dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaAtomic vapor-based high efficiency optical detectors with photon number resolution
| Authors | Daniel James, Paul Kwiat |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/0206049 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0206049 |
| DOI | 10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.183601 |
Abstract
We propose a novel approach to the important fundamental problem of detecting weak optical fields at the few photon level. The ability to detect with high efficiency (>99%), and to distinguish the number of photons in a given time interval is a very challenging technical problem with enormous potential pay-offs in quantum communications and information processing. Our proposal diverges from standard solid-state photo-detector technology by employing an atomic vapor as the active medium, prepared in a specific quantum state using laser radiation. The absorption of a photon will be aided by a dressing laser, and the presence or absence of an excited atom will be detected using the ``cycling transition'' approach perfected for ion traps. By first incorporating an appropriate upconversion scheme, our method can be applied to a wide variety of optical wavelengths.
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"abstract": "We propose a novel approach to the important fundamental problem of detecting\nweak optical fields at the few photon level. The ability to detect with high\nefficiency (\u003e99%), and to distinguish the number of photons in a given time\ninterval is a very challenging technical problem with enormous potential\npay-offs in quantum communications and information processing. Our proposal\ndiverges from standard solid-state photo-detector technology by employing an\natomic vapor as the active medium, prepared in a specific quantum state using\nlaser radiation. The absorption of a photon will be aided by a dressing laser,\nand the presence or absence of an excited atom will be detected using the\n``cycling transition\u0027\u0027 approach perfected for ion traps. By first incorporating\nan appropriate upconversion scheme, our method can be applied to a wide variety\nof optical wavelengths.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/0206049",
"authors": [
"Daniel James",
"Paul Kwiat"
],
"categories": [
"quant-ph"
],
"doi": "10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.183601",
"title": "Atomic vapor-based high efficiency optical detectors with photon number resolution",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0206049"
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