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Joint Conference of the European Frequency and Time Forum and IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium (EFTF/IFCS)

An Absolutely Referenced, Tunable Mid-IR Source For Long-Distance Quantum Networking

Saeed Pegahan, Adam T. Heiniger, Katharina Predehl, Christoph Stihler, Christoph Becher, Jürgen Eschner, David Lindler, Tobias Bauer, Max Bergerhoff

Published May 12, 2025• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

SummaryScalable quantum communication relies on transferring entangled photons (flying qubits) between distant nodes via fiber networks in the telecom C-band to minimize fiber loss. Quantum frequency conversion bridges VIS/NIR photon emission from stationary qubits to telecom wavelengths, with laser synchronization via optical frequency combs ensuring precise wavelength matching. Using an absolutely referenced, tunable OPO and coherent frequency conversion, we demonstrate a setup for matching the photon wavelengths of Ca⁺ ions and SnV centers, transmitted over a 14 km fiber link.

DOI
10.1109/eftf/ifcs64367.2025.11194437

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Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC)•Jun 1, 2017•0 citations
SummaryScalable quantum communication relies on transferring entangled photons (flying qubits) between distant nodes via fiber networks in the telecom C-band to minimize fiber loss. Quantum frequency conversion bridges VIS/NIR photon emission from stationary qubits to telecom wavelengths, with laser synchronization via optical frequency combs ensuring precise wavelength matching. Using an absolutely referenced, tunable OPO and coherent frequency conversion, we demonstrate a setup for matching the photon wavelengths of Ca⁺ ions and SnV centers, transmitted over a 14 km fiber link.
Signal photons emitted by quantum nodes typically fall outside the low-loss telecom window of optical fibers, leading to severe transmission losses. Quantum frequency conversion (QFC) offers an effective optical interface that bridges quantum nodes with telecom-band channels, enabling long-distance quantum communication. In this work, we demonstrate a compact, fiber-integrated QFC system with low noise and a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Using a periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) waveguide, input photons at 637.2 nm are down-converted to telecom photons at 1588.3 nm. Our system achieves a total conversion efficiency of approximately 9%, with pump-induced noise suppressed to 154 Hz. For input photon rates of 32.7, 118.0, and 327.7 kHz, the corresponding SNRs are 12.3, 43.9, and 117.8, respectively. We further develop a theoretical model to simulate the entanglement fidelity between nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center spins and the frequency-converted telecom photons. At the emission rate of an NV center, our QFC system maintains an expected fidelity exceeding 52% over a transmission distance of 100 km. These findings highlight the potential of our QFC system for scalable, long-distance quantum networking.
Abstract Entanglement between a stationary quantum system and a flying qubit is an essential ingredient of a quantum-repeater network. It has been demonstrated for trapped ions, trapped atoms, color centers in diamond, or quantum dots. These systems have transition wavelengths in the blue, red or near-infrared spectral regions, whereas long-range fiber-communication requires wavelengths in the low-loss, low-dispersion telecom regime. A proven tool to interconnect flying qubits at visible/NIR wavelengths to the telecom bands is quantum frequency conversion. Here we use an efficient polarization-preserving frequency converter connecting 854 nm to the telecom O-band at 1310 nm to demonstrate entanglement between a trapped 40Ca+ ion and the polarization state of a telecom photon with a high fidelity of 98.2 ± 0.2%. The unique combination of 99.75 ± 0.18% process fidelity in the polarization-state conversion, 26.5% external frequency conversion efficiency and only 11.4 photons/s conversion-induced unconditional background makes the converter a powerful ion–telecom quantum interface.
Trapped ions are one of the leading candidates for scalable and long-distance quantum networks because of their long qubit coherence time, high-fidelity single- and two-qubit gates, and their ability to generate photons entangled with the qubit state of the ion. One method for creating ion-photon entanglement is to exploit optical transitions from the 6 P 1/2 to 6 S 1/2 levels, which naturally emit spin-photon entangled states. But these optical transitions typically lie in the ultraviolet and visible wavelength regions of the spectrum. These wavelengths exhibit significant fiber-optic propagation loss, thereby limiting the transfer of quantum information to tens of meters. Quantum frequency conversion is essential to convert these photons to telecom wavelengths so that they can propagate over long distances in fiber-based networks, as well as for compatibility with the vast number of telecom-based optoelectronic components. Here, we generate O-band telecom photons via a low-noise quantum frequency conversion scheme from photons emitted from the 6 P 1/2 to 6 S 1/2 dipole transition of a trapped barium ion. We use a two-stage quantum frequency conversion scheme to achieve a frequency shift of 375.4 THz between the input visible photon and the output telecom photon, achieving a conversion efficiency of 11%. We attain a signal-to-background ratio of over 100 for the converted O-band telecom photon with background noise of less than 15 counts/s. These results are an important step toward achieving trapped ion quantum networks over long distances for distributed quantum computing and quantum communication.
Abstract Entanglement between a stationary quantum system and a flying qubit is an essential ingredient of a quantum-repeater network. It has been demonstrated for trapped ions, trapped atoms, color centers in diamond, or quantum dots. These systems have transition wavelengths in the blue, red or near-infrared spectral regions, whereas long-range fiber-communication requires wavelengths in the low-loss, low-dispersion telecom regime. A proven tool to interconnect flying qubits at visible/NIR wavelengths to the telecom bands is quantum frequency conversion. Here we use an efficient polarization-preserving frequency converter connecting 854 nm to the telecom O-band at 1310 nm to demonstrate entanglement between a trapped 40Ca+ ion and the polarization state of a telecom photon with a high fidelity of 98.2 ± 0.2%. The unique combination of 99.75 ± 0.18% process fidelity in the polarization-state conversion, 26.5% external frequency conversion efficiency and only 11.4 photons/s conversion-induced unconditional background makes the converter a powerful ion–telecom quantum interface.
Quantum network consisting of separate nodes processing information and linked by quantum channels is a promising and widely investigated general architecture for scalable and distributed quantum computing [1]. The most feasible proposals for realisation of such a network involve matter-based nodes (e.g. trapped atoms or ions or solid-state systems) communicating by photons [2]. This approach combines advantages of long-living and precisely manipulated systems for nodes with fast and convenient for long distance information transfer ones. Implementation of such a scheme opens up a lot of research challenges where establishing a reliable channel for quantum state transfer between two nodes by photons is essential, once the nodes are operating. It would by particularly convenient to have a standard channel that can different systems be talking to and the telecom band photons are good candidates for that because of well-established optical fiber infrastructure. In our work we implement a single photon frequency conversion to telecom band so that quantum systems with different emitting frequencies could be used in such a network. This approach also permits to minimize the losses and increase distances to 10s-kilometre range by exploiting the lowest attenuation band in fibers. The work is aimed in particular on developing device capable of converting photons produced by P3/2-D5/2transition in40Ca+ ion that corresponds to 854.2 nm wavelength as a promising candidate for the network nod.
In a typical quantum repeater scenario, remote quantum memories have to be interconnected by flying qubits transmitted in quantum channels. e.g. single photons in photonic fiber links. To establish long-distance communication, photons in the low-loss telecom wavlength regime are desirable. However, the majority of the candidates for quantum memories such as trapped atoms or ions, rare earth ensembles, color centers in diamond, atomic ensembles etc. possess optical transitions merely in the visible or near-infrared spectral regime below 1000 nm. One possible solution is the transduction of these wavelengths to the telecom region via quantum frequency conversion (QFC) based on three-wave-mixing processes in a nonlinear χ(2)-medium. Technical achievements in recent years enabled high conversion efficiencies and low conversion-induced noise contributions resulting in signal-to-background ratios high enough to demonstrate the preservation of several classical and quantum properties of the photons, e.g. first- and second-order coherence [1], time-bin entanglement [2], polarization entanglement [3] or indistinguishability [4]. QFC thus provides a powerful toolbox to interface quantum systems to the telecom bands and beyond that yet to interconnect dissimilar quantum systems.