Telecom-Compatible Neutral Atom Quantum Network Node

Neutral atom arrays in optical tweezers have emerged as a promising platform for quantum information processing due to their scalability, qubit indistinguishability, high-fidelity logic operations, and long coherence times. These same properties make neutral atoms ideal candidates for quantum network nodes. We have developed a protocol by which excited-state atomic transitions, strongly coupled to nanophotonic cavities, can be used as a direct telecom photonic interface for a quantum network node designed for long-distance entanglement generation. This telecom interface mitigates optical fiber losses and removes the need for frequency conversion, increasing the entanglement generation rate. This paves a path towards integrating a high quality, efficient telecom photonic interface with local quantum processors based on atom arrays.

We will present our protocol for generating high fidelity atom-telecom photon entanglement and show experimental progress towards realizing this network node, highlighting our chip-based architecture hosting an array of nanophotonic cavities, efficient free-space coupling to our cavities, and the integration of our atom array with our cavity chip.