Deterministic source of a train of indistinguishable single-photon pulses with single-atom-cavity system

TL;DR

This paper proposes a method to generate on-demand, indistinguishable single-photon pulses using a four-level atom in an optical cavity, achieving high efficiency and identical temporal modes without atom repumping.

Contribution

It introduces a novel scheme utilizing two laser pulses and Raman transitions to produce identical single photons efficiently from an atom-cavity system.

Findings

Near-unit efficiency photon emission

Photons have identical temporal modes

Single-photon nature confirmed by correlation function

Abstract

We present a mechanism to produce indistinguishable single-photon pulses on demand from an optical cavity. The sequences of two laser pulses generate, at the two Raman transitions of a four-level atom, the same cavity-mode photons without repumping of the atom between photon generations. Photons are emitted from the cavity with near-unit efficiency in well-defined temporal modes of identical shapes controlled by the laser fields. The second order correlation function reveals the single-photon nature of the proposed source. A realistic setup for the experimental implementation is presented.