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Nonlinear Optics at Ultra Low Power in a High-Finesse Optical Cavity with Metastable Xenon

Garrett Hickman, T. B. Pittman, J. D. Franson

Published Jan 1, 2014• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We propose metastable xenon gas as a medium for realizing room temperature nonlinear optics experiments in cavity QED. We demonstrate the viability of this scheme by saturating the 6s[3/2]2 to 6p[3/2]2 transition with nanowatt powers.
DOI
10.1364/cleo_qels.2014.fth3b.1

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Strong saturated absorption at nanowatt power levels has been demonstrated using metastable xenon in a high finesse optical cavity. The use of metastable xenon allows a high quality factor of Q = 2 × 10(8) to be achieved at relatively high atomic densities without any contamination or damage to the optical surfaces, which is often a problem when using high-density rubidium or other alkali atoms. This technique provides a relatively straightforward way to produce nonlinearities at the single-photon level with possible applications in quantum communications and computing.
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Weak single-photon nonlinearities have many potential applications in quantum computing and quantum information. Here we demonstrate a relatively simple system for producing low-power cross-phase modulation using metastable xenon inside a high-finesse cavity. The use of a noble gas such as xenon eliminates the contamination of the high-finesse mirrors that can occur when using alkali metal vapors such as rubidium. Cross-phase shifts of 5 mrad with 4.5-fJ control pulses were demonstrated. Numerical solutions of the master equation are in good agreement with the experimental results, and they predict that cross-phase shifts greater than 1 mrad per control photon should be achievable by reducing the size of the cavity.