Efficient integrated quantum memory for light
摘要
Scalable implementation of quantum networks and photonic processors demands integrated photonic memories with high efficiency, yet current integrated systems have been limited to storage efficiencies below 27.8%. Here we demonstrate highly efficient integrated quantum memories based on rare-earth-ion-doped crystals coupled with impedance-matched microcavities, realized in two novel architectures: 200-μm-thin membranes of Eu3+:Y2SiO5 integrated with fibre-based microcavities and waveguide-based cavities fabricated using femtosecond lasers. Our approach achieves reliable integrated quantum storage with record efficiencies of 80.3(7)% for weak coherent pulses and 69.8(1.6)% for telecom-heralded single photons, alongside the storage of 20 temporal modes with an average efficiency of 51.3(2)%. Moreover, the thin-membrane Eu3+:Y2SiO5 architecture enables spectrally tunable efficient quantum storage via variable strain, providing a flexible interface for quantum networks. By combining high efficiency, large multimode capacity and tunability, our devices establish a versatile hardware foundation for scalable quantum repeaters and chip-scale photonic processors.