Storage and retrieval of ultrafast single photons using a room-temperature diamond quantum memory

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the storage and retrieval of ultrafast single photons in a room-temperature diamond quantum memory, preserving non-classical statistics and offering a versatile interface for quantum information processing.

Contribution

It introduces a room-temperature diamond quantum memory capable of storing broadband single photons with preserved quantum properties, a significant advancement in quantum photonics.

Findings

Successful storage and retrieval of single photons in diamond

Preservation of non-classical photon statistics ($g^{(2)}(0)=0.65$)

Memory is low-noise, high-speed, and broadly tunable

Abstract

We report the storage and retrieval of single photons, via a quantum memory, in the optical phonons of room-temperature bulk diamond. The THz-bandwidth heralded photons are generated by spontaneous parametric downconversion and mapped to phonons via a Raman transition, stored for a variable delay, and released on demand. The second-order correlation of the memory output is $g^{(2)}(0) = 0.65 \pm 0.07$, demonstrating preservation of non-classical photon statistics throughout storage and retrieval. The memory is low-noise, high-speed and broadly tunable; it therefore promises to be a versatile light-matter interface for local quantum processing applications.