arXiv · quant-ph/0406093
Shaping quantum pulses of light via coherent atomic memory
Abstract
We describe a technique for generating pulses of light with controllable photon numbers, propagation direction, timing, and pulse shapes. The technique is based on preparation of an atomic ensemble in a state with a desired number of atomic spin excitations, which is later converted into a photon pulse. Spatio-temporal control over the pulses is obtained by exploiting long-lived coherent memory for photon states and electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in an optically dense atomic medium. Using photon counting experiments we observe generation and shaping of few-photon sub-Poissonian light pulses. We discuss prospects for controlled generation of high-purity n-photon Fock states using this technique.
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M. D. Eisaman, L. Childress, A. Andre, F. Massou, A. S. Zibrov, M. D. Lukin. 2004-06-14. Shaping quantum pulses of light via coherent atomic memory. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.93.233602
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