Solid state optical quantum memories

Quantum information science (QIS) aims at controlling quantum coherence effects in light and matter in order to enable new information processing capabilities that are not possible with classical resources. Quantum information can be encoded in photons that are used as flying quantum bits that can be sent over long distances, and in atoms that are used as stationary quantum bits to store and process the information. The efficient transfer of quantum information between single photons and atomic systems is an important requirement for QIS. It enables the realization of a quantum memory for light, which is required for many applications in QIS. In particular, it is necessary for scalable implementations of quantum information networks. It is also a crucial element of quantum repeaters that have been proposed to overcome losses in the transport of photonic quantum information over long distances.