Nanophotonic Quantum Storage at Telecommunication Wavelength

Abstract

Secure quantum communication over long distances is hindered by photon loss---a simple problem, complicated by the fact that quantum signals cannot be amplified without adding noise. The authors present on-chip quantum storage of light at telecommunication wavelength (around 1539 nm) for up to 10 $\ensuremath{\mu}$s, as an enabling technology for quantum repeater networks, which use distributed entanglement to overcome attenuation. High-fidelity quantum storage of light is demonstrated in a nanophotonic resonator fabricated in yttrium orthosilicate doped with erbium-167. Looking ahead, an improved resonator would yield a benchmark device on the way to scalable quantum communication networks.