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Laser & Photonics Review

Photon‐echo quantum memory in solid state systems

Wolfgang Tittel, Mikael Afzelius, T. Chanelière, R. L. Cone, Stefan Kröll, Sergey A. Moiseev, Matthew J. Sellars

Published Mar 23, 2009• 444 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract Many applications of quantum communication crucially depend on reversible transfer of quantum states between light and matter. Motivated by rapid recent developments in theory and experiment, we review research related to quantum memory based on a photon‐echo approach in solid state material with emphasis on use in a quantum repeater. After introducing quantum communication, the quantum repeater concept, and properties of a quantum memory required to be useful in a quantum repeater, we describe the historical development from spin echoes, discovered in 1950, to photon‐echo quantum memory. We present a simple theoretical description of the ideal protocol, and comment on the impact of a non‐ideal realization on its quantum nature. We extensively discuss rare‐earth‐ion doped crystals and glasses as material candidates, elaborate on traditional photon‐echo experiments as a test‐bed for quantum state storage, and describe the current state‐of‐the‐art of photon‐echo quantum memory. Finally, we give a brief outlook on current research.

DOI
10.1002/lpor.200810056

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Abstract Many applications of quantum communication crucially depend on reversible transfer of quantum states between light and matter. Motivated by rapid recent developments in theory and experiment, we review research related to quantum memory based on a photon‐echo approach in solid state material with emphasis on use in a quantum repeater. After introducing quantum communication, the quantum repeater concept, and properties of a quantum memory required to be useful in a quantum repeater, we describe the historical development from spin echoes, discovered in 1950, to photon‐echo quantum memory. We present a simple theoretical description of the ideal protocol, and comment on the impact of a non‐ideal realization on its quantum nature. We extensively discuss rare‐earth‐ion doped crystals and glasses as material candidates, elaborate on traditional photon‐echo experiments as a test‐bed for quantum state storage, and describe the current state‐of‐the‐art of photon‐echo quantum memory. Finally, we give a brief outlook on current research.
Quantum memory is one of the fundamental building blocks for quantum networks. It can be used as a synchronization tool that matches various processes within a quantum computer, a tool to convert heralded photons to photons-on-demand and a quantum repeater for long-distance quantum communication. The rare-earth-ion doped crystal has been one of the best candidate systems for quantum memory. Here we report on the state-of-the-art developments in the field of solid state quantum memory, detail current perfomance levels and discuss potential applications of the developed techniques in other fields.
The reversible transfer of unknown quantum states between light and matter is essential for constructing large-scale quantum networks. Over the last decade, various physical systems have been proposed to realize such quantum memory for light. The solid-state quantum memory based on rare-earth-ion-doped solids has the advantages of a reduced setup complexity and high robustness for scalable application. We describe the methods used to spectrally prepare the quantum memory and release the photonic excitation on-demand. We will review the state of the art experiments and discuss the perspective applications of this particular system in both quantum information science and fundamental tests of quantum physics.
Abstract An optical quantum memory is a device that can store photonic quantum information and release it after a controlled time. It is an essential component for overcoming channel losses in large‐scale quantum networks. Optical quantum memories have been demonstrated with various physical systems including atomic gases, single atoms in optical cavities, and rare‐earth‐ion doped solids. Now, quantum memories are marching toward miniaturization and integration for large‐scale practical applications. Solid state systems stand as a natural choice due to the physical stability and ease of micro or nano fabrication using well‐established techniques. In the past decade, considerable efforts have been devoted to developing photonic integrated quantum memories, that is, quantum memories based on micro/nano‐photonic structures manufactured in solids. Remarkable performances have been achieved with integrated quantum memories, with the advantages of lower laser/electric power requirements, small volumes, large storage densities, and easy implementations. In this article, the basic concepts of optical quantum memories, the state‐of‐the‐art technologies for fabricating integrated quantum memories in rare‐earth ions doped crystals, and recent advances are introduced, and the roadmap for developing practically useful devices for applications in quantum networks is discussed.
The faithful storage and coherent manipulation of single photon state in a matter-system are crucial for linear-optical quantum computation, long-distance quantum communication, and quantum networking.To reach useful data rate in a large-scale quantum network, highly multimode quantum memories are required to build a multiplexed quantum repeater.Rare-earth-ion doped crystal (REIC) is very promising material as a candidate for multimode quantum storage due to the wide inhomogeneous broadening and long optical coherence time.In this article, we review the recent advances in multimode quantum memories based on REICs.First, we briefly introduce the properties of REIC and the atomic frequency comb protocol based on REIC.Next, we review the achievements of multimode quantum memories based on REIC in recent years, including frequency, temporal and spatial multimode storage.Afterwards, we review our experimental work on multiplexed storage based on a multiple degree-of-freedom quantum memory.Finally, we introduce the quantum mode converter and real-time arbitrary manipulations based on the multiple degree-of-freedom quantum memory. The combination of storage and real-time manipulation in a device should enable the construction of a versatility quantum repeater.This review highlights that multimode quantum memories based on REIC can be found to possess some practical applications in developing the optical quantum information processing in the near future.
The ability of storing and retrieving quantum states of light is an important experimental challenge in quantum information science. A powerful quantum memory for light is required in a quantum repeater, which would allow long distance (>500km) quantum communications. To be implemented in such application, the quantum memory must allow on-demand readout, with high fidelity and efficiency, and a long storage time. Additionally a multimode capacity (for temporal or spatial modes) would allow multiplexing. Our approaches focus on rare-earth doped crystals, i.e. solid state quantum memory. I present, in this work, our contributions for a solid-state quantum storage, with good performances in every criteria. In particular, I present the preservation of quantum entanglement during the storage, which paves the way for the implementation of quantum memories in quantum repeaters.