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Optics Express

Performance comparison of quantum memories in cesium vapor cells with anti-relaxation coatings

Chang-Hoon Park, Jing Su, Stanley Hsu, Xiao Hong Tang, Thomas Gerrits, Oliver Slattery, Lijun Ma

Published Oct 31, 2025• 1 citation

Abstract

Atomic vapor-cell quantum memories are key devices for quantum information science. Anti-relaxation coatings on the inner surface of the cell suppress ground-state dephasing caused by atom-wall collisions, thereby improving memory performance. Nevertheless, systematic performance comparisons of vapor-cell quantum memories with different anti-relaxation coatings under identical conditions remain limited. Here, we experimentally compare quantum-memory performance in cesium vapor cells with and without anti-relaxation coatings-uncoated, paraffin-coated, and alkene-coated-under otherwise identical conditions to assess coating-dependent effects. Using electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) as the light storage protocol, we characterize transmission, memory efficiency, and storage lifetime. The alkene-coated cell yields the largest enhancement in retrieval efficiency-more than fourfold relative to the uncoated cell and more than twofold relative to the paraffin-coated cell-while exhibiting a modest (approximately 16%) increase in storage lifetime. These results provide a systematic benchmark for evaluating anti-relaxation coatings and for this instance, identify alkene coatings as an effective choice for improving retrieval efficiency in warm-vapor-cell memories.

DOI: 10.1364/oe.579583

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Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) is a promising approach for implementing quantum memory, a key component of quantum communication networks. However, its storage time is limited by decoherence, primarily due to atomic motion. Anti-relaxation coatings can mitigate decoherence by minimizing atom-wall interactions. In this study, we experimentally investigate EIT-based quantum memory in cesium vapor cells with different anti-relaxation coatings. We compare the EIT characteristics and storage behavior across different coatings to assess their suitability for quantum memory applications.

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Abstract We explore light storage in antirelaxation-coated and buffer-gas-filled alkali vapor cells, employing electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in warm rubidium vapor. We conduct a comparative study of light storage performance under identical experimental conditions for these two cell types. Using a buffer-gas-filled cell resulted in approximately a tenfold improvement in memory efficiency and storage time compared to antirelaxation-coated cells. Moreover, we demonstrate that memory efficiency can be further enhanced by choosing a near-resonant EIT

\Lambda

Λ -scheme over a resonant one. Our findings provide valuable insights for optimizing light storage, thereby contributing to the development of field-deployable quantum memories.

We present an experimental investigation of alkali atom vapor cells coated with a high quality anti-relaxation coating material based on alkenes. The prepared cells with single compound alkene based coating showed the longest spin relaxation times which have been measured up to now with room temperature vapor cells. Suggestions are made that chemical binding of a cesium atom and an alkene molecule by attack to the C = C bond plays a crucial role in such improvement of anti-relaxation coating quality.