Photon echo with a few photons in two-level atoms

Abstract

To store and retrieve signals at the single photon level, various photon echo schemes have resorted to complex preparation steps involving ancillary shelving states in multi-level atoms. For the first time, we experimentally demonstrate photon echo operation at such a low signal intensity without any preparation step, which allows us to work with mere two-level atoms. This simplified approach relies on the so-coined "Revival Of Silenced Echo" (ROSE) scheme. Low noise conditions are obtained by returning the atoms to the ground state before the echo emission. In the present paper we manage ROSE in photon counting conditions, showing that very strong control fields can be compatible with extremely weak signals, making ROSE consistent with quantum memory requirements.

10 pages, 5 figures

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• Broadband quantum memory in a cavity via zero spectral dispersion
• Quantum networks using rare-earth ions
• Optical quantum memory on macroscopic coherence
• Spin echo silencing using a current-biased frequency-tunable resonator
• Broadband Quantum Memory in Atomic Ensembles
• A readout-integrated time-bin qutrit analyzer for echo-based quantum memories
• Storage of up-converted telecom photons in a doped crystal