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Quantum Communications and Quantum Imaging

Er3+ doped Y2O3 transparent ceramic for quantum memory applications

Jun Mo Yang, Haitao Zhang, Stuart Gray, Thomas D. Ketcham, Daniel A. Nolan

Published Sep 18, 2018• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

We study transparent ceramics made of erbium doped yttria, as a candidate material for quantum storage of photons in the telecom wavelength. Samples with different heat processing conditions are compared. Two different species of Er3+ ions with drastically different dephasing properties are identified. In general, samples processed at lower temperature show narrower inhomogeneous and homogeneous linewidths. We also demonstrate both type I and type II waveguide in the material using a femtosecond laser, with propagation loss of 0.22 dB/mm.

DOI
10.1117/12.2320693

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La3+ is used as an index modifier to tune the refractive index of Er3+ doped Y2O3 transparent ceramics without reducing the coherence lifetime of Er3+ 4I13/2−4I15/2 transition. La3+ and Er3+ are incorporated into Y2O3 through a solution-phase nanoparticle synthesis and nanoparticles are sintered into transparent ceramics by hot isostatic press. The maximum La3+ doping concentration is about 10%, which increases the refractive index of Y2O3 by 0.009 (Δn/n = 0.48%). La3+ doping doesn’t reduce Er3+ optical coherence lifetime. The homogeneous linewidth of Er3+(20 ppm) 4I13/2−4I15/2 transition in La3+ doped Y2O3 ceramics is about 10 kHz at 2 K and 0.65 T, which is close to the reported homogeneous linewidth in Er3+ doped Y2O3 ceramics and single crystals. Such La3+ Er3+ co-doped Y2O3 ceramics are proper materials to fabricate optical waveguides for quantum memory applications.

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

Julián Dajczgewand

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.

•Dec 10, 2015•1 citation
We study transparent ceramics made of erbium doped yttria, as a candidate material for quantum storage of photons in the telecom wavelength. Samples with different heat processing conditions are compared. Two different species of Er3+ ions with drastically different dephasing properties are identified. In general, samples processed at lower temperature show narrower inhomogeneous and homogeneous linewidths. We also demonstrate both type I and type II waveguide in the material using a femtosecond laser, with propagation loss of 0.22 dB/mm.
La3+ is used as an index modifier to tune the refractive index of Er3+ doped Y2O3 transparent ceramics without reducing the coherence lifetime of Er3+ 4I13/2−4I15/2 transition. La3+ and Er3+ are incorporated into Y2O3 through a solution-phase nanoparticle synthesis and nanoparticles are sintered into transparent ceramics by hot isostatic press. The maximum La3+ doping concentration is about 10%, which increases the refractive index of Y2O3 by 0.009 (Δn/n = 0.48%). La3+ doping doesn’t reduce Er3+ optical coherence lifetime. The homogeneous linewidth of Er3+(20 ppm) 4I13/2−4I15/2 transition in La3+ doped Y2O3 ceramics is about 10 kHz at 2 K and 0.65 T, which is close to the reported homogeneous linewidth in Er3+ doped Y2O3 ceramics and single crystals. Such La3+ Er3+ co-doped Y2O3 ceramics are proper materials to fabricate optical waveguides for quantum memory applications.
Rare-earth ion dopants in solid-state hosts are ideal candidates for quantum communication technologies, such as quantum memories, due to the intrinsic spin–photon interface of the rare-earth ion combined with the integration methods available in the solid state. Erbium-doped cerium oxide (Er:CeO2) is a particularly promising host material platform for such a quantum memory, as it combines the telecom-wavelength (∼1.5μm) 4f–4f transition of erbium, a predicted long electron spin coherence time when embedded in CeO2, and a small lattice mismatch with silicon. In this work, we report on the epitaxial growth of Er:CeO2 thin films on silicon using molecular beam epitaxy, with controlled erbium concentration between 2 and 130 parts per million (ppm). We carry out a detailed microstructural study to verify the CeO2 host structure and characterize the spin and optical properties of the embedded Er3+ ions as a function of doping density. In as-grown Er:CeO2 in the 2–3 ppm regime, we identify an EPR linewidth of 245(1) MHz, an optical inhomogeneous linewidth of 9.5(2) GHz, an optical excited state lifetime of 3.5(1) ms, and a spectral diffusion-limited homogeneous linewidth as narrow as 4.8(3) MHz. We test the annealing of Er:CeO2 films up to 900 °C, which yields narrowing of the inhomogeneous linewidth by 20% and extension of the excited state lifetime by 40%.
Inhomogeneous and homogeneous linewidth are reported in a Eu3+{}^{3+}3+ doped transparent Y2{}_{2}2​O3{}_{3}3​ ceramic for the 7{}^{7}7F0{}_{0}0​-5{}^{5}5D0{}_{0}0​ transition, using high-resolution coherent spectroscopy. The 8.7-GHz inhomogeneous linewidth is close to that of single crystals, as is the 59-kHz homogeneous linewidth at 3 K (T2{T}_{2}T2​ === 5.4 $\ensuremath{\mu}$s). The homogeneous linewidth exhibits a temperature dependence that is typical of a crystalline environment, and additional dephasing observed in the ceramic is attributed to magnetic impurities or defects introduced during the synthesis process. The absence of Eu3+{}^{3+}3+segregation at the grain boundaries, evidenced through confocal microfluorescence, further indicates that the majority of Eu3+{}^{3+}3+ions in the ceramic experience an environment comparable to a single crystal. The obtained results suggest that ceramic materials can be competitive with single crystals for applications in quantum information and spectral hole burning devices, beyond their current applications in lasers and scintillators.
Rare-earth dopants in solids are conducive of sharp optical transitions and long spin coherence at cryogenic temperatures. While superb coherences are routine in high-quality bulk crystals, the more versatile materials such as rare-earth doped nanoparticles and ceramics have suffered from excessive decoherence due to disorder. This work reports a surprisingly narrow linewidth of Er in Y2{}_{2}2​O3{}_{3}3​ ceramics made with industry-standard synthesis technique, putting it on par with the best single crystalline counterpart. The ultranarrow linewidth also helps clarify decoherence pathways within the matrix.
Rare-earth ions (REIs) have incomplete 4f shells and possess narrow optical intra-4f transitions due to shielding from electrons in the 5s and 5p orbitals, making them good candidates for solid-state optical quantum memory. The emission of Er3+ in the telecom C-band (1530 nm–1565 nm) makes it especially attractive for this application. In order to build practical, scalable devices, the REI needs to be embedded in a non-interacting host material, preferably one that can be integrated with silicon. In this paper, we show that Er3+ can be isovalently incorporated into epitaxial Y2O3 thin films on Si (111). We report on the synthesis of epitaxial, single-crystalline Er:Y2O3 on Si with a narrow inhomogeneous linewidth in the photoluminescence (PL) spectra, 5.1 GHz (<100 mK), and an optical excited state lifetime of 8.1 ms. The choice of Y2O3 was driven by its low nuclear spin and small lattice mismatch with Si. Using PL and electron paramagnetic resonance, we show that Er3+ substitutes for Y in the crystal lattice. The role of interfacial SiOx, diffusion of silicon into the film, and the effect of buffer layers on the inhomogeneous PL linewidth are examined. We also find that the linewidth decreased monotonically with film thickness but surprisingly exhibits no correlation with the film crystalline quality, as measured by the x-ray rocking curve scans, suggesting other factors at play that limit the inhomogeneous broadening in Y2O3 films.
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.