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Coherent excitation of Rydberg atoms in micrometre-sized atomic vapour cells
Nature Photonics, 4 (2): 112--116 (10.01.2010)
DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2009.260
Аннотация
The coherent control of mesoscopic ensembles of atoms and Rydberg atom blockade are the basis for proposed quantum devices such as integrable gates and single-photon sources. To date, experimental progress has been limited to complex experimental set-ups that use ultracold atoms. Here, we show that coherence times of \~100 ns are achievable with coherent Rydberg atom spectroscopy in micrometre-sized thermal vapour cells. We investigate states with principle quantum numbers between 30 and 50. Our results demonstrate that microcells with a size on the order of the blockade radius (\~2 µm), at temperatures of 100–300 °C, are robust and promising candidates for investigating low-dimensional strongly interacting Rydberg gases, constructing quantum gates and building single-photon sources.
