5 research outputs found
A Deterministic and Storable Single-Photon Source Based on Quantum Memory
A single photon source is realized with a cold atomic ensemble (Rb
atoms). In the experiment, single photons, which is initially stored in an
atomic quantum memory generated by Raman scattering of a laser pulse, can be
emitted deterministically at a time-delay in control. It is shown that
production rate of single photons can be enhanced by a feedback circuit
considerably while the single-photon quality is conserved. Thus our present
single-photon source is well suitable for future large-scale realization of
quantum communication and linear optical quantum computation
Quantum Memory with Optically Trapped Atoms
We report the experimental demonstration of a quantum memory for collective
atomic states in a far-detuned optical dipole trap. Generation of the
collective atomic state is heralded by the detection of a Raman scattered
photon and accompanied by storage in the ensemble of atoms. The optical dipole
trap provides confinement for the atoms during the quantum storage while
retaining the atomic coherence. We probe the quantum storage by
cross-correlation of the photon pair arising from the Raman scattering and the
retrieval of the atomic state stored in the memory. Non-classical correlations
are observed for storage times up to 60 microseconds.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Efficient and long-lived quantum memory with cold atoms inside a ring cavity
Quantum memories are regarded as one of the fundamental building blocks of
linear-optical quantum computation and long-distance quantum communication. A
long standing goal to realize scalable quantum information processing is to
build a long-lived and efficient quantum memory. There have been significant
efforts distributed towards this goal. However, either efficient but
short-lived or long-lived but inefficient quantum memories have been
demonstrated so far. Here we report a high-performance quantum memory in which
long lifetime and high retrieval efficiency meet for the first time. By placing
a ring cavity around an atomic ensemble, employing a pair of clock states,
creating a long-wavelength spin wave, and arranging the setup in the
gravitational direction, we realize a quantum memory with an intrinsic spin
wave to photon conversion efficiency of 73(2)% together with a storage lifetime
of 3.2(1) ms. This realization provides an essential tool towards scalable
linear-optical quantum information processing.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
A millisecond quantum memory for scalable quantum networks
Scalable quantum information processing critically depends on the capability
of storage of a quantum state. In particular, a long-lived storable and
retrievable quantum memory for single excitations is of crucial importance to
the atomic-ensemble-based long-distance quantum communication. Although atomic
memories for classical lights and continuous variables have been demonstrated
with milliseconds storage time, there is no equal advance in the development of
quantum memory for single excitations, where only around 10 s storage time
was achieved. Here we report our experimental investigations on extending the
storage time of quantum memory for single excitations. We isolate and identify
distinct mechanisms for the decoherence of spin wave (SW) in atomic ensemble
quantum memories. By exploiting the magnetic field insensitive state, ``clock
state", and generating a long-wavelength SW to suppress the dephasing, we
succeed in extending the storage time of the quantum memory to 1 ms. Our result
represents a substantial progress towards long-distance quantum communication
and enables a realistic avenue for large-scale quantum information processing.Comment: 11pages, 4 figures, submitted for publicatio