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Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE

Toward nonclassical light storage via atomic-vapor Raman scattering

Caspar H. van der Wal, Matthew D. Eisaman, Alexander S. Zibrov, Axel André, D. F. Phillips, Ronald Lee Walsworth, Mikhail D. Lukin

Published May 9, 2003• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

We present experimental work that investigates whether quantum information carried by light can be stored via reversible mapping of the quantum state of such light onto a collective atomic coherence. Such a quantum memory could be utilized to allow quantum communication over long, lossy channels. Current efforts concentrate on writing a photon-number-squeezed state of light onto a collective coherence between the ground-state hyperfine levels of 87Rb atoms in a warm vapor cell, and subsequent on-demand retrieval of this light. In this approach, intensity squeezing between the written and retrieved photon fields provides evidence for storage of a photon-number-squeezed state of light. The scheme is based on spontaneous Raman transitions that create the atomic coherence, and at the same time convert control fields into signal fields that propagate under conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency. We present experimental results demonstrating the storage and retrieval of light using this method, and discuss techniques for measuring intensity squeezing between these photon fields.

DOI
10.1117/12.497071

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We present experimental work that investigates whether quantum information carried by light can be stored via reversible mapping of the quantum state of such light onto a collective atomic coherence. Such a quantum memory could be utilized to allow quantum communication over long, lossy channels. Current efforts concentrate on writing a photon-number-squeezed state of light onto a collective coherence between the ground-state hyperfine levels of 87Rb atoms in a warm vapor cell, and subsequent on-demand retrieval of this light. In this approach, intensity squeezing between the written and retrieved photon fields provides evidence for storage of a photon-number-squeezed state of light. The scheme is based on spontaneous Raman transitions that create the atomic coherence, and at the same time convert control fields into signal fields that propagate under conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency. We present experimental results demonstrating the storage and retrieval of light using this method, and discuss techniques for measuring intensity squeezing between these photon fields.
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A reversible quantum memory allowing us to store and retrieve quantum information serves as a key necessity for implementing many of novel quantum information protocols. As light serves as a reliable long-range carrier of quantum information, and atoms offer the possibility of long storage times, current attempts at creating quantum memories focus on the transfer of the quantum fluctuations of light onto atomic coherences. The work in this thesis focuses on the development of a quantum memory for squeezed light using an ensemble of cold Cesium atoms stored in a magneto-optical trap. Our two major milestones were the development of a source of nonclassical light, and the development of a suitable atomic medium for storage. We first present the results of our efforts to generate a source of squeezed vacuum states resonant with the Cesium D2 line using a PPKTP nonlinear crystal inside of an optical parametric oscillator. Additionally, we characterize these squeezed states by carrying out a quantum state tomography using an iterative maximum likelihood approach. Next we look at the development of a new experiment which would allow us to use cold Cesium atoms as a storage medium in our recently developed magneto-optical trap. As this requires an array of novel tools and experimental techniques, we will discuss the development of these elements, and how they have furthered our progress towards storing quantum states onto our Cesium atoms, and eventually entangling two atomic ensembles.
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We report the experimental demonstration of quantum memory for collective atomic states in a far-detuned optical dipole trap. Generation of the collective atomic state is heralded by the detection of a Raman scattered photon and accompanied by storage in the ensemble of atoms. The optical dipole trap provides confinement for the atoms during the quantum storage while retaining the atomic coherence. We probe the quantum storage by cross correlation of the photon pair arising from the Raman scattering and the retrieval of the atomic state stored in the memory. Nonclassical correlations are observed for storage times up to 60 mus.