Ultrafast population switching of quantum dots in a structured vacuum.
We demonstrate picosecond, high-contrast population flipping of two-level atoms interacting with femtojoule optical pulses in a 3D photonic band gap waveguide. This is the result of giant Mollow splitting caused by strong light localization and a remarkable field-dependent relaxation of the atomic Bloch vector as it evolves near an abrupt jump in the electromagnetic density of states. Unlike steady-state switching, population inversion can remain nearly complete after the pulse subsides. This may be used for multiwavelength channel, all-optical, on-chip information processing.
Ma
Xun
X
Department of Physics, University of Toronto, 60 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1A7 Canada.
John
Sajeev
S