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Optics Letters

Time reversal of optically carried radiofrequency signals in the microsecond range

Héloïse Linget, Loïc Morvan, J.-L. Le Gouët, Anne Louchet-Chauvet

Published Feb 21, 2013• 19 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The time-reversal (TR) protocol we implement in an erbium-doped YSO crystal is based on photon echoes but avoids the storage of the signal to be processed. Unlike other approaches implying digitizing or highly dispersive optical fibers, the proposed scheme reaches the μs range and potentially offers high bandwidth, both required for RADAR applications. In this Letter, we demonstrate faithful reversal of arbitrary pulse sequences with 6 μs duration and 10 MHz bandwidth. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of TR via linear filtering in a programmable material.

DOI
10.1364/ol.38.000643

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The time-reversal (TR) protocol we implement in an erbium-doped YSO crystal is based on photon echoes but avoids the storage of the signal to be processed. Unlike other approaches implying digitizing or highly dispersive optical fibers, the proposed scheme reaches the μs range and potentially offers high bandwidth, both required for RADAR applications. In this Letter, we demonstrate faithful reversal of arbitrary pulse sequences with 6 μs duration and 10 MHz bandwidth. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of TR via linear filtering in a programmable material.
We propose a purely analog way to time reverse optically-carried radiofrequency signals. Taking advantage of the time-space duality, we implement an approximate temporal imaging device that combines a time-lens and a single dispersive line. For military applications, this dispersive element must offer a group delay dispersion high enough to time-reverse μs-long signals. We propose to use spectral hole burning to tailor the absorption profile of erbium ions embedded in a crystalline lattice of yttrium orthosilicate. This way, we achieve a group delay dispersion 105larger than reached with km-long dispersive fibers, allowing us to extend the time-reversal process from the ns-range to the μs-range.
Achieving low-latency time-reversal of broadband radiofrequency signals is crucial for reliable communications in dynamic, uncontrolled environments. However, existing approaches are either digitally assisted-making broadband extension challenging-or limited to amplitude modulation. In this work, we report the very first, to our knowledge, experimental realization of a fully analog, phase-preserving time-reversal architecture for optically carried radiofrequency signals. The method exploits the exceptional coherence properties of rare-earth ion-doped materials and leverages the well-established photon echo mechanism, widely used in quantum technologies. While our demonstration is conducted with a modest bandwidth, we identify the fundamental cause of this limitation and propose solutions for future scalability.
Based on the similarity of paraxial diffraction and dispersion mathematical descriptions, the temporal imaging of optical pulses combines linear dispersive filters and quadratic phase modulations operating as time lenses. We consider programming a dispersive filter near atomic resonance in rare earth ion-doped crystals, which leads to unprecedented high values of dispersive power. This filter is used in an approximate imaging scheme, combining a single time lens and a single dispersive section and operating as a time-reversing device, with potential applications in radio-frequency signal processing. This scheme is closely related to a three-pulse photon echo with chirped pulses, but the connection with temporal imaging and dispersive filtering emphasizes new features.
Quantum information processing has been developing rapidly in the last two decades as a way to overcome the limitations of classical electronics. Several components to generate, process and send quantum information are needed. In this context, optical quantum memories appear as principal components to communicate quantum information at long distances by overcoming the losses of the optical fibers in the so-called quantum repeater scheme. During the last decade several storage protocols to store quantum information have been proposed and tested. In this thesis, I present the Revival of Silenced Echo (ROSE) protocol implemented in an Er3+:Y2SiO5 crystal. This material is a good candidate for a quantum memory because of its transition in the C-band of the telecom wavelengths where the losses in optical fibers are minimized. In this work, I evaluate the ROSE performances with weak classical pulses. I measure efficiency, bandwidth and storage time which are the typical figures of merit for an optical quantum memory. Starting with a fixed bandwidth, I demonstrate experimentally a good efficiency. Additionally, I measure the bandwidth dependence of the protocol. For this latter, the dipole-dipole interactions between erbium ions appears as limiting factors. Finally, I implement the ROSE protocol with a few photons per pulse to show its potential as a quantum memory. I report good efficiencies with a moderate signal to noise ratio.I finish this work with a series of measurements in new materials (doped or codoped with erbium), to extend the processing bandwidth of Er doped samples compatible the telecom wavelength range.