All-optical switching at ultralow light levels

Abstract

We report an experimental demonstration of all-optical switching at ultralow light levels in coherently prepared Rb atoms. A signal light pulse is switched on and off by a control light pulse at different frequencies in a four-level atomic system based on multiphoton interferences. We observed a switching efficiency of 55% with the signal and control light pulses containing $\sim 20$ photons each, corresponding to a control energy density of $\sim {10}^{-5}$ photons per atomic cross section ${\lambda }^2∕\left(2\pi \right)$.

© 2007 Optical Society of America

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