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arXiv:0910.2292 · Optics Express

Coherent and collimated blue light generated by four-wave mixing in Rb vapour

A. M. Akulshin, Russell McLean, Andrei I. Sidorov, Peter Hannaford

Published Nov 30, 2009• 126 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We investigate frequency up-conversion of low power cw resonant radiation in Rb vapour as a function of various experimental parameters. We present evidence that the process of four wave mixing is responsible for unidirectional blue light generation and that the phase matching conditions along a light-induced waveguide determine the direction and divergence of the blue light. Velocity-selective excitation to the 5D level via step-wise and two-photon processes results in a Doppler-free dependence on the frequency detuning of the applied laser fields from the respective dipole-allowed transitions. Possible schemes for ultraviolet generation are discussed.

DOI
10.1364/oe.17.022861

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We investigate frequency up-conversion of low power cw resonant radiation in Rb vapour as a function of various experimental parameters. We present evidence that the process of four wave mixing is responsible for unidirectional blue light generation and that the phase matching conditions along a light-induced waveguide determine the direction and divergence of the blue light. Velocity-selective excitation to the 5D level via step-wise and two-photon processes results in a Doppler-free dependence on the frequency detuning of the applied laser fields from the respective dipole-allowed transitions. Possible schemes for ultraviolet generation are discussed.
An evaluation of the absolute frequency and tunability of collimated blue light (CBL) generated in warm Rb vapour excited by low-power cw laser radiation at 780 nm and 776 nm has been performed using a Fabry–Perot interferometer and a blue diode laser. For the conditions of our experiments, the CBL tuning range is more than 250 MHz around the resonant frequency of the 85 Rb 5S 1/2 ( F = 3)→6P 3/2 ( F ′ = 4) transition. A simple technique for stabilizing the power and frequency of the CBL to within a few per cent and 10 MHz, respectively, is suggested and demonstrated.
We present a study of the spectral linewidth of collimated blue light (CBL) that results from wave mixing of low-power cw laser radiation at 780 nm and 776 nm in Rb vapours. Using a high-finesse Fabry-Perot interferometer the spectral width of the CBL is found to be less than 1.3 MHz for a wide range of our experimental conditions. We also demonstrate that the measured linewidth is mainly limited by the temporal coherence of the applied laser fields rather than laser light intensities and the atomic medium itself.
Utilizing two-photon excitation in hot Rb vapor we demonstrate the generation of collimated optical fields at 420 and 1324 nm. Input laser beams at 780 and 776 nm enter a heated Rb vapor cell collinear and circularly polarized, driving Rb atoms to the 5D(5/2) state. Under phase-matching conditions coherence among the 5S(1/2)→5P(3/2)→5D(5/2)→6P(3/2) transitions produces a blue (420 nm) beam by four-wave mixing. We also observe a forward and backward propagating IR (1324 nm) beam, due to cascading decays through the 6S(1/2)→5(1/2) states. Power saturation of the generated beams is investigated by scaling the input powers to greater than 200 mW, resulting in a coherent blue beam of 9.1 mW power, almost an order of magnitude larger than previously achieved. We measure the dependences of both beams in relation to the Rb density, the frequency detuning between Rb ground-state hyperfine levels, and the input laser intensities.
Frequency up- and down-conversion in warm alkali vapours over a range of applied cw laser intensities has received much attention in recent years due to promising applications in the fields of remote detection, quantum information and computing, specifically in the implementation of correlated photon pairs, photon storage and quantum memory interface to name a few. The generation of directional laser-like blue and infrared light in alkali vapours has been extensively studied. However, important details of the interplay of parametric and nonparametric nonlinear processes, such as the four-wave mixing (FWM) and amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) responsible for the new field generation, are not entirely clear.
Abstract The coherent blue light generated in rubidium vapor due to the combined action of an ultrashort pulse train and a continuous wave diode laser is investigated. Each step of the two-photon transition 5S–5P 3 / 2 –5D is excited by one of the lasers, and the induced coherence between the 5S and 6P 3 / 2 states is responsible for generating the blue beam. Measurements of the excitation spectrum reveal the frequency comb structure and allow us to identify the resonant modes responsible for inducing the nonlinear process. Further, each resonant mode excites a different group of atoms, making the process selective in atomic velocity. The signal dependency on the atomic density is characterized by a sharp growth and a rapid saturation. We also show that for high intensity of the diode laser, the Stark shift at resonance causes the signal suppression observed at low atomic density.
Pulsed collimated blue light at 420.3 nm is generated in hot Rb vapor by upconverting the 778.10 nm pumping beam through four wave mixing process. The energy conversion efficiency exceeds 1% when a 45 cm-long, 170°C heated Rb cell is used. The influence of cell temperature, wavelength, and energy of a pumping laser are fully examined. The efficiency of the photon conversion is found to be more sensitive to the blue detuning of the pump light and less sensitive to the red detuning of the pump light. This phenomenon can be explained by stimulated hyper-Raman scattering involved in the four-wave mixing process.