Entanglement and nonlocality between disparate solid-state quantum memories mediated by photons

Abstract

Entangling quantum systems with different characteristics through the exchange of photons is a prerequisite for building future quantum networks. Proving the presence of entanglement between quantum memories for light working at different wavelengths furthers this goal. Here, we report on a series of experiments with a thulium-doped crystal, serving as a quantum memory for 794-nm photons, an erbium-doped fiber, serving as a quantum memory for telecommunication-wavelength photons at 1535 nm, and a source of photon pairs created via spontaneous parametric down-conversion. Characterizing the photons after re-emission from the two memories, we find nonclassical correlations with a cross-correlation coefficient of g12(2)=53±8; entanglement preserving storage with input-output fidelity of FIO≈93±2%; and nonlocality featuring a violation of the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt Bell inequality with S=2.6±0.2. Our proof-of-principle experiment shows that entanglement persists while propagating through different solid-state quantum memories operating at different wavelengths.