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

Physical Review A

Capturing a light pulse in a short high-finesse cavity

Boris P. J. Bret, T.L. Sonnemans, Tom W. Hijmans

Published Aug 20, 2003• 13 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We describe a method to couple a light pulse into a cavity with arbitrarily high finesse, with an efficiency that in theory can approach 100% even if the pulse duration is much longer than the round-trip time of the cavity. The spectrum of the pulse is compressed into a single narrow mode in an adiabatic and reversible way. The method uses an input coupler with a variable effective reflectivity which is adapted to match the known temporal shape of the pulse. In addition to a theoretical description of the method, we demonstrate the principle experimentally.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.68.023807

Related papers

Efficient coupling to an optical resonator by exploiting time-reversal symmetry

Marianne Bader, Simon Heugel, Alexander L. Chekhov +2 more

The interaction of a cavity with an external field is symmetric under time reversal. Thus, coupling to a resonator is most efficient when the incident light is the time reversed version of a free cavity decay, i.e. when it has a rising exponential shape matching the cavity lifetime. For light entering the cavity from only one side, the maximally achievable coupling efficiency is limited by the choice of the cavity mirrors' reflectivities. Such an empty-cavity experiment serves also as a model system for single-photon single-atom absorption dynamics. We present experiments coupling exponentially rising pulses to a cavity system which allows for high coupling efficiencies. The influence of the time constant of the rising exponential is investigated as well as the effect of a finite pulse duration. We demonstrate coupling 94% of the incident TEM 00 mode into the resonator.

arXiv:1309.6167•New Journal of Physics•Dec 6, 2013•38 citations

Completely Capturing Light Pulses in a Few Dynamically Tuned Microcavities

Clayton R. Otey, Michelle L. Povinelli, Shanhui Fan

We describe a dynamically tuned system capable of capturing light pulses incident from a waveguide in a pair of microcavities. We use coupled mode theory to design a method for determining how to tune the microcavity resonant frequencies. The results show that pulses can be captured almost completely, with arbitrarily small reflected power. We optimize the pulse capture bandwidth by varying the cavity coupling constants and show that the maximum bandwidth is comparable to the resonant-frequency tuning range. Our system may be implemented using refractive-index tuning in a 2-D silicon photonic crystal slab. Current technology would allow for capture of pulses with widths as low as ~100 ps, with a holding time limited only by cavity loss rates.

Journal of Lightwave Technology•Dec 1, 2008•18 citations

Coherent generation of EPR-entangled light pulses mediated by a single trapped atom

Giovanna Morigi, Jürgen Eschner, Stefano Mancini +1 more

We show that a single, trapped, laser-driven atom in a high-finesse optical cavity allows for the quantum-coherent generation of entangled light pulses on demand. We report the detailed description of schemes for generating simultaneous and temporally separated pulse pairs, presented in [G. Morigi et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., 96, 023601 (2006)]. The mechanical effect of the laser excitation on the quantum motion of the cold trapped atom mediates the entangling interaction between two cavity modes and between the two subsequent pulses, respectively. The entanglement is of EPR-type, and its degree can be controlled through external parameters. At the end of the generation process the atom is decorrelated from the light field. Possible experimental implementations of the proposals are discussed.

arXiv:quant-ph/0512221•Physical Review A•Mar 30, 2006•33 citations

Material slow light does not improve cavity-enhanced metrologies

Balázs Megyeri, Andreas Lampis, Graeme Harvie +2 more

We discuss the prospects for enhancing absorption and scattering of light from a weakly coupled atom in a high-finesse optical cavity by adding a medium with large, positive group index of refraction. The slow-light effect is known to narrow the cavity transmission spectrum and increase the photon lifetime, but the quality factor of the cavity is not increased in a metrologically useful sense. Specifically, detection of the weakly coupled atom through either cavity ringdown measurements or the Purcell effect fails to improve with the addition of material slow light. A single-atom model of the dispersive medium helps elucidate why this is the case.

•May 2, 2017•0 citations

Temporal shaping of single-photon pulses

Gaston Hornecker, Emanuel Peinke, Julien Claudon +2 more

The ability to control the temporal shape of single-photon pulses is highly desirable in quantum information processing. For instance, it has been shown that Gaussian pulses are best suited for linear optics quantum computing1. By mimicking the time-reversal of a spontaneous emission event, it also allows to optimize the absorption of the prepared photons by a quantum emitter. In this work we investigate the potential of using fast modifications of the detuning between an atomic system and a cavity mode during photon emission to reach this goal. We compare two approaches consisting of varying the emitter or cavity frequency. The latter, achievable by a fast modification of the refractive index of a solid state cavity, will be shown to have negligible influence on the photon spectrum. It allows to create Gaussian pulses interacting with a fidelity to the target photons of 99%, as well as time-reversed photons absorbed by an atom in a cavity with a probability of 93%.

Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•May 7, 2015•4 citations

Single-photon absorption in coupled atom-cavity systems

Jerome Dilley, Peter B. R. Nisbet-Jones, Bruce W. Shore +1 more

We show how to capture a single photon of arbitrary temporal shape with one atom coupled to an optical cavity. Our model applies to Raman transitions in three-level atoms with one branch of the transition controlled by a (classical) laser pulse, and the other coupled to the cavity. Photons impinging on the cavity normally exhibit partial reflection, transmission, and/or absorption by the atom. Only a control pulse of suitable temporal shape ensures impedance matching throughout the pulse, which is necessary for complete state mapping from photon to atom. For most possible photon shapes, we derive an unambiguous analytic expression for the shape of this control pulse, and we discuss how this relates to a quantum memory.

arXiv:1105.1699•Physical Review A•Feb 24, 2012•73 citations
We describe a method to couple a light pulse into a cavity with arbitrarily high finesse, with an efficiency that in theory can approach 100% even if the pulse duration is much longer than the round-trip time of the cavity. The spectrum of the pulse is compressed into a single narrow mode in an adiabatic and reversible way. The method uses an input coupler with a variable effective reflectivity which is adapted to match the known temporal shape of the pulse. In addition to a theoretical description of the method, we demonstrate the principle experimentally.
The interaction of a cavity with an external field is symmetric under time reversal. Thus, coupling to a resonator is most efficient when the incident light is the time reversed version of a free cavity decay, i.e. when it has a rising exponential shape matching the cavity lifetime. For light entering the cavity from only one side, the maximally achievable coupling efficiency is limited by the choice of the cavity mirrors' reflectivities. Such an empty-cavity experiment serves also as a model system for single-photon single-atom absorption dynamics. We present experiments coupling exponentially rising pulses to a cavity system which allows for high coupling efficiencies. The influence of the time constant of the rising exponential is investigated as well as the effect of a finite pulse duration. We demonstrate coupling 94% of the incident TEM 00 mode into the resonator.
We describe a dynamically tuned system capable of capturing light pulses incident from a waveguide in a pair of microcavities. We use coupled mode theory to design a method for determining how to tune the microcavity resonant frequencies. The results show that pulses can be captured almost completely, with arbitrarily small reflected power. We optimize the pulse capture bandwidth by varying the cavity coupling constants and show that the maximum bandwidth is comparable to the resonant-frequency tuning range. Our system may be implemented using refractive-index tuning in a 2-D silicon photonic crystal slab. Current technology would allow for capture of pulses with widths as low as ~100 ps, with a holding time limited only by cavity loss rates.
We show that a single, trapped, laser-driven atom in a high-finesse optical cavity allows for the quantum-coherent generation of entangled light pulses on demand. We report the detailed description of schemes for generating simultaneous and temporally separated pulse pairs, presented in [G. Morigi et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., 96, 023601 (2006)]. The mechanical effect of the laser excitation on the quantum motion of the cold trapped atom mediates the entangling interaction between two cavity modes and between the two subsequent pulses, respectively. The entanglement is of EPR-type, and its degree can be controlled through external parameters. At the end of the generation process the atom is decorrelated from the light field. Possible experimental implementations of the proposals are discussed.
We discuss the prospects for enhancing absorption and scattering of light from a weakly coupled atom in a high-finesse optical cavity by adding a medium with large, positive group index of refraction. The slow-light effect is known to narrow the cavity transmission spectrum and increase the photon lifetime, but the quality factor of the cavity is not increased in a metrologically useful sense. Specifically, detection of the weakly coupled atom through either cavity ringdown measurements or the Purcell effect fails to improve with the addition of material slow light. A single-atom model of the dispersive medium helps elucidate why this is the case.
The ability to control the temporal shape of single-photon pulses is highly desirable in quantum information processing. For instance, it has been shown that Gaussian pulses are best suited for linear optics quantum computing1. By mimicking the time-reversal of a spontaneous emission event, it also allows to optimize the absorption of the prepared photons by a quantum emitter. In this work we investigate the potential of using fast modifications of the detuning between an atomic system and a cavity mode during photon emission to reach this goal. We compare two approaches consisting of varying the emitter or cavity frequency. The latter, achievable by a fast modification of the refractive index of a solid state cavity, will be shown to have negligible influence on the photon spectrum. It allows to create Gaussian pulses interacting with a fidelity to the target photons of 99%, as well as time-reversed photons absorbed by an atom in a cavity with a probability of 93%.
We show how to capture a single photon of arbitrary temporal shape with one atom coupled to an optical cavity. Our model applies to Raman transitions in three-level atoms with one branch of the transition controlled by a (classical) laser pulse, and the other coupled to the cavity. Photons impinging on the cavity normally exhibit partial reflection, transmission, and/or absorption by the atom. Only a control pulse of suitable temporal shape ensures impedance matching throughout the pulse, which is necessary for complete state mapping from photon to atom. For most possible photon shapes, we derive an unambiguous analytic expression for the shape of this control pulse, and we discuss how this relates to a quantum memory.