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arXiv:1602.02322

Quantum storage based on controllable frequency comb

Xiwen Zhang, А. А. Калачев, Philip Hemmer, Olga A. Kocharovskaya

Published Feb 7, 2016• 0 citations
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Abstract

We suggest an all-optical scheme for the storage, retrieval and processing of a single-photon wave packet through its off-resonant Raman interaction with a series of coherent control beams. These control beams, each with distinct carrier frequency, are distributed along the way of single-photon propagation, thus effectively forming a gradient absorption structure which can be controlled in various ways to achieve different single-photon processing functionalities. Such a controllable frequency comb is a hybrid of Raman, gradient echo memory (GEM) and atomic frequency comb (AFC) methods, therefore demonstrates many of their advantages all together in one.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1602.02322

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We suggest an all-optical scheme for the storage, retrieval and processing of a single-photon wave packet through its off-resonant Raman interaction with a series of coherent control beams. These control beams, each with distinct carrier frequency, are distributed along the way of single-photon propagation, thus effectively forming a gradient absorption structure which can be controlled in various ways to achieve different single-photon processing functionalities. Such a controllable frequency comb is a hybrid of Raman, gradient echo memory (GEM) and atomic frequency comb (AFC) methods, therefore demonstrates many of their advantages all together in one.
Gradient echo memory (GEM) stores and retrieves photon wave packet in forward direction with high efficiency and fidelity using photon-echo mechanism. It is an important technique for quantum memory applications. By breaking the continuity of the gradient absorption structure, the scheme becomes gradient frequency comb (GFC), which is a hybrid of GEM and atomic frequency comb (AFC). To elucidate the non-trivial field-atom evolution of gradient echo, we derive its exact analytical solution in a medium of arbitrary optical thickness subjecting to any linear gradient of transition frequency, and discuss its physical processes. Based on this solution, we further suggest and analysis two types of GFC, one with stepwise gradient and the other with discontinuous gradient.
Photon echo schemes are excellent candidates for high efficiency coherent optical memory. They are capable of high-bandwidth multipulse storage, pulse resequencing and have been shown theoretically to be compatible with quantum information applications. One particular photon echo scheme is the gradient echo memory (GEM). In this system, an atomic frequency gradient is induced in the direction of light propagation leading to a Fourier decomposition of the optical spectrum along the length of the storage medium. This Fourier encoding allows precision spectral manipulation of the stored light. In this Letter, we show frequency shifting, spectral compression, spectral splitting, and fine dispersion control of optical pulses using GEM.
Photon echo schemes are excellent candidates for high efficiency coherent optical memory. They are capable of high-bandwidth multipulse storage, pulse resequencing and have been shown theoretically to be compatible with quantum information applications. One particular photon echo scheme is the gradient echo memory (GEM). In this system, an atomic frequency gradient is induced in the direction of light propagation leading to a Fourier decomposition of the optical spectrum along the length of the storage medium. This Fourier encoding allows precision spectral manipulation of the stored light. In this Letter, we show frequency shifting, spectral compression, spectral splitting, and fine dispersion control of optical pulses using GEM.
The gradient-echo memory (GEM) scheme has potential to be a suitable protocol for storage and retrieval of optical quantum information. In this paper, we review the properties of the Λ-GEM method that stores information in the ground states of three-level atomic ensembles via Raman coupling. The scheme is versatile in that it can store and re-sequence multiple pulses of light. To date, this scheme has been implemented using warm rubidium gas cells. There are different phenomena that can influence the performance of these atomic systems. We investigate the impact of atomic motion and four-wave mixing and present experiments that show how parasitic four-wave mixing can be mitigated. We also use the memory to demonstrate preservation of pulse shape and the backward retrieval of pulses.
Continuous change of the propagation direction of a classical control field in the process of its off-resonant Raman interaction with a weak signal field in a three-level atomic medium is suggested for quantum storage of a single-photon wave packet. It is shown that due to the phase-matching condition such an angular control allows one to reversibly map the single-photon wave packet to the Raman spatial coherence grating. Thus, quantum storage and retrieval can be realized without using inhomogeneous broadening of the atomic transitions or manipulating the amplitude of the control field. Under some conditions the proposed scheme proves to be mathematically analogous to the quantum storage scheme based on controlled reversible inhomogeneous broadening of the atomic states.
The non-interacting and high-speed nature of light makes it an ideal carrier of information that is essential for transmission of quantum information. Indeed, many proposals and demonstrations of quantum cryptography rely on the use of fibre-optic networks. Construction of a memory that can store light and preserve its quantum properties will be useful in a range of quantum information systems such as secure quantum communication and quantum computation. This is why a quantum memory for light is a remarkable objective. The key to quantum memory is to store the probability amplitude of the possible outcomes of measurement but without measurement. An important criterion for a quantum memory is that the efficiency of the recall must exceed 50%. This is the crucial no-cloning limit for security of information, since it guarantees that nobody can access the information by copying it. This benchmark is important because any kind of deterministic amplification of quantum information is fundamentally impossible. On-demand retrieval of information and ability to controllably manipulate the quantum information are also important for quantum applications. When light is absorbed by atoms, it is actually possible to reverse the absorption process. In our memory system: light is absorbed by an ensemble of atoms and, using careful conditioning and control, we can cause the stored light to be regenerated and released at a later time. This is done by applying a gradient of magnetic field along the atomic ensemble that is the basis for our optical memory. To recall the light we flip the sign of the gradient field. This kind of reversible absorption is called photon echo, hence the name of our scheme: The Gradient Echo Memory (GEM). This simple protocol is used in our experiment and can be applied to a range of different atomic systems. We have extended the GEM protocol and experimentally implemented a memory using three-level atoms. We used an off-the-shelf Rb vapour cell operating above room temperature as the memory medium. In this realisation, we broke the efficiency record with 87% recall of the input light pulse. Moreover, through complete state tomography of coherent states we have demonstrated the ability of our memory to noiselessly store quantum states of light. We have also demonstrated that the memory can store a string of pulses and then recall the pulses ondemand in arbitrary order allowing re-sequencing of the stored information. Furthermore, we have shown that pulses could be time-compressed, time-stretched or split into multiple smaller pulses and selectively recalled in several pieces. This technique enables the construction of an optical random-access memory for quantum information. Moreover, the scheme to manipulate the spectral properties of optical data, stored inside the memory, has been introduced. We have also investigated the possibility of obtaining large nonlinear phase shifts between single photons inside the memory. Such strong interactions can be used for the implementation of universal quantum gates.