Quantum and Nonlinear Optics Using Waveguides in Atomic Vapors

University Of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Abstract

This project focuses on systems that allow one weak light pulse to control another weak light pulse. The motivation for these systems ranges from practical applications (such as low-power "switches" that route light pulses through optical communication networks), to fundamental issues in quantum physics. The experimental research is based on a promising new platform comprised of small-scale devices (waveguides) that steer tiny beams of light through atomic vapors. The knowledge created from this research will impact a number of different areas in atomic, molecular, and optical physics, and the project centers on training the next generation of scientists through extensive graduate and undergraduate student involvement in the research. The specific systems being pursued involve the use of sub-wavelength diameter tapered optical fibers surrounded by atomic vapors, and small hollow-core photonic bandgap fibers filled with atomic vapors. In both cases, strong nonlinearities are enabled by waveguiding a tightly confined optical mode over a long distance through the atomic medium. The use of metastable xenon (an inert noble gas) as the atomic vapor overcomes major limitations imposed by the earlier use of rubidium (a reactive alkali atom). The enhanced nonlinearities in these xenon-based waveguide systems will allow the realization of new types of research on quantum entanglement and non-classical state generation.