Ultracold Rydberg Atoms for Efficient Storage of Terahertz Frequency Signals using Electromagnetically Induced Transparency

Publication date: Available online 11 October 2018Source: Physics Letters AAuthor(s): Sumit Bhushan, Vikas S. Chauhan, Raghavan K. EaswaranAbstractQuantum communication with terahertz (THz) frequency signals has many advantages like reduced attenuation and scintillation effects in certain atmospheric conditions along with very high level of data security. In this work, we propose a scheme to realize Quantum Memory (QM) for efficient storage of terahertz (THz) frequency signals using Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT) in an ultracold atomic medium of 87Rb Rydberg atoms prepared in a Two Dimensional Magneto Optical Trap (2D-MOT). The uniqueness of our scheme lies in the choice of the energy levels involved in the EIT process, all three of which have been chosen to be the Rydberg levels (enabling signal beam to be in THz) in a lambda type arrangement. This first of its kind proposal reveals that atomic media are a potential candidate for devising QMs which can store THz frequency signals. We have estimated that the Optical Depth (OD) in our scheme can reach a very high value of 690, very high maximum obtainable storage efficiency (η) of ∼99%, the group velocity (vg) can be as low as 5.07 × 103 m/s, and the Delay Bandwidth Product (DBP) can be as high as 9.5. All of these estimates emphasize the feasibility of our scheme as a QM device for efficient storage of THz pulses.

Source: Physics Letters A - October 11, 2018 Category: Physics Source Type: research