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Chinese Physics Letters

Heterogeneous Single-Photon Transistor with Rydberg Atoms

Jian-Hao Yu, Ren Liao, Gen-Sheng Ye, Zerui Song, Jing-Lv Yang, Kuan Zhang, Lin Li

Published Sep 17, 2026• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract The development of practical quantum networks and scalable photonic quantum information processing crucially depends on the ability to execute high-fidelity and coherent operations between photons of different wavelengths. While approaches based on quantum interference can implement many quantum operations, they are inherently limited to identical photons and thus are insufficient for the frequency-matching requirements of heterogeneous quantum systems. Rydberg atomic systems provide a powerful platform for achieving strong photon–photon nonlinearities capable of overcoming this limitation. Here, we report a heterogeneous single-photon switch and transistor based on Rydberg atoms, where a single gate photon at 795 nm controls the transmission of subsequent target photons at 780 nm. Our devices achieve a post-selected extinction ratio of ϵ = 0.09(3) for the switch, alongside a transistor gain of G = 26(2) achieved by leveraging a Förster-resonance-enhanced cross-state interaction. This work establishes a practical pathway towards building frequency-multiplexed quantum interfaces, a key component for interconnecting disparate physical platforms in future hybrid quantum networks.

DOI
10.1088/0256-307x/43/10/100601

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Abstract The development of practical quantum networks and scalable photonic quantum information processing crucially depends on the ability to execute high-fidelity and coherent operations between photons of different wavelengths. While approaches based on quantum interference can implement many quantum operations, they are inherently limited to identical photons and thus are insufficient for the frequency-matching requirements of heterogeneous quantum systems. Rydberg atomic systems provide a powerful platform for achieving strong photon–photon nonlinearities capable of overcoming this limitation. Here, we report a heterogeneous single-photon switch and transistor based on Rydberg atoms, where a single gate photon at 795 nm controls the transmission of subsequent target photons at 780 nm. Our devices achieve a post-selected extinction ratio of ϵ = 0.09(3) for the switch, alongside a transistor gain of G = 26(2) achieved by leveraging a Förster-resonance-enhanced cross-state interaction. This work establishes a practical pathway towards building frequency-multiplexed quantum interfaces, a key component for interconnecting disparate physical platforms in future hybrid quantum networks.
An all-optical transistor is a device in which a gate light pulse switches the transmission of a target light pulse with a gain above unity. The gain quantifies the change of the transmitted target photon number per incoming gate photon. We study the quantum limit of one incoming gate photon and observe a gain of 20. The gate pulse is stored as a Rydberg excitation in an ultracold gas. The transmission of the subsequent target pulse is suppressed by Rydberg blockade, which is enhanced by a Förster resonance. The detected target photons reveal in a single shot with a fidelity above 0.86 whether a Rydberg excitation was created during the gate pulse. The gain offers the possibility to distribute the transistor output to the inputs of many transistors, thus making complex computational tasks possible.
Mapping the strong interaction between Rydberg atoms onto single photons via electromagnetically induced transparency enables manipulation of light on the single photon level and novel few-photon devices such as all-optical switches and transistors operated by individual photons. Here, we demonstrate experimentally that Stark-tuned Forster resonances can substantially increase this effective interaction between individual photons. This technique boosts the gain of a single-photon transistor to over 100, enhances the non-destructive detection of single Rydberg atoms to a fidelity beyond 0.8, and enables high precision spectroscopy on Rydberg pair states. On top, we achieve a gain larger than 2 with gate photon read-out after the transistor operation. Theory models for Rydberg polariton propagation on Forster resonance and for the projection of the stored spin-wave yield excellent agreement to our data and successfully identify the main decoherence mechanism of the Rydberg transistor, paving the way towards photonic quantum gates.
Mapping the strong interaction between Rydberg atoms onto single photons via electromagnetically induced transparency enables manipulation of light at the single-photon level and few-photon devices such as all-optical switches and transistors operated by individual photons. Here we demonstrate experimentally that Stark-tuned Förster resonances can substantially increase this effective interaction between individual photons. This technique boosts the gain of a single-photon transistor to over 100, enhances the non-destructive detection of single Rydberg atoms to a fidelity beyond 0.8, and enables high-precision spectroscopy on Rydberg pair states. On top, we achieve a gain larger than 2 with gate photon read-out after the transistor operation. Theory models for Rydberg polariton propagation on Förster resonance and for the projection of the stored spin-wave yield excellent agreement to our data and successfully identify the main decoherence mechanism of the Rydberg transistor, paving the way towards photonic quantum gates.
This thesis reports the experimental realisation of a single-photon switch and transistor.To this end, Rydberg blockade in electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) is used to create an interaction between two light pulses at the single photon level.In the experiment, a gate pulse containing one incoming photon on average is stored as a Rydberg excitation in an ultracold atomic gas using EIT.Subsequently a target light pulse is sent through the atomic ensemble.Without the gate pulse, the medium would be transparent due to EIT and the transmission would be high.If a gate excitation has been stored, however, Rydberg blockade suppresses the transmission of the target light pulse.The stored gate photon can be retrieved after the transmission of the target light.A retrieved photon heralds successful storage.In the corresponding postselected subensemble the transmission of the target light is reduced by an extinction factor of 0.05.This reduction is robust if the number of incoming gate photons or target photons is varied.In a conceptually improved version of the experiment, a single-photon transistor is realised that shows a gain above unity.The gain quantifies the change in the transmitted target photon number per incoming gate photon.For one incoming gate photon on average, a gain of 20 is observed.The improved experiment uses a Förster resonance, the benefit of which becomes directly evident in an improved gain and extinction.If a Rydberg excitation is created during the gate pulse, then the transmission of the target light pulse drops substantially.By setting a discrimination threshold for the number of detected target photons, it is possible to detect in a single shot with a fidelity of 86% whether a Rydberg excitation was created during the gate pulse.Since the gate excitation is not retrieved by the target light, this detection method is nondestructive.i iii 6.2.Experimental Sequence . . . . . . .
Continuous-wave (cw) architectures provide a promising route to interface disparate quantum systems by relaxing the need for precise synchronization. While essential cw components, including microwave single-photon transistors and microwave–optical converters, have been explored, an all-optical cw single-photon transistor has remained a missing piece. We propose a high-efficiency, high-gain implementation using Rydberg atoms, in which a control photon disrupts the transmission of a continuous probe beam via the van der Waals interaction. This device completes the set of components required for cw processing of quantum signals and paves the way for all-optical processing at the quantum level.
An all-optical transistor is a device in which a gate light pulse switches the transmission of a target light pulse with a gain above unity.The gain quantifies the change of the transmitted target photon number per incoming gate photon.We study the quantum limit of one incoming gate photon and observe a gain of 20.The gate pulse is stored as a Rydberg excitation in an ultracold gas.The transmission of the subsequent target pulse is suppressed by Rydberg blockade, which is enhanced by a Förster resonance.The detected target photons reveal in a single shot with a fidelity above 0.86 whether a Rydberg excitation was created during the gate pulse.The gain offers the possibility to distribute the transistor output to the inputs of many transistors, thus making complex computational tasks possible.