Kamel Bencheikh

Ultraslow light propagation in an inhomogeneously broadened rare-earth ion-doped crystal.

We show that coherent population oscillations effect allows us to burn a narrow spectral hole (26 Hz) within the homogeneous absorption line of the optical transition of an erbium ion-doped crystal. The large dispersion of the index of refraction associated with this hole permits us to achieve a group velocity as low as 2.7 m/s with a transmission of 40%. We especially benefit from the inhomogeneous absorption broadening of the ions to tune both the transmission coefficient, from 40% to 90%, and the light group velocity from 2.7 m/s to 100 m/s.

Phase-matched third-harmonic generation in highly germanium-doped fiber

Phase-matched third-harmonic generation is demonstrated in a germanium-doped optical fiber. Green light at 514.4 nm is generated in an LP(03) mode when a pump field at ~1543.3 nm is launched into the fiber in the fundamental LP(01) mode. The phase matching is achieved for a particular combination of the germanium doping concentration and the fiber core diameter.

Semiclassical model of triple photons generation in optical fibers.

In this Letter we study spontaneous generation of triple photon states in optical fibers by third order spontaneous downconversion. Using a semiclassical approach we derive an explicit expression for the triple photons generation efficiency as a function of fiber parameters. We show that optical fibers with well suited index profiles and standard outer diameters could be the key component of future triple photons sources.

Quantum key distribution with continuous variables

We study a new quantum cryptography protocol with continuous variables for the construction of secret quantum keys. The protocol is based on pairs of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen entangled quadratures o...

Coupling light into a slow-light photonic-crystal waveguide from a free-space normally-incident beam

We present a coupler design allowing normally-incident light coupling from free-space into a monomode photonic crystal waveguide operating in the slow-light regime. Numerical three-dimensional calculations show that extraction efficiencies as high as 80% can be achieved for very large group indices up to 100. We demonstrate experimentally the device feasibility by coupling and extracting light from a photonic crystal waveguide over a large group-index range (from 10 to 60). The measurements are in good agreement with theoretical predictions. We also study numerically the impact of various geometrical parameters on the coupler performances.

Energetic and spectral properties of triple photon downconversion in a phase-matched KTiOPO 4 crystal

We measured the spectrum and energy of infrared triple photons generated in a phase-matched KTiOPO4 crystal pumped by picosecond beams at 532 and 1662 nm. The experimental data are in good agreement with our model, taking into account the spectral linewidths of the incident beams as well as a parasitic Kerr effect.

Slow light propagation in a ring erbium-doped fiber

Slow light propagation is demonstrated by implementing Coherent Population Oscillations in a silica fiber doped with erbium ions in a ring surrounding the single mode core. Though only the wings of the mode interact with erbium ions, group velocities around 1360 m/s are obtained without any spatial distortion of the propagating mode.

Enhancement of a nano cavity lifetime by induced slow light and nonlinear dispersions

We start from a 2D photonic crystal nanocavity with moderate Q-factor and dynamically increase it by two order of magnitude by the joint action of coherent population oscillations and nonlinear refractive index.

Continuous-variable entanglement of two bright coherent states that never interacted

We study continuous-variable entanglement of bright quantum states in a pair of evanescently coupled nonlinear

Ultraslow light propagation in rare-earth ion-doped crystal

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