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Optical memory in an erbium doped crystal : efficiency, bandwidth and noise studies for quantum memory applications

Julián Dajczgewand

Published Dec 10, 2015• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Quantum information processing has been developing rapidly in the last two decades as a way to overcome the limitations of classical electronics. Several components to generate, process and send quantum information are needed. In this context, optical quantum memories appear as principal components to communicate quantum information at long distances by overcoming the losses of the optical fibers in the so-called quantum repeater scheme. During the last decade several storage protocols to store quantum information have been proposed and tested. In this thesis, I present the Revival of Silenced Echo (ROSE) protocol implemented in an Er3+:Y2SiO5 crystal. This material is a good candidate for a quantum memory because of its transition in the C-band of the telecom wavelengths where the losses in optical fibers are minimized. In this work, I evaluate the ROSE performances with weak classical pulses. I measure efficiency, bandwidth and storage time which are the typical figures of merit for an optical quantum memory. Starting with a fixed bandwidth, I demonstrate experimentally a good efficiency. Additionally, I measure the bandwidth dependence of the protocol. For this latter, the dipole-dipole interactions between erbium ions appears as limiting factors. Finally, I implement the ROSE protocol with a few photons per pulse to show its potential as a quantum memory. I report good efficiencies with a moderate signal to noise ratio.I finish this work with a series of measurements in new materials (doped or codoped with erbium), to extend the processing bandwidth of Er doped samples compatible the telecom wavelength range.

DOI
10.70675/1aa64a55z936ez4a68z8fa5z7e9e8c8f64a9

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Quantum information processing has been developing rapidly in the last two decades as a way to overcome the limitations of classical electronics. Several components to generate, process and send quantum information are needed. In this context, optical quantum memories appear as principal components to communicate quantum information at long distances by overcoming the losses of the optical fibers in the so-called quantum repeater scheme. During the last decade several storage protocols to store quantum information have been proposed and tested. In this thesis, I present the Revival of Silenced Echo (ROSE) protocol implemented in an Er3+:Y2SiO5 crystal. This material is a good candidate for a quantum memory because of its transition in the C-band of the telecom wavelengths where the losses in optical fibers are minimized. In this work, I evaluate the ROSE performances with weak classical pulses. I measure efficiency, bandwidth and storage time which are the typical figures of merit for an optical quantum memory. Starting with a fixed bandwidth, I demonstrate experimentally a good efficiency. Additionally, I measure the bandwidth dependence of the protocol. For this latter, the dipole-dipole interactions between erbium ions appears as limiting factors. Finally, I implement the ROSE protocol with a few photons per pulse to show its potential as a quantum memory. I report good efficiencies with a moderate signal to noise ratio.I finish this work with a series of measurements in new materials (doped or codoped with erbium), to extend the processing bandwidth of Er doped samples compatible the telecom wavelength range.
A quantum memory protocol has been implemented on the basis of the revival of silenced echo (ROSE) in the 167Er3+:Y2SiO5 crystal at the telecommunication wavelength for input light fields with a small number of photons. An efficiency of storage of 44% has been reached at a storage time of 40 μs. The input pulse contains ~340 photons on average, the reconstructed echo signal includes ~150 photons, and the signal-to-noise ratio is 4. It has been shown that the main source of noise is the spontaneous emission of atoms remaining in the excited state because the parameters of two rephasing pulses are imperfect. Methods of increasing the signal-to-noise ratio for the implementation of the efficient quantum memory for single-photon fields have been discussed.
Mémoire optique dans un cristal dopé erbium : efficacité, bande passante et analyse du bruit pour les applications de mémoire quantique Le traitement quantique de l’information comme moyen de surmonter les limites de l’électronique classique a connu un développement rapide dans les deux dernières décennies. Plusieurs composants pour générer, traiter et envoyer l’information quantique sont nécessaires. Dans ce contexte, les mémoires quantiques optiques apparaissent comme des composantes principales capables de communiquer l’information quantique sur de longues distances en surmontant les pertes des fibres optiques dans un schéma de répéteur quantique. Durant la dernière décennie, plusieurs protocoles de stockage pour stocker l’information quantique ont été proposés et testés. Dans cette thèse, je présente le protocole Revival of Silenced Echo (ROSE) et sa réalisation dans un cristal Er3+:Y2SiO5. Ce matériau est un bon candidat pour une mémoire quantique grâce à sa transition dans la bande C des télécommunications où les pertes dans les fibres optiques sont minimales. Dans ce travail, j’évalue les performances du ROSE avec des impulsions faibles classiques. Je mesure l’efficacité, la bande passante et le temps de stockage qui sont des figures de mérite typiques d’une mémoire quantique optique. Pour une bande passante fixe, je démontre expérimentalement une bonne efficacité. En outre, je mesure la dépendance de la bande passante du protocole. Pour cette dernière les interactions dipôle-dipôle entre les ions d’erbium apparaît comme un facteur limitant. Enfin, je réalise le protocole ROSE avec quelques photons par impulsion afin d’évaluer son potentiel comme mémoire quantique. Je démontre une bonne efficacité avec un rapport signal sur bruit modéré. Je termine ce travail par une série de mesures dans des matériaux nouveaux (co-dopé ou dopé avec de l’erbium), pour augmenter la bande-passante de traitement d’échantillons dopés Er compatible avec les longueurs d’onde des télécommunications.
This thesis describes experiments aimed at developing a key component in applications such as quantum networks and long-distance quantum communication systems: quantum memories. Quantum memories for light using photon-echo and coherent rephrasing techniques have been developed. The work is carried out on rare-earth-ion-doped inorganic crystals. Several properties are associated with these crystals such as long coherence times and long-lived ground state sublevels that are particularly interesting in connection applications in the area of quantum information science. It is demonstrated the preparation of optical inhomogeneous absorption profiles such that the light only interacts with a specific transition at a selected frequency. Narrow absorbing structures with widths of <100 kHz have been prepared with no absorption in the surrounding spectral interval. Most of the experiments were carried out using Pr3+:Y2SiO5. However, in our search for suitable a Λ-system in the material under consideration, we also performed spectral hole-burning spectroscopy in Nd:Y2SiVO4. As part of the search for host materials for Pr, Pr:La2(WO4)3 crystal was characterized using a variety of methods, such as, hole burning and photon-echoes. Electromagnetically induced transparency was also observed in this crystal. The most important criteria for evaluating quantum memory performance and the most important physical requirements are discussed. After investigating the standard photon echo techniques and controlled reversible inhomogeneous broadening (CRIB) for quantum state storage, we considered an efficient multimode quantum memory protocol; the atomic frequency comb (AFC) protocol. Combs with peaks of widths 100-300 kHz and an optical depth of~ 10 were created by optical pumping inside an emptied region of the inhomogeneous profile of Pr3+:Y2SiO5, allowing us to improve the efficiency of light storage. Light storage combining a photon-echo technique based on an AFC and spin-wave storage have been demonstrated, and an experimental AFC scheme for the storage of weak coherent light pulses in Pr3+:Y2SiO5 is presented. Finally, we have investigated superradiance and slow light effects. Both these effects occur in the high optical depth regime and can influence the memory performance. Under certain conditions superradiance results in the immediate re-emission of the stored light in a single burst of coherent radiation, and inside spectrally structured materials, slow light effects may result when storage is performed.
This dissertation is devoted to the development of quantum memories for light. Quantum memory is an important part of future long-distance quantum fiber networks and quantum processing. Quantum memory is required to be efficient, multimode, noise free, scalable, and should be able to provide long storage times for practical applications in quantum communications and beyond. Here I concentrate on solving particular problems of different quantum protocols and find ways for extending the performance of memories and adding new capabilities. I theoretically show that an array of whispering-gallery resonators is capable of being an efficient and noise-free optical memory with an adjustable storage time. The potential for on-chip realization at room temperature makes the scheme attractive for easy implementation. The effect of Raman scattering in echo memory was evaluated experimentally and theoretically. The noise performance of gradient echo memory in Λ configuration proves, that the developed theory is in a good agreement with an experiment. I proposed a mechanism for extending the bandwidth of impedance-matched memories via a white-light cavity effect. The introduced additional dispersion compensates a bandwidth decrease induced by the cavity and hence increases the spectral zone of impedance matching. Theoretically the scheme allows to increase the bandwidth of high efficient storage (>90%) several times without adding extra noise. Finally, I have proposed an architecture of quantum random-access memory for time-bin photons. The architecture consists from a memory unit and a strongly coupled three-level atom. Both of them are placed in their own cavities, which are coupled to each other. The protocol allows to achieve quantum addressing of quantum information stored in the memory with only a single control unit. This is useful for numerous tasks in quantum machine learning.
This thesis presents on-chip quantum storage of telecommunication wavelength light using nanophotonic resonators coupled to erbium ions. Storage of light in an optical quantum memory has applications in quantum information and quantum communication. For example, long distance quantum communication using quantum repeater protocols is enabled by quantum memories. Efficient and broadband quantum memories can be made from resonators coupled to ensembles of atoms. Like other rare earth ions, erbium is appealing for quantum applications due to its long optical and hyperfine coherence times in the solid state at low temperatures. However, erbium is unique among rare earth ions in having an optical transition in the telecommunication C band (1540 nm), making it particularly appealing for quantum communication applications. In this work, we use nano-scale resonators coupled to erbium-167 ions in yttrium orthosilicate crystals (167Er 3+:Y2SiO5). We demonstrate quantum storage in two types of resonators. In a nanobeam photonic crystal resonator milled directly in 167Er 3+:Y2SiO5, we show storage of weak coherent states using the atomic frequency comb protocol. The storage fidelity for single photon states is estimated to be at least 93.7% ± 2.4% using decoy state analysis, Storage of up to 10 μs and multimode storage are demonstrated. Using a hybrid amorphous silicon 167Er 3+:Y2SiO5 resonator and on-chip electrodes, we demonstrate a multifunctional memory using the atomic frequency comb protocol with DC Stark shift control. In addition dynamic control of memory time, Stark shift control allows modifications to the frequency and bandwidth of stored light. We show tuning of the output pulse by ± 20 MHz relative to the input pulse, and broadening of the pulse bandwidth by more than a factor of three. The storage efficiency in both devices was limited to < 1%. On the way to these results, we describe 167Er 3+:Y2SiO5 spectroscopy measurements including optical coherence times and hyperfine lifetimes below 1 K, and we estimate the linear DC stark shift along two crystal directions. The design and fabrication of the on-chip resonators is presented. We discuss the limitations to storage time and efficiency, including superhyperfine coupling and resonator parameters, and we outline a path forward for improving the storage efficiency in these types of devices.