Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Optics and Spectroscopy

Photon echo in an atomic frequency comb in a Pr-doped LaF3 crystal

Ахмеджанов Ринат Абдулхаевич, A. A. Bondartsev, Л. А. Гущин, I. V. Zelensky, Alexander G. Litvak, Д. А. Собгайда

Published Sep 1, 2013• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

The possibility of storage of an optical pulse in a memory based on an atomic frequency comb in a Pr 3+ :LaF 3 crystal is demonstrated experimentally. A new method of storage-time control using an external electric field is proposed and experimentally implemented.
DOI
10.1134/s0030400x13090026

Related papers

Demonstration of Atomic Frequency Comb Memory for Light with Spin-Wave Storage

Mikael Afzelius, Imam Usmani, A. Amari +8 more

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.

arXiv:0908.2309•Physical Review Letters•Jan 27, 2010•276 citations

Photon echoes using atomic frequency combs in Pr:YSO — experiment and semiclassical theory

Aditya Sharma, Zachary H. Levine, Martin A. Ritter +4 more

Photon echoes in rare-earth-doped crystals are studied to understand the challenges of making broadband quantum memories using the atomic frequency comb (AFC) protocol in systems with hyperfine structure. The hyperfine structure of Pr 3+ poses an obstacle to this goal because frequencies associated with the hyperfine transitions change the simple picture of modulation at an externally imposed frequency. The current work focuses on the intermediate case where the hyperfine spacing is comparable to the comb spacing, a challenging regime that has recently been considered. Operating in this regime may facilitate storing quantum information over a larger spectral range in such systems. In this work, we prepare broadband AFCs using optical combs with tooth spacings ranging from 1 MHz to 16 MHz in fine steps, and measure transmission spectra and photon echoes for each. We predict the spectra and echoes theoretically using the optical combs as input to either a rate equation code or a density matrix code, which calculates the redistribution of populations. We then use the redistributed populations as input to a semiclassical theory using the frequency-dependent dielectric function. The two sets of predictions each give a good, but different account of the photon echoes.

arXiv:2011.04086•Optics Express•Jan 20, 2023•6 citations

Noise-free on-demand atomic frequency comb quantum memory

Sebastian P. Horvath, Mohammed K. Alqedra, Adam Kinos +4 more

We present an extension of the atomic frequency comb protocol that utilizes the Stark effect to perform noisefree, on-demand, control.An experimental realization of this protocol was implemented in the Pr 3+ :Y 2 SiO 5 solid-state system, and a recall efficiency of 38% for a 0.8 μs storage time was achieved.Experiments were performed with both bright pulses as well as weak-coherent states, the latter achieving a signal-to-noise ratio of 570 ± 120 using input pulses with an average photon number of ∼0.1.The principal limitation for a longer storage time was found to be the minimum peak width attainable for Pr 3+ :Y 2 SiO 5 .We employ an adaptation of an established atomic frequency comb model to investigate an on-demand, wide-bandwidth, memory based on Eu 3+ :Y 2 SiO 5 .From this, we determine that a storage time as long as 100 μs may be practical even without recourse to spin-wave storage.

arXiv:2006.00943•Physical Review Research•May 7, 2021•38 citations

Storage and Recall of Weak Coherent Optical Pulses with an Efficiency of 25%

Mahmood Sabooni, F. Beaudoin, Andreas Walther +4 more

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.

arXiv:0912.2525•Physical Review Letters•Aug 2, 2010•49 citations

Atomic frequency comb storage as a slow-light effect

M Bonarota, J.-L. Le Gouët, Sergey A. Moiseev +1 more

Atomic Frequency Comb (AFC) protocol has been particularly successful recently to demonstrate the storage of quantum information in a solid medium (rare-earth doped crystals). The AFC is inspired by the photon-echo technique. We show in this paper that the AFC is actually closely related to the slow-light based storage protocols extensively used in atomic vapours. Experimental verifications are performed in thulium doped YAG (Tm3+:YAG). We clarify the interplay between absorption and dispersion and propose a classification of the existing protocols.

arXiv:1112.0338•Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics•Jun 8, 2012•21 citations

Efficient Quantum Memory Using a Weakly Absorbing Sample

Mahmood Sabooni, Qian Li, Stefan Kröll +1 more

A light-storage experiment with a total (storage and retrieval) efficiency η=56% is carried out by enclosing a sample, with a single-pass absorption of 10%, in an impedance-matched cavity. The experiment is carried out using the atomic frequency comb (AFC) technique in a praseodymium-doped crystal (0.05%Pr(3+):Y2SiO5) and the cavity is created by depositing reflection coatings directly onto the crystal surfaces. The AFC technique has previously by far demonstrated the highest multimode capacity of all quantum memory concepts tested experimentally. We claim that the present work shows that it is realistic to create efficient, on-demand, long storage time AFC memories.

arXiv:1301.0636•Physical Review Letters•Mar 26, 2013•210 citations
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.
Photon echoes in rare-earth-doped crystals are studied to understand the challenges of making broadband quantum memories using the atomic frequency comb (AFC) protocol in systems with hyperfine structure. The hyperfine structure of Pr 3+ poses an obstacle to this goal because frequencies associated with the hyperfine transitions change the simple picture of modulation at an externally imposed frequency. The current work focuses on the intermediate case where the hyperfine spacing is comparable to the comb spacing, a challenging regime that has recently been considered. Operating in this regime may facilitate storing quantum information over a larger spectral range in such systems. In this work, we prepare broadband AFCs using optical combs with tooth spacings ranging from 1 MHz to 16 MHz in fine steps, and measure transmission spectra and photon echoes for each. We predict the spectra and echoes theoretically using the optical combs as input to either a rate equation code or a density matrix code, which calculates the redistribution of populations. We then use the redistributed populations as input to a semiclassical theory using the frequency-dependent dielectric function. The two sets of predictions each give a good, but different account of the photon echoes.
We present an extension of the atomic frequency comb protocol that utilizes the Stark effect to perform noisefree, on-demand, control.An experimental realization of this protocol was implemented in the Pr 3+ :Y 2 SiO 5 solid-state system, and a recall efficiency of 38% for a 0.8 μs storage time was achieved.Experiments were performed with both bright pulses as well as weak-coherent states, the latter achieving a signal-to-noise ratio of 570 ± 120 using input pulses with an average photon number of ∼0.1.The principal limitation for a longer storage time was found to be the minimum peak width attainable for Pr 3+ :Y 2 SiO 5 .We employ an adaptation of an established atomic frequency comb model to investigate an on-demand, wide-bandwidth, memory based on Eu 3+ :Y 2 SiO 5 .From this, we determine that a storage time as long as 100 μs may be practical even without recourse to spin-wave storage.
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.
Atomic Frequency Comb (AFC) protocol has been particularly successful recently to demonstrate the storage of quantum information in a solid medium (rare-earth doped crystals). The AFC is inspired by the photon-echo technique. We show in this paper that the AFC is actually closely related to the slow-light based storage protocols extensively used in atomic vapours. Experimental verifications are performed in thulium doped YAG (Tm3+:YAG). We clarify the interplay between absorption and dispersion and propose a classification of the existing protocols.
A light-storage experiment with a total (storage and retrieval) efficiency η=56% is carried out by enclosing a sample, with a single-pass absorption of 10%, in an impedance-matched cavity. The experiment is carried out using the atomic frequency comb (AFC) technique in a praseodymium-doped crystal (0.05%Pr(3+):Y2SiO5) and the cavity is created by depositing reflection coatings directly onto the crystal surfaces. The AFC technique has previously by far demonstrated the highest multimode capacity of all quantum memory concepts tested experimentally. We claim that the present work shows that it is realistic to create efficient, on-demand, long storage time AFC memories.