A giant electro-optic effect using polarizable dark states
A giant electro-optic effect using polarizable dark states
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DOI：
10.1038/nphys1091
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发表时间：
2008-11-01
期刊：
影响因子：
19.6
通讯作者：
Adams, Charles S.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Mohapatra, Ashok K.;Bason, Mark G.;Adams, Charles S.
电光效应是指介质的折射率被电场改变，在非线性光学、激光技术、量子光学和光通信中具有核心重要性。一般来说，电光系数非常弱，具有巨大电光系数的介质可能对单光子水平的精密电学和非线性光学具有深远的影响。本文提出并证明了基于可极化（里德伯）暗态的巨大直流电光效应.当介质在由基态和里德伯能级的叠加组成的暗态下制备时，它变得透明并获得取决于高度可极化的里德伯态的能量的折射率。我们证明了相位调制的光场在里德伯暗态介质和测量的电光系数，这是超过六个数量级大于通常的克尔介质。
The electro-optic effect, where the refractive index of a medium is modified by an electric field, is of central importance in nonlinear optics, laser technology, quantum optics and optical communications. In general, electro-optic coefficients are very weak and a medium with a giant electro-optic coefficient could have profound implications for precision electrometry and nonlinear optics at the single-photon level. Here we propose and demonstrate a giant d.c. electro-optic effect on the basis of polarizable (Rydberg) dark states. When a medium is prepared in a dark state consisting of a superposition of ground and Rydberg energy levels, it becomes transparent and acquires a refractive index that is dependent on the energy of the highly polarizable Rydberg state. We demonstrate phase modulation of the light field in the Rydberg-dark-state medium and measure an electro-optic coefficient that is more than six orders of magnitude larger than in usual Kerr media.