Control and single-shot readout of an ion embedded in a nanophotonic cavity
Abstract
Distributing entanglement over long distances using optical networks is an intriguing macroscopic quantum phenomenon with applications in quantum systems for advanced computing and secure communication. Building quantum networks requires scalable quantum light–matter interfaces based on atoms, ions or other optically addressable qubits. Solid-state emitters5, such as quantum dots and defects in diamond or silicon carbide , have emerged as promising candidates for such interfaces. So far, it has not been possible to scale up these systems, motivating the development of alternative platforms. A central challenge is identifying emitters that exhibit coherent optical and spin transitions while coupled to photonic cavities that enhance the light–matter interaction and channel emission into optical fibres. Rare-earth ions in crystals are known to have highly coherent 4f–4f optical and spin transitions suited to quantum storage and transduction, but only recently have single rare-earth ions been isolated and coupled to nanocavities. The crucial next steps towards using single rare-earth ions for quantum networks are realizing long spin coherence and single-shot readout in photonic resonators. Here we demonstrate spin initialization, coherent optical and spin manipulation, and high-fidelity single-shot optical readout of the hyperfine spin state of single ¹⁷¹Yb³⁺ ions coupled to a nanophotonic cavity fabricated in an yttrium orthovanadate host crystal. These ions have optical and spin transitions that are first-order insensitive to magnetic field fluctuations, enabling optical linewidths of less than one megahertz and spin coherence times exceeding thirty milliseconds for cavity-coupled ions, even at temperatures greater than one kelvin. The cavity-enhanced optical emission rate facilitates efficient spin initialization and single-shot readout with conditional fidelity greater than 95 per cent. These results showcase a solid-state platform based on single coherent rare-earth ions for the future quantum internet.
Additional Information
© 2020 Springer Nature Limited. Received 22 August 2019; Accepted 20 January 2020; Published 30 March 2020. This work was funded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award (1454607), the AFOSR Quantum Transduction Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (FA9550-15-1-0029), NSF 1820790, and the Institute of Quantum Information and Matter, an NSF Physics Frontiers Center (PHY-1733907) with support from the Moore Foundation. The device nanofabrication was performed in the Kavli Nanoscience Institute at the California Institute of Technology. J.G.B. acknowledges the support from the American Australian Association's Northrop Grumman Fellowship. J.R. acknowledges the support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) (PGSD3-502844-2017). Y.Q.H. acknowledges the support from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and Carl & Shirley Larson as a Frederick W. Drury Jr. SURF Fellow. We thank M. Shaw, S. Woo Nam and V. Verma for help with superconducting photon detectors; A. Sipahigil for discussion; K. Schwab for help with electronics; and D. Riedel for supporting measurements. Data availability: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request. Author Contributions: J.M.K., J.G.B. and A.F. conceived the experiments. J.R. fabricated the nanophotonic device. J.M.K., A.R. and J.G.B. performed the experiments and analysed the data. Y.Q.H. provided simulation support. J.M.K., A.R. and A.F. wrote the manuscript with input from all authors. A.F. supervised the project. The authors declare no competing interests.Attached Files
Submitted - 1907.12161.pdf
Supplemental Material - 41586_2020_2160_Fig5_ESM.jpg
Supplemental Material - 41586_2020_2160_Fig6_ESM.jpg
Supplemental Material - 41586_2020_2160_Fig7_ESM.jpg
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Supplemental Material - 41586_2020_2160_Fig9_ESM.jpg
Supplemental Material - 41586_2020_2160_MOESM1_ESM.pdf
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Additional details
- Alternative title
- Coherent control and single-shot readout of a rare-earth ion embedded in a nanophotonic cavity
- Eprint ID
- 100745
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41586-020-2160-9
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20200115-161119221
- NSF
- ECCS-1454607
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)
- FA9550-15-1-002
- NSF
- PHY-1820790
- Institute for Quantum Information and Matter (IQIM)
- NSF
- PHY-1733907
- Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
- American Australian Association
- Northrop Grumman Corporation
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
- PGSD3-502844-2017
- Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
- Caltech Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF)
- Created
-
2020-01-16Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
-
2021-11-16Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Institute for Quantum Information and Matter, Kavli Nanoscience Institute