A gigahertz-bandwidth atomic probe based on the slow-light Faraday effect

Siddons, P.; Bell, N.C.; Cai, Y.; Adams, C.S.; Hughes, I.G.

Abstract

The ability to probe quantum systems on short timescales is central to the advancement of quantum technology. Here we show that this is possible using an off-resonant dispersive probe. By applying a magnetic field to an atomic vapour the spectra of the group index for left and right circularly polarized light become displaced, leading to a slow-light Faraday effect that results in large dispersion and high transmission over tens of gigahertz. This large frequency range opens up the possibility of probing dynamics on a nanosecond timescale. In addition, we show that the group index enhances the spectral sensitivity of the polarization rotation, giving large rotations of up to 15 rad for continuous-wave light. Finally, we demonstrate dynamic broadband pulse switching by rotating a linearly polarized nanosecond pulse by /2 rad with negligible distortion and transmission close to unity.

Citation

Siddons, P., Bell, N., Cai, Y., Adams, C., & Hughes, I. (2009). A gigahertz-bandwidth atomic probe based on the slow-light Faraday effect. Nature Photonics, 3(4), 225-229. https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2009.27

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Apr 1, 2009
• Deposit Date: Jan 26, 2012
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 13, 2012
• Journal: Nature Photonics
• Print ISSN: 1749-4885
• Electronic ISSN: 1749-4893
• Publisher: Nature Research
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 3
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 225-229
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2009.27