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arXiv:2011.03765 · Optics Letters

Room temperature atomic frequency comb storage for light

D. Main, T. M. Hird, Shaobo Gao, Ian A. Walmsley, Patrick M. Ledingham

Published May 18, 2021• 15 citations
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Abstract

We demonstrate coherent storage and retrieval of pulsed light using the atomic frequency comb protocol in a room temperature alkali vapor. We utilize velocity-selective optical pumping to prepare multiple velocity classes in the F = 4 hyperfine ground state of cesium. The frequency spacing of the classes is chosen to coincide with the F ′ = 4 − F ′ = 5 hyperfine splitting of the 6 2 P 3 / 2 excited state, resulting in a broadband periodic absorbing structure consisting of two usually Doppler-broadened optical transitions. Weak coherent states of duration 2 n s are mapped into this atomic frequency comb with pre-programmed recall times of 8 n s and 12 n s , with multi-temporal mode storage and recall demonstrated. Utilizing two transitions in the comb leads to an additional interference effect upon rephasing that enhances the recall efficiency.

DOI
10.1364/ol.426753

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We demonstrate coherent storage and retrieval of pulsed light using the atomic frequency comb protocol in a room temperature alkali vapor. We utilize velocity-selective optical pumping to prepare multiple velocity classes in the F = 4 hyperfine ground state of cesium. The frequency spacing of the classes is chosen to coincide with the F ′ = 4 − F ′ = 5 hyperfine splitting of the 6 2 P 3 / 2 excited state, resulting in a broadband periodic absorbing structure consisting of two usually Doppler-broadened optical transitions. Weak coherent states of duration 2 n s are mapped into this atomic frequency comb with pre-programmed recall times of 8 n s and 12 n s , with multi-temporal mode storage and recall demonstrated. Utilizing two transitions in the comb leads to an additional interference effect upon rephasing that enhances the recall efficiency.
We have demonstrated the coherent storage and retrieval of single-photon-level light using the atomic frequency comb protocol in a room temperature rubidium vapor. Velocity-selective optical pumping is used to prepare the comb within the F = 2 hyperfine ground state of rubidium, with the spacing between peaks coinciding with half the F = 2 − F = 3 hyperfine splitting of the 5 P 3 / 2 2 excited state. Weak coherent states of average photon number μ in = 0.083 ( 5 ) are stored with preprogrammed recall time of 7.5 ns with an efficiency of η AFC = 6.59 ( 5 ) % , while two temporally distinct modes have been stored and recalled with η AFC = 2.6 ( 1 ) % , allowing for time-bin qubit storage. Finally, the storage efficiency is observed to be independent of the input pulse polarization, satisfying a necessary condition for polarization qubit storage.
We report on the coherent and multi-temporal mode storage of light using the full atomic frequency comb memory scheme. The scheme involves the transfer of optical atomic excitations in Pr 3+ :Y 2 SiO 5 to spin waves in hyperfine levels using strong single-frequency transfer pulses. Using this scheme, a total of five temporal modes are stored and recalled on-demand from the memory. The coherence of the storage and retrieval is characterized using a time-bin interference measurement resulting in visibilities higher than 80%, independent of the storage time. This coherent and multimode spin-wave memory is promising as a quantum memory for light.
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.
We demonstrate experimentally an efficient coherent rephasing scheme for the storage and recall of weak coherent light pulses in an inhomogeneously broadened optical transition in a Pr(3+):YSO crystal at 2.1 K. Precise optical pumping using a frequency stable (≈1 kHz linewidth) laser is employed to create a highly controllable atomic frequency comb structure. We report single photon level storage and retrieval efficiencies of 25%, based on coherent photon-echo-type reemission in the forward direction. The high efficiency is mainly a product of our highly controllable and precise ensemble-shaping technique. The coherence property of the quantum memory is proved through interference between a super-Gaussian pulse and the emitted echo.
We experimentally study a broadband implementation of the atomic frequency comb (AFC) rephasing protocol with a cryogenically cooled P r 3 + : Y 2 S i O 5 crystal. To allow for storage of broadband pulses, we explore a novel, to the best of our knowledge, regime where the input photonic bandwidth closely matches the inhomogeneous broadening of the material ( ∼ 5 G H z ) , thereby significantly exceeding the hyperfine ground and excited state splitting ( ∼ 10 M H z ) . Through an investigation of different AFC preparation parameters, we measure a maximum efficiency of 10% after a rephasing time of 12.5 ns. With a suboptimal AFC, we witness up to 12 rephased temporal modes.
Quantum memories are a crucial technology for enabling large-scale quantum networks through synchronization of probabilistic operations. Such networks impose strict requirements on quantum memory, such as storage time, retrieval efficiency, bandwidth, and scalability. On- and off-resonant ladder protocols on warm atomic vapor platforms are promising candidates, combining efficient high-bandwidth operation with low-noise on-demand retrieval. However, their storage time is severely limited by motion-induced dephasing caused by the broad velocity distribution of atoms composing the vapor. In this paper, we demonstrate velocity selective optical pumping to overcome this decoherence mechanism. This will increase the achievable memory storage time of vapor memories. This technique can also be used for preparing arbitrarily shaped absorption profiles, for instance, preparing an atomic frequency comb absorption feature.