TY - JOUR
T1 - High-speed modulation in ladder transitions in Rb atoms using high-pressure buffer gas
AU - Krishnamurthy, Subramanian
AU - Wang, Y.
AU - Tu, Y.
AU - Tseng, S.
AU - Shahriar, M. S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Optical Society of America.
PY - 2015/5/4
Y1 - 2015/5/4
N2 - Modulators using atomic systems are often limited in speed by the rate of spontaneous emission. One approach for overcoming this limit is to make use of a buffer gas such as Ethane, which causes rapid fine structure mixing of the P1/2 and P3/2 states, and broadens the absorption spectra of the D1 and D2 lines in alkali atoms. Employing this effect, we show that one can achieve high speed modulation using ladder transitions in Rubidium. We demonstrate a 100-fold increase, due to the addition of the buffer gas, in the modulation bandwidth using the 5S-5P-5D cascade system. The observed bandwidth of ∼200 MHz is within a factor of 2.5 of the upper bound of ∼0.51 GHz for the system used, and is limited by various practical constraints in our experiment. We also present numerical simulations for the system and predict that a much higher modulation speed should be achievable under suitable conditions. In combination with a tapered nano fiber or a SiN waveguide, it has the potential to be used for high-speed, low-power all-optical modulation.
AB - Modulators using atomic systems are often limited in speed by the rate of spontaneous emission. One approach for overcoming this limit is to make use of a buffer gas such as Ethane, which causes rapid fine structure mixing of the P1/2 and P3/2 states, and broadens the absorption spectra of the D1 and D2 lines in alkali atoms. Employing this effect, we show that one can achieve high speed modulation using ladder transitions in Rubidium. We demonstrate a 100-fold increase, due to the addition of the buffer gas, in the modulation bandwidth using the 5S-5P-5D cascade system. The observed bandwidth of ∼200 MHz is within a factor of 2.5 of the upper bound of ∼0.51 GHz for the system used, and is limited by various practical constraints in our experiment. We also present numerical simulations for the system and predict that a much higher modulation speed should be achievable under suitable conditions. In combination with a tapered nano fiber or a SiN waveguide, it has the potential to be used for high-speed, low-power all-optical modulation.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84941923882&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84941923882&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1364/OE.23.011470
DO - 10.1364/OE.23.011470
M3 - Article
C2 - 25969242
AN - SCOPUS:84941923882
VL - 23
SP - 11470
EP - 11482
JO - Optics Express
JF - Optics Express
SN - 1094-4087
IS - 9
ER -