分类: 光学 >> 量子光学 提交时间: 2023-02-19
摘要: Colour changes can be achieved by straining photonic crystals or gratings embedded in stretchable materials. However, the multiple repeat units and the need for a volumetric assembly of nanostructures limit the density of information content. Inspired by surface reliefs on oracle bones and music records as means of information archival, here we endow surface-relief elastomers with multiple sets of information that are accessible by mechanical straining along in-plane axes. Distinct from Bragg diffraction effects from periodic structures, we report trenches that generate colour due to variations in trench depth, enabling individual trench segments to support a single colour. Using 3D printed cuboids, we replicated trenches of varying geometric parameters in elastomers. These parameters determine the initial colour (or lack thereof), the response to capillary forces, and the appearance when strained along or across the trenches. Strain induces modulation in trench depth or the opening and closure of a trench, resulting in surface reliefs with up to six distinct states, and an initially featureless surface that reveals two distinct images when stretched along different axes. The highly reversible structural colours are promising in optical data archival, anti-counterfeiting, and strain-sensing applications.
分类: 光学 >> 量子光学 提交时间: 2023-02-19
摘要: The orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light holds great promise for applications in optical communication, super-resolution imaging, and high-dimensional quantum computing. However, the spatio-temporal coherence of the light source has been essential for generating OAM beams, as incoherent ambient light would result in polychromatic and obscured OAM beams in the visible spectrum. Here, we extend the applications of OAM to ambient lighting conditions. By miniaturizing spiral phase plates and integrating them with structural color filters, we achieve spatio-temporal coherence using only an incoherent white light source. These optical elements act as building blocks that encode both color and OAM information in the form of colorful optical vortices. Thus, pairs of transparent substrates that contain matching positions of these vortices constitute a reciprocal optical lock and key system. Due to the multiple helical eigenstates of OAM, the pairwise coupling can be further extended to form a one-to-many matching and validation scheme. Generating and decoding colorful optical vortices with broadband white light could find potential applications in anti-counterfeiting, optical metrology, high-capacity optical encryption, and on-chip 3D photonic devices.
分类: 光学 >> 量子光学 提交时间: 2023-02-19
摘要: A qubit memory is the building block for quantum information. Cavity-enhanced spin-wave-photon entanglement has been achieved by applying dual-control modes. However, owing to cross readouts between the modes, the qubit retrieval efficiency is about one quarter lower than that for a single spin-wave mode at all storage times. Here, we overcome cross readouts using a multiplexed ring cavity. The cavity is embedded with a polarization interferometer, and we create a write-out photonic qubit entangled with a magnetic-field-insensitive spin-wave qubit by applying a single-mode write-laser beam to cold atoms. The spin-wave qubit is retrieved with a single-mode read-laser beam, and the quarter retrieval-efficiency loss is avoided at all storage times. Our experiment demonstrates 50% intrinsic retrieval efficiency for 540 microsecond storage time, which is 13.5 times longer than the best reported result. Importantly, our multiplexed-cavity scheme paves one road to generate perfect-cavity-enhanced and large-scale multiplexed spin-wave-photon entanglement with a long lifetime.
分类: 光学 >> 量子光学 提交时间: 2023-02-19
摘要: Qubit memory that is entangled with photonic qubit is the building block for long distance quantum repeaters. Cavity enhanced and long lived spin wave photon entanglement has been demonstrated by applying dual laser beams onto optical-lattice atoms. However, owing to cross readouts by two beams, retrieval efficiency of spin wave qubit is decreased by one quarter compared to that of single mode spin wave at all storage times. Here, by coupling cold atoms to two modes of a polarization interferometer based cavity, we achieve perfect qubit retrieval in cavity enhanced and long lived atom photon entanglement. A write laser beam is applied onto cold atoms, we then create a magnetic field insensitive spin wave qubit that is entangled with the photonic qubit encoded onto two arms of the interferometer. The spin wave qubit is retrieved by a read beam, which avoids the cross readouts. Our experiment demonstrates 540{\mu}s storage time at 50% intrinsic qubit retrieval efficiency, which is 13.5 times longer than the best reported result.