Coherent microwave-to-optical transduction with Yb:YSO spins strongly coupled to a 3D resonator

Abstract

Microwave-to-optical quantum transducers are essential for entangling remote superconducting qubits. Among the available transduction platforms, ensembles of Er$^{3+}$ and Yb$^{3+}$ ions doped into solids have emerged as leading candidates. While external magnetic fields are needed to split the Zeeman levels of erbium ions and enable a microwave--qubit interface, superconducting qubits suffer decoherence in such fields. In contrast, ytterbium ions exhibit zero-first-order Zeeman transitions and large hyperfine splittings at zero magnetic field (when doped into inorganic crystals). Owing to its long optical and spin coherence times, Yb:YSO has been widely used as a quantum memory, yet its potential for quantum transduction remains largely unexplored. Investigating this material could enable the integration of quantum memory and transduction in a single platform. Here, we demonstrate microwave-to-optical transduction in the continuous-wave regime using a 5\,ppm doped Yb:YSO crystal. The internal transduction efficiency is $2\times10^{-8}$ with a bandwidth of 200\,kHz, achieved using a 3D loop-gap microwave resonator (LGR) and a single-pass optical configuration. We explore all the ground states that form a V-type three-level system with the first and second optical excited states and assert the use of the ground state, which provides the highest efficiency and isolated optical transition. We further establish strong spin-microwave coupling from avoided crossing measurements. With a strong microwave drive to saturate the spin transition, we estimate the spin population pumped into the excited state, close to the simulated value. Finally, we calculate target parameter values for maximum efficiency with our system and suggest using 50\,ppm doped Yb:YSO crystal. With the calculated target parameters, the internal transduction efficiency is predicted to reach up to $10^{-4}$ in the current LGR.