RUI: Quantum Fidelity in Multimode Optical Memory

随着电子设备的处理速度不断提高，对高速互联网通信和数据网络的需求将需要新技术来存储和处理大量数据。电子学是建立在利用电子来携带和处理信息的基础上的，类似地，光子学领域正在开发利用光粒子（光子）来携带和处理信息的设备。单个光子服从量子力学定律，因此为了充分了解光子器件的工作原理，将对这些新器件进行量子测量。一个特别重要的部件是存储器或信息存储设备。存在许多候选的光子存储器，但很少有在量子（少光子）水平上被表征的。本研究计划将应用新技术来测量光的量子特性到各种光子存储设备。结果将是对设备操作的更深入的理解，这可能会为未来的应用带来优化的设备。基于铷电磁感应透明（EIT）的慢光存储器件已被证明。该计划的目标是测量从这些设备的几个实现中在温暖和寒冷的铷蒸气样品中检索到的光的量子态。从这种系统中储存和回收的光将使用高效的低噪声光电探测器阵列进行测量和分析。该技术可以同时测量多个光学模式，并将用于关联多个模式，并确定哪些模式（或模式组合）在不同的存储条件下最稳健。对从存储器中检索到的光信号的完整量子力学理解允许对器件性能进行完整的表征，并将为光子存储器器件的开发提供信息。

As electronic devices continue to increase their processing speeds, the demand for high speed internet communications and data networks will require new technologies for storing and processing large amounts of data. Electronics are built on the use of the electron to carry and process information, and in an analogous way the field of photonics is developing devices that use particles of light (photons) to carry and process information. Individual photons obey the laws of quantum mechanics, so in order to fully understand the operation of photonic devices, quantum measurements will be performed on these new devices. One particularly essential component is a memory or information storage device. Many candidates for photonic memory exist but few have been characterized at the quantum (few-photon) level. This research program will apply new techniques for measuring the quantum properties of light to a variety of photonic memory devices. The result will be a deeper understanding of device operation that may lead to optimized devices for future applications.Photonic memory devices have been demonstrated using slow and stored-light protocols based on Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT) in Rubidium. The goal of this program is to measure the quantum state of light retrieved from several implementations of these devices in both warm and cold Rubidium vapor samples. The light stored and retrieved from such systems will be measured and analyzed using a highly efficient array of low-noise photodetectors. This technique can simultaneously measure multiple optical modes and will be used to correlate multiple modes and determine which modes (or combinations of modes) are most robust under different storage conditions. A full quantum-mechanical understanding of the optical signal retrieved from memory allows complete characterization of the device performance and will inform future work in the development of photonic memory devices.