Efficient and long-lived multimode quantum memories are crucial devices in the development of quantum technolgies. The reversible mapping of quantum states of light in rare earth doped crystals represents one of the most promising routes towards the realization of this goal. Such systems are also compatible with the miniaturization of quantum memories in integrated optics platforms, which offer unique features in terms of experimental scalability and enhanced light-matter interaction. Here, we fabricate single mode channel waveguides for 606 nm light in a praseodymium-doped yttrium orthosilicate crystal (Pr3+:Y2SiO5), that, thanks to its excellent coherence properties, is a widely studied material for light storage experiments. Waveguides are inscribed by femtosecond laser writing, adopting the so-called Type I configuration, where the core is directly obtained at the irradiated area. Remarkably, fabricating this kind of waveguides in crystals is a difficult task, as it requires to operate in a very narrow processing parameters window, if existing. We then use these waveguides for performing the storage and retrieval of single photons, implementing the atomic frequency comb protocol. We achieve a storage time of 5,5 µs, which is almost 2 orders of magnitude longer than previous realizations of quantum light storage in a waveguide. In addition, we investigate the potential information multiplexing capabilities of our system by performing the quantum storage of single photons delocalized over 14 different spectral modes. Our results show that laser written waveguides in rare earth-doped solid state systems are very promising for the development of efficient and long-lived multimode quantum memories.
Efficient and long-lived multimode quantum memories are crucial devices in the development of quantum technolgies. The reversible mapping of quantum states of light in rare earth doped crystals represents one of the most promising routes towards the realization of this goal. Such systems are also compatible with the miniaturization of quantum memories in integrated optics platforms, which offer unique features in terms of experimental scalability and enhanced light-matter interaction. Here, we fabricate single mode channel waveguides for 606 nm light in a praseodymium-doped yttrium orthosilicate crystal (Pr3+:Y2SiO5), that, thanks to its excellent coherence properties, is a widely studied material for light storage experiments. Waveguides are inscribed by femtosecond laser writing, adopting the so-called Type I configuration, where the core is directly obtained at the irradiated area. Remarkably, fabricating this kind of waveguides in crystals is a difficult task, as it requires to operate in a very narrow processing parameters window, if existing. We then use these waveguides for performing the storage and retrieval of single photons, implementing the atomic frequency comb protocol. We achieve a storage time of 5,5 µs, which is almost 2 orders of magnitude longer than previous realizations of quantum light storage in a waveguide. In addition, we investigate the potential information multiplexing capabilities of our system by performing the quantum storage of single photons delocalized over 14 different spectral modes. Our results show that laser written waveguides in rare earth-doped solid state systems are very promising for the development of efficient and long-lived multimode quantum memories.
The reversible mapping of quantum states of light in cryogenically cooled rare earth doped crystals, represents one of the most promising routes towards the realization of efficient and high fidelity quantum memories. The miniaturization of these devices in robust and monolithic integrated-optics platforms would be beneficial both in terms of experimental scalability and of enhanced light-matter interaction, arising from the waveguide field confinement. Here, for the first time, we fabricate single mode channel waveguides for visible light at 606 nm in a Praseodymium-doped Yttrium Orthosilicate crystal, which is one of the most employed materials for light storage experiments, thanks to its excellent coherence properties. For the waveguide fabrication, we use the direct technique called femtosecond laser micromachining, in which a femtosecond laser beam is focused inside the crystal volume, and produces a permanent and very localized material modification. In particular, we fabricate the waveguide cladding by inscribing a pair of parallel damage tracks which confine light in the in-between region. With this approach, the waveguide core is not directly exposed to the laser irradiation and consequently its bulk properties result only marginally affected. Measurements of the optical coherence time in waveguide gave results comparable to those obtained in a bulk sample and this confirms that the fabrication procedure does not affect the coherence of the active ions. We performed the storage and the on-demand recall of bright coherent pulses in waveguide, using the atomic frequency comb (AFC) protocol extended to the ground state.
Quantum memories for light are important devices in quantum information science, in particular for applications such as quantum networks and quantum repeaters. It has been predicted that multimode quantum memories able to store independently multiple modes would greatly help the scaling of quantum networks by decreasing the entanglement generation time between remote quantum nodes. Current research focuses mostly on time multiplexing in rare-earth doped crystals and in spatial multiplexing in atomic gases. Beyond these demonstrations, rare-earth doped crystals, thanks to their large inhomogeneous broadening, represent a unique quantum system which could also add another degree of freedom for multiplexing, the storage of multiple frequency modes. In this contribution, we report on the first demonstration of quantum storage of a frequency multiplexed single photon into a laser-written waveguide integrated in a Pr3+:Y2SiO5crystal. The great advantage of using a confined waveguide for this task is that the power required to prepare the quantum memory is strongly reduced due to the increased light-matter interaction in the waveguide. This enables simultaneous preparation of several memories at different frequencies, with a moderate laser power.
Quantum light-matter interfaces that reversibly map the quantum state of photons onto the quantum states of atoms, are essential components in the quantum engineering toolbox with applications in quantum communication, computing, and quantum-enabled sensing. In this talk I present our progress towards developing on-chip quantum light-matter interfaces based on nanophotonic resonators fabricated in rare-earth-doped crystals known to exhibit the longest optical and spin coherence times in the solid state. We recently demonstrated coherent control of neodymium (Nd3+) ions coupled to yttrium orthosilicate Y2SiO5 (YSO) photonic crystal nano-beam resonator. The coupling of the Nd3+ 883 nm 4I9/2-4F3/2 transition to the nano-resonator results in a 40 fold enhancement of the transition rate (Purcell effect), and increased optical absorption (~80%) - adequate for realizing efficient optical quantum memories via cavity impedance matching. Optical coherence times T2 up to 100 μs with low spectral diffusion were measured for ions embedded in photonic crystals, which are comparable to those observed in unprocessed bulk samples. This indicates that the remarkable coherence properties of REIs are preserved during nanofabrication process. Multi-temporal mode photon storage using stimulated photon echo and atomic frequency comb (AFC) protocols were implemented in these nano-resonators. Our current technology can be readily transferred to Erbium (Er) doped YSO devices, therefore opening the possibility of efficient on-chip optical quantum memory at 1.5 μm telecom wavelength. Integration with superconducting qubits can lead to devices for reversible quantum conversion of optical photons to microwave photons.
Quantum memories (QMs) for light represent a fundamental ingredient for the development of a quantum internet. Among other applications, they are a building block for the distribution of entanglement on large scale, i.e. for the realization of a quantum repeater architecture. Rare earth doped crystals (REDCs) are a promising candidate towards this goal. In my thesis I use a Pr3+:Y2SiO5 crystal. The longest storage time and the highest retrieval efficiency for a solid-state memory measured so far, were demonstrated with this system (in the classical regime). However, the main advantages of solid-state platforms are their suitability for miniaturization and integration as well as their inhomogeneous broadening, which enables broadband storage and spectral multiplexing. In this thesis we demonstrate an on-demand solid-state QM for real single photons. Moreover we study new platforms for integrated QM based on the same material. We employ the atomic frequency comb (AFC) technique, which is the most promising storage protocol in terms of temporal multiplexing up to now. Until the start of my PhD there was still no demonstration of storage of a real quantum state of light with an on-demand readout in REDCs. We achieved this in the course of this thesis, measuring also for the first time (and only, at the time of writing) non-classical correlation between a single spin wave in a solid-state QM and a telecom photon. After proving the suitability of Pr3+:Y2SiO5 crystals for on-demand QMs, we demonstrated novel types of integrated optical memories based on the same system. We studied the spectroscopic and coherence properties of the ions in laser-written waveguides fabricated by fs-laser micromachining. These projects were developed in collaboration with Dr. R. Osellame and Dr. G. Corrielli at Politecnico di Milano, who fabricated the waveguides and analysed their guiding properties. In a first kind of waveguide, called type II, we performed the first storage with on-demand retrieval ever done in solid-state integrated optical memories (with classical light). We continued analysing a so-called type I waveguide, in which the mode-size is comparable with the mode guided in a single-mode fiber at the same wavelength. Here we showed storage of heralded single-photons for a pre-programmed time. The demonstrated storage time, 5.5 µs, is the longest quantum storage demonstrated in any integrated waveguide up to now. Finally, we performed in the same waveguide storage of the whole spectrum of a frequency-multiplexed heralded photon, spanning a range of frequencies of ˜ 4 GHz. The photon is naturally multiplexed due to the generation method used, namely cavity-enhanced SPDC. The possibility of storing such a broad spectrum comes from the intrinsic inhomogeneous broadening present in REDCs. Together with the 15 frequency modes constituting the multiplexed photon, 9 temporal modes were stored thanks to the intrinsic temporal multimodality of the AFC protocol. The method used to fabricate our waveguides, fs-laser micromachining, is the only one to our knowledge that allows for direct 3D fabrication in the substrate. In the future, this will yield matrices of fiber-pigtailed waveguide-based QMs, thus enabling a high degree of spatial multiplexing, which nowadays is mostly exploited in atomic clouds, where temporal and spectral multiplexing are more difficult to achieve. The crystal, the protocol and the waveguide fabrication technique employed in this thesis, represent all together a very promising system, opening the way for a future quantum repeater architecture based on scalable highly multiplexed QMs. Les memòries quàntiques (MQs) per a la llum constitueixen un ingredient fonamental per al desenvolupament d’un Internet quàntic. Entre altres aplicacions, són un element bàsic per a la distribució de l’entrellaçament a llargues distancies, és a dir, per a la realització d’un repetidor quàntic. Els cristalls dopats amb terres rares (REDC) són candidats prometedors cap a aquest objectiu. En la meva tesi uso el cristall Pr3+:Y2SiO5. Amb aquest sistema (en el règim clàssic) es va demostrar el temps d’emmagatzematge més llarg i la major eficiència d’una memòria d’estat sòlid. No obstant això, els principals avantatges de les plataformes en estat sòlid són la possibilitat de miniaturització i integració, així com la ampliació inhomogènia dels seus perfils d’absorció, que permet emmagatzemar fotons amb banda ampla o multiplexats en freqüència. En aquesta tesi demostrem una MQ d’estat sòlid amb lectura on-demand per a fotons únics reals. A més, estudiem noves plataformes per a MQs integrades basades en el mateix material. Utilitzem la tècnica de pinta de freqüència atòmica (AFC), que és el protocol d’emmagatzematge més prometedor per a multiplexació temporal fins ara. Al començament del meu doctorat no hi havia cap demostració d’emmagatzematge d’un real estat quàntic amb una lectura on-demand del fotó en REDC. Ho hem aconseguit en el curs d’aquesta tesi, mesurant també per primera vegada (i única, en el moment d’escriure), una correlació no-clàssica entre una única ona de spin en una MQ d’estat sòlid i un fotó de telecomunicacions. Després de demostrar la idoneïtat dels cristalls Pr3+:Y2SiO5 com MQs, vam demostrar nous tipus de memòries òptiques integrades basades en el mateix sistema. Vam estudiar les propietats espectroscòpiques i de coherència dels ions en guies d'ones escrites amb làser fabricades amb la tècnica del fs-làser micromachining. Aquests projectes van ser desenvolupats en col·laboració amb el Dr. R. Osellame i el Dr. G. Corrielli del Politècnic de Milà, que van fabricar les guies d'ones i van analitzar les seves propietats orientadores. En un primer tipus de guia d'ona, anomenada tipus II, vam realitzar el primer emmagatzematge amb lectura on-demand mai realitzada en memòries òptiques integrades en estat sòlid (amb llum clàssica). Després vam analitzar un altre tipus de guia d’ondes anomenada tipus I, en la qual la mida del mode és comparable amb el mode guiat en una fibra monomode a la mateixa longitud d’ona. Aquí vam mostrar l’emmagatzematge de fotons simples durant un temps preprogramat. El temps d’emmagatzematge demostrat, de 5.5 µs, és fins ara l'emmagatzematge quàntic més llarg demostrat en qualsevol guia d'ones integrada. Finalment, es va realitzar en la mateixa guia l’emmagatzematge de tot l'espectre d'un bi-fotó multiplexat en freqüència, abastant un rang de freqüències de ˜4 GHz. El fotó és multiplexat de forma natural gracies al mètode de generació utilitzat, és a dir, el SPDC millorat per cavitat. La possibilitat d’emmagatzemar un espectre tan ampli prové de l’ampliació intrínseca de l’absorció inhomogènia present en els REDC. Juntament amb els 15 modes de freqüència que constitueixen el fotó multiplexat, s'han emmagatzemat 9 modes temporals gràcies a la multimodalitat temporal intrínseca del protocol AFC. El mètode utilitzat per fabricar les nostres guies d'ona, fs-làser micromachining, és l'únic que coneixem que permet directament fabricar en 3D en el substrat. En el futur, això donarà matrius de MQs basades en guies d’onades integrades con fibres, que permetran un alt grau de multiplexació espacial, que avui en dia s’explota sobretot en núvols atòmics, on el multiplexatge temporal i espectral és més difícil d’aconseguir. El cristall, el protocol i la tècnica de fabricació de guies d'ona utilitzats en aquesta tesi, representen tots junts un sistema
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.
Efficient and long-lived interfaces between light and matter are crucial for the development of quantum information technologies. Integrated photonic solutions for quantum storage devices offer improved performances due to light confinement and enable more complex and scalable designs. We demonstrate a novel platform for quantum light storage based on laser written waveguides. The new adopted writing regime allows us to attain waveguides with improved confining capabilities compared to previous demonstrations. We report the first demonstration of single-photon storage in laser written waveguides. While we achieve storage efficiencies comparable to those observed in massive samples, the power involved for the memory preparation is strongly reduced, by a factor 100, due to an enhancement of the light–matter interaction of almost one order of magnitude. Moreover, we demonstrate excited-state storage times 100 times longer than previous realizations with single photons in integrated quantum memories. Our system promises to effectively fulfill the requirements for efficient and scalable integrated quantum storage devices.