Many-body cavity quantum electrodynamics with driven inhomogeneous emitters.

Quantum emitters coupled to optical resonators are quintessential systems for exploring fundamental phenomena in cavity quantum electrodynamics (cQED)1 and are commonly used in quantum devices acting as qubits, memories and transducers2. Many previous experimental cQED studies have focused on regimes in which a small number of identical emitters interact with a weak external drive3-6, such that the system can be described with simple, effective models. However, the dynamics of a disordered, many-body quantum system subject to a strong drive have not been fully explored, despite its importance and potential in quantum applications7-10. Here we study how a large, inhomogeneously broadened ensemble of solid-state emitters coupled with high cooperativity to a nanophotonic resonator behaves under strong excitation. We discover a sharp, collectively induced transparency (CIT) in the cavity reflection spectrum, resulting from quantum interference and collective response induced by the interplay between driven inhomogeneous emitters and cavity photons. Furthermore, coherent excitation within the CIT window leads to highly nonlinear optical emission, spanning from fast superradiance to slow subradiance11. These phenomena in the many-body cQED regime enable new mechanisms for achieving slow light12 and frequency referencing, pave a way towards solid-state superradiant lasers13 and inform the development of ensemble-based quantum interconnects9,10.

Microwave-to-optical transduction with erbium ions coupled to planar photonic and superconducting resonators.

Optical quantum networks can connect distant quantum processors to enable secure quantum communication and distributed quantum computing. Superconducting qubits are a leading technology for quantum information processing but cannot couple to long-distance optical networks without an efficient, coherent, and low noise interface between microwave and optical photons. Here, we demonstrate a microwave-to-optical transducer using an ensemble of erbium ions that is simultaneously coupled to a superconducting microwave resonator and a nanophotonic optical resonator. The coherent atomic transitions of the ions mediate the frequency conversion from microwave photons to optical photons and using photon counting we observed device conversion efficiency approaching 10-7. With pulsed operation at a low duty cycle, the device maintained a spin temperature below 100 mK and microwave resonator heating of less than 0.15 quanta.

Nuclear spin-wave quantum register for a solid-state qubit.

Solid-state nuclear spins surrounding individual, optically addressable qubits1,2 are a crucial resource for quantum networks3-6, computation7-11 and simulation12. Although hosts with sparse nuclear spin baths are typically chosen to mitigate qubit decoherence13, developing coherent quantum systems in nuclear-spin-rich hosts enables exploration of a much broader range of materials for quantum information applications. The collective modes of these dense nuclear spin ensembles provide a natural basis for quantum storage14; however, using them as a resource for single-spin qubits has thus far remained elusive. Here, by using a highly coherent, optically addressed 171Yb3+ qubit doped into a nuclear-spin-rich yttrium orthovanadate crystal15, we develop a robust quantum control protocol to manipulate the multi-level nuclear spin states of neighbouring 51V5+ lattice ions. Via a dynamically engineered spin-exchange interaction, we polarize this nuclear spin ensemble, generate collective spin excitations, and subsequently use them to implement a quantum memory. We additionally demonstrate preparation and measurement of maximally entangled 171Yb-51V Bell states. Unlike conventional, disordered nuclear-spin-based quantum memories16-24, our platform is deterministic and reproducible, ensuring identical quantum registers for all 171Yb3+ qubits. Our approach provides a framework for utilizing the complex structure of dense nuclear spin baths, paving the way towards building large-scale quantum networks using single rare-earth ion qubits15,25-28.

On-chip coherent microwave-to-optical transduction mediated by ytterbium in YVO4.

Optical networks that distribute entanglement among various quantum systems will form a powerful framework 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 long distance connectivity requires interfaces that map quantum information between microwave and optical fields. While preliminary microwave-to-optical transducers have been realized, developing efficient, low-noise devices that match superconducting qubit frequencies (gigahertz) and bandwidths (10 kilohertz - 1 megahertz) remains a challenge. Here we demonstrate a proof-of-concept on-chip transducer using trivalent ytterbium-171 ions in yttrium orthovanadate coupled to a nanophotonic waveguide and a microwave transmission line. The device's miniaturization, material, and zero-magnetic-field operation are important advances for rare-earth ion magneto-optical devices. Further integration with high quality factor microwave and optical resonators will enable efficient transduction and create opportunities toward multi-platform quantum networks.

Control and single-shot readout of an ion embedded in a nanophotonic cavity.

Distributing entanglement over long distances using optical networks is an intriguing macroscopic quantum phenomenon with applications in quantum systems for advanced computing and secure communication1,2. Building quantum networks requires scalable quantum light-matter interfaces1 based on atoms3, ions4 or other optically addressable qubits. Solid-state emitters5, such as quantum dots and defects in diamond or silicon carbide6-10, 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 transduction11-15, but only recently have single rare-earth ions been isolated16,17 and coupled to nanocavities18,19. 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.

Optically Addressing Single Rare-Earth Ions in a Nanophotonic Cavity.

We demonstrate optical probing of spectrally resolved single Nd^{3+} rare-earth ions in yttrium orthovanadate. The ions are coupled to a photonic crystal resonator and show strong enhancement of the optical emission rate via the Purcell effect, resulting in near radiatively limited single photon emission. The measured high coupling cooperativity between a single photon and the ion allows for the observation of coherent optical Rabi oscillations. This could enable optically controlled spin qubits, quantum logic gates, and spin-photon interfaces for future quantum networks.

Nanophotonic rare-earth quantum memory with optically controlled retrieval.

Optical quantum memories are essential elements in quantum networks for long-distance distribution of quantum entanglement. Scalable development of quantum network nodes requires on-chip qubit storage functionality with control of the readout time. We demonstrate a high-fidelity nanophotonic quantum memory based on a mesoscopic neodymium ensemble coupled to a photonic crystal cavity. The nanocavity enables >95% spin polarization for efficient initialization of the atomic frequency comb memory and time bin-selective readout through an enhanced optical Stark shift of the comb frequencies. Our solid-state memory is integrable with other chip-scale photon source and detector devices for multiplexed quantum and classical information processing at the network nodes.

Interfacing broadband photonic qubits to on-chip cavity-protected rare-earth ensembles.

Ensembles of solid-state optical emitters enable broadband quantum storage and transduction of photonic qubits, with applications in high-rate quantum networks for secure communications and interconnecting future quantum computers. To transfer quantum states using ensembles, rephasing techniques are used to mitigate fast decoherence resulting from inhomogeneous broadening, but these techniques generally limit the bandwidth, efficiency and active times of the quantum interface. Here, we use a dense ensemble of neodymium rare-earth ions strongly coupled to a nanophotonic resonator to demonstrate a significant cavity protection effect at the single-photon level-a technique to suppress ensemble decoherence due to inhomogeneous broadening. The protected Rabi oscillations between the cavity field and the atomic super-radiant state enable ultra-fast transfer of photonic frequency qubits to the ions (∼50 GHz bandwidth) followed by retrieval with 98.7% fidelity. With the prospect of coupling to other long-lived rare-earth spin states, this technique opens the possibilities for broadband, always-ready quantum memories and fast optical-to-microwave transducers.

High quality factor nanophotonic resonators in bulk rare-earth doped crystals.

Numerous bulk crystalline materials exhibit attractive nonlinear and luminescent properties for classical and quantum optical applications. A chip-scale platform for high quality factor optical nanocavities in these materials will enable new optoelectronic devices and quantum light-matter interfaces. In this article, photonic crystal nanobeam resonators fabricated using focused ion beam milling in bulk insulators, such as rare-earth doped yttrium orthosilicate and yttrium vanadate, are demonstrated. Operation in the visible, near infrared, and telecom wavelengths with quality factors up to 27,000 and optical mode volumes close to one cubic wavelength is measured. These devices enable new nanolasers, on-chip quantum optical memories, single photon sources, and non-linear devices at low photon numbers based on rare-earth ions. The techniques are also applicable to other luminescent centers and crystal.

High quality-factor optical nanocavities in bulk single-crystal diamond.

Single-crystal diamond, with its unique optical, mechanical and thermal properties, has emerged as a promising material with applications in classical and quantum optics. However, the lack of heteroepitaxial growth and scalable fabrication techniques remains the major limiting factors preventing more wide-spread development and application of diamond photonics. In this work, we overcome this difficulty by adapting angled-etching techniques, previously developed for realization of diamond nanomechanical resonators, to fabricate racetrack resonators and photonic crystal cavities in bulk single-crystal diamond. Our devices feature large optical quality factors, in excess of 105, and operate over a wide wavelength range, spanning visible and telecom. These newly developed high-Q diamond optical nanocavities open the door for a wealth of applications, ranging from nonlinear optics and chemical sensing, to quantum information processing and cavity optomechanics.