G. Da Prato
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Erbium Ions Integrated with Silicon Nanophotonic Structures
A Versatile Hybrid Quantum System
Two complementary implementations are explored in this thesis. First, silicon photonic crystal cavities are combined with erbium-doped lithium niobate, enabling Purcell-enhanced single-photon emission from individual ions. The optical frequency of the ions is tuned via the linear Stark effect, a key step toward the generation of indistinguishable photons. Second, erbium ions are implanted directly in silicon nanostructures. The optical transition dipole properties are investigated under different magnetic-field regimes, an essential ingredient for optimizing cavity-ion coupling. A general framework is established to determine the transition dipole polarization in spin-1/2 solid-state defects, overcoming limitations of existing approaches. Furthermore, this method enables the determination of the strain-orbital coupling tensor, representing an important step toward coupling erbium spins to mechanical modes supported by our nanostructures.
Overall, this work establishes the experimental foundations for hybrid quantum systems based on erbium ions coupled to silicon nanostructures, providing key building blocks for efficient spin-photon and spin-phonon interfaces and opening new opportunities for nonlinear quantum optomechanics. ...
Two complementary implementations are explored in this thesis. First, silicon photonic crystal cavities are combined with erbium-doped lithium niobate, enabling Purcell-enhanced single-photon emission from individual ions. The optical frequency of the ions is tuned via the linear Stark effect, a key step toward the generation of indistinguishable photons. Second, erbium ions are implanted directly in silicon nanostructures. The optical transition dipole properties are investigated under different magnetic-field regimes, an essential ingredient for optimizing cavity-ion coupling. A general framework is established to determine the transition dipole polarization in spin-1/2 solid-state defects, overcoming limitations of existing approaches. Furthermore, this method enables the determination of the strain-orbital coupling tensor, representing an important step toward coupling erbium spins to mechanical modes supported by our nanostructures.
Overall, this work establishes the experimental foundations for hybrid quantum systems based on erbium ions coupled to silicon nanostructures, providing key building blocks for efficient spin-photon and spin-phonon interfaces and opening new opportunities for nonlinear quantum optomechanics.
Single quantum emitters embedded in solid-state hosts are an ideal platform for realizing quantum information processors and quantum network nodes. Among the currently investigated candidates, Er3+ ions are particularly appealing due to their 1.5 μm optical transition in the telecom band as well as their long spin coherence times. However, the long lifetimes of the excited state - generally in excess of 1 ms - along with the inhomogeneous broadening of the optical transition result in significant challenges. Photon emission rates are prohibitively small, and different emitters generally create photons with distinct spectra, thereby preventing multiphoton interference - a requirement for building large-scale, multinode quantum networks. Here we solve this challenge by demonstrating for the first time linear Stark tuning of the emission frequency of a single Er3+ ion. Our ions are embedded in a lithium niobate crystal and couple evanescently to a silicon nanophotonic crystal cavity that provides a strong increase of the measured decay rate. By applying an electric field along the crystal c axis, we achieve a Stark tuning greater than the ion's linewidth without changing the single-photon emission statistics of the ion. These results are a key step towards rare earth ion-based quantum networks.