An ultra-high optical depth cold atomic ensemble for quantum memories

B. M. Sparkes, J. Bernu, M. Hosseini, J. Geng, Q. Glorieux, P. A. Altin, P. K. Lam, N. P. Robins, B. C. Buchler

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Quantum memories for light lie at the heart of long-distance provably-secure communication. Demand for a functioning quantum memory, with high efficiency and coherence times approaching a millisecond, is therefore at a premium. Here we report on work towards this goal, with the development of a 87Rb magneto-optical trap with a peak optical depth of 1000 for the D2 F 2 F′ 3 transition using spatial and temporal dark spots. With this purpose-built cold atomic ensemble we implemented the gradient echo memory (GEM) scheme on the D1 line. Our data shows a memory efficiency of 80 ± 2% and coherence times up to 195 μs.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number012009
JournalJournal of Physics: Conference Series
Volume467
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013
Event21st International Conference on Laser Spectroscopy, ICOLS 2013 - Berkeley, CA, United States
Duration: Jun 9 2013Jun 14 2013

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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