2017/11/28 by Alan Dibos, Mouktik Raha, Christopher M. Phenicie +3 · 328 citations
Computer Science · Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic physics #Nanophotonics #Open quantum system #Optics #Optoelectronics #Photon #Photonic and Optical Devices #Physics #Quantum #Quantum Information and Cryptography #Quantum entanglement #Quantum information science #Quantum mechanics #Quantum network #Quantum optics #Quantum optics and atomic interactions #Quantum sensor #Quantum technology #physics.optics #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.120.243601
published in Physical Review Letters 120(24), 243601 (American Physical Society)
arxiv created 2017/11/28 · openalex publication_date 2018/06/11 · arxiv updated 2018/06/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Single atoms and atomlike defects in solids are ideal quantum light sources and memories for quantum networks. However, most atomic transitions are in the ultraviolet-visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, where propagation losses in optical fibers are prohibitively large. Here, we observe for the first time the emission of single photons from a single Er3+ ion in a solid-state host, whose optical transition at 1.5 μm is in the telecom band, allowing for low-loss propagation in optical fiber. This is enabled by integrating Er3+ ions with silicon nanophotonic structures, which results in an enhancement of the photon emission rate by a factor of more than 650. Dozens of distinct ions can be addressed in a single device, and the splitting of the lines in a magnetic field confirms that the optical transitions are coupled to the electronic spin of the Er3+ ions. These results are a significant step towards long-distance quantum networks and deterministic quantum logic for photons based on a scalable silicon nanophotonics architecture.