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Physical Review A

Efficient energy transfer between four-wave-mixing and six-wave-mixing processes via atomic coherence

Yanpeng Zhang, Blake Anderson, Min Xiao

Published Jun 2, 2008• 65 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We demonstrate efficient energy exchange during propagation between four-wave-mixing (FWM) and six-wave-mixing (SWM) signals generated in a four-level inverted-Y atomic system, which fall in the electromagnetically induced transparency window. After an initial growth distance for both FWM and SWM fields in the atomic medium, these two nonlinear optical processes compete and exchange energy between them, and eventually reach their respective steady-state values at long interaction distance. This energy exchange phenomenon can be explained by considering established atomic coherences among various atomic states and quantum interferences between three-photon and five-photon excitation pathways. Understanding these high-order nonlinear optical processes and interplays between them can be very important for correlated FWM (or SWM) photon-pair generations and quantum information processing.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.77.061801

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We demonstrate efficient energy exchange during propagation between four-wave-mixing (FWM) and six-wave-mixing (SWM) signals generated in a four-level inverted-Y atomic system, which fall in the electromagnetically induced transparency window. After an initial growth distance for both FWM and SWM fields in the atomic medium, these two nonlinear optical processes compete and exchange energy between them, and eventually reach their respective steady-state values at long interaction distance. This energy exchange phenomenon can be explained by considering established atomic coherences among various atomic states and quantum interferences between three-photon and five-photon excitation pathways. Understanding these high-order nonlinear optical processes and interplays between them can be very important for correlated FWM (or SWM) photon-pair generations and quantum information processing.
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.
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.
The authors have considered the coexisting dressed four-wave mixing (FWM) and six-wave mixing (SWM) in an open four-level inverted Y configuration. The authors also report an experimental observation of optical pumping-assisted FWM and electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT)-assisted SWM. The efficient SWM can be selected by EIT window and controlled by the coupling as well as dressed field detuning and power. Due to EIT and optical pumping assistance, the enhanced SWM signal is more than ten times lager than the coexisting FWM signal.
We investigate the interplay between six-wave mixing (SWM) and four-wave mixing (FWM) resulting from atomic coherence and polarization beat in a four-level atomic system. The dressed FWM evolution and competition pathways can be controlled by the coupling field to exhibit two FWM and SWM turning points, FWM+SWM, and FWM+FWM interference regions. Quantum interference between two FWM or one FWM and one SWM channels leads to nonlinear signal enhancement and suppression under different conditions. The fifth-order nonlinear response can be obtained by the phase control of the polarization beat between the FWM and SWM signals.