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AIP conference proceedings

Destruction of darkness: Optical coherence effects and multi-wave mixing in rubidium vapor

Alexander S. Zibrov

Published Jan 1, 2001• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We describe several novel experimental effects resulting from optical coherences in multilevel atoms driven with coherent laser fields. Four configurations were explored using Rb vapor cells: lambda dark-line resonances, single beam double-lambda oscillations, and cascade two-photon transitions in co- and counter-propagating geometries. Experiments were performed with high spectral-resolution using low-power diode lasers sources and optically thick cells. Two of the most striking effects we observed are: (1) a self-oscillation that occurs at 3.0 GHz on the 85Rb hyperfine frequency when a single laser field pumps the atoms, and (2) a coherent blue-beam emission that we observe in the co-propagating cascade two-photon case. These phenomena lead to complex lineshapes, and the effects sometimes dominate the well-known 3-level coherence effects. Additional higher-order mixing or cascaded interferences are apparent in all four experimental configurations. Many of these can be viewed as multi-wave mixing enhanced by optical coherences around closed-loop paths of atomic energy levels. The effects are particularly strong when four-photon closed-loop paths with resonant energy levels are possible, as in, the double-lambda system or as a four-wave mixing “box.”

DOI
10.1063/1.1354350

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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 5D5/2 state. Under phase-matching conditions coherence among the 5S1/2 → 5P3/2 → 5D5/2 → 6P3/2 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 6S1/2 → 5P1/2 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 mWpower, 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. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America

•Jan 1, 2013•29 citations
We describe several novel experimental effects resulting from optical coherences in multilevel atoms driven with coherent laser fields. Four configurations were explored using Rb vapor cells: lambda dark-line resonances, single beam double-lambda oscillations, and cascade two-photon transitions in co- and counter-propagating geometries. Experiments were performed with high spectral-resolution using low-power diode lasers sources and optically thick cells. Two of the most striking effects we observed are: (1) a self-oscillation that occurs at 3.0 GHz on the 85Rb hyperfine frequency when a single laser field pumps the atoms, and (2) a coherent blue-beam emission that we observe in the co-propagating cascade two-photon case. These phenomena lead to complex lineshapes, and the effects sometimes dominate the well-known 3-level coherence effects. Additional higher-order mixing or cascaded interferences are apparent in all four experimental configurations. Many of these can be viewed as multi-wave mixing enhanced by optical coherences around closed-loop paths of atomic energy levels. The effects are particularly strong when four-photon closed-loop paths with resonant energy levels are possible, as in, the double-lambda system or as a four-wave mixing “box.”
In this work, we present a set of experiments involving four-wave mixing processes in rubidium atoms. We employ several experimental configurations exploring two- and three-level systems in cascade or Λ configurations, all of which are in a copropagating geometry, to investigate different physical phenomena present in each scenario. In the first experiment, we combine a cw diode laser and a 1 GHz femtosecond pulse train to generate coherent blue light through the four-wave mixing process in hot rubidium vapor. The generated coherent signal is analyzed by scanning either the diode frequency or the repetition rate of the frequency comb. In both cases, the cw laser induces an Autler- Townes splitting with a wide separation in the doublet structure due to the configuration of copropagating fields. To model these results, we employ the density matrix formalism to write the Bloch equations and solve them numerically. The solutions allow us to explore other cases beyond those involving our experimental setup, comparing the response of the upper-level population and the generated signal coherence for homogeneously and non-homogeneously broadened systems. Moreover, in this same experiment, we also observed an unexpected interference effect between excitation routes of the four-wave mixing process when the repetition rate of the pulse train is scanned. The theoretical model demonstrates that the interfering effect appears only when the repetition rate is carefully chosen to produce a pair of modes of the frequency comb resonant with both one- and two-photon transitions for the same atomic velocity group. In the second experiment, still with a hot rubidium vapor, we explore two symmetrical degenerate four- wave mixing signals induced by two almost copropagating laser beams, with~ka and~kb wave-vectors, and detected simultaneously in the 2~ka −~kb and 2~kb −~ka directions. Each spectrum has a single peak with a short frequency separation between them, which our model indicates is due to the nonlinear behavior of the refractive indexes, a consequence of the high intensity of both input fields. Finally, we use the same experimental setup for the two symmetrical signals to study the field intensity fluctuations of the degenerate four-wave mixing signals and the transmission signals. In this case, the sample is an ensemble of cold rubidium atoms in a magneto-optical trap. There is an intensity- intensity cross-correlation between the signals due to the resonant phase-noise to amplitude-noise conversion. In this type of cold system, we can neglect the Doppler- broadening, allowing a straightforward study of the dependency of the correlations on the laser detuning. In these measurements, we observe a type of oscillation in the correlation curves that the theoretical model indicates to be connected with Rabi oscillations, revealed by the fluctuations long after the transient period.
We have observed four-wave mixing (FWM) of weak pumping in a resonance double-Λ system for the 5S1/2- 5P1/2transition of87Rb atoms. When three beams (CPT1, CPT2 and pump) were co-propagated in the double-Λ configuration composed of the common excited state 5P1/2(Fe=2) and the two ground state 5S1/2(Fg=1 and 2), we directly measured the generated FWM signal filtering the three beams using polarizer and etalon filters. The spectral width of FWM signal was measured to be ~10 kHz under the condition of coherent population trapping (CPT). Dependence of FWM signals on the intensities of the two beams related CPT and pump beam was investigated in detail.
We present an experimental study of multi-Raman gain resonances in a hot rubidium vapor. The experiment is performed based on a high-efficiency four-wave mixing process due to the Raman-driven coherence in a double-Λ configuration. The Raman gain resonance for 85 Rb atoms under a bias magnetic field is shown to be split into five or six peaks, depending on the orientation of the magnetic field. The formed multi-Raman gain resonances have potential applications in measurement of magnetic fields and generation of multi-frequency correlated twin beams.
An unexpected interference effect between four-wave mixing excitation routes in rubidium vapor is observed using a combination of a cw diode laser and a 1-GHz femtosecond pulse train. The generated coherent blue light is analyzed by scanning the diode frequency and the repetition rate of the frequency comb. In both cases, the cw laser induces an Autler-Townes splitting, and a large separation is observed in the doublet structure due to the configuration of copropagating fields. Remarkably, by scanning the repetition rate, a narrow peak appears as a signature of the interfering pathways. A nonperturbative treatment of the Bloch equations achieves good agreement with the experimental data and demonstrates that the interfering effect appears only when both lasers are resonant with one- and two-photon transitions for the same atomic velocity group.
The evolution of enhanced four-wave mixing based on Raman coherence as the probe intensity increases is observed experimentally in an 85 R b atomic vapor system. We propose that for a Doppler-broadened Λ -type level system, the generated anti-Stokes field from one-photon resonance will be suppressed by the dressed-states resonance and can be controlled by the probe intensity, which influences the effective transverse relaxation rate of Raman coherence. When the probe field is not so weak, the double resonance for dressed states will greatly suppress the anti-Stokes emission at the central frequency, and the signal peak will be split. We show that this phenomenon is a result of the destructive polarization interference between atoms with different velocities from the two types of resonance. Based on our model, we present a new, to the best of our knowledge, interpretation of four-wave mixing enhancement in the conventional Λ -type electromagnetically induced transparency system.
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 5D5/2 state. Under phase-matching conditions coherence among the 5S1/2 → 5P3/2 → 5D5/2 → 6P3/2 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 6S1/2 → 5P1/2 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 mWpower, 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. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America