Towards an optical interface between NV centers and Rare-earth ion solid-state memories

Quantum networks, connecting quantum devices over large distances, promise to provide powerful tools ranging from secure communication to fundamentally new kinds of computation. Analogous to the current Internet, the individual components of a (future) quantum network may be realized using of different physical systems, requiring specialized interfaces between these components. In this talk we will present our work towards an optical interface between photons emitted from a Nitrogen Vacancy (NV) center, well suited as a local quantum processing network node, with light compatible with Tm-based rare-earth ion quantum memories, well suitable for long-range quantum repeaters. To allow for quantum interference between photons from these disparate devices we employ a low noise two-step quantum frequency conversion process to convert light from 795nm, the storage wavelength of the memories, to 637nm, the emission wavelength of NV centers.

With this optical interface between different physical systems, we aim to bridge the gap between two key network components, an important step towards future quantum networks.  We will present our latest results on realization and exploitation of this interface.