Experimental Realization of Reconfigurable Photonic Lattices in Coherent Rydberg Atomic Vapors

Shun Liang; Qingsong Yu; Xing Lei; Shaohuan Ning; Changbiao Li; Yanpeng Zhang; Zhaoyang Zhang

doi:10.3390/photonics9060422

Photonics (Jun 2022)

Experimental Realization of Reconfigurable Photonic Lattices in Coherent Rydberg Atomic Vapors

Shun Liang,
Qingsong Yu,
Xing Lei,
Shaohuan Ning,
Changbiao Li,
Yanpeng Zhang,
Zhaoyang Zhang

Affiliations

Shun Liang: Key Laboratory for Physical Electronics and Devices of the Ministry of Education & Shaanxi Key Lab of information Photonic Technique, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Faculty of Electronic and Information Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
Qingsong Yu: Key Laboratory for Physical Electronics and Devices of the Ministry of Education & Shaanxi Key Lab of information Photonic Technique, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Faculty of Electronic and Information Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
Xing Lei: National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology in Aircraft Control, Xi’an 710065, China
Shaohuan Ning: Key Laboratory for Physical Electronics and Devices of the Ministry of Education & Shaanxi Key Lab of information Photonic Technique, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Faculty of Electronic and Information Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
Changbiao Li: Key Laboratory for Physical Electronics and Devices of the Ministry of Education & Shaanxi Key Lab of information Photonic Technique, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Faculty of Electronic and Information Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
Yanpeng Zhang: Key Laboratory for Physical Electronics and Devices of the Ministry of Education & Shaanxi Key Lab of information Photonic Technique, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Faculty of Electronic and Information Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
Zhaoyang Zhang: Key Laboratory for Physical Electronics and Devices of the Ministry of Education & Shaanxi Key Lab of information Photonic Technique, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Faculty of Electronic and Information Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics9060422
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 9, no. 6
p. 422

Abstract

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We experimentally demonstrated the formation of a one-dimensional electromagnetically induced optical lattice in coherently prepared three-level 85Rb Rydberg atomic vapors with electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). The one-dimensional photonic lattice was optically induced by a coupling field with a spatially periodical intensity distribution deriving from the interference of two strong Gaussian beams from the same laser source (~480 nm). Under the Rydberg-EIT condition, the incident weak probe beam can feel a tunable spatially modulated susceptibility, which is verified by the controllable discrete diffraction pattern observed at the output plane of the vapor cell. This investigation not only opens the door for experimentally introducing the strong interaction between Rydberg atoms to govern the beam dynamics in photonic lattices based on atomic coherence but also provides an easily accessible periodic environment for exploring Rydberg-atom physics and related applications.

Published in Photonics

ISSN: 2304-6732 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Technology: Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General): Applied optics. Photonics
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/photonics

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