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arXiv:1403.4801 · Physical Review A

Coherence rephasing combined with spin-wave storage using chirped control pulses

G. Demeter

Published Jun 11, 2014• 5 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Photon-echo based optical quantum memory schemes often employ intermediate steps to transform optical coherences to spin coherences for longer storage times. We analyze a scheme that uses three identical chirped control pulses for coherence rephasing in an inhomogeneously broadened ensemble of three-level $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ systems. The pulses induce a cyclic permutation of the atomic populations in the adiabatic regime. Optical coherences created by a signal pulse are stored as spin coherences at an intermediate time interval, and are rephased for echo emission when the ensemble is returned to the initial state. Echo emission during a possible partial rephasing when the medium is inverted can be suppressed with an appropriate choice of control pulse wave vectors. We demonstrate that the scheme works in an optically dense ensemble, despite control pulse distortions during propagation. It integrates conveniently the spin-wave storage step into memory schemes based on a second rephasing of the atomic coherences.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.89.063806

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Photon-echo based optical quantum memory schemes often employ intermediate steps to transform optical coherences to spin coherences for longer storage times. We analyze a scheme that uses three identical chirped control pulses for coherence rephasing in an inhomogeneously broadened ensemble of three-level \ensuremathΛ\ensuremath{\Lambda}\ensuremathΛ systems. The pulses induce a cyclic permutation of the atomic populations in the adiabatic regime. Optical coherences created by a signal pulse are stored as spin coherences at an intermediate time interval, and are rephased for echo emission when the ensemble is returned to the initial state. Echo emission during a possible partial rephasing when the medium is inverted can be suppressed with an appropriate choice of control pulse wave vectors. We demonstrate that the scheme works in an optically dense ensemble, despite control pulse distortions during propagation. It integrates conveniently the spin-wave storage step into memory schemes based on a second rephasing of the atomic coherences.
Photon-echo-based quantum memories use inhomogeneously broadened, optically thick ensembles of absorbers to store a weak optical signal and employ various protocols to rephase the atomic coherences for information retrieval. We study the application of two consecutive, frequency-chirped control pulses for coherence rephasing in an ensemble with a ``natural'' inhomogeneous broadening. Although propagation effects distort the two control pulses differently, chirped pulses that drive adiabatic passage can rephase atomic coherences in an optically thick storage medium. Combined with spatial phase-mismatching techniques to prevent primary echo emission, coherences can be rephased around the ground state to achieve secondary echo emission with close to unit efficiency. Potential advantages over similar schemes working with $\ensuremath{\pi}$ pulses include greater potential signal fidelity, reduced noise due to spontaneous emission, and better capability for the storage of multiple memory channels.
It has been shown that an inhomogeneously broadened optical transition shaped into an atomic frequency comb can store a large number of temporal modes of the electromagnetic field at the single-photon level without the need to increase the optical depth of the storage material. The readout of light modes is made efficient thanks to the rephasing of the optical-wavelength coherence similar to photon-echo-type techniques, and the reemission time is given by the comb structure. For on-demand readout and long storage times, two control fields are used to transfer the optical coherence back and forth into a spin wave. Here, we present a detailed analysis of the spin-wave storage based on chirped adiabatic control fields. In particular, we verify that chirped fields require significantly weaker intensities than $\ensuremath{\pi}$ pulses. The price to pay is a reduction of the multimode storage capacity that we quantify for realistic material parameters associated with solids doped with rare-earth-metal ions.
Quantum coherence control of two-pulse photon echoes has been demonstrated for a rephasing halt, resulting in storage-time extension using atom phase-controlled optical deshelving (optical locking) in a backward propagation scheme for the additional benefit of echo intensity enhancement. Compared with conventional forward two-pulse photon echoes, the backward two-pulse photon echo efficiency is enhanced by 15-fold even in a dilute sample, and the storage time is lengthened by spin dephasing time accelerated by spin inhomogeneous broadening. The mechanism of delayed photon echoes via optical locking is due to the temporal hold of the rephasing process by coherent population transfer to a robust spin state.
Quantum memories for quantum communication need to be able to store photons for an extended time and then to release them on demand. This can be achieved in atomic frequency comb ensemble-based quantum memories by control pulses that transfer the excitation to and from long-lived spin states. However, such pulses can give rise to coherent and incoherent noise due to their interaction with the memory ensemble. In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate the ability to switch off the coherent noise from such control pulses during the echo emission in a spin-wave quantum memory, using the linear Stark effect in rare-earth-ion doped crystals. By applying an electric-field pulse, the echo emission was coherently switched off prior to the first spin transfer pulse, and the stored data pulse was restored only when both an optical recall pulse and a rephasing electrical pulse were applied, giving a high degree of control of both desired and undesired emissions. We estimate the effectiveness of this technique by turning off the free-induction decay of a narrow ensemble of ions. This technique can thus improve the noise performance of spin-wave storage at the single-photon level by quenching coherent optical radiation created by strong control pulses. The method demonstrated here represents a proof of principle that the spin-wave storage scheme can be combined with Stark control. The combined scheme serves as an addition to the toolbox of techniques that can be used to realize a full version of a quantum repeater. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
Photon echo-based quantum memory protocols presented over the last decade are primarily to solve the population inversion constraint in conventional photon echoes. In addition to population inversion, other major constraints limiting quantum memory applications are the low retrieval efficiency and short storage time, in which the importance of these factors has recently increased because of the challenges of the entangled qubit scalability and quantum repeaters. Here, I present, analyze and discuss the solution model for a Controlled Double Rephasing (CDR) echo protocol to satisfy non-inversion, near-perfect retrieval efficiency, and ultra-long storage time. In the CDR echo, a coherent Rabi pulse pair plays a key role for controlling both the ensemble phase and echo propagation direction, where the followings are the major results. Firstly, a counter propagating control Rabi pulse-pair-induced backward echo is free from echo reabsorption, resulting in a near perfect retrieval efficiency. Secondly, the control Rabi pulse pair induces an optical-spin coherence conversion like in the ultraslow light-based photon storage, resulting in a storage time extension up to spin decay time. Finally, the control Rabi flopping to a third state induces a π phase shift to the ensemble coherence, resulting in an emissive echo in the double rephasing scheme, where the π phase shift is due to optical-spin coherence conversion process. Conclusion: This study reveals that the control Rabi flopping in a three-level system applied to conventional photon echoes for storage time extension induces a π phase shift to the coher ent ensemble.
We present a light-storage experiment in a praseodymium-doped crystal where the light is mapped onto an inhomogeneously broadened optical transition shaped into an atomic frequency comb. After absorption of the light, the optical excitation is converted into a spin-wave excitation by a control pulse. A second control pulse reads the memory (on-demand) by reconverting the spin-wave excitation to an optical one, where the comb structure causes a photon-echo-type rephasing of the dipole moments and directional retrieval of the light. This combination of photon-echo and spin-wave storage allows us to store submicrosecond (450 ns) pulses for up to 20 mus. The scheme has a high potential for storing multiple temporal modes in the single-photon regime, which is an important resource for future long-distance quantum communication based on quantum repeaters.