Faithfully storing an unknown quantum light state is essential to advanced quantum communication and distributed quantum computation applications. The required quantum memory must have high fidelity to improve the performance of a quantum network. Here we report the reversible transfer of photonic polarization states into collective atomic excitation in a compact solid-state device. The quantum memory is based on an atomic frequency comb (AFC) in rare-earth ion-doped crystals. We obtain up to 0.999 process fidelity for the storage and retrieval process of single-photon-level coherent pulse. This reliable quantum memory is a crucial step toward quantum networks based on solid-state devices.

Employing an unsymmetrical 1,2,4-benzenetricarboxylate as a bridging ligand, a new 3-D chiral cadmium coordination polymer [Cd(2)(OH)(1,2,4-BTC)] (1,2,4-BTC = 1,2,4-benzenetricarboxylate) has been prepared under hydrothermal conditions and characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction. This compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), with cell parameters a = 6.900(2) A, b = 7.404(3) A, c = 19.116(5) A, V = 976.5(5) A(3), and Z = 4. Its structure contains 2-D Cd-O-Cd connectivity, which is further linked by the 1,2,4-BTC ligand into a 3-D supramolecular framework. The 1,2,4-BTC ligand shows a novel and unprecedented coordination mode: nine bonds to eight metals with each carboxylate as a tridentate group. The compound exhibits intense photoluminescence at room temperature and shows distinct NLO properties. On the basis of the results of TG/DTA analyses, the structure is thermally stable up to approximately 380 degrees C.

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