Ultralong trapping of light using double spin coherence gratings

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates ultralong light trapping in a solid medium using resonant Raman spin coherence gratings, achieving storage times vastly exceeding typical spin dephasing limits, with implications for quantum information processing.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method of light trapping via resonant Raman spin coherence gratings, significantly extending storage times beyond previous standing-wave grating techniques.

Findings

Light trapping time is two orders of magnitude longer than spin dephasing time.

The method uses counterpropagating coupling fields to excite spin coherence gratings.

Potential applications in quantum information processing due to extended storage times.

Abstract

Ultralong trapping of light has been observed in an optically dense three-level solid medium interacting with a pair of counterpropagating coupling fields. Unlike the light trapping based on standing-wave gratings excited by the same frequency pair of counterpropagating light fields (M. Bajcsy et al., Nature 426, 638 (2003)), the present method uses resonant Raman optical field-excited spin coherence gratings. The observed light trapping time is two orders of magnitude longer than the expected value of the spin dephasing time, where the extended storage time has potential for quantum information processing based on nonlinear optics.