Light-matter interactions underlie many quantum technologies, yet whether quasiparticles formed from such interactions preserve the full quantum state of light remains unresolved. Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), a class of polaritons formed by interacting photons with free-electron oscillations at metal-dielectric interfaces, are prime candidates to explore this question. Here we demonstrate quantum interference between single photons and SPPs using an Au-SiN$_{\mathrm{x}}$ integrated photonic-plasmonic device. Our results reveal that SPPs retain the indistinguishability of their excitation photons, establishing SPP as a viable quantum information carrier and opening a potential route toward photonic-plasmonic quantum circuitry.
Yun-Ru Fan, Yingfei Su, Kai Guo et al.· 0 citations
When a photon and one member of an entangled photon pair are jointly projected onto a Bell-state measurement (BSM), the quantum state of the photon can be transferred to the distant partner of the pair without physically transmitting this information carrier. In real-world deployment, however, teleportation performance is fundamentally bottlenecked by quantum channel impairments, such as loss, noise, and fluctuations, which induce severe decoherence and degrade fidelity. This vulnerability is further exacerbated in scenarios with intense classical data traffic or background light. Realizing scalable quantum networks, therefore, hinges on developing advanced channel architectures capable of supporting both high-fidelity quantum operations and high-capacity classical communications within a shared infrastructure. Towards this end, hollow core fibre (HCF) offers a promising quantum channel resource by combining free-space-like weak light-matter interaction with the stability of fibre-based systems. Here, utilizing a field-deployed metropolitan HCF network spanning three spatially separated nodes in Chengdu, we achieve quantum teleportation with an intermediate BSM under co-propagating classical traffic. Crucially, the HCF links preserve the long-term indistinguishability of photonic qubits without active stabilization, and exhibit a Raman noise approximately three orders of magnitude lower than that of standard solid-core counterparts. This noise suppression enables robust quantum teleportation even alongside classical launch powers up to 160 mW. Our findings establish a classical-data-compatible framework for quantum networking over deployed fibre infrastructure and offer a wavelength-agnostic, plug-and-play, and free-running pathway toward the quantum internet.
Ri-Yao Song, Ya-Zhou Zhao, Yun-Ru Fan et al.· 1 citation
The coexistence of quantum information and classical signals in a single fiber is essential for future quantum networks that leverage the well-established optical fiber infrastructure. Although multiplexing technologies can separate quantum and classical signals, pure silica core fibers (PSCFs) remain fundamentally limited by the high nonlinearity, which generates substantial Raman scattering and four-wave mixing noise. Hollow-core fibers (HCFs), guiding light predominantly in air, offer an attractive solution with intrinsically ultra-low nonlinearity and strongly suppressed nonlinear noise. In this work, we demonstrate the entanglement-based key coexisting with data over an 18-km HCF link. We achieve time-encoded high-dimensional quantum key distribution (HD-QKD) carrying 0 dBm of bidirectional received power, corresponding to a theoretical data capacity of up to 2.3 Tbps. During 24 hours of continuous operation, an average secret key rate (SKR) of 10.56 kbps is obtained. Theoretical analysis further predicts SKRs above 135 kbps over transmission distances exceeding 200 km using state-of-the-art low-loss HCFs. These results show significantly improved performance compared with PSCF-based systems and highlight the potential of HCFs for scalable quantum-classical coexistence compatible with the architectures of established fiber-optic networks.
Yue Luo, Sheng Liu, Yun-Ru Fan et al.· 0 citations
We use cookies to run the site and, with your consent, for analytics and to show ads.
See our Cookie Policy.
