Available Technology
Coherent control of optical information with matter wave dynamics
Technology:
Technique for stopping light pulses
Markets Addressed
Possible applications include quantum information processing, manipulation and storage of light pulses from optical fibers, atomic clocks, gravity detectors, ultra-sensitive acceleration and rotation instruments, as well as enabling other technologies involving light-matter interactions. Upon its announcement, this discovery generated international press coverage for its novelty.
Innovations and Advantages
The invention is a technique for stopping light pulses, converting them to matter, and then transporting them to another location. A laser pulse is sent toward one Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) – a collection of atoms cooled to nearly absolute zero – where it is stopped and then stored. The light is converted to a traveling matter wave, sent some distance away to another BEC and the light pulse is revived at the second location. Effectively, the laser pulse is extinguished in one location and then a perfect copy is resurrected in another location. During the process, the light pulse is slowed from 186,000 miles per second to just 15 miles per hour – the speed of a bicycle.
Additional Information
Intellectual Property Status: Issued U.S. patent nos.: 8,299,419
Media:
Nature article
New York Times article
National Public Radio Interview
Tweet
Inventor(s):
Garner, Sean R.
Ginsberg, Naomi S.
Hau, Lene V.
Categories:
For further information, please contact:
Mick Sawka, Director of Business Development
(617) 496-3830
Reference Harvard Case #2895