Rack-integrated quantum dot-based source of single and entangled photons at telecom C-band

For quantum light sources in everyday telecommunication networks, quantum science needs to be fully transformed into quantum technology.

The first necessary step to move outside a well-controlled lab environment requires the use of quantum light sources operating in the technologically relevant telecom O- and C-band.

This can be provided using epitaxial quantum dots as deterministic sources of quantum light.

Particularly intriguing is that emitters operating at telecom wavelengths are rapidly catching up with their short wavelength counterparts in terms of performances.

Here, we make a decisive step forward in the development of quantum communication networks: a state-of-the-art source of quantum light, a semiconductor quantum dot (QD), with record coincidence rate for entangled photon emission in the telecom C-band, is operated inside an optimized rack-based setup.

This setup includes a tunable pulsed laser for the QD excitation (from quasi- to fully resonant excitation), all optics for the excitation filtering, and QD signal coupling into single-mode fibers.

Overall, the setup allows for above $50\%$ transmission for both exciton and biexciton photons.

These results show that quantum dots-based telecom light sources can now be transported and integrated into existing fiber infrastructures, an important step to demonstrate the feasibility of the upcoming quantum internet.