We have studied the temporal behavior of the atomic absorption signal under resonant excitation with a continuous-wave laser radiation. Measurements done for D2 line of 85Rb with ~ 1 ns temporal resolution have shown irregular oscillatory behavior of the transmission signal, which becomes well pronounced for high laser power, and disappears when the laser is tuned off-resonance. Application of the fast Fourier transform analysis of the transmission signal reveals power-dependent frequency peaks, which are shown to be associated with Rabi frequency. Possible linkage of the observed results with the phase-to-amplitude noise conversion caused by the the phase fluctuations of laser field is discussed.
In this work, we demonstrate a microwave magnetic field imaging technique based on Rabi resonance with a cesium atom vapor cell. Rabi resonance signals are generated when atoms interact with a phase-modulated microwave (MW) field and are detected by a photodiode and camera. A low noise, high quantum efficiency camera is used to capture a series of frames for different phase modulation frequencies. Rabi frequencies of each spatial point in the field can be measured by scanning the frames. Thus, the strength of the MW magnetic field distribution is obtained by combing the Rabi frequencies, measu…
We experimentally investigated Rabi resonance-based continuously frequency-tunable microwave (MW) magnetic field detection using a single hybrid vapor cell filled with cesium and rubidium atoms. The multispecies atomic systems, with their tunable abilities in transition frequencies, enabled this atomic sensing head to cover a broader detectable MW field scope compared to the use of a single metal atom. Here, we demonstrated the simultaneous observation of atomic Rabi resonance signals with 85Rb, 87Rb, and 133Cs in the same vapor cell. Using an experimentally feasible static magnetic field (DC …
Rabi measurements in atomic vapor cells are of current interest in a range of microwave imaging and sensing experiments, but are increasingly in a parameter space outside of theoretical studies of coherence defined by spin-exchange collisions. Here, we study the coherence of Rabi oscillations in vapor cells by employing continuous non-destructive readout of the hyperfine manifold of $^{87}$Rb using Faraday rotation. We develop a full model for spin-exchange (SE) coherence for hyperfine transitions that takes into account a non-static population distribution. In this regime, Rabi oscillations e…
We report on the observation of Rabi oscillations to a Rydberg state on a timescale below one nanosecond in thermal rubidium vapor. We use a bandwidth-limited pulsed excitation and observe up to 6 full Rabi cycles within a pulse duration of ~ 4 ns. We find good agreement between the experiment and numerical simulations based on a surprisingly simple model. This result shows that fully coherent dynamics with Rydberg states can be achieved even in thermal atomic vapor thus suggesting small vapor cells as a platform for room temperature quantum devices. Furthermore the result implies that previou…
We investigate Rabi oscillation of an atom ensemble in Gaussian spatial distribution. By using the ultrafast laser interaction with the cold atomic rubidium vapor spatially confined in a magneto-optical trap, the oscillatory behavior of the atom excitation is probed as a function of the laser pulse power. Theoretical model calculation predicts that the oscillation peaks of the ensemble-atom Rabi flopping fall on the simple Rabi oscillation curve of a single atom and the experimental result shows good agreement with the prediction. We also test the the three-pulse composite interaction $R_x(π/2…
We observe EIT in a V-system in a thermal rubidium-87 vapour in the hyperfine Paschen-Back regime, realised with a 0.6 T axial magnetic field. In this regime energy levels are no longer degenerate and EIT features from different initial states are distinct, which we show produces a much cleaner feature than without a magnetic field. We compare our results to a model using the time-dependent Lindblad master equation, and having averaged over a distribution of interaction times, see good qualitative agreement for a range of pump Rabi frequencies. Excited state decay into both ground states is sh…
Rydberg EIT-based microwave sensing has limited microwave-to-optical conversion bandwidth due to fundamental limitation in the optical pumping rate to its dark state. We demonstrate a parametric six-wave mixing of optical probe and coupling fields driving the atoms to a Rydberg state via two-photon excitation and two microwave fields with frequency offset of $δ$ driving the Rydberg-Rydberg transition in thermal atomic vapor. Microwave-to-optical conversion bandwidth of $17$ MHz is achieved in the present experiment which is limited by the available coupling power. Further theoretical investiga…
By measuring the transmission of near-resonant light through an atomic vapor confined in a nano-cell we demonstrate a mesoscopic optical response arising from the non-locality induced by the motion of atoms with a phase coherence length larger than the cell thickness. Whereas conventional dispersion theory -- where the local atomic response is simply convolved by the Maxwell-Boltzmann velocity distribution -- is unable to reproduce the measured spectra, a model including a non-local, size-dependent susceptibility is found to be in excellent agreement with the measurements. This result improves…
We report on the observation of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and absorption (EIA) of highly excited Rydberg states in thermal Cs vapor using a four-step excitation scheme. The advantage of this four-step scheme is that the final transition to the Rydberg state has a large dipole moment and one can achieve similar Rabi frequencies to two- or three-step excitation schemes using two orders of magnitude less laser power. This scheme enables new applications such as dephasing free Rydberg excitation. The observed lineshapes are in good agreement with simulations based on multileve…
We report on the first observation of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in a ladder system in the presence of a buffer gas. In particular we study the 5S1/2 - 5P3/2 - 5D5/2 transition in thermal rubidium vapor with a neon buffer gas at a pressure of 6 Torr. In contrast to the line narrowing effect of buffer gas on Λ-systems we show that the presence of the buffer gas leads to an additional broadening of (32 +/- 5) MHz, which suggests a cross section for Rb(5D5/2)-Ne of σ = (7 +/- 1) x 10-19 m2. However, in the limit where the coupling Rabi frequency is larger than k the collisiona…
A light, compact optical isolator using an atomic vapor in the hyperfine Paschen-Back regime is presented. Absolute transmission spectra for experiment and theory through an isotopically pure 87Rb vapor cell show excellent agreement for fields of 0.6 T. We show π/4 rotation for a linearly polarized beam in the vicinity of the D2 line and achieve an isolation of 30 dB with a transmission > 95 %.
We report on the experimental measurement of the DC and microwave magnetic field distributions inside a recently-developed compact magnetron-type microwave cavity, mounted inside the physics package of a high-performance vapor-cell atomic frequency standard. Images of the microwave field distribution with sub-100 $μ$m lateral spatial resolution are obtained by pulsed optical-microwave Rabi measurements, using the Rb atoms inside the cell as field probes and detecting with a CCD camera. Asymmetries observed in the microwave field images can be attributed to the precise practical realization of …
We present experimental results on the influence of magnetic fields and laser polarization on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) using Rydberg levels of $^{87}$Rb atoms. The measurements are performed in a room temperature vapor cell with two counter-propagating laser beams at 480nm and 780nm in a ladder-type energy level scheme. We measure the EIT spectrum of a range of $ns_{1/2}$ Rydberg states for $n=19-27$, where the hyperfine structure can still be resolved. Our measurements span the range of magnetic fields from the low field linear Zeeman regime to the high field Paschen-Bac…
We demonstrate a simple technique for microwave field imaging using alkali atoms in a vapor cell. The microwave field to be measured drives Rabi oscillations on atomic hyperfine transitions, which are detected in a spatially resolved way using a laser beam and a camera. Our vapor cell geometry enables single-shot recording of two-dimensional microwave field images with 350 μm spatial resolution. Using microfabricated vapor cell arrays, a resolution of a few micrometers seems feasible. All vector components of the microwave magnetic field can be imaged. Our apparatus is simple and compact and d…
We report experimental measurements of the transmission spectrum of an optical cavity coupled with cold Rb atoms. We observe the multi-atom vacuum Rabi splitting of a composite cavity and atom system. When a coupling field is applied to the atoms and induces the resonant two-photon Raman transition with the cavity field in a Lamda-type three-level system, we observe a cavity transmission spectrum with two vacuum Rabi sidebands and a central peak representing the intracavity dark state. The central peak linewidth is significantly narrowed by the dark-state resonance and its position is insensit…
We study $Λ$-type Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT) on the Rb D2 transition in a buffer-gas-free thermal vapor cell without anti-relaxation coating. Experimental data show distinguished features of velocity-selective optical pumping and one EIT resonance. The Zeeman splitting of the EIT line in magnetic fields up to 12 Gauss is investigated. One Zeeman component is free of the first-order shift and its second-order shift agrees well with theory. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of this magnetic-field-insensitive EIT resonance is reduced due to Doppler narrowing, scales linear…
We present a new characterisation technique for atomic vapor cells, combining time-domain measurements with absorption imaging to obtain spatially resolved information on decay times, atomic diffusion and coherent dynamics. The technique is used to characterise a 5 mm diameter, 2 mm thick microfabricated Rb vapor cell, with N$_2$ buffer gas, placed inside a microwave cavity. Time-domain Franzen and Ramsey measurements are used to produce high-resolution images of the population ($T_1$) and coherence ($T_2$) lifetimes in the cell, while Rabi measurements yield images of the $σ_-$, $π$ and $σ_+$…
We have designed and tested an atomic vectorial magnetometer based on the analysis of the coherent oscillatory transients in the transmission of resonant laser light through a Rb vapor cell. We show that the oscillation amplitudes at the Larmor frequency and its first harmonic are related through a simple formula to the angles determining the orientation of the magnetic field vector. The magnetometer was successfully applied to the measurement of the ambient magnetic field.
We study intensity distribution of transmission resonances under the conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) with lin||lin configuration in 87Rb vapor. We demonstrate that for various orientations of the external magnetic field all seven resolved EIT resonances exhibit maxima or minima at certain directions of the linear polarization of the laser field. This effect can be used for development of a high-precision vector EIT magnetometer.
We demonstrate controlled polarization rotation of an optical field conditional on the presence of a second field. Induced rotations of greater than pi/2 rad are seen with a transmission of 95%, corresponding to a ratio of phase shift to absorption of 40 pi. This combination of large, controlled rotation and low loss is well-suited for the manipulation of both classical and quantum light pulses.
We propose and demonstrate a novel detection scheme of clock signals and obtain an ultra-high resonance contrast above 90%. The precision of the signal's detection and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of atomic clock signal is improved remarkably. The frequency stability in terms of Allan deviation has been improved by an order for the new detection under the equivalent conditions. We also investigate density effect which produces the splitting of the transmission peak and consequently a narrower linewidth of Ramsey fringes.
Transmission of light through an atomic sample placed between crossed polarizers in a magnetic field is jointly determined by Faraday rotation and net absorption: transmission increases with rotation and decreases with absorption. Both rotation and absorption are proportional to the atomic density N0, hence, in a certain range of N0, the two effects may compete yielding a distinct density dependence of the transmitted light. We have studied such dependence in rubidium vapor for N0 = 7.5*10^9 to 7.5*10^11 at/cm^3 with resonant laser light. We present interpretation of the competition effect and…
We demonstrate a single-photon Rydberg excitation spectroscopy of cesium (Cs) atoms in a room-temperature vapor cell. Cs atoms are excited directly from 6S1/2 ground state to nP3/2 (n = 70 - 100) Rydberg states with a 318.6 nm ultraviolet (UV) laser,and Rydberg excitation spectra are obtained by transmission enhancement of a probe beam resonant to Cs 6S1/2, F = 4 - 6P3/2, F' = 5 transition as partial population on F = 4 ground state are transferred to Rydberg state .Analysis reveals that the observed spectra are velocity-selective spectroscopy of Rydberg state, from which the amplitude and lin…
We describe the so-called "Lambda-Zeeman method" to investigate individual hyperfine transitions between Zeeman sublevels of atoms in an external magnetic field of 0.1 mT - 0.25 T. Atoms are confined in a nanocell with thickness L = Lambda, where Lambda is the resonant wavelength (794 nm or 780 nm for D1 or D2 line of Rb). Narrow resonances in the transmission spectrum of the nanocell are split into several components in a magnetic field; their frequency positions and probabilities depend on the B-field. Possible applications are described, such as magnetometers with nanometric spatial resolut…
We demonstrate the use of electrically contacted vapor cells to switch the transmission of a probe laser. The excitation scheme makes use of electromagnetically induced transparency involving a Rydberg state. The cell fabrication technique involves thinfilm based electric feedthroughs which are well suited for scaling this concept to many addressable pixels like in flat panel displays.
We study 85Rb atomic vapor for electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and obtain sub-natural EIT spectra at optical power higher than saturation intensity. It is shown that spectral width of transmission and intensity of EIT signal increases with intensity of optical field, which is one of the desirable features for slow light and quantum information processing. A details analysis has been done on such an atomic system.
We demonstrate a method for measuring atom-surface interactions using transmission spectroscopy of thermal vapors confined in a wedged nano-cell. The wedged shape of the cell allows complementary measurements of both the bulk atomic vapor and atoms close to surfaces experiencing strong van der Waals atom-surface interaction. These are used to tightly constrain the dipole-dipole collisional parameters of a theoretical model for transmission spectra that accounts for atom-surface interactions, cavity effects, collisions with the surface of the cell and atomic motion. We illustrate this method on…
Single-cell magneto-optical Faraday filters find great utility and are realized with either 'wing' or 'line center' spectral profiles. We show that cascading a second cell with independent axial (Faraday) or transverse (Voigt) magnetic field leads to improved performance in terms of figure of merit (FOM) and spectral profile. The first cell optically rotates the plane of polarization of light creating the high transmission window; the second cell selectively absorbs the light eliminating unwanted transmission. Using naturally-abundant Rb vapor cells, we realize a Faraday-Faraday wing filter an…
Quantum emitters with a $Λ$-type level structure enable numerous protocols and applications in quantum science and technology. Understanding and controlling their dynamics is, therefore, one of the central research topics in quantum optics. Here, we drive two-photon Rabi oscillations between the two ground states of cesium atoms and observe the associated oscillatory Raman gain and absorption that stems from the atom-mediated coherent photon exchange between the two drive fields. The atoms are efficiently and homogeneously coupled with the probe field by means of a nanofiber-based optical inte…
We investigate an integrated optical chip immersed in atomic vapor providing several waveguide geometries for spectroscopy applications. The narrow-band transmission through a silicon nitride waveguide and interferometer is altered when the guided light is coupled to a vapor of rubidium atoms via the evanescent tail of the waveguide mode. We use grating couplers to couple between the waveguide mode and the radiating wave, which allow for addressing arbitrary coupling positions on the chip surface. The evanescent atom-light interaction can be numerically simulated and shows excellent agreement …
We study telecom-wavelength spectra of a Rydberg state in an atomic vapor with a three-photon excitation scheme. Two lasers of 780 nm and 776 nm are used to pump Rubidium-85 atoms in a vapor cell to the $5D_{\mathrm{5/2}}$ state, from which a probe beam of 1292 nm in the O-band telecommunication wavelength drives a transition to the $21F_{\mathrm{7/2}}$ Rydberg state. We investigate the probe spectra over the power of pump lasers. The simulation based on a 4-level theoretical model captures the main features of the experimental results. This spectroscopic study paves the way for future experim…
Optical two-dimensional Fourier-transformed (2DFT) spectroscopy is used to study the coherent optical response of potassium vapor in a thin transmission cell. Rephasing and non-rephasing spectra of the D1 and D2 transitions are obtained and compared to numerical simulations. Calculations using the optical Bloch equations gives very good agreement with the experimental peak strengths and line shapes. Non-radiative Raman-like coherences are isolated using a different 2DFT projection. Density-dependent measurements show distortion of 2DFT spectra due to pulse propagation effects.
We present Rydberg-state electromagnetically-induced-transparency (EIT) measurements examining the effects of laser polarization, magnetic fields, laser intensities, and the optical density of the thermal $^{87}$Rb medium. Two counter-propagating laser beams with wavelengths of 480 nm and 780 nm were employed to sweep the spectrum across the Rydberg states $|33D_{3/2}\rangle$ and $|33D_{5/2}\rangle$. An analytic transmission expression well fits the Rydberg-EIT spectra with multiple transitions under different magnetic fields and laser polarization after accounting for the relevant Clebsch-Gor…
We observe electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in Rb vapor at various optical intensities, starting from below saturation to several times the saturation intensity. The observed Lorentzian width of the EIT signal is very small. Solving the time dependant density matrix equation of motion with a phenomenological decay constant, we find an expression suitable in explaining the EIT signal. In this experimental observation and theoretical analysis intensity of EIT signal and its Lorentzian width increases with Rabi frequency of optical field.
Multiple scattering of light by resonant vapor is characterized by Lévy-type superdiffusion with a single-step size distribution $p(x)\propto 1/x^{1+α}$. We investigate Lévy flight of light in a hot rubidium vapor collisional-broadened by 50 torr of He gas. The frequent collisions produce Lorentzian absorptive and emissive profiles with $α<1$ and a corresponding divergent mean step size. We extract the Lévy parameter $α\approx0.5$ in a multiple scattering regime from radial profile of the transmission and from violation of the Ohm's law. The measured radial transmission profile and the total d…
This tutorial introduces the theoretical and experimental basics of Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT) in thermal alkali vapors. We first introduce a brief phenomenological description of EIT in simple three-level systems of stationary atoms and derive analytical expressions for optical transmission and dispersion under EIT conditions. Then we focus on how the thermal motion of atoms affects various parameters of the EIT system. Specifically, we analyze the Doppler broadening of optical transitions, ballistic versus diffusive atomic motion in a limited-volume interaction region, an…
We report on the observation of a Zeeman shift (order of 100 MHz) of the Doppler-broadened D2 transition of both 85Rb and 87Rb isotopes via transmission through a tapered optical nanofiber in the presence of a DC magnetic field. Linearly-polarized light propagating in the nanofiber is analyzed as a superposition of two orthogonally circularly-polarized orientations, σ+ and σ-. In the absence of the magnetic field, the absorption of these polarizations by the atomic vapor, via the evanescent field at the waist of the nanofiber, is degenerate. When a weak magnetic field is applied parallel to th…
We demonstrate the manipulation of transmitted light through an optical Fabry-Perot cavity, built around a spectroscopy cell containing enriched rubidium vapor. Light resonant with the $^{87}$Rb D$_{2}$ ($F=2/F=1$) $\leftrightarrow F'$ manifold, is controlled by transverse intersection of the cavity mode by another resonant light beam. The cavity transmission can be suppressed or enhanced depending on the coupling of atomic states due to the intersecting beams. The extreme manifestation of cavity mode control is the precipitious destruction (negative logic switching) or buildup (positive logic…
Determining light shift in Raman-Ramsey interference is important for the development of atomic frequency standards based on a vapor cell. We have accurately calculated light shift in Raman-Ramsey interference using the density-matrix equations for a three-level system without invoking the adiabatic approximation. Specifically, phase shifts associated with coherent density-matrix terms are studied as they are relevant to the detection of Raman-Ramsey interference in transmission (or absorption) through the medium. For the single-velocity case, the numerically computed results are compared with…
Alkali vapors, and in particular rubidium, are being used extensively in several important fields of research such as slow and stored light non-linear optics3 and quantum computation. Additionally, the technology of alkali vapors plays a major role in realizing myriad industrial applications including for example atomic clocks magentometers8 and optical frequency stabilization. Lately, there is a growing effort towards miniaturizing traditional centimeter-size alkali vapor cells. Owing to the significant reduction in device dimensions, light matter interactions are greatly enhanced, enabling n…
Non-Hermitian physics is responsible for many of the counter-intuitive effects observed in optics research opening up new possibilities in sensing, polarization control and measurement. A hallmark of non-Hermitian matrices is the possibility of non-orthogonal eigenvectors resulting in coupling between modes. The advantages of propagation mode coupling have been little explored in magneto-optical filters and other devices based on birefringence. Magneto-optical filters select for ultra-narrow transmission regions by passing light through an atomic medium in the presence of a magnetic field. Pas…
This paper presents a setup capable of producing a high-flux continuous beam of cold rubidium atoms for cavity QED experiments in the regime of strong coupling. A 2 $D^+$ MOT, loaded by rubidium getters in a dry film coated vapor cell, fed a secondary moving-molasses MOT (MM-MOT) at a rate of 1.5 x $10^{10}$ atoms/sec. The MM-MOT provided a continuous beam with tunable velocity. This beam was then directed through the waist of a 280 $μ$m cavity resulting in a Rabi splitting of more than +/- 10 MHz. The presence of sufficient number of atoms in the cavity mode also enabled splitting in the pola…
Cavity electromagnetically induced transparency in a coherently prepared cavity-atom system is manifested as a narrow transmission peak of a weak probe laser coupled into the cavity mode. We show that with a resonant pump laser coupling the cavity-confined four-level atoms from free space, the narrow transmission peak of the cavity EIT is split into two peaks. The two peaks represent the dressed intra-cavity dark states and have a frequency separation approximately equal to the Rabi frequency of the free-space pump laser. We observed experimentally the dressed intra-cavity dark states in cold …
We experimentally demonstrate collective strong coupling, optical bi-stability (OB) and all-optical switching in a system consisting of ultracold 85Rb atoms, trapped in a dark magneto-optical trap (DMOT), coupled to an optical Fabry-Perot cavity. The strong coupling is established by measuring the vacuum Rabi splitting (VRS) of a weak on-axis probe beam. The dependence of VRS on the probe beam power is measured and bi-stability in the cavity transmission is observed. We demonstrate control over the transmission of the probe beam through the atom-cavity system using a free-space off-axis contro…
