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Applied Physics Letters

Competition between two four-wave mixing channels via atomic coherence

Yanpeng Zhang, Blake Anderson, Andy W. Brown, Min Xiao

Published Aug 6, 2007• 36 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Two four-wave-mixing (FWM) processes can coexist in a four-level Y-type atomic system with carefully arranged coupling laser beams. The generated two FWM signal beams fall into two simultaneously opened dual electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) windows, which can be tuned to overlap or separate by various frequency detunings. The authors report our experimental observation of competing FWM processes, especially mutual suppression of the two FWM signals when the two EIT windows merge in frequency. Controlling FWM processes can have important applications in wavelength conversion for optical communication.

DOI
10.1063/1.2768872

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Two four-wave-mixing (FWM) processes can coexist in a four-level Y-type atomic system with carefully arranged coupling laser beams. The generated two FWM signal beams fall into two simultaneously opened dual electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) windows, which can be tuned to overlap or separate by various frequency detunings. The authors report our experimental observation of competing FWM processes, especially mutual suppression of the two FWM signals when the two EIT windows merge in frequency. Controlling FWM processes can have important applications in wavelength conversion for optical communication.
Two four-wave mixing (FWM) processes with different directions and frequencies can coexist and interfere in a four-level inverted-Y-type atomic system, the generated FWM beams fall into two different electromagnetically induced transparency windows. We report Autler-Townes splitting and dressed suppression and enhancement of two generated FWM beams. In the case of matched slow FWM beams, two FWM processes compete and exchange their energies between them, the forward four-wave beam give its energy to the backward four-wave beam by interaction for long distance. Such studies of two FWM beams can have vital applications in studying the higher-order nonlinear optical processes, generating correlated photon pairs and quantum information processing.
We simultaneously observe the probe transmission, four-wave mixing (FWM) and fluorescence signals under dressing effects in a four-level -type atomic system for the first time. The physical mechanisms of three types of signals are explored by changing the frequency detuning and power of incident laser beams. Especially, the ultranarrow fluorescence signals have been experimentally obtained due to twice shearing by electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) window, which are much narrower than the Doppler-free EIT window. Such ultranarrow fluorescence signals with very high coherence and monochromaticity have potential applications in the quantum correlation and narrow linewidth laser. Studying the FWM processes can find applications in optical switch and optical communication.
Using phase control between four-wave mixing (FWM) and six-wave mixing (SWM) channels in a four-level atomic system, we demonstrate temporal and spatial interferences between these two nonlinear optical processes. Efficient and coexisting FWM and SWM signals are produced in the same electromagnetically induced transparency window via atomic coherence. The temporal interference has a femtosecond time scale corresponding to the optical transition frequency. Such studies of intermixing between different order nonlinear optical processes with a controllable phase delay can have important applications in high-precision measurements, coherence quantum control, and quantum information processing.
Based on double optical pumping channels, we experimentally study the competition between two coexistent six-wave mixing (SWM) processes falling into two electromagnetically induced transparency windows by scanning the frequency of the probe field in two similar five-level atomic systems of 85 Rb.By blocking one optical pumping channel unrelated to the four-wave mixing (FWM) process, one SWM process, together with the FWM process, generated by a conjugated small-angle static grating could be observed in the spectrum.Moreover, the other SWM process obtained by blocking the first SWM channel is also observed together with the FWM process in a lower N-type four-level subsystem.These experimental results agree well with theoretical predictions.