robust chiral spin-momentum locking unattainable in dielectric cavities. This 1D protection enables deterministic routing of circularly polarized photons from a quantum emitter (e.g., a nitrogen-vacancy center) into distinct propagation channels. By aligning the emitter's symmetry axis, parasitic π transitions are geometrically forbidden. Furthermore, residual atomic-scale backscattering is suppressed to ~100 Hz via electrostatic gating and annealing. To overcome the severe mode mismatch between the CNT plasmon and optical fiber, we introduce a graded plasmonic-photonic mode converter, providing a path to near-unity extraction efficiency. Using a tripod-STIRAP scheme, we demonstrate high-fidelity, magnetically tunable spin-photon entanglement. Our analysis confirms operation deep in the strong-coupling regime, with cooperativities C > 100 and chiral contrast exceeding 20 dB. This wavelength-agnostic architecture is compatible with any solid-state emitter, establishing a scalable blueprint for robust, nonreciprocal quantum nodes in a global quantum internet.
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High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Spin-dependent, directional light–matter interactions form the basis of chiral quantum networks. In the solid state, quantum emitters commonly possess circularly polarized optical transitions with spin-dependent handedness. We demonstrate numerically that spin-dependent chiral coupling can be realized by embedding such an emitter in a waveguide-coupled nanocavity, which supports two near-degenerate, orthogonally polarized cavity modes. The chiral behavior arises due to direction-dependent interference between the cavity modes upon coupling to two single-mode output waveguides. Notably, an experimentally realistic cavity design simultaneously supports near-unity chiral contrast, efficient (>95%) cavity-waveguide coupling and enhanced light–matter interaction strength (Purcell factor F P > 70). In combination, these parameters enable the development of highly coherent spin–photon interfaces ready for integration into nanophotonic circuits.
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Up to now it remains challenging to couple photons from a circularly polarized emitter into a photonic structure to simultaneously realize strong photon-emitter interaction and unidirectional propagation locked by local helicity of the optical mode at the nanoscale. In this paper we propose a unique approach that combines a photonic crystal and metallic nanoparticle structure to create nanocavities with both strong local-field intensity and high helicity. In this system the rate of circularly polarized photons emitting into the photonic crystal waveguide reaches $148{\ensuremath{\gamma}}_{0}$, which is one order of magnitude larger than that without the nanoparticle, and in the ultranarrow band-edge mode the linewidth of Rabi splitting spectra is about one-tenth of that with the nanoparticle only, both with $\ensuremath{\approx}95%$ of photons propagating unidirectionally along the nanoscale waveguide. We suggest that our paper establishes a nanophotonic interface of chiral quantum electrodynamics for on-chip nonreciprocal quantum light sources, quantum circuits, and scalable quantum networks.
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The ability to engineer chiral light-matter interactions is a valuable resource for realizing quantum networks and non-reciprocal quantum optics. Here, we demonstrate chiral coupling between light and a negatively charged exciton state, i.e., a four-level system, embedded in a standard photonic-crystal waveguide. By controlling the orientation and strength of an external magnetic field, we tune the polarization of the individual optical transition dipoles relative to the fixed elliptically polarized waveguide mode. In a two-sided waveguide, an optimized oblique magnetic field allows a selected transition to decay exclusively into a single propagation direction, enabling near-unity directional emission (0.99−0.02+0.010.99^{+0.01}_{-0.02}0.99−0.02+0.01​), despite the waveguide exhibiting imperfect polarization for chiral coupling. We further observe two tunable chiral branching ratios, the directional analogue of optical cyclicity, for two ΛΛΛ-systems, with one reaching 134−77+∞134_{-77}^{+\infty}134−77+∞​. The magnetic-field-dependent spectroscopy also allows reconstruction of the local guided-mode polarization at the emitter via the Stokes parameters relative to the emitter's dipole moments. Finally, we demonstrate that this local chirality enables coherent control of an electron spin via an optical Raman process mediated by waveguide driving. Building on the simultaneous realization of a large branching ratio, directionality and spin control achieved at the same oblique magnetic-field angle, we propose a protocol with high tolerance to photon loss for generating high-fidelity remote spin-spin entanglement. Our magnetic control opens a reconfigurable and generic route for enhancing on-chip chiral spin-photon coupling in standard nanophotonic interfaces without the need to carefully engineer the polarization of the waveguide.