Efficient Ion-Photon Quantum Interface with Long-Working-Distance Exceeding 26 mm
Abstract
Trapped-ion quantum networks rely on efficient ion-photon interfaces, while objective-based free-space collection systems must balance high photon collection with sufficient working distance for practical integration with ion-trap hardware. Here, we design and characterize an ion-photon interface with a long working distance of 26.15 mm and a high numerical aperture of 0.5. The core of the interface is a photon-collection objective consisting of six commercial spherical lenses with optimized spacing. The interface achieved an overall fiber-coupled photon-detection efficiency of (1.29±0.09)% from the ion to the detector and maintains fiber coupling over several hours without active realignment, supporting stable operation of the ion-to-fiber interface. Photon-correlation measurements show clear antibunching in the fiber-coupled fluorescence, confirming the preservation of non-classical photon statistics. These results demonstrate a practical implementation of a long-working-distance photon collection interface for trapped-ion quantum network experiments.
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BibTeX
@misc{choi2026efficient,
title = {{Efficient Ion-Photon Quantum Interface with Long-Working-Distance Exceeding 26 mm}},
author = {Jungwoo Choi and Inhyuk Oh and Chanyang Im and Gibeom Son and Junki Kim},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.25598},
eprint = {2609.25598},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.25598},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Efficient Ion-Photon Quantum Interface with Long-Working-Distance Exceeding 26 mm
AU - Jungwoo Choi
AU - Inhyuk Oh
AU - Chanyang Im
AU - Gibeom Son
AU - Junki Kim
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/22
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.25598
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.25598
AB - Trapped-ion quantum networks rely on efficient ion-photon interfaces, while objective-based free-space collection systems must balance high photon collection with sufficient working distance for practical integration with ion-trap hardware. Here, we design and characterize an ion-photon interface with a long working distance of 26.15 mm and a high numerical aperture of 0.5. The core of the interface is a photon-collection objective consisting of six commercial spherical lenses with optimized spacing. The interface achieved an overall fiber-coupled photon-detection efficiency of (1.29±0.09)% from the ion to the detector and maintains fiber coupling over several hours without active realignment, supporting stable operation of the ion-to-fiber interface. Photon-correlation measurements show clear antibunching in the fiber-coupled fluorescence, confirming the preservation of non-classical photon statistics. These results demonstrate a practical implementation of a long-working-distance photon collection interface for trapped-ion quantum network experiments.
ER -