An entangled photon source for the telecom C-band based on a semiconductor-confined spin

Abstract

Multiphoton entangled states are a key resource for quantum networks and measurement-based quantum computation. Scalable protocols for generating such states using solid-state spin-photon interfaces have recently emerged, but practical implementations have so far relied on emitters operating at short wavelengths, incompatible with low-loss fibre transmission. Here, we take a key step towards the generation of telecom wavelength multi-qubit entangled states using an InAs/InP quantum dot. After establishing that all essential criteria for generating cluster states using a ground state spin as the entangler are satisfied, we implement a scalable protocol to entangle the resident spin with sequentially emitted photons directly in the telecom C-band. We demonstrate a two-qubit (spin-photon) entanglement fidelity of $59.5\pm 8.7\%$ and a lower bound of three-qubit (spin-photon-photon) entanglement fidelity of $52.7\pm 11.4\%$. Our results close the performance gap between short-wavelength quantum dot systems and the existing telecom infrastructure, establishing a route towards practical large photonic cluster states for fibre-based quantum network applications.