Highly indistinguishable photons from a tin-vacancy spin qubit in diamond
Dennis Herrmann, Robert Morsch-Golsong, Tobias Bauer, Marlon Schäfer, David Lindler, Linus Ehre, Peter van Loock, Matthew Markham, Nicola Palmer, Soumen Mandal, Oliver Williams, Christoph Becher
quant-phSubmitted Jul 24, 2026• Announced Jul 27, 2026• 0 citations
Quantum networks promise secure communication, distributed sensing and modular quantum computing by interconnecting distant quantum nodes through photonic links. Extending such networks beyond metropolitan distances requires quantum repeaters to overcome the exponential attenuation of photons in optical fiber. Across all architectures, a key requirement is the indistinguishability of single photons, which directly impacts the fidelity of photonic operations based on two-photon interference, such as Bell-state measurements and fusion gates. Here, we demonstrate generation of highly indistinguishable single photons from a coherently excited tin-vacancy center in diamond, achieving raw Hong-Ou-Mandel interference visibilities exceeding 0.95. By separating intrinsic emitter properties from technical imperfections, we show that decoherence plays a negligible role and that the remaining limitations are predominantly technical in nature, arriving at an intrinsic indistinguishability of up to 0.999. We further show that quantum frequency conversion to the telecom C-band preserves the photon indistinguishability. In combination with the long-lived electron and nuclear spin coherence times, these results establish tin-vacancy centers in diamond as a competitive platform for long-distance quantum networks and photonic quantum information processing. We further substantiate this potential through Monte Carlo simulations of a quantum-repeater link, demonstrating that the SnV-center platform surpasses the bound set by direct transmission.
Quantum networks promise secure communication, distributed sensing and modular quantum computing by interconnecting distant quantum nodes through photonic links. Extending such networks beyond metropolitan distances requires quantum repeaters to overcome the exponential attenuation of photons in optical fiber. Across all architectures, a key requirement is the indistinguishability of single photons, which directly impacts the fidelity of photonic operations based on two-photon interference, such as Bell-state measurements and fusion gates. Here, we demonstrate generation of highly indistinguishable single photons from a coherently excited tin-vacancy center in diamond, achieving raw Hong-Ou-Mandel interference visibilities exceeding 0.95. By separating intrinsic emitter properties from technical imperfections, we show that decoherence plays a negligible role and that the remaining limitations are predominantly technical in nature, arriving at an intrinsic indistinguishability of up to 0.999. We further show that quantum frequency conversion to the telecom C-band preserves the photon indistinguishability. In combination with the long-lived electron and nuclear spin coherence times, these results establish tin-vacancy centers in diamond as a competitive platform for long-distance quantum networks and photonic quantum information processing. We further substantiate this potential through Monte Carlo simulations of a quantum-repeater link, demonstrating that the SnV-center platform surpasses the bound set by direct transmission.
Scalable quantum networks rely on optical connections between long-lived qubits to distribute entanglement. Tin vacancies in diamond have emerged as promising long-lived qubits, offering extended spin coherence times at liquid helium temperatures and spin-dependent, highly coherent optical transitions for effective photon-based communication. Connecting remote nodes requires quantum interference of indistinguishable photons, which is challenging in an inhomogeneous solid-state environment. Here, we demonstrate a two-node experiment with tin vacancies in diamond, which exhibit a resonant frequency distribution spanning approximately 8 GHz. To overcome the frequency mismatch, we tune the resonant frequencies of one node using the Stark effect. We achieve tunability up to 4 GHz while maintaining optical coherence. As a demonstration, we achieve detuning-dependent remote two-photon interference between separate nodes, obtaining 80(6)% interference visibility without postprocessing when the defects' optical transitions are tuned into resonance, and 63(8)% with detuning up to 20 times their natural linewidths. These results highlight the potential of tin-vacancy centres in diamond for establishing robust optical links between remote quantum registers.
Diamond tin-vacancy (SnV) centers are promising candidates for building quantum network nodes. However, their native photon emission at 619 nm is incompatible with metropolitan-scale networks operating at low-loss telecom wavelengths. To address this, we demonstrate highly efficient, low-noise quantum frequency conversion (QFC) of 619 nm photons to the telecom S-band at 1480 nm. The conversion process combines 619 nm photons with 1064 nm pump light in an actively stabilized cavity containing a bulk monocrystalline potassium titanyl arsenate (KTA) crystal. We achieve an internal (external) conversion efficiency of (48 ± 3) % ((28 ± 2) %) and a noise photon rate per wavelength of (2.2 ± 0.9) cts/s/pm, which is spectrally flat in the investigated frequency range of 40 GHz. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the efficiency remains above 80% of its maximum over a frequency range of 70 GHz. Finally, we generate a string of photons from a single waveguide-embedded SnV − center using a train of excitation pulses and send these through the QFC. After the QFC, we observe telecom light displaying the SnV lifetime, confirming successful conversion. These results represent a critical step towards metropolitan-scale fiber-based quantum networks using SnV − centers.
Solid state quantum emitters are a leading platform for photonic quantum networking with memory nodes. However, the inhomogeneous distribution of quantum emitters, as well as several environmental factors (i.e. strain and electric fields) spread the frequency spectrum of the qubits, making them distinguishable and therefore not a reliable resource for distributed quantum entanglement. In this paper, we demonstrate a full-stack approach to integrating nearly indistinguishable tin vacancy (SnV−) quantum emitters on a frequency-tunable photonic interposer that overcomes the native distribution and static variation of quantum emitters for an indistinguishable photonic quantum networking platform. We demonstrate a silicon nitride-on-insulator photonic integrated circuit (PIC) with accompanying multiphysics digital twin (MPhDT) that guides discovery of SnV− strain-tuning parameters and informs construction of a multi-channel quantum repeater node. On this node, we achieve the first simultaneous demonstration of spectral tuning of the zero phonon line (ZPL) at GHz scale; coherent electron spin control with gate times of <80 ns; strongly- and weakly-coupled nuclear spin detection; and commercial fiber array-coupled readout of a SnV− center. Finally, we propose and simulate improvements to the architecture that achieve 99.96% connectivity of $ N \sim 1000$ emitters spanning the inhomogeneous distribution of SnV− centers in strained diamond, where distributed quantum entanglement may be realized.
Scalable quantum networks rely on optical links between long-lived qubits to distribute entanglement. Tin-vacancy ( SnV − ) centers in diamond combine long spin coherence at liquid-helium temperatures with highly coherent, spin-dependent optical transitions, making them promising network qubits. Connecting independent centers, however, requires indistinguishable photons: solid-state inhomogeneity creates frequency mismatch, while inversion symmetry suppresses the first-order electrical response. Here, we establish optical connectivity between two remote SnV − centers in separate cryogenic nodes. Using local electrodes, we tune the optical transition by up to 4 GHz via the Stark effect while maintaining optical coherence. Bringing the two transitions into resonance yields remote Hong-Ou-Mandel interference with a measured zero-delay visibility of 80 ( 6 ) % without postprocessing. The same electrodes provide dynamic spectral control, producing resolved Floquet sidebands at drive frequencies up to 1.5 GHz . These results establish a locally reconfigurable optical interface for connecting remote SnV − quantum-network nodes.
Diamond tin-vacancy (SnV) centers are promising candidates for building quantum network nodes. However, their native photon emission at 619 nm is incompatible with metropolitan-scale networks operating at low-loss telecom wavelengths. To address this, we demonstrate highly efficient, low-noise quantum frequency conversion (QFC) of 619 nm photons to the telecom S-band at 1480 nm. The conversion process combines 619 nm photons with 1064 nm pump light in an actively stabilized cavity containing a bulk monocrystalline potassium titanyl arsenate (KTA) crystal. We achieve an internal (external) conversion efficiency of (48 +/- 3)% ((28 +/- 2)%) and a noise photon rate per wavelength of 2.2 +/- 0.9 cts/s/pm, which is spectrally flat in the investigated frequency range of 40 GHz. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the efficiency remains above 80% of its maximum over a frequency range of 70 GHz. Finally, we generate a string of photons from a single waveguide-embedded SnV center using a train of excitation pulses and send these through the QFC. After the QFC, we observe a string of telecom photons displaying the SnV lifetime, confirming successful conversion. These results represent a critical step towards metropolitan-scale fiber-based quantum networks using SnV centers.
The realization of quantum networks is based on the entanglement of stationary qubits via flying photons. Therefore, a fundamental requirement is a single photon source that can efficiently generate indistinguishable photons for the entanglement generation. The group-IV vacancy centers in diamond have emerged as promising candidates due to their spectral stability benefiting from inversion symmetry and long spin coherence time. In particular, the lead-vacancy (PbV) center exhibits fourier-limited linewidths even above 10 K and is predicted to have millisecond-scale spin coherence time near 9 K, making it suitable for scalable quantum networks. Here, we report the indistinguishability of photons emitted from a single PbV center in diamond through a two-photon interference experiment, known as the Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) effect. Fluorescence from the PbV center was split into two paths and recombined at a HOM interferometer. Photon correlations were measured for parallel and orthogonal polarized schemes. In parallel polarization, a clear interference dip below 0.5 at zero time delay was observed, whereas for orthogonal polarization, the correlation function exceeded 0.5. These results confirm the generation of indistinguishable photons from a single PbV center, validating their potential as the solid-state quantum emitter. This work paves the way for the PbV-based application for quantum information processing.