Phys.org April 15, 2024
An international team of researchers (Denmark, Croatia) demonstrated a memory for light based on optomechanically induced transparency. They achieved a long storage time by leveraging the ultralow dissipation of a soft-clamped mechanical membrane resonator, which oscillated at MHz frequencies. At room temperature, they demonstrated a lifetime T1≈23  ms and a retrieval efficiency η≈40% for classical coherent pulses. According to the researchers the storage of quantum light is possible at moderate cryogenic conditions (T≈10K) and such systems could find applications in emerging quantum networks, where they could serve as long-lived optical quantum memories by storing optical information in a phononic mode… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Researchers can translate information in light to vibrations of the membrane inside a quantum drum and back. Credit: Julian Robinson-Tait