Abstract Quantum light sources are key building blocks of photonic quantum technologies. For many applications, it is of interest to control the arrival time of single photons emitted by such quantum devices, or even to store single photons in quantum memories. In situ electron beam lithography is applied to realize InGaAs quantum dot (QD)‐based single‐photon sources, which are interfaced with cesium (Cs) vapor to control the time delay of emitted photons. Via numerical simulations of the light–matter interaction in realistic QD‐Cs‐vapor configurations, the influence of the vapor temperature and spectral QD‐atom detuning is explored to maximize the achievable delay in experimental studies. As a result, this hybrid quantum system allows to trigger the emission of single photons with a linewidth as low as 1.54 GHz even under non‐resonant optical excitation and to delay the emission pulses by up to (15.71 ± 0.01) ns for an effective cell length of 150 mm. This work can pave the way for scalable quantum systems relying on a well‐controlled delay of single photons on a time scale of up to a few tens of nanoseconds.
Abstract Interfacing light from solid-state single-photon sources with scalable and robust room-temperature quantum memories has been a long-standing challenge in photonic quantum information technologies due to inherent noise processes and time-scale mismatches between the operating conditions of solid-state and atomic systems. Here, we demonstrate storage of single photons from a semiconductor quantum dot (QD) device in a room-temperature atomic vapor memory and their on-demand retrieval. A deterministically fabricated InGaAs QD light source emits single photons at the wavelength of the cesium D1 line at 895 nm which exhibit an inhomogeneously broadened linewidth of 5.1(7) GHz and are subsequently stored in a low-noise ladder-type cesium vapor memory. We show control over the interaction between the single photons and the atomic vapor, allowing for variable retrieval times of up to 19.8(3) ns. A maximum internal efficiency of η int = 0.6 ( 1 ) % is achieved. Our results expand the application space of both room-temperature vapor memories and semiconductor QDs in future quantum network architectures.
In forthcoming quantum networks various quantum systems might be involved to accomplish individual tasks, including storage of quantum states, quantum logic operations, error correction, or entanglement distillation. An interface between a single photon emitter and a potential photon storage could provide one fundamental building block of such a hybrid quantum system. Semiconductor quantum dots (QD) and atomic vapors have already been brought together by single photon spectroscopy of cesium and rubidium [1,2], narrow filtering of QD resonance fluorescence in cesium [3], slowing down QD photons by dispersion between the 6.8 GHz hyperfine-split rubidium D2transitions [4] and in the middle of the four cesium D1 transitions [5] (at around 5.0 GHz in Fig. 1 b).In our experiment the neutrally charged excitonic transition of a strain-tunable InGaAs QD is pumped either resonantly or non-resonantly by a pulsed laser. The QD emission is set between two cesium D1 transitions at 894 nm, which are hyperfine-split only by 1.2 GHz, with a very strong dispersion compared to preceding studies [4,5]. This allows for delay times of a few nanoseconds even at low optical densities, resulting in a propagation velocity at the order of 1/20 of the vacuum speed of light. Such a single photon - atom interface might lay the foundations for a low-loss quantum memory in a future hybrid quantum network.
Interfacing light from solid-state single-photon sources with scalable and robust room-temperature quantum memories has been a long-standing challenge in photonic quantum information technologies due to inherent noise processes and time-scale mismatches between the operating conditions of solid-state and atomic systems. Here, we demonstrate on-demand storage and retrieval of single photons from a semiconductor quantum dot device in a room-temperature atomic vapor memory. A deterministically fabricated InGaAs quantum dot light source emits single photons at the wavelength of the cesium D1 line at 895\,nm which exhibit an inhomogeneously broadened linewidth of 5.1(7)\,GHz and are subsequently stored in a low-noise ladder-type cesium vapor memory. We show control over the interaction between the single photons and the atomic vapor, allowing for variable retrieval times of up to 19.8(3)\,ns at an internal efficiency of
ηint=0.6(1)%. Our results significantly expand the application space of both room-temperature vapor memories and semiconductor quantum dots in future quantum network architectures.
Abstract Hybrid interfaces between distinct quantum systems play a major role in the implementation of quantum networks. Quantum states have to be stored in memories to synchronize the photon arrival times for entanglement swapping by projective measurements in quantum repeaters or for entanglement purification. Here, we analyze the distortion of a single-photon wave packet propagating through a dispersive and absorptive medium with high spectral resolution. Single photons are generated from a single In(Ga)As quantum dot with its excitonic transition precisely set relative to the Cesium D1 transition. The delay of spectral components of the single-photon wave packet with almost Fourier-limited width is investigated in detail with a 200 MHz narrow-band monolithic Fabry-Pérot resonator. Reflecting the excited state hyperfine structure of Cesium, “slow light” and “fast light” behavior is observed. As a step towards room-temperature alkali vapor memories, quantum dot photons are delayed for 5 ns by strong dispersion between the two 1.17 GHz hyperfine-split excited state transitions. Based on optical pumping on the hyperfine-split ground states, we propose a simple, all-optically controllable delay for synchronization of heralded narrow-band photons in a quantum network.
Hybrid interfaces between distinct quantum systems play a major role in the implementation of quantum networks. Quantum states have to be stored in memories to synchronize the photon arrival times for entanglement swapping by projective measurements in quantum repeaters or for entanglement purification. Here, we analyze the distortion of a single-photon wave packet propagating through a dispersive and absorptive medium with high spectral resolution. Single photons are generated from a single In(Ga)As quantum dot with its excitonic transition precisely set relative to the Cesium D1 transition. The delay of spectral components of the single-photon wave packet with almost Fourier-limited width is investigated in detail with a 200 MHz narrow-band monolithic Fabry-Pérot resonator. Reflecting the excited state hyperfine structure of Cesium, “slow light” and “fast light” behavior is observed. As a step towards room-temperature alkali vapor memories, quantum dot photons are delayed for 5 ns by strong dispersion between the two 1.17 GHz hyperfine-split excited state transitions. Based on optical pumping on the hyperfine-split ground states, we propose a simple, all-optically controllable delay for synchronization of heralded narrow-band photons in a quantum network.
Quantum memories are a key technology for distributing entanglement in large-scale quantum networks. They allow for coherent control and temporal reordering of single photons which is a fundamental prerequisite for quantum repeaters, local synchronization and buffering of quantum information. These applications require bright and pure sources of indistinguishable single photons, as well as long-lived, efficient, and high-bandwidth quantum memories with minimal noise. The demonstration of robust, scalable, multi-mode photonic interfaces between different types of quantum memories and single-photon sources remains an open experimental challenge. This work contributes to this endeavor by investigating a heterogeneous interface between a semiconductor quantum dot single-photon source and a room-temperature atomic vapor memory. The first part of this work presents the first room-temperature, ladder-type atomic vapor memory that operates on the Cs D1 line at 895\,nm. The performance of the memory is characterized using attenuated laser pulses at the single-photon level. The memory achieves an internal efficiency of
ηint=15(1)% at a storage time of
τs=17.4(2)\,ns. We derive a quantitative benchmark for the memory compatibility with quantum dot single-photon sources. The memory's high signal-to-noise ratio of 830(80), and its spectral acceptance window of
W=560\,MHz promise compatibility with single photons from state-of-the-art InGaAs quantum dot devices. Furthermore, we present such a nano-integrated quantum dot device and characterize its optical properties. We measure a radiative lifetime of 1.3(1)\,ns and an inhomogeneously broadened linewidth of 5.1(1)\,GHz. The temperature tuning of the emission wavelength to the Cs D1 line allows coupling of the quantum dot to the memory in a joint experiment. The storage of single photons from a quantum dot source in a room-temperature atomic memory is demonstrated with on-demand retrieval. The variable storage time of up to
τs=19.8\,ns and the memory's fractional delay of
Df=14(1) present a significant advancement in the research field. We compare our results with other types of interfaces between single-photon sources and quantum memories and discuss the performance in the context of quantum network applications. This work marks an important step towards local buffering and synchronization of quantum information in heterogeneous quantum network nodes.