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Ultrastable near-unity-fidelity dynamic polarization encoding of deterministically generated single photons

Joscha Hanel1, Zenghui Jiang1, Jipeng Wang1, Frederik Benthin1, Tom Fandrich1, Raphael Joos2, Eddy Patrick Rugeramigabo1, Michael Jetter2, Simone Luca Portalupi2 et al.

Jingzhong Yang1,*, Michael Zopf1,3, Peter Michler2, and Fei Ding1,3,†

  • *Contact author: jingzhong.yang@fkp.uni-hannover.de
  • †Contact author: fei.ding@fkp.uni-hannover.de
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Phys. Rev. Applied 26, 014102 – Published 30 July, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/lm15-czbv

Abstract

The ability to reliably inscribe information on single photons is a crucial requirement for quantum applications such as quantum communication and measurement-based photonic quantum computation. Experimental implementations generally employ phase modulators in single-pass or Mach-Zehnder-interferometer configurations to encode information on photonic qubits. However, these approaches are intrinsically sensitive to environmental influences, which limits the achievable quantum error rates in practice, posing a major bottleneck in the transition of quantum applications with deterministic sources from the laboratory to the field. Inspired by the adaptation of Sagnac interferometer encoders for laser-based applications, we report a demonstration of a polarization encoder for single-photon qubits based on a free-space Sagnac interferometer. The device showcases inherent phase stability and overcomes previous error-rate limitations: Telecom-wavelength photons emitted by a quantum dot are modulated at a rate of 152 MHz and with a quantum bit error rate of 0.69±0.02%, marking the lowest value reported to date for MHz-rate information encoding on single photons by a factor of >3. This combination of low error rate, high modulation speed, stability, and operation with telecom-wavelength sub-Poissonian photons is an essential requirement for bringing quantum applications based on deterministic photon sources from the laboratory to the field and a significant step toward unlocking the full potential of a future quantum Internet.

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Phys. Rev. Applied 26, 014102– Published 30 July, 2026
  • Received 3 September 2025
  • Revised 3 June 2026
  • Accepted 24 June 2026
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