Generation of high conical angle Bessel-Gauss beams with reflective axicons.

We report the generation of Bessel-Gauss beams of high conical angle, up to 35 deg, using reflective off-axis axicons and a magnification optical system. We experimentally characterize the beams with three-dimensional scans. The high precision of fabrication of the axicons in the vicinity of the axicon singularity allows us to generate a beam with intensity distribution close to analytical description.

Continuous axial scanning of a Gaussian beam via beam steering.

We propose and demonstrate experimentally the transfer of one spatial degree of freedom of a laser beam onto another one. Using a multi-plane light conversion device (MPLC) and a modal analysis, we designed a passive setup with immediate response which couples a displacement and tilt in the transverse plane to a longitudinal shift of the focus point of a beam. With this design, we demonstrated a shift of the focal point of the output beam by 4 zR along the propagation axis.

A mirrorless spinwave resonator.

Optical resonance is central to a wide range of optical devices and techniques. In an optical cavity, the round-trip length and mirror reflectivity can be chosen to optimize the circulating optical power, linewidth, and free-spectral range (FSR) for a given application. In this paper we show how an atomic spinwave system, with no physical mirrors, can behave in a manner that is analogous to an optical cavity. We demonstrate this similarity by characterising the build-up and decay of the resonance in the time domain, and measuring the effective optical linewidth and FSR in the frequency domain. Our spinwave is generated in a 20 cm long Rb gas cell, yet it facilitates an effective FSR of 83 kHz, which would require a round-trip path of 3.6 km in a free-space optical cavity. Furthermore, the spinwave coupling is controllable enabling dynamic tuning of the effective cavity parameters.

Gradient echo quantum memory in warm atomic vapor.

Gradient echo memory (GEM) is a protocol for storing optical quantum states of light in atomic ensembles. The primary motivation for such a technology is that quantum key distribution (QKD), which uses Heisenberg uncertainty to guarantee security of cryptographic keys, is limited in transmission distance. The development of a quantum repeater is a possible path to extend QKD range, but a repeater will need a quantum memory. In our experiments we use a gas of rubidium 87 vapor that is contained in a warm gas cell. This makes the scheme particularly simple. It is also a highly versatile scheme that enables in-memory refinement of the stored state, such as frequency shifting and bandwidth manipulation. The basis of the GEM protocol is to absorb the light into an ensemble of atoms that has been prepared in a magnetic field gradient. The reversal of this gradient leads to rephasing of the atomic polarization and thus recall of the stored optical state. We will outline how we prepare the atoms and this gradient and also describe some of the pitfalls that need to be avoided, in particular four-wave mixing, which can give rise to optical gain.

Pulse shaping with birefringent crystals: a tool for quantum metrology.

A method for time differentiation based on a Babinet-Soleil-Bravais compensator is introduced. The complex transfer function of the device is measured using polarization spectral interferometry. Time differentiation of both the pulse field and pulse envelope are demonstrated over a spectral width of about 100 THz with a measured overlap with the objective mode greater than 99.8%. This pulse shaping technique is shown to be perfectly suited to time metrology at the quantum limit.

Real-time displacement measurement immune from atmospheric parameters using optical frequency combs.

We propose a direct and real-time displacement measurement using an optical frequency comb, able to compensate optically for index of refraction variations due to atmospheric parameters. This scheme could be useful for applications requiring stringent precision over a long distance in air, a situation where dispersion becomes the main limitation. The key ingredient is the use of a mode-locked laser as a precise source for multi-wavelength interferometry in a homodyne detection scheme. By shaping temporally the local oscillator, one can directly access the desired parameter (distance variation) while being insensitive to fluctuations induced by parameters of the environment such as pressure, temperature, humidity and CO2 content.

Generation and characterization of multimode quantum frequency combs.

Multimode nonclassical states of light are an essential resource in quantum computation with continuous variables, for example, in cluster state computation. We report in this Letter the first experimental evidence of a multimode nonclassical frequency comb in a femtosecond synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator. In addition to a global reduction of its quantum intensity fluctuations, the system features quantum correlations between different parts of its frequency spectrum. This allows us to show that the frequency comb is composed of several uncorrelated eigenmodes having specific spectral shapes, two of them at least being squeezed, and to characterize their spectral shapes.