Dynamic control of retrieval contrast in a Λ-type atomic system

We propose an efficient scheme for optimizing the optical memory of a sequence of signal light pulses in a system of ultracold atoms in Λ configuration. The memory procedure consists of write-in, storage, and retrieval phases. By applying a weak microwave field in the storage stage, additional phase-dependent terms are included, and the contrast of the output signal pulses can be dynamically controlled (enhanced or suppressed) through manipulating the relative phase φ between optical and microwave fields. Our numerical analysis shows that the contrast is enhanced to the most extent when φ=1.5π. In addition, the contrast is in proportion to the Rabi frequency of the microwave field with a certain relative phase.     

High contrast transparent ramsey fringes using microwave pulses interaction with atomic coherent state in warm rubidium vapor

High contrast transparent Ramsey fringes are observed using double microwave pulses interaction with the prepared atomic coherent state in a warm 87Rb vapor with mixture buffer gases in a closed cell. The Ramsey fringes are generated by the pulsed technique, a strong coupling light pulse and a weak signal light pulse are applied to prepare the atomic coherent state, followed by the application of double microwave pulses to interact with the atomic coherent state. Afterwards, the light pulses are applied again with weaker intensity and detecting the signal transmission is delected. The central line of the transparent Ramsey fringes has narrow linewidth of 125 Hz and high contrast of 21%. The light shift is dramatically reduced since the interrogating process is not involved the light field, and the cavity pulling effect is negligible due to the low Q requirement, which is promising for building small, compact, and stable atomic clocks.     

Phase-controlled coherent population trapping in superconducting quantum circuits

We investigate the influences of the-applied-field phases and amplitudes on the coherent population trapping behavior in superconducting quantum circuits. Based on the interactions of the microwave fields with a single ?-type three-level fluxonium qubit, the coherent population trapping could be obtainable and it is very sensitive to the relative phase and amplitudes of the applied fields. When the relative phase is tuned to 0 or π, the maximal atomic coherence is present and coherent population trapping occurs. While for the choice of π /2, the atomic coherence becomes weak. Meanwhile, for the fixed relative phase π /2, the value of coherence would decrease with the increase of Rabi frequency of the external field coupled with two lower levels. The responsible physical mechanism is quantum interference induced by the control fields,which is indicated in the dressed-state representation. The microwave coherent phenomenon is present in our scheme,which will have potential applications in optical communication and nonlinear optics in solid-state devices.     

Optical bistability and multistability via amplitude and phase control in a Duplicated two-level system

We investigate the optical bistability(OB) in a duplicated two-level system contained in a ring cavity.The atoms are driven by two orthogonally polarized fields with a relative phase.The OB behavior of such a system can be controlled by the amplitude and the relative phase of the coupling field,and it is possible to switch between bistability and multistability by adjusting the relative phase.     

Storage and Retrieval of a Weak Optical Signal Improved by Spontaneously Generated Coherence in an Atomic Assemble

We investigate the reversible storage of a weak single-mode light signal in a Λ-type three-level atomic system with spontaneously generated coherence (SGC) and pumped by an incoherent field.The scheme is phase-dependent.If the phase of the controlling field is set oppositely to that of the signal field,the combination of SGC with weak pump overcomes the drawback of incompletely retrieval in the conventional scheme,leading to 100% retrieval fidelity or even to the amplification of the retrieved signal with respect to its initial one.     

Microwave-Controlled Light-Pulse Propagation in a Driven A-Type Atomic System with Two-Folded Levels

The temporal and spatial dynamics of one weak probe laser pulse, propagating through a A-type atomic medium with two-folded levels under the resonant excitation of one microwave driving field and one strong control field, is investigated in this paper. By numerically solving coupled Bloch-Maxwell equations, it is found that, in the absence of the microwave driving field, the atomic medium is transparent to the probe pulse at line center, which propagates over sufficiently long distances. By contrast, when the microwave driving field is applied, the probe pulse at line center can be rapidly absorbed on propagation. This substantial reduction of probe transmittance caused by the microwave driving field may lead to potential applications in designing a new kind of optical switching.     

High-Stability High-Energy Picosecond Optical Parametric Chirped Pulse Amplifier as a Preamplifier in Nd:Glass Petawatt System for Contrast Enhancement

We demonstrate a novel picosecond optical parametric preamplification to generate high-stability, high-energy and high-contrast seed pulses. The 5 ps seed pulse is amplified from 60 pJ to 300μJ with an 8.6 ps/3 mJ pump laser in a signal stage of short pulse non-collinear optical parametric chirped pulse amplification. The total gain is more than 10~6 and the rms energy stability is under 1.35%. The contrast ratio is higher than 10~8 within a scale of 20 ps before the main pulse. Consequently, the improvement factor of the signal contrast is approximately equal to the gain 10~6 outside the pump window.     

Fifth—Order Harmonic Generation using a Coherent Controlled Two—Pulsed Optical Field

We have experimentally studied the characteristics of fifth-order harmonic radiation produced by two coherent femtosecond laser pulses with a changeable relative phase.The intensities of harmonic generation are found to increase with the coherent degree.In one optical Period,the temporal variation of harmonics exhibits an asymmetric characteristic,which is interpreted in terms of ionization theory and the deformation of the wave packets of fundamental field contribution to harmonic generation.     

Optical ultra-wideband pulse generation and distribution using a dual-electrode Mach-Zehnder modulator

<正>A novel approach to generate and distribute ultra-wideband(UWB) pulses in optical domain is investigated. In this proposed scheme,a dual-electrode Mach-Zehnder modulator(DE-MZM) is biased at its quadrature point so as to realize the linear response.Then the intensity of output optical field can be assumed to the subtraction of two input Gaussian pulses.If the input Gaussian pulses are with the same sharp parameters but different time delays,a quasi-monocycle-waveform UWB signal can be generated.If the input Gaussian pulses are with different amplitudes and full-width at half-maximum(FWHM),a quasi-doublet-waveform UWB signal can be generated.A transmission of the UWB signals through a 25-km single mode fiber is carried out successfully.The results in both temporal and frequency domains are also presented.     

Three-dimensional multilevel memory based on laser-polarization-dependence birefringence

The femtosecond laser-modified region in isotropic glass medium shows a big optical birefringence. Transmission of the birefringent regions between two crossed polarizers depends on phase retardation and the orientation angle of the birefringent optical axes. Based on this effect, three-dimensional (3D) multilevel memory was proposed and demonstrated for nonvolatile memory up to eight levels, in contrast to the standard two-level technology. Eight-level writing and reading are distinguishable in fused silica with a near-infrared femtosecond laser. The retention of this memory is characterized for nonvolatile applications.     

Three-dimensional multilevel memory based on laser-polarization-dependence birefringence

The femtosecond laser-modified region in isotropic glass medium shows a big optical birefringence. Transmission of the birefringent regions between two crossed polarizers depends on phase retardation and the orientation angle of the birefringent optical axes. Based on this effect, three-dimensional (3D) multilevel memory was proposed and demonstrated for nonvolatile memory up to eight levels, in contrast to the standard two-level technology. Eight-level writing and reading are distinguishable in fused silica with a near-infrared femtosecond laser. The retention of this memory is characterized for nonvolatile applications.     

Two methods to deal with an inhomogenous Rabi frequency in microwave transition

We analyse the influence of an inhomogenous microwave field on the coherence of atom ensembles. Two methods are proposed to suppress the dephasing generated by the inhomogenous Rabi frequency. One of them is realized by using a spin echo, and the other one is based on the identical spin rotation effect. The calculation results show that the contrast of a signal acquired in experiment can be improved by using the two methods. Their advantages and drawbacks are discussed. We hope they can be used to improve the contrast of experimental signals in situations where microwave fields are very inhomogenous. Finally, we discuss the case of a continuous working microwave field and show that the dipole force raised with the inhomogeneity can be eased by spin flip.     

Dispersion Analysis and Compensation of Collinear Optical Parametric Chirped Pulse Amplification Systems

In an optical parametric chirped pulse amplification （OPCPA） laser system, residual phase dispersion should be compensated as much as possible to shorten the amplified pulses and improve the pulse contrast ratio. Expressions of orders of the induced phases in collinear optical parametric amplification （OPA） processes are presented at the central signal wavelength to depict a c/ear physics picture and to simplify the design of phase compensation. As examples, we simulate two OPCPA systems to compensate for the phases up to the partial fourth-order terms, and obtain flat phase spectra of 200-nm bandwidth at 1064nm and 90-nm at 800nm.     

Phase evolution of the reemitted field in the semiconductor quantum wells under the femtosecond pulse train intersubband excitation

Property of the phase of the reemitted field in the semiconductor quantum wells (QWs) excited by femtosecond pulse train is investigated. It is shown that the phase evolution of the reemitted field is controlled by the relative phase between the successive pulses of the incident train. For all the odd pulses excitation, the reemitted field is from out-of-phase to in-phase, then again to out-of-phase with the incident pulses, whereas for all the even pulses excitation, the situation is the opposite, i.e., it is from in-phase to out-of-phase, then again to in-phase with the incident pulses.     

Optical Switch Formation in Antimony Super-Resolution Mask Layers Induced by Picosecond Laser Pulses

Sb is a classic material of a super-resolution near field structure （super-RENS） mask layer in which the optical switch formation is often realized by nanosecond laser pulse stimulation. We achieve fast and repeatable optical switching driven by picosecond laser pulses in a proper fluence range on Sb thin films. The optical properties of Sb thin films before and after switching are studied by surface-sensitive micro-area ellipsometry. The change of optical constants after switching is less than 2% in the whole visible range. The Sb mask layer is shown to be very promising for ultrafast super-resolution optical storage applications.     

A novel modulation and direct detection scheme of optical phase shift keying

This paper introduces a new modulation and direct detection scheme of optical phase shift keying (PSK) which is simple and practical in fiber optical communication. A phase modulator is used to modulate a continuous wave (CW) laser source and return-to-zero (RZ) signal that is changed from the initial transmitting information is used to control a phase modulator to form a optical PSK signal. In the     

Enhanced Kerr Nonlinearities Caused by Cross Talk Between Optical and Microwave Transitions

We investigate the enhanced Kerr nonlinearities in four-level atomic vapors driven by a coupling, probe and microwave fields. Under the optical one-photon and two-photon resonant conditions, the linear and nonlinear responses of the weak probe field can be modified by the cross talk among optical and microwave transitions. The enhanced Kerr nonlinearity can form bright optical solitons of the probe field.     

Controllable beating signal using stored light pulseControllable beating signal using stored light pulseControllable beating signal using stored light pulse

We experimentally study the controllable generation of a beating signal using stored light pulses based on electro- magnetically induced transparency （EIT） in a solid medium. The beating signal relies on an asymmetric procedure of light storage and retrieval. After storing the probe pulse into the spin coherence under the EIT condition, two-color control fields with opposite detunings instead of the initial control field are used to scatter the stored spin coherence. The controllable beating signal is generated due to alternative constructive and destructive interferences in the retrieved signal intensities. The beating of the two-color control fields is mapped into the beating of weak probe fields by using atomic spin coherence. This beating signal will be important in precise atomic spectroscopy and fast quantum limited measurements.     

Controllable beating signal using stored light pulse

We experimentally study the controllable generation of a beating signal using stored light pulses based on electromagnetically induced transparency(EIT) in a solid medium. The beating signal relies on an asymmetric procedure of light storage and retrieval. After storing the probe pulse into the spin coherence under the EIT condition, two-color control fields with opposite detunings instead of the initial control field are used to scatter the stored spin coherence. The controllable beating signal is generated due to alternative constructive and destructive interferences in the retrieved signal intensities. The beating of the two-color control fields is mapped into the beating of weak probe fields by using atomic spin coherence. This beating signal will be important in precise atomic spectroscopy and fast quantum limited measurements.     

4×4 multiple-input multiple-output coherent microwave photonic link with optical independent sideband and optical orthogonal modulation

A 4 × 4 multiple-input multiple-output coherent microwave photonic(MWP) link to transmit four wireless signals with an identical microwave center frequency over a single optical wavelength based on optical independent sideband(OISB) modulation and optical orthogonal modulation with an improved spectral efficiency is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. At the transmitter, the OISB modulation and optical orthogonal modulation are implemented to generate an OISB signal using a dual-parallel Mach–Zehnder modulator(DPMZM) driven by four microwave orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing(OFDM) signals with an identical microwave center frequency. At the receiver, the OISB signal is coherently detected at a coherent receiver where a free-running local oscillator(LO) laser source is employed. Digital signal processing is then used to recover the four OFDM signals, to eliminate the phase noise from the transmitter laser source and the LO laser source, and to cancel the unstable wavelength difference between the wavelengths of the transmitter laser source and the LO laser source. Error-free transmission of three 16 quadrature amplitude modulation(16-QAM) 1 Gbps OFDM signals and one 16-QAM 1.5 Gbps OFDM signal at a microwave center frequency of 2.91 GHz over a 10 km single-mode fiber is experimentally demonstrated.