Quantum memories at telecom wavelengths are crucial for the construction of large-scale quantum networks based on existing fiber networks. On-demand storage of telecom photonic qubits is a fundamental request for such networking applications but yet to be demonstrated. Here we demonstrate the storage and on-demand retrieval of telecom photonic qubits using a laser-written waveguide fabricated in an 167Er3+:Y2SiO5 crystal. Both ends of the waveguide memory are directly connected with fiber arrays with a fiber-to-fiber efficiency of 51%. Storage fidelity of 98.3(1)% can be obtained for time-bin qubits encoded with single-photon-level coherent pulses, which is far beyond the maximal fidelity that can be achieved with a classical measure and prepare strategy. This device features high reliability, easy scalability and can be directly integrated into fiber networks, which could play an essential role in fiber-based quantum networks.
@article{arxiv.2201.03692,
title = {On-demand storage of photonic qubits at telecom wavelengths},
author = {Duan-Cheng Liu and Pei-Yun Li and Tian-Xiang Zhu and Liang Zheng and Jian-Yin Huang and Zong-Quan Zhou and Chuan-Feng Li and Guang-Can Guo},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2201.03692},
year = {2022}
}