Efficient polarisation-preserving frequency conversion from a trapped-ion-compatible wavelength to the telecom C band

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a polarisation-preserving frequency converter that efficiently converts 854 nm photons to 1550 nm telecom wavelengths, enabling long-distance quantum communication with trapped-ion systems.

Contribution

The authors present a high-efficiency, low-noise frequency conversion device that preserves photon polarisation, suitable for linking trapped-ion qubits to telecom networks.

Findings

Achieved 30% photon conversion efficiency in fiber-coupled setup.

Maintained polarisation fidelity during conversion.

Enabled potential entanglement distribution over 100 km fiber.

Abstract

We demonstrate polarisation-preserving frequency conversion of single-photon-level light at 854 nm, resonant with a trapped-ion transition and qubit, to the 1550-nm telecom C band. A total photon in / fiber-coupled photon out efficiency of $\sim$ 30 % is achieved, for a free-running photon noise rate of $\sim$ 60 Hz. This performance would enable telecom conversion of 854-nm polarisation qubits, produced in existing trapped-ion systems, with a signal-to-noise ratio greater than 1. In combination with near-future trapped-ion systems, our converter would enable the observation of entanglement between an ion and a photon that has travelled more than 100 km in optical fiber: three orders of magnitude further than the state-of-the-art.