(English) Future networks for quantum communication will require a new form of technology in order to operate over long distances. The no-cloning theorem precludes the use of amplification, so quantum repeater schemes have been proposed to achieve long-distance quantum communication through the distribution of entanglement. A key device for this setup is a quantum memory, which is required in order to store entanglement and synchronise its distribution. Among the many physical systems than can be used as a quantum memory, rare-earth ion-doped crystals stand out due to their long coherence times and potential for multiplexing and integration. This thesis reports the use of one such system, Pr3+:Y2SiO5, as a quantum memory using the atomic frequency comb (AFC) protocol. Building on previous work, we improved the performance of the memory to be able to demonstrate light-matter entanglement with a telecommunications wavelength photon and the quantum memory, for both a bulk memory and an integrated version. To measure light-matter entanglement, we use photon pairs generated through cavity-enhanced spontaneous parametric down conversion, where one photon (the signal) is stored in the memory and the other (the idler) is at a telecommunications wavelength. These photon pairs exhibit energy-time entanglement, which we analyse in the time basis using fibre- and AFC-based Mach-Zehnder interferometers. In the first experiment, we demonstrate light-matter entanglement where the bulk quantum memory is used with on-demand retrieval via storage in a spin-wave. We measure interference fringes with average visibilities of 89(2)% for AFC storage, and 70(3)% for spin-wave storage, sufficient to demonstrate entanglement. This is the first such demonstration using an on-demand multimode solid-state memory and telecom photon. We show that entanglement is maintained for up to 47.7 µs of storage. These results were made possible through improvements in the AFC efficiency and the noise filtering. Furthermore, we perform on-demand storage and retrieval of up to 30 temporal modes. We take the next step towards implementing our system in a real world scenario by measuring entanglement over a distance. To do so, we send the idler photons through both optical fibre spools and deployed fibre in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, Spain, while the photon detection still occurs in the same lab. The resulting visibilities (80% or higher) demonstrate that the photonic qubit does not decohere during transmission through the optical fibre. We then decouple the photon creation and detection by measuring non-classical correlations between signal photons detected in the lab, and idler photons detected 16 km away (44 km in fibre) in a different location. The final experiment uses a fibre-integrated memory for light-matter entanglement. We use a Pr3+:Y2SiO5 crystal containing a Type I laser-written waveguide, interfaced directly with optical fibre. The fibre-integration allows for improved transmission and AFC efficiency compared to a free-space coupled waveguide memory. To analyse the performance of the memory, we demonstrate non-classical correlations for storage times up to 28 µs. We perform qubit tomography in the time basis for storage times of 3 and 10 µs, measuring two-qubit fidelities of 86(2)% and 86(4)%, respectively, demonstrating storage of entanglement. These experiments demonstrate the potential of our system for use as part of a quantum repeater, with many opportunities for further improvement to the storage time, efficiency, and multiplexing capability.
(English) Future networks for quantum communication will require a new form of technology in order to operate over long distances. The no-cloning theorem precludes the use of amplification, so quantum repeater schemes have been proposed to achieve long-distance quantum communication through the distribution of entanglement. A key device for this setup is a quantum memory, which is required in order to store entanglement and synchronise its distribution. Among the many physical systems than can be used as a quantum memory, rare-earth ion-doped crystals stand out due to their long coherence times and potential for multiplexing and integration. This thesis reports the use of one such system, Pr3+:Y2SiO5, as a quantum memory using the atomic frequency comb (AFC) protocol. Building on previous work, we improved the performance of the memory to be able to demonstrate light-matter entanglement with a telecommunications wavelength photon and the quantum memory, for both a bulk memory and an integrated version. To measure light-matter entanglement, we use photon pairs generated through cavity-enhanced spontaneous parametric down conversion, where one photon (the signal) is stored in the memory and the other (the idler) is at a telecommunications wavelength. These photon pairs exhibit energy-time entanglement, which we analyse in the time basis using fibre- and AFC-based Mach-Zehnder interferometers. In the first experiment, we demonstrate light-matter entanglement where the bulk quantum memory is used with on-demand retrieval via storage in a spin-wave. We measure interference fringes with average visibilities of 89(2)% for AFC storage, and 70(3)% for spin-wave storage, sufficient to demonstrate entanglement. This is the first such demonstration using an on-demand multimode solid-state memory and telecom photon. We show that entanglement is maintained for up to 47.7 µs of storage. These results were made possible through improvements in the AFC efficiency and the noise filtering. Furthermore, we perform on-demand storage and retrieval of up to 30 temporal modes. We take the next step towards implementing our system in a real world scenario by measuring entanglement over a distance. To do so, we send the idler photons through both optical fibre spools and deployed fibre in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, Spain, while the photon detection still occurs in the same lab. The resulting visibilities (80% or higher) demonstrate that the photonic qubit does not decohere during transmission through the optical fibre. We then decouple the photon creation and detection by measuring non-classical correlations between signal photons detected in the lab, and idler photons detected 16 km away (44 km in fibre) in a different location. The final experiment uses a fibre-integrated memory for light-matter entanglement. We use a Pr3+:Y2SiO5 crystal containing a Type I laser-written waveguide, interfaced directly with optical fibre. The fibre-integration allows for improved transmission and AFC efficiency compared to a free-space coupled waveguide memory. To analyse the performance of the memory, we demonstrate non-classical correlations for storage times up to 28 µs. We perform qubit tomography in the time basis for storage times of 3 and 10 µs, measuring two-qubit fidelities of 86(2)% and 86(4)%, respectively, demonstrating storage of entanglement. These experiments demonstrate the potential of our system for use as part of a quantum repeater, with many opportunities for further improvement to the storage time, efficiency, and multiplexing capability.
As the reach of quantum technologies extends ever further in communication and information science, a reliable way of transferring quantum information between distant locations becomes ever more crucial. While photons are widely accepted as excellent carriers due to their speed and low decoherence, losses of transmission (in free space or fibre) and the impossibility of cloning quantum information still pose a great challenge. The quantum repeater architecture was suggested as a solution to both problems [1]. In a quantum repeater the information encoded in an input state is transferred to a new one through entanglement swapping, that is then sent on along the channel. In this work we present our advances towards the realisation of a quantum repeater. Our system of choice combines a solid-state quantum memory with a source of photon pairs. The memory is based on a Rare-Earth Doped crystal, where quantum information can be stored in Pr3+ ions as a collective excitation using the Atomic Frequency Comb technique. On demand retrieval of the information is realised by transferring the excitation to a long-lived spin state. Record values of storage times and retrieval efficiencies have been demonstrated in this system [2]. Entangled pairs of single photons are generated by parametric down conversion in a periodically poled crystal placed inside a bow-tie cavity. This allows us to generate narrow band photons pairs, where the signal is spectrally matched to the memory (606nm), while the idler is in the telecom band [3]. Such a configuration allows us to benefit from the high performance of the memory, that also allows for temporal [2] and frequency [4] multimodality, while at the same time overcoming the high optical losses of 606nm photons by pair generation of a telecom photon. The first stepping stone, progress towards which is presented in this work, is the successful demonstration of energy-time entanglement between the telecom idler photon and the signal photon, stored as spin-wave excitation. The entanglement of the original pair is maintained by the memory temporal multimodality. The entanglement analysis will be made through time-bin qubit analysers made of a fibre-based Mach-Zehnder interferometer, for the former, and a solid-state equivalent based on two AFC with different storage times, for the latter [5]. In this direction we have already doubled the efficiency of the AFC storage protocols, that will be beneficial to count rates and signal-to-noise ratio. With respect to [2], we also increased the spectral-matching between the source and the memory [4]. Our experiment will provide an increase in storage time of 3 orders of magnitude with respect to previous demonstrations, as well as introducing for the first time on-demand read-out in a highly multi-mode memory. Demonstration of the successful transfer of quantum information between the signal photon and the long-lived solid-state excitation will open the way to the demonstration of long-distance entanglement between individual nodes in a quantum network.
Entanglement between photons at telecommunication wavelengths and long-lived quantum memories is one of the fundamental requirements of long-distance quantum communication. Quantum memories featuring on-demand readout and multimode operation are additional precious assets that will benefit the communication rate. In this Letter, we report the first demonstration of entanglement between a telecom photon and a collective spin excitation in a multimode solid-state quantum memory. Photon pairs are generated through widely nondegenerate parametric down-conversion, featuring energy-time entanglement between the telecom-wavelength idler and a visible signal photon. The latter is stored in a Pr^{3+}:Y_{2}SiO_{5} crystal as a spin wave using the full atomic frequency comb scheme. We then recall the stored signal photon and analyze the entanglement using the Franson scheme. We measure conditional fidelities of 92(2)% for excited-state storage, enough to violate a Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt inequality, and 77(2)% for spin-wave storage. Taking advantage of the on-demand readout from the spin state, we extend the entanglement storage in the quantum memory for up to 47.7 μs, which could allow for the distribution of entanglement between quantum nodes separated by distances of up to 10 km.
Multiplexed quantum memories increase the entanglement distribution rate in long-distance quantum repeater architectures by harnessing storage in several degrees of freedom. Here, we report on the distribution of light-matter quantum correlations using an array of time-multiplexed solid-state quantum memories. We store telecom-heralded single photons sequentially in up to ten memory cells using the full atomic frequency comb protocol with on-demand read-out in a Pr3+:Y2SiO5 crystal. Leveraging both spatial and temporal multiplexing, we demonstrate quantum correlations between the telecom photon and up to 60 spatio-temporal modes of the quantum memory array. We then transmit the heralding telecom photon over 39.1 km of deployed optical fiber in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. In a realistic scenario where the generation rate is limited by the two-way communication time, we show that up to 15 % of the 393μs round-trip communication time is filled with communication trials, leading to a 60-fold enhancement in the rate of detected telecom photons correlated with the quantum memory array, compared to a single-mode memory. With increased storage times and efficiencies, our multiplexed quantum memory array will constitute the backbone of a long-distance quantum network, establishing remote entanglement at high rates.
We report on the transmission of telecom photons entangled with a multimode solid-state quantum memory over a deployed optical fiber in a metropolitan area. Photon pairs were generated through spontaneous parametric downconversion, with one photon stored in a rare-earth-based quantum memory, and the other, at telecommunication wavelengths, traveling through increasing distances of optical fiber, first in the laboratory and then outside in a deployed fiber loop. We measured highly non-classical correlations between the stored and the telecom photons for storage times up to 25 µs and for a fiber separation up to 50 km. We also report light–matter entanglement with a two-qubit fidelity up to 88%, which remains constant within error bars for all fiber lengths, showing that the telecom qubit does not suffer decoherence during the transmission. Finally, we moved the detection stage of the telecom photons to a different location placed 16 km away, and confirmed the non-classical correlations between the two photons. Our system was adapted to provide the transmission of precise detection times and synchronization signals over long quantum communication channels, providing the first steps for a future quantum network involving quantum memories and non-classical states.
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
Long-lived storage of single photons under the form of atomic excitations is at the foundation of long-distance entanglement distribution in quantum networks. To mitigate decoherence effects induced by the environment, rephasing of the hyperfine coherences using microwave pulses have been implemented in a variety of single-emitter and ensemble-based solid-state systems. However, the demonstration of storage of single photons in an absorptive quantum memory including such spin rephasing mechanism remains elusive. In this work, we show non-classical storage of telecom-heralded single photons in a Pr3+:Y2SiO5 rare-earth ion doped crystal quantum memory using the atomic frequency comb (AFC) spin-wave protocol combined with a XY4 spin rephasing sequence. Long-lived AFC photon echoes are first observed in the classical regime for storage times of up to approximately 3 ms. We then demonstrate non-classical correlations between heralding photons and stored signal photons generated by a cavity-enhanced parametric photon-pair source for storage times of up to 180 μs and with measured cross-correlation values as high as 4.6(4). Together with the capacity of Pr3+:Y2SiO5 QMs to support highly efficient and multiplexed storage, this result represents a significant step towards scalable long-distance quantum repeater links.