Giant electro-optic effect using polarizable dark states

TL;DR

This paper introduces a method to achieve a giant electro-optic effect using polarizable dark states, enabling significant phase modulation and potential applications in quantum optics and precision electrometry.

Contribution

The authors propose and experimentally demonstrate a polarizable dark state medium with an electro-optic coefficient over 12 orders of magnitude larger than traditional gases.

Findings

Achieved phase modulation in dark state medium

Measured ultra-large electro-optic coefficient

Potential for single-photon level quantum applications

Abstract

The electro-optic effect, where the refractive index of a medium is modified by an electric field, is of central importance in non-linear 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 would have profound implications for non-linear optics, especially at the single photon level, enabling single photon entanglement and switching. Here we propose and demonstrate a giant electro-optic effect based on polarizable dark states. We demonstrate phase modulation of the light field in the dark state medium and measure an electro-optic coefficient that is more than 12 orders of magnitude larger than in other gases. This enormous Kerr non-linearity also creates the potential for precision electrometry and photon entanglement.