Our project is about converting Gaussian beams into Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) and Bessel beams in order to explore robust storage of optical information in atomic vapor. For this, we require the use of a Spiral Phase Plate (SPP) and an Axicon, respectively, to create the aforementioned beams. This entails working with advanced optics and acousto-optic modulators to control our laser, and coherently prepare a sample of atomic vapor to undergo the quantum phenomenon of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) which lies at the heart of quantum memory architecture. By exploiting EIT, a light pulse passing through the vapor is first slowed drastically to speeds of less than a millionth of c, then stopped altogether and stored inside the atoms. The goal of our experiment is to maximize the storage fidelity while limiting the degrading effects of atomic diffusion. Our expectation is to see longer and more robust storage through the use of specially engineered beams such as the LG beam and the Bessel beam. A systematic comparison of the storage fidelity for the LG and Bessel optical pulses has not been reported in the literature. Neither has a study of optical storage using higher-order Bessel beams which may have significant implications for the field and may be an experiment in the near future for our lab.
Author(s): Catherine Kasicki-Rodriguez, Physics, Nik Miller, Benjamin Makias, Samir Bali
Advisor(s): Samir Bali, Department of Physics
Benny Makias, Department of Physics
You must be logged in to post a comment.