Proposal and proof-of-principle demonstration of non-destructive detection of photonic qubits using a Tm:LiNbO3 waveguide.

N Sinclair,C Deshmukh,W Tittel,K Heshami,D Oblak,C Simon

doi:10.1038/ncomms13454

Abstract

Non-destructive detection of photonic qubits is an enabling technology for quantum information processing and quantum communication. For practical applications, such as quantum repeaters and networks, it is desirable to implement such detection in a way that allows some form of multiplexing as well as easy integration with other components such as solid-state quantum memories. Here, we propose an approach to non-destructive photonic qubit detection that promises to have all the mentioned features. Mediated by an impurity-doped crystal, a signal photon in an arbitrary time-bin qubit state modulates the phase of an intense probe pulse that is stored during the interaction. Using a thulium-doped waveguide in LiNbO3, we perform a proof-of-principle experiment with macroscopic signal pulses, demonstrating the expected cross-phase modulation as well as the ability to preserve the coherence between temporal modes. Our findings open the path to a new key component of quantum photonics based on rare-earth-ion-doped crystals.

Highlights

Non-destructive detection of photonic qubits is an enabling technology for quantum information processing and quantum communication
The probe is stored in an impurity-doped crystal using an approach based on atomic frequency combs[43], and the phase shift is due to the a.c
While our proof-of-principle demonstration confirms the key features of the proposed scheme, a lot remains to be done before qubits encoded into individual and spectrally multiplexed photons can be detected non-destructively and without averaging

Summary

Introduction

Non-destructive detection of photonic qubits is an enabling technology for quantum information processing and quantum communication For practical applications, such as quantum repeaters and networks, it is desirable to implement such detection in a way that allows some form of multiplexing as well as easy integration with other components such as solid-state quantum memories. From the point of view of practical applications, it is of interest to investigate implementations in the solid state as well Such approaches should preserve the qubit state encoded into the photon, allow for multiplexing and be compatible with existing solid-state quantum information processing and communication components. We discuss how our proposal can be implemented at the single-photon level

Methods

Results

Conclusion