A light-storage experiment with a total (storage and retrieval) efficiency η=56% is carried out by enclosing a sample, with a single-pass absorption of 10%, in an impedance-matched cavity. The experiment is carried out using the atomic frequency comb (AFC) technique in a praseodymium-doped crystal (0.05%Pr(3+):Y2SiO5) and the cavity is created by depositing reflection coatings directly onto the crystal surfaces. The AFC technique has previously by far demonstrated the highest multimode capacity of all quantum memory concepts tested experimentally. We claim that the present work shows that it is realistic to create efficient, on-demand, long storage time AFC memories.

We present an efficient photon-echo experiment based on atomic frequency combs [Phys. Rev. A 79, 052329 (2009)]. Echoes containing an energy of up to 35% of that of the input pulse are observed in a Pr 3+ -doped Y 2 SiO 5 crystal. This material allows for the precise spectral holeburning needed to make a sharp and highly absorbing comb structure. We compare our results with a simple theoretical model with satisfactory agreement. Our results show that atomic frequency combs has the potential for high-efficiency storage of single photons as required in future long-distance communication based on quantum repeaters.

Slow light has been extensively studied for applications ranging from optical delay lines to single photon quantum storage. Here, we show that the time delay of slow-light significantly improves the performance of the narrowband spectral filters needed to optically detect ultrasound from deep inside highly scattering tissue. We demonstrate this capability with a 9 cm thick tissue phantom, having 10 cm−1 reduced scattering coefficient, and achieve an unprecedented background-free signal. Based on the data, we project real time imaging at video rates in even thicker phantoms and possibly deep enough into real tissue for clinical applications like early cancer detection.

We demonstrate experimentally a quantum memory scheme for the storage of weak coherent light pulses in an inhomogeneously broadened optical transition in a Pr 3+ : YSO crystal at 2.1 K. Precise optical pumping using a frequency stable (≈1kHz linewidth) laser is employed to create a highly controllable Atomic Frequency Comb (AFC) structure. We report single photon storage and retrieval efficiencies of 25%, based on coherent photon echo type re-emission in the forward direction. The coherence property of the quantum memory is proved through interference between a super Gaussian pulse and the emitted echo. Backward retrieval of the photon echo emission has potential for increasing storage and recall efficiency.

Rare-earth ions in dielectric crystals are interesting candidates for storing quantum states of photons. A limiting factor on the optical density and thus the conversion efficiency is the distortion introduced in the crystal by doping elements of one type into a crystal matrix of another type. Here we investigate the system Pr 3+ :La 2 (WO 4 ) 3 , where the similarity of the ionic radii of Pr and La minimizes distortions due to doping. We characterize the praseodymium hyperfine interaction of the ground-state ( 3 H 4 ) and one excited state ( 1 D 2 ) and determine the spin Hamiltonian parameters by numerical analysis of Raman-heterodyne spectra, which were collected for a range of static external magnetic-field strengths and orientations. On the basis of a crystal-field analysis, we discuss the physical origin of the experimentally determined quadrupole and Zeeman tensor characteristics. We show the potential for quantum memory applications by measuring the spin coherence lifetime in a magnetic field that is chosen such that additional magnetic fields do not shift the transition frequency in first order. Experimental results demonstrate a spin coherence lifetime of 158 ms -almost 3 orders of magnitude longer than in zero field.