Efficient transduction devices that reversibly convert optical and microwave quantum signals into each other are essential for integrating different technologies. Rare-earth ions in solids, and in particular Erbium ions, with both optical and microwave addressable transitions are promising candidates for designing transducers. We propose a microwave-to-optical quantum transducer scheme based on the dark state protocol in $\mathrm{^{167}Er}$ doped into yttrium orthosilicate (YSO) at zero external magnetic fields. Zero-field operation is beneficial for superconducting resonators that can incur extra losses in magnetic fields. By calculating the fidelity and efficiency of the transducer, considering the most important imperfections, we show that an efficient conversion is possible with a high fidelity. We also investigate the microwave transitions of $\mathrm{^{167}Er}$:YSO that can be used for the transducer protocol.
Erbium dopants in crystals exhibit highly coherent optical transitions well suited for solid-state optical quantum memories operating in the telecom band. Here we demonstrate coupling of erbium dopant ions in yttrium orthosilicate to a photonic crystal cavity fabricated directly in the host crystal using focused ion beam milling. The coupling leads to reduction of the photoluminescence lifetime and enhancement of the optical depth in microns-long devices, which will enable on-chip quantum memories.
We investigate the electron and nuclear spin coherence properties of ytterbium ($\mathrm{Yb}^{3+}$) ions with non-zero nuclear spin, within an yttrium orthosilicate (Y$_2$SiO$_5$) crystal, with a view to their potential application in quantum memories or repeaters. We find electron spin-lattice relaxation times are maximised at low magnetic field ($<100$ mT) where $g~\sim6$, reaching 5 s at 2.5 K, while coherence times are maximised when addressing ESR transitions at higher fields where $g\sim0.7$ where a Hahn echo measurement yields $T_2$ up to 73 $μ$s. Dynamical decoupling (XY16) can be used…
Praseodymium (Pr$^{3+}$) ions doped in the site 1 of yttrium orthosilicate (Y$_2$SiO$_5$) has been widely employed as the photonic quantum memory due to their excellent optical coherence and spin coherence. While praseodymium ions occupying the site 2 in Y$_2$SiO$_5$ crystal have better optical coherence as compared with those at site 1, which may enable better performance in quantum memory. Here we experimentally characterize the hyperfine interactions of the ground state $^3$H$_4$ and excited state $^1$D$_2$ of Pr$^{3+}$ at site 2 in Y$_2$SiO$_5$ using Raman heterodyne detected nuclear magne…
With their optical wavelength in the near infrared (790-800nm) and their unique spectroscopic properties at cryogenic temperatures, thulium-doped crystals are at the center of many architectures linked to classical signal processing and quantum information. In this work, we focus on Tm-doped YSO, a compound that was left aside in the mid-1990s due to its rather short optical coherence lifetime. By means of time-resolved hole-burning spectroscopy, we investigate the anisotropic enhanced nuclear Zeeman effect and demonstrate deep, sub-MHz, persistent spectral hole burning under specific magnetic…
Yttrium orthosilicate (Y$_2$SiO$_5$, or YSO) has proved to be a convenient host for rare-earth ions used in demonstrations of microwave quantum memories and optical memories with microwave interfaces, and shows promise for coherent microwave--optical conversion owing to its favourable optical and spin properties. The strong coupling required by such microwave applications could be achieved using superconducting resonators patterned directly on Y$_2$SiO$_5$, and hence we investigate here the use of Y$_2$SiO$_5$ as an alternative to sapphire or silicon substrates for superconducting hybrid devic…
We present a detailed study of the lifetime of optical spectral holes due to population storage in Zeeman sublevels of Nd$^{3+}$:Y$_2$SiO$_5$. The lifetime is measured as a function of magnetic field strength and orientation, temperature and Nd$^{3+}$ doping concentration. At the lowest temperature of 3 K we find a general trend where the lifetime is short at low field strengths, then increases to a maximum lifetime at a few hundreds of mT, and then finally decays rapidly for high field strengths. This behaviour can be modelled with a relaxation rate dominated by Nd$^{3+}$-Nd$^{3+}$ cross rela…
Spins in solids are an ideal candidate to act as a memory and interface with superconducting qubits due to their long coherence times. We spectroscopically investigate erbium-167-doped yttrium orthosilicate as a possible microwave-addressed memory employing its microwave frequency transitions that occur without applying an external magnetic field. We obtain coherence times of 380 $μ$s in a ground state spin transition and 1.48 ms in an excited state spin transition. This is 28 times longer compared to previous zero field measurements, as well as 200 times longer than a previous microwave memor…
Storage of quantum information encoded into true single photons is an essential constituent of long-distance quantum communication based on quantum repeaters and of optical quantum information processing. The storage of photonic polarization qubits is, however, complicated by the fact that many materials are birefringent and have polarization-dependent absorption. Here we present and demonstrate a simple scheme that allows compensating for these polarization effects. The scheme is demonstrated using a solid-state quantum memory implemented with an ensemble of rare-earth ions doped into a biaxi…
Quantum transduction between microwave and optical frequencies is important for connecting superconducting quantum platforms in a quantum network. Ensembles of rare-earth ions are promising candidates to achieve this conversion due to their collective coherent properties at microwave and optical frequencies. Erbium ions are of particular interest because of their telecom wavelength optical transitions that are compatible with fiber communication networks. Here, we report the optical and electron spin properties of erbium doped yttrium orthovanadate (Er$^{3+}$:YVO$_{4}$), including high-resolut…
The ability to convert quantum states from microwave photons to optical photons is important for hybrid system approaches to quantum information processing. In this paper we report the up-conversion of a microwave signal into the optical telecommunications wavelength band using erbium dopants in a yttrium orthosilicate crystal via stimulated Raman scattering. The microwaves were applied to the sample using a 3D copper loop-gap resonator and the coupling and signal optical fields were single passed. The conversion efficiency was low, in agreement with a theoretical analysis, but can be signific…
Cavity-enhanced optical readout and control of nuclear spin qubits
Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik（马克斯·普朗克量子光学研究所）；Technical University of Munich（慕尼黑工业大学）；Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST)（慕尼黑量子科学与技术中心）；TUM Center for Quantum Engineering (ZQE)（慕尼黑工业大学量子工程中心）
Optical networks that distribute entanglement among quantum technologies will form a powerful backbone for quantum science but are yet to interface with leading quantum hardware such as superconducting qubits. Consequently, these systems remain isolated because microwave links at room temperature are noisy and lossy. Building connectivity requires interfaces that map quantum information between microwave and optical fields. While preliminary microwave-to-optical (M2O) transducers have been realized, developing efficient, low-noise devices that match superconducting qubit frequencies (gigahertz…
Raman heterodyne spectroscopy is a powerful tool for characterizing the energy and dynamics of spins. The technique uses an optical pump to transfer coherence from a spin transition to an optical transition where the coherent emission is more easily detected. Here Raman heterodyne spectroscopy is used to probe an isotopically purified ensemble of erbium dopants, in a yttrium orthosilicate (Y$_2$SiO$_5$) crystal coupled to a microwave cavity. Because the erbium electron spin transition is strongly coupled to the microwave cavity, we observed Raman heterodyne signals at the resonant frequencies …
We experimentally demonstrate the coupling at zero magnetic field of an isotopically pure erbium doped yttrium orthosilicate crystal ($^{167}$Er:YSO) to a three-dimensional superconducting cavity with a $Q$ factor of $10^5$. A tunable loop-gap resonator is used, and its resonance frequency is tuned to observe the hyperfine transitions of the erbium sample. The observed spectrum differs from what is predicted by the published spin Hamiltonian parameters. The narrow cavity linewidth also enables the observation of asymmetric line shapes for these hyperfine transitions. Such a broadly tunable sup…
Achieving spin squeezing within solid-state devices is a long standing research goal, due to the promise of their particularities, for instance their long coherence times, the possibility of low-temperature experiments or integration of entanglement-assisted sensors on-chip. In this work, we investigate an interferometer-free four-color scheme to achieve spin squeezing of rare-earth ion-doped crystals. The proposal relies on an analytic derivation that starts from a Tavis-Cummings model for light-matter interaction, providing microscopic insights onto spin-squeezing generation. We evidence spi…
Quantum light-matter interfaces (QLMIs) connecting stationary qubits to photons will enable optical networks for quantum communications, precise global time keeping, photon switching, and studies of fundamental physics. Rare-earth-ion (REI) doped crystals are state-of-the-art materials for optical quantum memories and quantum transducers between optical photons, microwave photons and spin waves. Here we demonstrate coupling of an ensemble of neodymium REIs to photonic nano-cavities fabricated in the yttrium orthosilicate host crystal. Cavity quantum electrodynamics effects including Purcell en…
Rare earth ions in crystals exhibit narrow spectral features and hyperfine-split ground states with exceptionally long coherence times. These features make them ideal platforms for quantum information processing in the solid state. Recently, we reported on the first high-resolution spectroscopy of single Pr$^{3+}$ ions in yttrium orthosilicate (YSO) nanocrystals. While in that work we examined the less explored $^3$H$_4$-$^3$P$_0$ transition at a wavelength of 488 nm, here we extend our investigations to the $^3$H$_4$-$^1$D$_2$ transition at 606 nm. In addition, we present measurements of the …
