Photon echo with a few photons in two-level atoms

To store and retrieve signals at the single photon level, various photon echo schemes have resorted to complex preparation steps involving ancillary shelving states in multi-level atoms. For the first time, we experimentally demonstrate photon echo operation at such a low signal intensity without an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inLaser physics Vol. 24; no. 9; pp. 94003 - 94008
Main Authors Bonarota, M, Dajczgewand, J, Louchet-Chauvet, A, Le Gouët, J-L, Chanelière, T
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published IOP Publishing 01.09.2014
MAIK Nauka/Interperiodica
Subjects
Optics
photon echo
Physics
quantum memory
Quantum Physics
rare earth ion doped crystal
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Summary:To store and retrieve signals at the single photon level, various photon echo schemes have resorted to complex preparation steps involving ancillary shelving states in multi-level atoms. For the first time, we experimentally demonstrate photon echo operation at such a low signal intensity without any preparation step, which allows us to work with mere two-level atoms. This simplified approach relies on the so-coined 'revival of silenced echo' (ROSE) scheme. Low noise conditions are obtained by returning the atoms to the ground state before the echo emission. In the present paper we manage ROSE in photon counting conditions, showing that very strong control fields can be compatible with extremely weak signals, making ROSE consistent with quantum memory requirements.
ISSN:1054-660X
1555-6611
DOI:10.1088/1054-660X/24/9/094003