Quantum memory can operate not only as a write-in/readout device [1] for quantum light pulses and non-classical states generation [2] device but also as a quantum states of light transformer. Here the addressable parallel quantum memory [3] possibilities for this type of transformation are researched. Quantum memory operates as a conventional N-port interferometer with N equals to the number of the involved spin waves. As example we consider the ability to transform quantum states of two light pulses – in this case the quantum memory works as a mirror with a controlled transmission factor.
Quantum memory can operate not only as a write-in/readout device [1] for quantum light pulses and non-classical states generation [2] device but also as a quantum states of light transformer. Here the addressable parallel quantum memory [3] possibilities for this type of transformation are researched. Quantum memory operates as a conventional N-port interferometer with N equals to the number of the involved spin waves. As example we consider the ability to transform quantum states of two light pulses – in this case the quantum memory works as a mirror with a controlled transmission factor.
Abstract We have considered theoretically the feasibility of broadband quantum memory based on the resonant tripod-type atomic configuration. In this case, the writing of a signal field is carried out simultaneously into two channels, and characterized by an excitation of two spin waves of the atomic ensemble. With simultaneous read out from both channels, quantum properties of the original signal are mapped onto the retrieval pulse no worse than in the case of memory based on a Λ-type atomic configuration. At the same time new possibilities are opened up for the manipulation of quantum states associated with sequential reading out (and/or sequential writing) of signal pulses. For example, a pulse in the squeezed state is converted into two partially entangled pulses with partially squeezed quadratures. Alternatively, two independent signal pulses with orthogonally squeezed quadratures can be converted into two entangled pulses.
An optical quantum memory, a device which can store and retrieve on demand an arbitrary quantum state at the single photon level, has been identified as a significant cornerstone of photonic quantum technologies. The development of such a memory would allow the creation and development of a large number of quantum technologies. These would range from the ability to synchronise processing steps in an optical quantum computer, to the construction of a quantum repeater which would allow faithful transmission of quantum states over arbitrarily long distances. In this thesis I investigate broadband light storage in a room-temperature Raman memory for purposes of quantum information processing with photons. During the course of this thesis, a novel scheme to suppress four-wave mixing noise is simulated, based on equations derived to describe the physics of the memory interaction. The experimental arrangement to test the suppression method is described and an original method using photon statistics is demonstrated. The results of these experiments prove the ability of the memory to retrieve and maintain the non-classicality of the state, given a single photon input. Following the affirmation that, using this noise suppression technique, the memory can function at the single-photon level, I go on to consider how the temporal-spectral properties of a pulsed mode of light may be manipulated using the memory. There are two primary reasons for this investigation: 1) Increasing the efficiency of the read-in process by carving the optimum mode of the memory 2) Using the memory as a device operating in a high dimensional quantum information basis. The restrictions of such applications are considered and a method to test the efficacy of transformations in this basis is devised and experimentally tested. I also perform demonstrations of light storage using conventional temporal modes using a novel method of velocity selection within warm vapour. Finally I detail further experiments that are achievable with the Raman quantum memory given the progress that has been achieved during my DPhil research. The results show that the Raman memory is a viable candidate for a practical route towards low-noise quantum storage and for manipulation of temporal modes of light.
Quantum light-matter interfaces are at the heart of photonic quantum technologies. Quantum memories for photons, where non-classical states of photons are mapped onto stationary matter states and preserved for subsequent retrieval, are technical realizations enabled by exquisite control over interactions between light and matter. The ability of quantum memories to synchronize probabilistic events makes them a key component in quantum repeaters and quantum computation based on linear optics. This critical feature has motivated many groups to dedicate theoretical and experimental research to develop quantum memory devices. In recent years, exciting new applications, and more advanced developments of quantum memories, have proliferated. In this review, we outline some of the emerging applications of quantum memories in optical signal processing, quantum computation and non-linear optics. We review recent experimental and theoretical developments, and their impacts on more advanced photonic quantum technologies based on quantum memories.
Abstract A device being a pinnacle of development of an optical quantum memory should combine the capabilities of storage, inter-communication, and processing of stored information. In particular, the ability to capture a train of optical pulses, interfere them in an arbitrary way and finally, perform on-demand release could realize arbitrary optical computation. Here we demonstrate the operation of a coherent optical memory being able to store optical pulses in the form of collective spin-wave excitations in a two-dimensional wavevector space. During storage, we perform complex beamsplitter operations and demonstrate a variety of protocols implemented at the processing stage, including real-time controlled interference of a pair of spin-wave modes with 95% visibility. The highly multimode structure of the presented memory lends itself to enhancing classical optical telecommunication, as well as parallel processing of optical qubits at the single-photon level.
A method of writing and reading single-photon states of light in quantum memory devices whose information carriers are optically thin resonant media placed in a cavity is developed. It is shown that, using a tunable cavity, it is possible to write and reproduce Gaussian single-photon wave packets with an efficiency close to unity. The possibility of using this method for the transformation of the time shape of single photons generated in the cavity-enhanced spontaneous parametric down conversion regime is analyzed.
We present a new scheme of quantum memory for optical images (spatially multimode light fields) that allows mapping the quantum state of the signal onto the long-lived coherence of the ground state of an ensemble of stationary atoms or impurity centers. The memory medium is embedded in an optical cavity with degenerate transverse modes, which increases the effective optical thickness of the medium and allows one, in principle, to store information in optically thin atomic layers. Since, in reality, storage and retrieval of limited-duration signals, including signals shorter than the lifetime of the field in the cavity, is of interest, we do not use the low- Q cavity approximation. The influence of losses due to partial reflection of the nonstationary signal field incident on a coupling mirror on the storage efficiency is considered. We used the method of approximate impedance matching, wherein losses due to reflection can be minimized by controlling the coupling parameter of the light field with memory medium in time, thus creating conditions for destructive interference of the signal and local fields on the coupling mirror. The influence of diffraction on the transverse resolution of memory at the writing and readout stages is investigated, and the number of effectively stored transverse spatial modes of the signal is estimated.