An integrated quantum repeater at telecom wavelength with single atoms in optical fiber cavities

2015/07/31 by Manuel Uphoff, Manuel Brekenfeld, Gerhard Rempe +1
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Computer science #Materials science #Optical fiber #Optics #Optoelectronics #Physics #Quantum #Quantum Information and Cryptography #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Quantum mechanics #Quantum optics #Quantum optics and atomic interactions #Repeater (horology) #Telecommunications #Wavelength #quant-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1007/s00340-015-6299-2

published as Applied Physics B 122, 46 (2016) · 14 pages, 6 figures

openalex publication_date 2016/03/01 · arxiv created 2016/03/11 · arxiv updated 2016/03/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

Quantum repeaters promise to enable quantum networks over global distances by circumventing the exponential decrease in success probability inherent in direct photon transmission. We propose a realistic, functionally integrated quantum-repeater implementation based on single atoms in optical cavities. Entanglement is directly generated between the single-atom quantum memory and a photon at telecom wavelength. The latter is collected with high efficiency and adjustable temporal and spectral properties into a spatially well-defined cavity mode. It is heralded by a near-infrared photon emitted from a second, orthogonal cavity. Entanglement between two remote quantum memories can be generated via an optical Bell-state measurement, while we propose entanglement swapping based on a highly efficient, cavity-assisted atom-atom gate. Our quantum-repeater scheme eliminates any requirement for wavelength conversion such that only a single system is needed at each node. We investigate a particular implementation with rubidium and realistic parameters for Fabry–Perot cavities based on \hbox CO₂ laser-machined optical fibers. We show that the scheme enables the implementation of a rather simple quantum repeater that outperforms direct entanglement generation over large distances and does not require any improvements in technology beyond the state of the art.

Citations

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