Off-Resonant Cascaded Absorption (ORCA) memory for time-multiplexed quantum photonics

PhD funded jointly by the EPSRC Hub in Networked Quantum Information Technologies (www.nqit.ox.ac.uk ).

Start date October 2017.

Quantum memories capable of storing light, to be retrieved on-demand, are a key enabling technology for quantum photonic networking, as they allow the active synchronisation and re-timing of non-deterministic operations. We have recently developed an improved protocol for light storage based on off-resonant cascaded absorption ORCA in atomic vapour. Preliminary results in Cs vapour, to be published shortly, demonstrate the potential for very high end-to-end efficiency, without measurable added noise. In this project we will demonstrate this protocol in Rb vapour, which is expected to allow much longer storage times, and we will then seek to integrate the memory into a hollow-fibre, which should enable very low-power operation. This work has the potential for transformational impact in providing a route to large-scale photonic networks for quantum enhanced simulation, computation and communications.

The student will be based at the Centre for Photonics and Photonic Materials (CPPM) at the University of Bath, which is equipped with unique facilities for the design and production of microstructured fibres. The project supervisor Josh Nunn is also the Photonics Workpackage Leader within the NQIT Hub ( ​www.nqit.ox.ac.uk​ ) and there will be many opportunities for contact and collaboration with other groups working in cognate areas, as well as for partnerships with industry, particularly in the case that the quantum memory technology developed within the PhD reaches sufficient maturity for commercial investment.